The delivery guy repeatedly brings the wrong washing machine.
The cellphone provider didn’t credit your account for your old phone.
The airline can’t find your luggage — even though the AirTag inside is pinging at the airport.
So many things can go wrong. But how can a consumer get a company to make it right?
Here’s a step-by-step checklist to winning your case.
Step 1: Keep your cool. Yes, it can be difficult, but you’ll need to tamp down your anger to successfully make it through steps 2 through 5. Remind yourself that the person on the phone or in the live online chat probably wasn’t the one who screwed things up.
Step 2: Gather the facts. Write out a simple narrative of what happened, keeping it concise and clear. Include a timeline, if you think that will help make it more understandable. Gather your receipts, photos and other documentation; scan these so they’re ready to attach to an online complaint.
Step 3: Complain directly to the company, starting with customer service. Explain your situation and your documentation, or attach the documentation if you’re sending an email. Be sure to include a proposed solution and a reasonable time period for the company to act. For example, in the washing machine example above, the complaint should outline how and when the business failed to bring the right appliance and when you want the correct machine delivered, with all fees waived to make up for the hassle.
“Go into it with a level head, and let them know what happened to you and offer a resolution,” says Steve Bernas, president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Chicago & Northern Illinois. “Continue to pursue the matter as much as possible — with professionalism.”
For more tips and a sample letter, visit https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/sample-customer-complaint-letter
Step 4: If the business fails to make it right (or fails to at least beg for forgiveness and more time), you may need some help. Here are some places to file complaints:
- Illinois attorney general’s office: The state’s top law office can help informally resolve consumer disputes and sometimes uses patterns of complaints to take legal actions. Here’s its complaint form: https://ccformsubmission.ilag.gov/
- Better Business Bureau of Chicago & Northern Illinois: The nonprofit organization can help mediate complaints, which is sometimes all that’s needed to nudge a business in the right direction. Here’s its online complaint form: https://www.bbb.org/file-a-complaint
The site also posts customer reviews. And if you’ve been the victim of a scam and just want to warn others, the BBB takes scam reports here: https://www.bbb.org/scamtracker/reportscam
“You’re warning others, and that’s what’s critical,” Bernas says.
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: If your problem is with a financial product or service, the CFPB can contact the business on your behalf. Here’s how it works: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/complaint/
- Federal Trade Commission: If you’ve been defrauded, the FTC wants to hear about it. The agency doesn’t typically take on individual cases, but patterns of complaints have led to enforcement actions.
“We use consumer complaints to help guide our law enforcement work and also to warn other consumers about emerging scams we’re seeing in the marketplace,” says Todd Kossow, the FTC’s Midwest regional director. Here’s its link: https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/#/.
- Illinois Commerce Commission: If your problem is with a utility, towing company or another industry regulated by the ICC, you can file a complaint at https://www.icc.illinois.gov/complaints/public-utility.
- Illinois Department of Insurance: Did an insurance company rip you off? Complain to state regulators online at https://idoi.illinois.gov/consumers/file-a-complaint.html.
- Illinois Department of Public Health: Complaints about quality of care at hospitals and other health care facilities can be filed here: https://dph.illinois.gov/topics-services/health-care-regulation/complaints.html.
Step 5: Consider filing a complaint in Cook County’s Pro Se Small Claims Court, where litigants can represent themselves in matters with monetary damages of $3,000 or less. If you win, you’ll still have to collect the money — but at least you’ll have a judge’s decision on your side. Details can be found at https://www.cookcountycourt.org/ABOUT-THE-COURT/Municipal-Department/First-Municipal-District-Chicago/Pro-Se-Small-Claims-Court.
Final step: After it’s over, vow to go more slowly next time. “You’ve got to do more research than ever before,” Bernas says.
Consider that the glowing reviews on some websites might be fake. Read through contracts before signing, including the terms and conditions you agree to online. And use a credit card whenever possible, so you’ll be able to dispute a charge if needed.
