Consumer Focus Groups and Usability Testing for Proposed Telephone Arbitration Survey

Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on the Service Delivery of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

2014_01_10_Attachment_D_Draft_Survey (3)

Consumer Focus Groups and Usability Testing for Proposed Telephone Arbitration Survey

OMB: 3170-0024

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Attachment D: Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative
Feedback on the Service Delivery of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau”
(OMB Control Number 3170-0024)

Proposed Script and Justification of Questions
This appendix provides a preliminary version of the proposed questionnaire to be used in two
rounds of usability testing following the proposed two rounds of focus group testing. Before
commencing usability testing, the CFPB expects to revise this questionnaire based on the
findings of the focus group testing and (for the last round of usability testing) the earlier round of
usability testing.
General Instructions, to be read to each respondent:
Hello, my name is NAME. I work for ICF International, which is assisting the Consumer
Financial Protection Bureau with an important study required by Congress under the Dodd-Frank
Act. The Bureau was created after the recent financial crisis to protect consumers who buy
consumer financial products and services. We are helping the Bureau gather information from
people around the country for an important Congressional report exploring how financial
companies interact with consumers.
Your household was randomly selected to participate in this survey. You may have received a
letter about the survey from the CFPB. The survey should take about 15-minutes.
The survey requires that we randomly select an adult from your household. Would you please
pass the phone to the person currently living in your household who is 18 or older and had the
most recent birthday? I don’t mean the youngest adult, but rather, whose birthday was the most
recent? This could be you.
[Once adult is identified and on phone] Hello, my name is NAME. I work for ICF International,
which is assisting the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau with an important Congressional
report exploring how financial companies interact with consumers. You may have received a
letter about the survey from the CFPB. Your household was randomly selected to participate in
this survey.
The survey should take about 15-minutes. Your participation in this survey is voluntary and
everything you say will be kept private except where required by law. Further, your personal
information will not be given to the CFPB. Only the overall results of the survey will be
published.
You do not have to answer any question you do not want to, and you can end the interview at
any time. If you don’t understand any question, just let me know. If you don’t know the answer
to any question, you can say that you don’t know.
This call may be monitored or recorded for quality assurance purposes. If you have any questions
about the survey, please call xxx-xxx-xxxx or visit [a designated CFPB web page].1

The web site, along with prenotification letters, will include the OMB disclaimer:

1. Do you have a credit card for your personal use that bills you monthly for purchases
you make with the card? Do not include debit cards, prepaid cards, or credit cards
used mostly for business purposes. [Yes, no, don’t know, refuse]
[This is a screening question. If the participant does not acknowledge having a credit card, he or
she is ineligible for survey participation.]
I’m going to ask you some questions about your credit card use. If you have more than
one credit card, please think only about the card that you use most often for your
personal use when answering the following questions.
2. In thinking about the credit card that you use most frequently for your personal use,
when you originally got this credit card, were you involved in the decision to sign up
for the card? [Yes, no, don’t know, refuse]
[If Q2 ≠ “Yes,” skip to Q6]
3. Do you remember if any specific features of this credit card made you want to sign up
for it? After each answer: Anything else? Interviewer will continue probing until no
other reasons are stated. [List answers, no, don’t know, refuse]
4. I am going to list eight different features of credit cards. For each of the items, please
tell me if the feature played into your decision to sign up for the card
(Options randomized)
a. Interest rate, including a promotional rate; [Yes, no, don’t know, refuse]
b. Customer service; [Yes, no, don’t know, refuse]
i. Rules for resolving disputes when customer service doesn’t work; [Yes,
no, don’t know, refuse]
c. Rewards; [Yes, no, don’t know, refuse]
d. Sponsorship by an organization, like a school; [Yes, no, don’t know, refuse]
e. Fees, including annual fees or promotional deals; [Yes, no, don’t know, refuse]
f. Convenience in applying; [Yes, no, don’t know, refuse]
g. General reputation of that brand. [Yes, no, don’t know, refuse]

The OMB Control Number for this survey is: 370-XXXX. We cannot conduct, and you are not required to respond,
to any request that does not provide a currently-valid OMB control number. At the conclusion of the survey, we will
ask for any additional comments you have about the survey, including how it might be improved.

5. You listed the following features as playing into your decision to sign up for the card.
[Operator lists each factor previously-identified by consumer in random order.]
For each of these factors, please tell me how important each was in your decision not
apply for this credit card. For each reason, I would like you to tell me whether it was:
“Extremely Important”; “Very Important”; “Moderately Important”; “Slightly
Important”; or “Not Very Important.”
[Operator lists each factor previously-identified by consumer.]

6. Did you consider any other credit cards before you decided to sign up? [Yes, no,
don’t know, refuse]
7. Still thinking about your most frequently-used credit card, what is the name of the
company or bank to which you make your monthly payment? Its name typically
appears on the back of your card if it’s a store or airline card. [Company name, don’t
know, refuse]
[Interviewer instruction: If the respondent answers “Visa” or “MasterCard”: Does the
card have any other company names on it?]
8. Still thinking about your most frequently used credit card, suppose you are sure that
your monthly credit card statement has an incorrect fee or charge. You have called
customer service, but the company says there is no error. As a last resort, you decide
you want to bring formal claims against your credit card company.
a. If you brought formal claims against your credit card company, who decides
whether you will receive money for your claims? [Yes, no, don’t know, refuse]
b. Can you be part of a class action against the company? [Yes, no, don’t know,
refuse]
9. Have you ever heard of arbitration as a means of resolving disputes? [Yes, no, don’t
know, refuse]
a. [If yes] Please list any important features of arbitration as a means of resolving
disputes.
[The consumers’ answers will be compared against a pre-determined list of commonly-accepted
features of binding arbitration, such as:




Juries are not available;
Discovery tends to be more limited;
Limited appeal rights;
3








Different costs than litigation;
Faster than litigation;
More convenient than litigation;
Private decision-maker;
Rules set by contract;
Results are binding.

This information will solely be used to put respondents’ other survey answers in context. In that
regard, the data is gathered to get a basic measure of consumers’ familiarity with the subject
matter of the survey. If a respondent is unable to list any of the commonly-accepted features of
binding arbitration listed above, his answers may be categorized differently than those of a
consumer that can identify commonly-accepted features of binding arbitration.]
b. Do you know if the results of an arbitration proceeding are binding? Could you be
stuck with a result that you disagree with?
c. Some credit card companies require their customers to use arbitration to resolve
any disputes between the customer and the company, but give consumers a right
to opt-out of this requirement. Has your credit card company ever given you an
opportunity to opt out of binding arbitration requirements? [Yes, no, don’t know,
refuse]
d. [If yes] What did the “opt out” mean? [Record answer, refuse]
e. Have you ever heard of class action litigation? [Yes, no, don’t know, refuse]
a. [If yes] Please list any important features of class action litigation. [Record
answer, refuse]
10. Again, suppose you are sure that your monthly credit card statement has an incorrect
fee or charge. You have called customer service, but the company says there is no
error. [In 50% of instances, Subquestion c will precede Subquestions a and b.]
a. How large, in dollars, would the error have to be for it to be worth it to you to sue
the company in court? [Record answer, don’t know, refuse]
b. What if the company set up a different way to sue them:




You would go to an independent private decision maker, rather than a court.
The company says that the process is simple enough that you can represent
yourself and would not have to hire a lawyer.
They similarly say that you don’t have to pay any court fees.

How large, in dollars, would the error have to be for it to be worth it to you to sue
the company under the new rules? [Record answer, don’t know, refuse]
4

c. How large, in dollars, would the error have to be for it to be worth it to you to sue
the company in small claims court? [Record answer, don’t know, refuse]
11.
a. Have you ever received a class action settlement notice, which said that you could
fill it out to receive money from a class action settlement? [Yes, no, don’t know,
refuse] [If Q11a ≠ “Yes,” skip to Q11d]
b. Did you complete it? [Yes, no, don’t know, refuse] [If Q11a ≠ “Yes,” skip to
Q11d]
c. What’s the smallest amount you’ve filled out a notice for? [Record answer, don’t
know, refuse]
d. How much money would you need to receive for it to be worth it to complete a
class action settlement notice form? [Record answer, don’t know, refuse]
12. Have you or your spouse ever been sued or sued someone? [Yes, no, don’t know,
refuse]
a. [If yes] Do you think the process was fair? [Yes, no, don’t know, refuse]
13. Have you or your spouse ever participated in a class action, for example by filing a
claim? [Yes, no, don’t know, refuse]
a. [If yes] Do you think the process was fair? [Yes, no, don’t know, refuse]
14. [If Q9 ≠ “No”] Have you or your spouse ever participated in a binding arbitration
proceeding? [Yes, no, don’t know, refuse]
a. [If yes] Do you think the process was fair? [Yes, no, don’t know, refuse]
[Questions 12-14 will not be used to draw conclusions about aggregate consumer satisfaction
regarding any dispute resolution proceedings. Rather, the CFPB anticipates that consumer
awareness and opinions regarding formal dispute resolution provisions will vary widely between
respondents that have participated in either type of proceeding, as compared that those that have
not. Questions 12 through 14 will help the CFPB control for any potential bias arising from past
experiences with particular types of dispute resolution.]
15. Interviewer record gender [If necessary, the interviewer may ask: Are you male or
female?]:
a. Male
b. Female
16. What was the highest grade or year in school that you completed? [Interviewer does
not read the choices]
5

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.
j.

Didn’t graduate from high school
Received GED (high school equivalency)
Graduated from high school
Technical/vocational schooling beyond high school
Attended some college (but no degree)
Associate’s degree (2-year college degree)
4-year college degree
Graduate or professional school beyond 4-year degree
DON’T KNOW
REFUSED

17. Are you Hispanic or Latino?
a. No, not Hispanic or Latino
b. Yes, Hispanic or Latino

18. What is your race? [IF NEEDED: You may choose more than one.] [Mark all that
apply]:
a. American Indian or Alaska Native
b. Asian
c. Black or African American
d. Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander
e. White

19. How old are you? [Interviewer stop reading response options when respondent
selects an answer]
a. 18 to 24 years old
b. 25 to 34 years old
c. 35 to 44 years old
d. 45 to 54 years old
e. 55 to 64 years old
f. 65 or older
20. Please stop me when I get to the category that includes your total household income
from all sources in (YEAR) before taxes.
a. Below $25,000;
b. $25,000 to $50,000;
c. $50,000 to $75,000;
d. $75,000 to $100,000;
e. Over $100,000;
f. Don’t know;
g. Refused.

File Type	application/pdf
Author	Chen, Kelvin (CFPB)
File Modified	2014-01-23
File Created	2014-01-23