Docket is Out

Welcome to the first quarter of the NAPPS year! Congratulations to the new Board members and newly appointed committee chairpersons. During this period, this committee screened 31 cases.

Of the complaints received:

4 have been Non-Payment Complaints with 1 closed and 3 pending.
4 have been Unethical Complaints with 1 closed and 3 pending.
23 have been Notices of Intent to File Complaint with 17 closed and 6 pending.

The Committee has issued zero (0) Pattern of Behavior Warning Letters during this period.

This quarter we have reviewed cases regarding missing affidavits, non-responsiveness, forged signatures, and unauthorized charges.

Please remember that we are all in the same industry and on the same side. Do not slander another member publicly or to their client during or outside of the complaint process. Also, do not copy this committee on your arguments back and forth outside of the complaint process. This behavior is not only unprofession but can bring ramifications during any Board decision.

We will be working on some Policy 5 revisions during the August Board Meeting. A summary of those changes will come via the Arbitration & Grievance Committee Blog following the meeting and again during the second NAPPS quarter Docket Sheet.

Those of you who did not attend the Annual Meeting did not receive the yearly report from this committee in which we provided some case summaries from which the membership could learn. Therefore, I have added them here as well.

Please remember that you can not hold an affidavit for payment – if you worked the case without payment then you must provide proof without payment.

When you receive instructions that are not clear, please reach out to the client to clarify instead of making assumptions.
If a customer or vendor is requesting additional work (more frequent status requests, requests for attempts to be made at a certain time, etc) please act professionally. We all have clients to answer to and the requests may not be coming directly from the client who hired you. Be a professional and finish the request or just simply let the client know that you can not serve their needs as they would like and suggest another server complete the job. Don't get upset with the client as they may not be the one demanding the high level of attention.
Please make sure all fees you wish to charge to your client are expressly authorized. This may be in the form of an email, text message, written agreement, etc. It is very difficult to prove a case where you believe you received authorization via telephone but the person at the client's office who would/should authorize fees claims no knowledge of the call.
When an answer is not submitted to this committee because the responding member chose to deal directly with the complaining member (which is permissible but we request this committee be copied on the correspondence so we can note the activity) you run the risk of this committee pursuing the matter to the Board of Directors. If you do not submit the reply as specified in the instruction letter and the complaining member does not notify this committee, then we have no way of knowing it was settled. The Board of Directors feels strongly about non-responsive members and will issue a revocation of that individual's membership.
We don't get many cases involving late fees, but when they come through the Panel Review Committee members have routinely awarded all late fees so be sure to communicate this to all parties and expect to pay them if you are paying late. The Board has elaborated on this with requirements that the terms of the late fees are provided on the invoice.
Communication is key. Many of the Unethical Complaint cases involve the lack of or poor communication between parties. Please be professional and courtious to each other and communicate your intentions. Ignoring another member is the worst behavior in these circumstances.
As a NAPPS member you individually promised to uphold and be responsible for your office personnel as well as your participation in this committee. If you ever receive a complaint from another member, please take it seriously. It is very frustrating to all involved when a member expresses the inconvinience of having to answer a complaint as a “waste of time.” If being professional and proving your case civily is a waste of your time, then your membership is also a waste of our time. When a member does not reply to this committee, the Board will revoke their membership. Please keep this in mind.
You may only file a complaint against the individual NAPPS member(s). The company they work for is not a member and the person sending you the work may not be the member. Make sure you check their listing(s) either on the website or in the most recent book to ensure you are filing against the correct people or your case will be dismissed. You may file against all members associated with a specific company on the same complaint.
Branch office or additional listings are allowed as long as the member is licensed appropriately in the areas in which they are advertising as having a location. The location can be a mailing location or a physical location.
There once was a NAPPS member who neglected to respond to a NAPPS Complaint. This behavior will result in a automatic revocation per Policy M. As the Policy also allows for a member to request reconsideration regarding revocation or suspension of membership, this member exercised that measure. After being notified that the request was granted, this member appeared at the next scheduled board meeting to provide their side of the story as well as their regret in not answering the complaint initially. This resulted in the Board removing the revocation and thanking the member for showing how important their membership is by taking the time and spending the money to appear in front of them in person. It is expressed to any member involved in a complaint that comes before the Board that they are welcome to attend to provide their side directly to the Board. Of course, all members are allowed to attend any Board meeting which is always published in the Upcoming Events section.

If you would like any material to be presented to the Board or discussed with the membership in the Arbitration & Grievance blog, feel free to reach out to me. We are here for the membership if you have any questions regarding procedure or validity of a complaint.

To view the current policy, please visit Inside NAPPS. To obtain any current grievance forms, please visit Members Only or email agc@napps.org