Use this FREE information to make a complaint about a product or service that fails to live up to it advertising! Remember that how you use and/or care for a product may affect your warranty rights. Always read and follow the product or service instructions carefully and SAVE ALL contracts, sales receipts, canceled checks, owner's manuals and warranty documents.

1. How to Complain
2. Making A Complaint - Sample Letter
3. Who to Contact
4. What to Say - Sample Letters
5. What to Do Next
6. Sources to help with complaints

Up 1. How to Complain

In some instances it will be best to contact the business that sold you the item or performed the service. In other cases, you may wish to go directly to the headquarters of the company or the manufacturer. Ask if they have a consumer affairs office and, if so, report the problem directly to them.

As calmly and concisely as possible, describe the problem and what action you would like taken.

Keep a record of your efforts to resolve the problem. When you write to the company, describe the problem, what you have done so far to resolve it and what solution you want. (see sample letter) For example, do you want your money back or the product repaired or exchanged?

Sample Complaint Letter

If you call, keep notes of whom you spoke with and what they said. Allow time for the person you contacted to resolve your problem. Keep notes of the date, what was agreed on, and the next steps to be taken.

Save copies of all letters to and from the company. Don't give up if you are not satisfied. There are third-party dispute resolution programs, trade associations, media programs, national consumer organizations, and legal assistance programs listed throughout this site that may be able to assist you.
(see resources below)

Up 2. Making A Complaint

Use this Sample Complaint Letter as a guide. If you use e-mail, make sure to send a copy of the e-mail to other relevant organizations.

Up 3. Who To Contact and How To Find Them

Address letters, faxes or e-mails to the company consumer affairs department or to the president if there is no consumer affairs office.

Call the company's toll free number. Look for it on any documents you have received from the company, in a directory of toll-free telephone numbers available at your public library, by calling toll-free directory assistance at 1-800-555-1212 or by referring to this list of Corporate Consumer Contacts.

Check the product label or warranty for the name and address of the manufacturer or parent company.

Because the name of the manufacturer or parent company is often different than the brand name, check the following books in the reference section of your local library for contact information:

• Standard & Poor's Register of Corporations; Directors and Executives
• Standard Directory of Advertisers;
• Trade Names Dictionary;
• Brands and Their Companies; and
• Dun & Bradstreet Directory.

Check the state agency (possibly the corporation commission or secretary of state's office) that provides addresses for companies incorporated in that state.

Up 4. What To Say

Include in a letter, fax, or email your name, address, home or work telephone numbers, and account number, if any.

Make your written or telephone complaint brief. Include the date and place you made the purchase, who performed the service, information about the product (such as the serial or model number, warranty terms), what went wrong, with whom you have tried to resolve the problem, and what you want done to correct the problem.

Sample Phone Script

Sample Complaint Letter

Be reasonable, not angry or threatening. Type your letter, if possible, or make sure that your handwriting is neat and easy to read.

Include copies, not originals, of all documents.

Up 5. What To Do Next

Send your complaint letter with a return receipt requested. This will cost more, but it will give you proof that the letter was received and will tell you who signed for it.

Keep a copy of your complaint letter, and all letters to and from the company.

If you believe you have given the company enough time to resolve the problem, file a complaint with your state or local consumer protection office, the Better Business Bureau, or the regulatory agency that has jurisdiction over the business, e.g., banking, insurance and utilities commissions.

State, County and City Consumer Protection Offices

Better Business Bureau

Regulatory Agencies

Their addresses can be found starting on pages 87, 91 and 99 respectively. Include information about what you have done so far to try to resolve your complaint. If you think a law has been broken, contact your local or state consumer protection agency right away.

Keep all copies

of your letter, fax or email, and all related documents. See the Sample Complaint Letter on page 34.

Up 6. Sources to help you with complaints

Media Programs

Local newspapers and radio stations often have Action Lines or Hotline services. Many try to resolve all of the consumer complaints they receive. Others handle only the most serious cases or those that occur most frequently. To find these services, check with your local newspapers, radio and television stations, or local library.

Call for Action, Inc.
5272 River Road, Suite 300 Bethesda, MD 20816
301-657-8260
Fax: 301-657-2914
www.callforaction.org

Call for Action, Inc. is an almost forty year old nonprofit network of consumer hotlines, which operates in conjunction with broadcast partners to educate and assist consumers and small businesses with consumer problems. Listed below are hotlines in major markets staffed with trained volunteers who offer advice and mediate complaints at no cost to consumers. Consumers in all other locations should use the following Network Hotline information:

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