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Collection Partners: Respond to a Complaint

When a client files a complaint against your firm, you have 10 calendar days to review it and submit your response. This guide walks you through viewing the complaint, writing your response, uploading supporting evidence.

Goal

Submit a complete response to a complaint filed against you, including your written explanation and any supporting files, before the response deadline expires.

Steps

1. Open the Complaints page

From the partner portal, navigate to the Complaints page under the Performance menu.

At the top you will see four metric cards summarising your current complaint status: your Compliance Score, the number of complaints with scoring impact, your Response Rate, and the count of open complaints.

2. Find the complaint that needs a response

Select the Needs response tab to see the complaints waiting for your input, each with its response deadline. The Open tab shows all active complaints.

You can also use the Team member filter to find complaints assigned to a specific team member.

3. Open the complaint detail

Click on the complaint row to open its detail page. It shows the complaint category, the client who filed it, the filing date, the reference number, any related cases, the client's description of the issue, their desired outcome (if provided), and any documentation files the client uploaded, together with the current status and your response deadline.

4. Write your response

Click Write response on the complaint page. This opens the Respond to complaint dialog, which shows the response deadline and any note Debitura added for you when it accepted the complaint. Type your explanation in Your response (up to 10,000 characters). Use this space to explain your side of the situation.

5. Upload supporting evidence (optional)

In the same dialog, attach supporting documents under Documentation. File upload rules:

  • Maximum file size: 25 MB per file

  • Accepted file types: .pdf, .doc, .docx, .xls, .xlsx, .jpg, .jpeg, .png, .txt, .zip, .csv, .eml

  • You can upload files only while the complaint status is "Needs Response." Once you submit your response, the upload window closes.

  • To remove an uploaded file before submitting, click Remove next to the file.

6. Submit your response

Click Submit response to send your reply. The button disables after clicking to prevent duplicate submissions.

7. Assign the complaint to a team member (optional, any time)

You can assign a complaint to a specific team member for internal routing. There are two ways to do this:

  • From the list page: Select a team member in the complaint row.

  • From the detail page: Change the assigned team member on the complaint page.

If all cases linked to the complaint share the same assigned collector, the complaint is automatically assigned to that person. You can reassign at any time while the complaint is open.

Result

After you submit your response, the complaint page shows your response and any attached files as read-only and explains what happens next:

  1. Debitura reviews your response and may ask for more details.

  2. Debitura assesses the severity and evaluates whether the complaint should affect your quality score.

  3. Debitura shares the decision with both you and the client.

Important details

  • Response deadline: You have 10 calendar days from when Debitura accepts the complaint. A reminder email is sent 3 days before the deadline.

  • If you miss the deadline: Nothing happens automatically. The complaint stays open, and a late response is still accepted until Debitura resolves the complaint. Once the deadline has passed, Debitura can decide without your input, based on the information available.

  • Scoring impact: Upheld complaints are classified as Minor, Medium, or Severe (§08.1). Minor and Medium affect your Compliance Score only - no financial consequence. Severe complaints trigger the remedies under §08.2, which may include the Client closing affected cases without paying the Success Fee or Withdrawal Fee. Declined and withdrawn complaints do not affect your score. An upheld complaint determines your conduct under the SDCA - it is not a ruling on whether the debt is owed, whether a fee or invoice is valid, or what amount is due. A complaint that is really about a fee amount or debt validity is out of scope and will be declined. For full details, see How Complaints Work.

  • Allegations about contact methods: If a complaint alleges issues with how the debtor or client was contacted (calls from personal numbers, caller-ID issues, or alleged regulatory breaches), Debitura sends it to you for a formal response even when the complainant has not provided documentary proof - the relevant records (call logs, contact records) are held by you. Provide those records within your response window to address the allegation.

  • Contact-after-closure complaints: If the complaint claims you continued contacting the debtor or client after the client requested case closure, check the collection period end date on the case. A debtor payment automatically extends the collection period (by 12 months under SDCA §6), so a client's unilateral closure request made during an active or extended collection period is not contractually binding - your collection rights run through the extended end date. Include the payment event and the current collection period end date in your uploaded evidence.

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