CONCILIATION

There are two functions which are primary to the day to day duties of the Office; conciliation and information. Information will be addressed under “FAQ’s.” Conciliation is the process used to resolve most of the consumer complaints filed with the Office. It is initiated by you, the consumer, by filing a complaint with the Office of Consumer Affairs.

Within 24 hours of a complaint form arriving in the Office, it will be assigned to an investigator. The investigator will be the individual who will handle the complaint from the date it is opened until it is closed.

The first thing an investigator will do is read the complaint and look at the documents which accompany it. If additional documents are needed or if the investigator has questions they will contact the consumer. If they have enough documentation and the problem is clear, they will contact the business by a letter. It is rare that a complaint will be worked by telephone because the Office has enforcement powers and in order to use them, we need to meet certain burdens of proof which are most easily met by written documents.

This first letter informs the business of the complaint and requests a reply from the business. This letter has a two week time frame on it. If a reply is received the investigator will then contact the consumer and discuss the reply with them.

If no reply is received a second letter is sent to the business. This letter again informs the business of the complaint and requests a reply within ten days. If a reply is received the investigator will contact the consumer. If no reply is received, then at this point the Office will decide what path to take to obtain the information necessary to resolve the complaint.

It is the Office’s policy that no Howard County business against which a complaint has been filed may ignore or decide not to respond to correspondence from this Office. A response at a minimum is required. Resolution is rarely achieved if the parties are not speaking.

The investigator will seek the resolution requested by the consumer. If that resolution cannot be achieved for whatever reason, the investigator will discuss the alternatives available with the consumer and arrive at a decision.

The Investigator is not a neutral party, they are charged by law to be an advocate for the consumer. They also are to use their knowledge of federal, state and local consumer protection laws in their discussions with the parties to arrive at a resolution.