What is a complaint?
A complaint is a formal quality concern raised by a client (creditor) about your conduct on one or more collection cases. Complaints are categorised when filed:
Communication - responsiveness, professionalism, unclear communication
Collection Practices - collection methods, tactics, compliance concerns
Billing - fees, charges, billing accuracy disputes
Data Quality - data accuracy, wrong debtor info, missing documentation
Timeliness - delays, missed deadlines, slow progress
Other - any other complaint type
Each complaint receives a unique reference
The complaint lifecycle
Complaints move through seven statuses. As a collection partner, you only see complaints from the "Awaiting Response" stage onward. The earlier stages (Submitted and Under Review) are handled internally by Debitura before you are notified.
Status | What it means |
Submitted | The client has filed the complaint. Debitura begins an internal review. (Not visible to you.) |
Under Review | A Debitura administrator is assessing validity. The complaint may be declined at this stage without notifying you. (Not visible to you.) |
Awaiting Response | Debitura has accepted the complaint for review. You are notified and given 10 calendar days to respond. |
Response Received | You have submitted your response, or the deadline has passed without a response (auto-escalation). Debitura reviews the complaint and your response. |
Upheld | The complaint is found valid. A severity level and penalty points are assigned. This impacts your Compliance Score. |
Declined | The complaint is not substantiated. No penalty is applied. |
Withdrawn | The client withdrew the complaint before a final decision. No penalty is applied. |
Key transitions to be aware of:
If you do not respond within the 10-day deadline, the complaint automatically moves to "Response Received" with a note that no response was provided.
The client can withdraw the complaint at any stage.
Debitura can decline a complaint during the initial review, before it ever reaches you.
Your 10-day response deadline
When Debitura accepts a complaint for review, you receive an email notification and the complaint appears on your Complaints page with a status of "Awaiting Response". From that moment you have 10 calendar days to submit your response.
For step-by-step instructions on submitting your response, see How to respond to a complaint.
How you can respond
When you respond to a complaint, you choose one of three response types:
Response type | When to use it |
Acknowledgment | You accept responsibility and may describe corrective actions taken. |
Dispute | You dispute the claims and provide counter-evidence. |
Clarification | You provide additional context without fully accepting or denying the claims. |
You can also upload supporting files (up to 25 MB per file) while the complaint is in the "Awaiting Response" stage. Once you submit your response, the upload window closes.
Possible outcomes
After reviewing the complaint and your response, Debitura makes a final decision:
Upheld - the complaint is found valid. A severity level is assigned and penalty points are deducted from your Compliance Score.
Declined - the complaint is not substantiated. No penalty is applied and your score is not affected.
Withdrawn - the client withdrew the complaint before a decision was made. No penalty is applied.
Severity levels and penalty points
When a complaint is upheld, Debitura assigns a severity level that determines the penalty point deduction from your Compliance Score:
Severity | Penalty points | Description |
Dismissed | 0 points | Unsubstantiated or frivolous complaint (no impact) |
Minor | -5 points | First-time minor breach with mitigating circumstances |
Medium | -15 points | Clear violation or an emerging pattern |
Severe | -40 points | Egregious violation, repeated pattern, or potential for platform removal |
Only upheld complaints with a non-Dismissed severity affect your score. Declined and withdrawn complaints have no impact.
How complaints affect your Compliance Score
The Compliance Score is one of five components of your overall Partner Score, weighted at 15%. It starts at a base of 100 and is reduced by penalty points from upheld complaints in the last 12 months. Multiple upheld complaints stack their deductions, with a floor of 0.
When a complaint is upheld, your Partner Score is recalculated immediately rather than waiting for the next monthly scoring cycle. This ensures your Compliance Score reflects the outcome right away.
Email notifications you will receive
You receive automated email notifications at key stages of the complaint process:
When it is sent | |
Response Needed | When Debitura accepts a complaint for review and your response is required |
Response Reminder | 3 days before your response deadline |
Complaint Resolved | When a final decision (upheld or declined) has been made |
Assigning complaints to team members
You can assign individual complaints to specific people in your organisation for internal routing. Assignment is available from the complaints list (inline dropdown) or from the complaint detail page. If all cases linked to a complaint are already assigned to the same collector, the complaint is automatically assigned to that person.
What to expect on the Complaints page
Your Complaints page displays four metric cards at the top:
Compliance Score - your current score out of 100
Complaints with impact - number of upheld complaints affecting your score
Response Rate - percentage of complaints you responded to on time
Open - number of complaints currently requiring action
Complaints are divided into Open (Awaiting Response, Response Received) and Solved (Upheld, Declined, Withdrawn) tabs. You can also filter by "Needs Response" to see only complaints awaiting your reply.