Consumer protection

One of the purposes of the FTC is protecting consumers. While you should try to solve your problem easily first, you can report to the FTC fraud, identity theft and unfair business practices. Keep in mind that they do not handle individual consumer complaints.

The information you'll need to file a complaint include: your contact information, type of product or service you're reporting, information about that company, and details about the transaction.

The FTC accepts complaints about a wide-range of business and fraud topics, such as:

• ID theft
• Debt collection, credit report and financial matters
• Do Not Call registry violations
• Technology and internet privacy issues
• Telemarketing scams
• Immigration services
• Sweepstakes, lotteries and prizes
• Business opportunities and work-at-home scams
• Health and weight loss products
• Credit scams

Your credit card may provide some consumer protections such as purchase protection, travel insurance amd price protection. Some credit card companies also offer fraud liability protection and extended warranty protection. Most of these protections are free. Paid protections include services such as fraud liability protection. Each credit card company may offer their own protection package. You'll want to read the fine print in your credit card agreement to discover what protections may be available to you.

To file a claim, call your credit card company. Make sure to gather all related information such as receipts and where you made the purchase in question. You should try to solve the problem with the company you purchased from first. If you are not able to resolve your problem, share that information with your credit card company if they ask for it, such as when you contacted them and whom you spoke to. Your credit card company may not be able to help you with every issue and may deny some claims. Ultimately, you are the first line of defense in protecting yourself from fraud and bad purchases.

It is simple to post a negative review online. Many do it. But, did you know you could be accused of defamation? In most cases, freedom of speech laws protect you from posting negative reviews. As long as you are truthful in your review, you are likely okay. If you say false things about the company, they can try to sue you. If you have an issue with the company, try to contact them directly first. If you choose to write a negative review, be careful and truthful in what you write.

You can easily submit consumer complaints to the BBB. It also handles business-to-business complaints. It does not accept complaints that are in litigation. You can easily submit a complaint to the BBB online or by mail.

Information needed to submit a complaint to the BBB:

• Whether the business is US or Canadian based
• What your complaint involves (vehicle, mobile phone, cellular carrier, product or service, advertising, business policy, or charity)
• Whether you are an active or retired duty service member, civilian employee, military dependant
• Name of business and location
• Type of complaint (consumer or business)
• Your contact information
• Complaint type (Advertising, billing issues, product issues, or other)
• A description of the complaint (to be publicly posted)
• How you would like the matter resolved (billing adjustment, exchange, refund, or other)
• Information about the product (model numbers, purchase price, payment method, and more)
• Willingness to speak to the media if asked

You will usually receive a response within 30 days.