Consumer Affairs 

The Consumer Affairs Division is the primary contact for the public and licensees to ask questions regarding state statutes, rules, and other authoritative guidance regarding operations of a financial institution or enterprise within the state of Arizona (for a list of companies regulated by our department, see List of Licensees: http://azdfi.gov/Lists/Lists.htm).

The Consumer Affairs Division also investigates complaints filed against individuals suspected of engaging in unlicensed activities. Persons conducting business without the proper license have been of great concern to the Department and, on an average, we investigate hundreds of unlicensed activity cases on an annual basis. This type of activity is potentially a problem to all concerned because the business of the unlicensed entity is without Department review of the individuals operating the entity and without supervision to control their activities. Unlicensed activity is deterred through the usage of a broad array of administrative sanctions and further prosecution when appropriate.

Complaints

The Consumer Affairs Division also is responsible for reviewing complaints against those entities licensed by our agency.

If you have a complaint, please read the following information before filing in order to ensure the best outcome for your situation.

First, please check to make sure that your complaint is for an entity which we regulate.  Particularly for Banks, Credit Unions, Savings Banks, and Credit Card companies.  For Banks and Credit Unions, an entity can be either federally or state chartered.  If they are federally chartered, they are considered a national bank or credit union.  Some examples of nationally chartered institutions that we do not regulate:

Wells Fargo Bank JPMorganChase Bank of America Washington Mutual Desert Schools Federal Credit Union Arizona Federal Credit Union

Savings banks are all regulated at the national level. Likewise, entities which issue or process credit cards are governed by national agencies and not the Arizona Department of Financial Institutions. For addresses and phone numbers of the agencies which regulate each of these entities go to our agency referral page.

If you have a complaint for an entity we regulate, you should first try to resolve it directly by contacting an officer of the entity.  If for some reason you are unable to to resolve the problem in this way, you may wish to contact senior management or the entity's consumer affairs  representative for further assistance.   Dealing directly with the institution is usually the fastest, simplest, and most effective approach.  Most companies value their customers and in most situations will be responsive to your concerns.

If you are unable to resolve your complaint directly, you may file a complaint with our agency, which is responsible for ensuring that the entities we regulate comply with applicable state laws.

What we will do once you submit a Complaint

We will assign a case number to your complaint and send you an acknowledgement that provides your case number. Your letter will be reviewed by our Consumer Affairs staff who will send your complaint to the entity you have named. This enables the institution/enterprise to compile records in response to your complaint. If additional information is is needed, we will contact you by telephone or in writing. If you should have any questions regarding the resolution of your complaint, it is helpful to identify your case number when you contact us.

The entity should address the issues raised in your complaint and provide a written response to our agency upon completion of its internal investigation. In some cases, the entity will also respond to you directly. Consumer Affairs staff will analyze the entity's response to ensure that no laws have been violated and that your concerns have been addressed. We will attempt to resolve your complaint within 30 days. If we need additional time to resolve your complaint due to the complexity of the issues involved, we will usually send you a letter of explanation.

What is the result?

If our review of your complaint finds a violation of law or rule, we will inform you of the violation and the corrective action the entity has been directed to take. However, we do not have authority to resolve contractual disputes or undocumented factual disputes between a customer and an entity. We also do not have the authority to resolve disagreements pertaining to entity policies and procedures that are a matter of management discretion and not addressed by Department of Financial Institutions rules. In such cases, if the entity does not make a voluntary adjustment, we will usually advise you to consider obtaining legal counsel regarding your rights to resolve the situation.

Consumer Affairs staff hopes this web page serves as a useful resource guide in informing you of our complaint handling process and your rights should you encounter a problem with an entity we regulate.

Click here to navigate to the complaint form page.

© 2007 Arizona Department of Financial Institutions. All rights reserved.