{"id":198,"date":"2018-01-11T17:12:21","date_gmt":"2018-01-12T01:12:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.actionlife.com\/sopcommunitycare\/?p=198"},"modified":"2026-04-20T08:47:39","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T16:47:39","slug":"400-general-call-answering-guidelines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.actionlife.com\/sopcommunitycare\/2018\/01\/11\/400-general-call-answering-guidelines\/","title":{"rendered":"400: A\/R General Call Answering Guidelines"},"content":{"rendered":"<ol>\n<li>Only Speak to the Homeowner *** VERY IMPORTANT***\n<ul>\n<li>Written consent to speak to non-owner<\/li>\n<li>Deceased owner<\/li>\n<li>Payment info for non-owners<\/li>\n<li>Caller claims to be on title<\/li>\n<li>Caller is on title but has new name (married\/divorced, etc.)<\/li>\n<li>New homeowners<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Check Account Status &#8211; Legal ***VERY IMPORTANT***<\/li>\n<li>Check for Special Assessments ***VERY IMPORTANT***<\/li>\n<li>Requests to Waive Late Charges, Interest, and Other Fees<\/li>\n<li>Explanation of Account Balance\/Requests for Breakdown of Account Charges, etc.<\/li>\n<li>Questions about Misc Charges\/Fines and Fees<\/li>\n<li>Documenting Calls<\/li>\n<li>Communicating With Accounting<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Community Care is designed to provide homeowner\u2019s with up-to-date and accurate information about their account. Owners may also get their current account information on the Resident Portal website. (http:\/\/resident.actionlife.com)<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ff0000\" data-darkreader-inline-color=\"\"><strong><u>ONLY SPEAK TO THE HOMEOWNER<\/u><\/strong><\/span> &#8211; Before speaking to a caller regarding an account please verify that they are the <strong><u>homeowner<\/u><\/strong>. We can only speak to the owner(s) on the title of the property (our records will only reflect owners on the legal title). <span style=\"color: #ff0000\" data-darkreader-inline-color=\"\"><strong><u>This includes, but is not limited to, giving the caller the account balance or stating that the account is in legal status.<\/u><\/strong><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li>We can only release account information (balance, legal status, etc.) to a non-owner with the <span style=\"color: #ff0000\" data-darkreader-inline-color=\"\"><strong><u>written consent<\/u><\/strong><\/span> of the owner. If written permission is received it could appear in one of two places.\n<ul>\n<li>1. Under the unit tab for that individual owner and click on attachments.<\/li>\n<li><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2070 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/wp.actionlife.com\/sopcommunitycare\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/180\/2018\/01\/Attachments.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"188\" height=\"282\" \/><\/li>\n<li>2. Under the individuals address, go to unit &#8220;Notes&#8221; section<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #008000\" data-darkreader-inline-color=\"\"><span style=\"color: #000000\" data-darkreader-inline-color=\"\">If the owner is deceased, a copy of the <u>death certificate<\/u> should be sent to<\/span> <a href=\"mailto:EscrowClosings@actionlife.com\">EscrowClosings@actionlife.com<\/a> <span style=\"color: #000000\" data-darkreader-inline-color=\"\">as well as a <u>legal document<\/u> indicating who will be handling the account for the deceased (executor, attorney, etc) or a <u>legal document<\/u> showing the current owner. Provide mailing address for payment and ask them to write the property address in the memo line of the check so that there will not be an interruption in payment.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li>We may provide the <strong><u>mailing address for payments<\/u><\/strong> to non-owners and tell them the <strong><u>amount of the monthly payment<\/u><\/strong> (not the current balance). Do not provide the account number. Instruct them to write the property address in the memo line of the check.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ff0000\" data-darkreader-inline-color=\"\">If the caller claims to be on the title<\/span> but their name does not appear in our records (for example: Mary Smith calls and the account is under Bob Smith only), ask them to send a copy of the recorded deed so that we can update our records. If they are unwilling to send it or do not have it available, email <a href=\"mailto:EscrowClosings@actionlife.com\">EscrowClosings@actionlife.com<\/a> and ask them to check the title of the property and update SnapHOA Management.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\" data-darkreader-inline-color=\"\">If a caller is on title but states that they now have a new name (married\/divorced, etc.). We cannot change our records to reflect the new name unless the owner has the title updated (submitting a marriage\/divorce certificate is not adequate). Request that they send a copy of the updated title\u00a0 to escrowclosings@actionlife.com so that we can change our records.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ff0000\" data-darkreader-inline-color=\"\">If the caller is a <strong><u>new owner<\/u><\/strong> and the account is showing up under the previous owner\u2019s name,<\/span> let them know that our Escrow department <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">must<\/span> receive the closing packet from their escrow company before we are able to set up their new account.\n<ul>\n<li>Note: The new owner is responsible for the first full month after they close escrow. We always request that the new owner pre-pay 2 months&#8217; dues during escrow, so they will not receive late charges while the account is being set up.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong><u>CHECK ACCOUNT STATUS<\/u><\/strong> &#8211; After verifying that you are speaking to the homeowner, check the <strong>account status. <\/strong>There are 2 places\u00a0to check to see if account is in legal status\n<ol>\n<li>First, there is a big red banner that appears at the top of the Snap HOA Management as soon as you pull up the address stating the account is in Legal Status.<\/li>\n<li>The second you can see when you go to the accounting tab and look in the area of account information on the right hand side The legal box will be checked.<span style=\"color: #ff0000\" data-darkreader-inline-color=\"\"> If the account is in legal status, <strong><em><u>do not provide the caller with any information regarding the account including the account balance<\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/span>. Provide them with the name and number for the collection attorney listed on the associations profile (if there are several listed then you should verify with the appropriate collections rep.) All further communication regarding the account <em>must<\/em> be addressed <u>through the attorney<\/u>. Occasionally an account may be marked \u201cLegal,\u201d but the \u201cCollection status will contain the code,<span style=\"color: #ff0000\" data-darkreader-inline-color=\"\"> \u201cTA,\u201d (Transitioning Account, Enroute to Attorney)<\/span>. This means that file has not been sent to the attorney yet and the caller may be warm transferred to the appropriate Collections Rep here at Action (see screen shot below). If the account is in \u201cCollection\u201d see <a href=\"https:\/\/wp.actionlife.com\/sopcommunitycare\/2018\/01\/11\/406-collections\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">SOP406 Collections<\/a> for call handling information.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2742 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/wp.actionlife.com\/sopcommunitycare\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/180\/2018\/01\/2023-01-27-15_02_59-41588-Big-Sage-Ct-Management-App.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"808\" height=\"532\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp.actionlife.com\/sopcommunitycare\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/180\/2018\/01\/2023-01-27-15_02_59-41588-Big-Sage-Ct-Management-App.png 808w, https:\/\/wp.actionlife.com\/sopcommunitycare\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/180\/2018\/01\/2023-01-27-15_02_59-41588-Big-Sage-Ct-Management-App-300x198.png 300w, https:\/\/wp.actionlife.com\/sopcommunitycare\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/180\/2018\/01\/2023-01-27-15_02_59-41588-Big-Sage-Ct-Management-App-768x506.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 808px) 100vw, 808px\" \/>\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000\" data-darkreader-inline-color=\"\"><strong><u>CHECK ACCOUNT FOR SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS<\/u> <\/strong>&#8211; After verifying that you are speaking to the homeowner and checking the account status (and having determined they are not in \u201clegal\u201d status), check to see if there is a <u>Special Assessment<\/u> on the account (Go to the accounting tab and look on the right hand side for recurring charges. Because the accounting for Special Assessments can be very complex, please <u>DO NOT ATTEMPT TO ANSWER ACCOUNTING QUESTIONS FOR ACCOUNTS WITH SPECIAL ASSESSMENT<\/u>. Only general information questions should be answered by Community Care: More complicated questions should go to the Community Manager.<\/span>\n<ol>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ff0000\" data-darkreader-inline-color=\"\">Examples of general questions that can be answered by CC:<\/span>\n<ol>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ff0000\" data-darkreader-inline-color=\"\">\u201cWhere to I mail my Special Assessment payment?\u201d (Irvine Office)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ff0000\" data-darkreader-inline-color=\"\">\u201cWas my Special Assessment check received?\u201d (It gets applied to their ledger)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ff0000\" data-darkreader-inline-color=\"\">\u201cWas the check I sent applied to my Special Assessment balance?\u201d (Special assessments are added to their ledgers so you should be able to see that.)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ff0000\" data-darkreader-inline-color=\"\">\u201cWas the Late Charge I received for my regular assessment or for the Special Assessment?\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ff0000\" data-darkreader-inline-color=\"\">Examples of questions which should <strong><u>NOT<\/u><\/strong> be answered by Community Care (Give CM email\/Xfer to CM):<\/span>\n<ol>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ff0000\" data-darkreader-inline-color=\"\">What is the Special Assessment for?\u201d (It is usually listed on the notice they received so if they still have questions, the manager will need to assist.)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ff0000\" data-darkreader-inline-color=\"\">\u201cWhat are the payment options?\u201d (It is usually listed on the notice they received so if they still have questions, the manager will need to assist.)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ff0000\" data-darkreader-inline-color=\"\">\u201cWhat is the balance I still owe on my Special Assessment?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong><u>REQUESTS TO WAIVE LATE FEES, INTEREST CHARGES AND OTHER CHARGES WAIVED<\/u><\/strong> &#8211; Community Care is a resource for account \u201cinformation\u201d only. <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"><strong><em>We do not have authority to waive late charges or other fees.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/span>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Owners wishing to have late charges and\/or fees reversed off their account <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">must<\/span> email the Fee Waiver Request Form request to <a href=\"mailto:communitycare@actionlife.com\">communitycare@actionlife.com<\/a> . Please let them know to fully fill out the form and to include the amount they are requesting be waived along with the reason for their request so that it can be presented to the board for consideration during their next board meeting. Let them know that they will receive a response to their request in writing from the board after it has been reviewed. <\/strong><\/li>\n<li><b>If the manager determines that the charge was applied in error, they will contact our Accounts Receivable (A\/R)\u00a0Department. <\/b><\/li>\n<li><strong>If the manager determines the charge was not applied in error the manager will present the homeowner&#8217;s written request for waiver to the Board of Directors so they may consider their appeal at their next meeting (see SOP <a href=\"https:\/\/wp.actionlife.com\/sopcommunitycare\/2018\/01\/11\/404-late-charges-and-interest-charges\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">404 Late Charges and Interest Charges<\/a> and SOP <a href=\"https:\/\/wp.actionlife.com\/sopcommunitycare\/2018\/01\/11\/406-collections\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">406 Collections<\/a>).<\/strong> The homeowner will receive a written response from the Board after the meeting. <strong>Note: Occasionally a manager or General Manager has been authorized by the Board to waive some charges (for example, one LC per homeowner per year) HOWEVER, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">this should never be disclosed to the caller.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n<li>If the account is in Pre-Lien or Lien Status, the h\/o should carbon copy the Collections Rep. for that association on the written request for fee waiver so that the account can be flagged. Once the dispute\/appeal is received, the collection process is temporarily suspended until the board has had an opportunity to consider it.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong><u>EXPLANATION OF ACCOUNT BALANCE\/ REQUESTS FOR BREAKDOWN OF ACCOUNT CHARGES, ETC.\u00a0<\/u><\/strong>If a homeowner&#8217;s account is complex and Community Care is unable to explain charges, open an <span style=\"color: #ff0000\" data-darkreader-inline-color=\"\">Accounting Support Ticket<\/span> and ask that they contact the homeowner. If the homeowner wants an immediate answer, and an accounting ticket has already been opened BUT the situation remains unresolved after more than a week, you may warm transfer to a Cash Postings representatives, (See Knowledge Base for names of individuals), or Kevin Flessing. When you open the Accounting Support Ticket, document your request in the Notes section of the address. Make sure to include h\/o&#8217;s name, account number, address, and contact information in the accounting ticket. Additionally, it is helpful to attach a screen shot of the homeowner\u2019s account ledger. The Accounting Department will follow up with the homeowner. <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2079 size-full aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/wp.actionlife.com\/sopcommunitycare\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/180\/2018\/01\/Notes-Section.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"590\" height=\"372\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp.actionlife.com\/sopcommunitycare\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/180\/2018\/01\/Notes-Section.png 590w, https:\/\/wp.actionlife.com\/sopcommunitycare\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/180\/2018\/01\/Notes-Section-300x189.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 590px) 100vw, 590px\" \/><\/li>\n<li><strong><u>QUESTIONS ABOUT MISC CHARGES \/FINES AND FEES<\/u><\/strong> \u2013 If a homeowner has been charged a miscellaneous fee, or a fine, and they want to know what the charge is for, please do not open a support ticket and instead, refer the question to the Community Manager. Accounting is unable to assist.<\/li>\n<li><strong><u>DOCUMENTING CALLS<\/u><\/strong> &#8211; All conversations with a homeowner should be <strong>documented<\/strong> in the Homeowner\u2019s account in the Notes Section (Homeowner Account &#8211;&gt; Unit &#8211;&gt; Overview &#8211;&gt; Notes). Any support ticket opened regarding the account should also be recorded in the notes section.<\/li>\n<li><strong><u>COMMUNICATING WITH ACCOUNTING<\/u><\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Any complex accounting issues beyond normal inquiries will escalate to Accounting. (Cash Posting)<\/li>\n<li>Open a support ticket<\/li>\n<li><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2724 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/wp.actionlife.com\/sopcommunitycare\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/180\/2018\/01\/2023-01-27-09_21_45-Management-App.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"392\" height=\"227\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp.actionlife.com\/sopcommunitycare\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/180\/2018\/01\/2023-01-27-09_21_45-Management-App.png 392w, https:\/\/wp.actionlife.com\/sopcommunitycare\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/180\/2018\/01\/2023-01-27-09_21_45-Management-App-300x174.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 392px) 100vw, 392px\" \/><\/li>\n<li>Select Accounting Help<\/li>\n<li><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2725 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/wp.actionlife.com\/sopcommunitycare\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/180\/2018\/01\/2023-01-27-09_22_19-Help-Center-Jira-Service-Management.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1309\" height=\"486\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp.actionlife.com\/sopcommunitycare\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/180\/2018\/01\/2023-01-27-09_22_19-Help-Center-Jira-Service-Management.png 1309w, https:\/\/wp.actionlife.com\/sopcommunitycare\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/180\/2018\/01\/2023-01-27-09_22_19-Help-Center-Jira-Service-Management-300x111.png 300w, https:\/\/wp.actionlife.com\/sopcommunitycare\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/180\/2018\/01\/2023-01-27-09_22_19-Help-Center-Jira-Service-Management-1024x380.png 1024w, https:\/\/wp.actionlife.com\/sopcommunitycare\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/180\/2018\/01\/2023-01-27-09_22_19-Help-Center-Jira-Service-Management-768x285.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1309px) 100vw, 1309px\" \/><\/li>\n<li>\u00a0Document the accounting call or email in the Notes section of the h\/o after opening Accounting Support Ticket.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ff0000\" data-darkreader-inline-color=\"\">Include the account number, address, homeowners name, any attachments, and what the issue is in the ticket. If you are asking cash postings to reach out to the homeowner, please ensure you include the homeowner&#8217;s contact information as well. <\/span><u><span style=\"color: #ff0000\" data-darkreader-inline-color=\"\">Follow up should always be from Accounting, not Community Care, in case the homeowner has additional questions<\/span><\/u>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Only Speak to the Homeowner *** VERY IMPORTANT*** Written consent to speak to non-owner Deceased owner Payment info for non-owners Caller claims to be on title Caller is on title but has new name (married\/divorced, etc.) New homeowners Check Account Status &#8211; Legal ***VERY IMPORTANT*** Check for Special Assessments ***VERY IMPORTANT*** Requests to Waive Late [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-198","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-4-accounting"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.actionlife.com\/sopcommunitycare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.actionlife.com\/sopcommunitycare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.actionlife.com\/sopcommunitycare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.actionlife.com\/sopcommunitycare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.actionlife.com\/sopcommunitycare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=198"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wp.actionlife.com\/sopcommunitycare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.actionlife.com\/sopcommunitycare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.actionlife.com\/sopcommunitycare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.actionlife.com\/sopcommunitycare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}