Free Complaint Letter to a BBB or Attorney General

This letter is used to make a written complaint regarding a product or service to the Better Business Bureau or an Attorney General's Office.

Use the Complaint Letter to a BBB or Attorney General document if:

You want to resolve a problem regarding a product or service with a company.

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Better Business Bureau Information Complaint Letter to a Better Business Bureau or Attorney General Contact Information Difference between BBB and Attorney General's Office Information on Attorney General's Offices Keeping Track of Correspondence Refund Policies Signing Instructions What Information to Include in a Complaint Better Business Bureau Information There are currently about 180 Better Business Bureaus (BBB's) in the United States. These BBB's are nonprofit organizations sponsored by private local businesses. They offer a variety of information on products or services, reliability reports, background information on local businesses and organizations, and records of a company's complaint-handling performance. Each BBB has its own policies regarding whether or not it will disclose the nature of a complaint against a business. However, all BBB's will disclose whether a complaint has been registered against the business in which you are interested. What the BBB Can Do for You Many of the BBB's will accept written complaints and will contact a business on your behalf. However, BBB's do not judge or rate individual products or brands, handle complaints concerning the prices of goods or services, or give legal advice. If there is a situation involving potential liability (that is, an injury), the BBB will refer the complaint to the appropriate state government consumer office. However, many BBB's do offer binding arbitration upon request. How to Locate the BBB Nearest You Additional information regarding Better Business Bureaus may be obtained from: Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc. 4200 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, VA 22203 Phone: 703-276-0100 or from the "Consumer's Resource Handbook," published by the Office of the Special Advisor to the President for Consumer Affairs, which is available free by writing: Handbook Consumer Information Center Pueblo, CO 81009 Your local public library or telephone directory may also have the address of the nearest Better Business Bureau. Or, you can visit the Better Business Bureau Web site at: http://www.bbb.org. Complaint Letter to a Better Business Bureau or Attorney General PLEASE NOTE: To complete your complaint letter, you will need to print and mail or fax the Complaint Letter to a Better Business Bureau or Attorney General you create. It is best to try to resolve consumer complaint issues with the company who sold you the service or product before writing the Attorney General's office or Better Business Bureau (BBB). The Complaint Letter to a Company in this program can help you write a letter to the company. If, after contacting the company and allowing them sufficient time to respond, you do not receive a satisfactory response, then you may want to write to the Attorney General's office or Better Business Bureau. Click here to find addresses for Attorney General's offices and Better Business Bureau offices. Contact Information The recipient of this letter may have questions about some of the information that you have provided or may require additional information. Therefore, you should include information about how you would like to be contacted. Difference between BBB and Attorney General's Office The question of whether to write to the Better Business Bureau (BBB) or the Attorney General's office depends on the questions involved and the nature of the complaint. If you have been injured by a product, have contacted a lawyer, or are interested in the legal ramifications of your rights, the Attorney General's office is a more appropriate choice. Click on Information on Attorney General's Offices for a list of Attorney General's Offices by state. If, however, you are interested in getting background information on a particular business' track record of handling complaints and want help contacting the business' representative, the Better Business Bureau is better suited to handle such a request. Explaining the nature of your complaint to the Better Business Bureau or the Attorney General's office will result in either one referring you to the proper agency. Another option is to first write a letter to the Better Business Bureau. If that avenue is ineffective, then write a letter to the Attorney General's office. Include copies of all correspondence with the business and the Better Business Bureau. Click on Better Business Bureau Information for help in locating the Better Business Bureau nearest you. Information on Attorney General's Offices State government consumer offices can be helpful because they are easy to contact and are familiar with the state's businesses and laws. State consumer offices are set up differently across the nation. Some states have separate departments of consumer affairs, while others have a consumer affairs office as part of the governor's office or attorney general's office. Using the Consumer's Resource Handbook Another good source for the addresses and telephone numbers of state consumer offices is the "Consumer's Resource Handbook" published by the Office of the Special Advisor to the President for Consumer Affairs, which is available free by writing: Handbook Consumer Information Center Pueblo, CO 81009 Contacting State Consumer Offices If your consumer problem relates to a business outside of the state in which you live, you should contact the consumer office in the state where you made the purchase. When you contact any state consumer office, you will need copies of the sales receipts and other sales documents as well as all correspondence that you have had with the company. Attorney General Offices Letters to the Attorney General (or other appropriate office) should be sent to the address listed below for your state. Alabama Office of Attorney General Consumer Assistance 11 South Union Montgomery, AL 36130 Alaska Department of Law Office of Attorney General Capitol Building P.O. Box 11300 Juneau, AK 99811 American Samoa Consumer Protection Bureau Office of Attorney General American Samoa Government P.O. Box 7 Pago Pago, AS 96799 Arizona Office of Attorney General Consumer Information and Complaints 1275 W. Washington St. Phoenix, AZ 85007 Arkansas Office of Attorney General Consumer Protection Division 200 Tower Building 323 Center Street Little Rock, AR 72201 California Office of Attorney General Public Inquiry Unit 1300 I St. Sacramento, CA 95814 Colorado Office of Attorney General Consumer Protection Unit 1525 Sherman St., 5th Floor Denver, CO 80203 Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection 165 Capitol Avenue Hartford, CT 06106 Delaware Department of Justice Consumer Protection Unit 820 North French Street 4th Floor Wilmington, DE 19801 District of Columbia Dept. of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs 614 H Street NW, Room 1120 Washington, DC 20001 Florida Office of Attorney General Consumer Protection Division State of Florida The Capitol, PL 01 Tallahassee, FL 32399 Georgia Office of Attorney General Consumer Affairs Division 40 Capitol Square SW Atlanta, GA 30334-1300 Guam Department of Law Office of Attorney General Suite 2-200 E. Guam Judicial Center 129 West O'Brien Drive Agana, GU 96910 Hawaii Office of Attorney General 425 Queen St. Honolulu, HI 96813 Idaho Office of Attorney General Consumer Protection Division 700 W. Jefferson Street P.O. Box 83720 Boise, ID 83720-1000 Illinois Office of Attorney General Consumer Protection Division 100 W. Randolph St. Chicago, IL 60601 Indiana Office of Attorney General Consumer Protection Division 5th Floor 402 West Washington Indianapolis, IN 46204-2770 Iowa Office of Attorney General Consumer Protection Division Hoover Building Des Moines, IA 50319 Kansas Office of Attorney General Consumer Protection Division Kansas Judicial Ctr., 2nd Floor Topeka, KS 66612 Kentucky Office of Attorney General Consumer Protection Division State Capitol #116 P.O. Box 2000 Frankfort, KY 40602-2000 Louisiana Office of Attorney General Consumer Protection Division P.O. Box 94095 Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9095 Maine Office of Attorney General Public Protection Unit State House Station 6 Augusta, ME 04333 Mariana Islands Office of Attorney General Commonwealth of the North Mariana Islands Saipan, MP 96950 Maryland Office of Attorney General Consumer Protection Division 200 St. Paul Place, 16th Floor Baltimore, MD 21202-2022 Massachusetts Office of Attorney General Consumer Complaint and Information Section One Ashburn Pl. Boston, MA 02108-1698 Michigan Office of Attorney General Consumer Protection Division P.O. Box 30213 525 West Ottawa St. Lansing, MI 48909-0212 Minnesota Office of Attorney General Consumer Mediation Services 1400 NCL Tower 445 Minnesota Street St. Paul, MN 55101 Mississippi Office of Attorney General Consumer Protection Division P.O. Box 22947 Jackson, MS 39225-2947 Missouri Office of Attorney General Consumer Protection Division P.O. Box 899 Jefferson City, MO 65102 Montana Department of Commerce Consumer Affairs Unit 1424 9th Ave. P.O. Box 200501 Helena, MT 59620-0501 Nebraska Office of Attorney General Consumer Protection Division 2115 State Capitol, P.O. Box 98920 Lincoln, NE 68509-8920 Nevada Office of Attorney General Consumer Affairs Division 4600 Kietzke Lane, B-113 Reno, NV 89502 New Hampshire Department of Justice Consumer Protection Bureau 33 Capitol Street Concord, NH 03301-6397 New Jersey Consumer Protection Office P.O. Box 45204 Newark, NJ 07101 New Mexico Office of Attorney General Consumer Protection Division P.O. Drawer 1508 Santa Fe, NM 87504 New York Office of Attorney General Bureau of Consumer Frauds and Protections State Capitol Albany, NY 12224 North Carolina Office of Attorney General Consumer Protection Section Department of Justice P.O. Box 629 Raleigh, NC 27602 North Dakota Office of Attorney General Consumer Protection Division 600 East Boulevard Bismark, ND 58505-0040 Ohio Office of Attorney General Consumer Protection Division State Office Tower 30 East Broad Street Columbus, OH 43266-0410 Oklahoma Office of Attorney General Consumer Affairs Division 2300 N. Lincoln Blvd. Oklahoma City, OK 73105-3498 Oregon Department of Justice Financial Fraud Division 1162 Court Street NE Salem, OR 97310 Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General Bureau of Consumer Protection Strawberry Sq., 14th Floor Harrisburg, PA 17120 Puerto Rico Consumer Affairs Office of Attorney General P.O. Box 41059 Minilla Station Santurce, PR 00940-1059 Rhode Island Office of Attorney General Consumer Protection Division 150 South Main Street Providence, RI 02903 South Carolina Office of Attorney General Department of Consumer Affairs 1101 Williams Street Columbia, SC 29211 South Dakota Office of Attorney General Division of Consumer Affairs State Capitol Building 500 East Capitol Pierre, SD 57501 Tennessee Office of Attorney General Consumer Protection Division 500 Charolette Ave. Nashville, TN 37243 Texas Office of Attorney General Consumer Protection Division P.O. Box 12548 Austin, TX 78711 Utah Office of Attorney General Consumer Rights Division 236 State Capitol Salt Lake City, UT 84114 Vermont Office of Attorney General Consumer Assistance 109 State Street Montpelier, VT 05609-1001 Virgin Islands Office of Attorney General Gers Complex, 2nd Floor 48B-50C Kronprindsensgade St. Thomas, VI 00802 Virginia Office of Attorney General Antitrust and Consumer Litigation Section 900 E. Main St. Richmond, VA 23219 Washington Office of Attorney General Consumer and Business Fair Practices Division 905 Plum St., Bldg. 3 P.O. Box 40118 Olympia, WA 98504-0118 West Virginia Office of Attorney General Consumer Protection Division 1900 Kanawha Blvd. E., Building 1 Charleston, WV 25305-0220 and/or West Virginia Legal Services Plan, Inc. 922 Quarrier Street Charleston, WV 25301 Wisconsin Department of Agriculture Trade and Consumer Protection Consumer Protection Bureau 2811 Agriculture Drive P.O. Box 8911 Madison, WI 53707 Wyoming Office of Attorney General Consumer Protection Division 123 State Capitol Bldg. Cheyenne, WY 82002 Keeping Track of Correspondence Do NOT send your original documents to the Attorney General or Better Business Bureau. Send COPIES of all the items that directly relate to your complaint. Retain the originals and extra copies for your records. Keep a written record of the people you speak with and what action was taken. Refund Policies If a product was misrepresented or defective, the seller or manufacturer has a legal obligation to refund the consumer's money. However, if the product was defective, the obligation to refund the money may be subject to an opportunity to replace or repair the defective product. Some businesses follow a cash refund policy regardless of the reason for returning the merchandise. Other businesses may have a return policy that all sales are final or may only offer credit for returned merchandise. Therefore, it is advisable to find out the store's return policy before making the purchase. Signing Instructions Sign the letter. Keep a copy of the letter for your own records. Photocopies, rather than original copies, of any sales receipts or other relevant documents should be included with the letter. You should keep a copy of all correspondence to and from the Better Business Bureau or Attorney General and maintain a written summary of all telephone conversations. Copies of any letters previously sent to the company in an attempt to resolve the problem should be enclosed with the letter to the Better Business Bureau or Attorney General. What Information to Include in a Complaint In the letter, you should include a detailed explanation of the product or service that is the subject of your complaint . The description of the product should include the serial or model number, the size, color, and any other distinguishing characteristics. If a service was purchased, provide an accurate description of the service you received, the name of the person who performed the service, and the date you received the service. When describing the problem, be specific and to the point. Merely stating that the product "did not work" does not provide sufficient information. A detailed summary of your complaint will assist the Attorney General or Better Business Bureau in resolving your problem.

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Free Complaint Letter to a BBB or Attorney General

401(k) Tax Benefits

Adoption Credit

Above-the-line Tax Deductions

Request to Repair Item Under Warranty

Request for Monthly Statements

Change of Address Letter

Better Business Bureau Information

Complaint Letter to a Better Business Bureau or Attorney General

Contact Information

Difference between BBB and Attorney General's Office

Information on Attorney General's Offices

Keeping Track of Correspondence

Refund Policies

Signing Instructions

What Information to Include in a Complaint