North Carolina Consumers Council

Resolving Consumer Complaints

Since a consumer is anyone who uses a product or service, we're all consumers!

Consumers are always buying and using things, whether tangible items or services. In a perfect world, the buck would stop there. We don't live in a perfect world, however, and there will always be disagreements between companies and consumers regarding products and services.

First Step : Research

Most importantly, a consumer should research a company before making purchases, especially large purchases. Sometimes a quick search on Google can uncover hundreds of complaints. Other times, a quick search can reveal nothing but good things about a company.

It's not a foolproof method of protecting yourself, but it's a great start. If you uncover hundreds or thousands of complaints about a company, you should probably consider steering clear of that company. Often, it's better to pay a little more money with one company than to go through the hassle of buying with a company that hundreds of complaints.

The Research Didn't Do Any Good or You Skipped That Step

But what happens if you either skip that important step or if everything seemed alright prior to dealing with the company?

Try working things out. Remember what mom told you to do. You should always remain calm, keep a level head and be polite. Customer service personnel are highly trained to deal with irate consumers. And let's face it. Most people will tune out someone who is raising his or her voice and acting crazy. Often, calmly explaining the situation is all that is needed to resolve the issue in your favor.

Credit Card Disputes May Help

Purchasing with a credit card offers consumers significant protections should they encounter an issue. If trying to work things out with the company gets you nowhere, consider disputing your charge with your credit card company. Be prepared to offer receipts, copies of phone records, copies of emails and any letters you've sent to or received from the company or person in question. You might need them later in order to support your claim. You do not need these items in order to initiate the dispute.

Do note, however, that there are often restrictions on the amount of time that can pass before you are no longer able to dispute the charge, often ninety (90) days. In these cases, contact your credit card company anyway. They can often dispute a charge further back than their policy allows, but you may have to go through additional hoops, such as sending a signed and certified letter to a division inside the credit card company. This situation may arise if a company has been working with you on an issue, such as a defective product, but keeps sending defective replacements.

The Consumer Protection Division

In many instances, consumers should seriously consider filing a complaint with the Consumer Protection Division of the North Carolina Attorney General's Office. Their staff will work to help you resolve the matter and will take legal action against the other party if there is a violation of law. This option is very helpful when dealing with scams or deceptive advertising. There is no charge for using this resource.

Better Business Bureau Isn't All That and a Bag of Chips

We have a separate article regarding the Better Business Bureau, which many consumers assume is the place to go for all of their consumer complaints. But remember that Better BUSINESS Bureau is a private organization consisting of business members that pay membership fees. It is not a government agency and is mostly worthless for resolving consumer complaints.

Generally, we do not consider the Better Business Bureau (BBB) to be a viable resource for resolving complaints as they are unable to compel a person or company to do anything. They merely write to the company, ask for a response and then forward the response to you. If the company responds, the BBB is pretty much satisfied. If the company doesn't respond, the BBB tells you that the company hasn't responded and doesn't do anything else.

For all that the BBB can't do, they do offer a sizeable listing of companies that you can use to gauge a company. Again, take it with a grain of salt. Sometimes you can see that a company has an "A" rating, but that doesn't mean the company is trustworthy. It simply means that the company has responded to the BBB about complaints, not necessarily that the complaints were resolved to the consumer's satisfaction. Compare it to taking a test in school and getting a perfect score just for turning it in, even if none of your answers or "responses" are correct.

NCCC is NOT a member of the Better Business Bureau.

Do Not Call List Violations

We have published a separate article regarding violations of the Do Not Call Registry. These violations are handled primarily through the Federal Trade Commission. Some of them can be handled through the Consumer Protection Division.

Most telemarketers may not call you if your number has been registered for thirty-one days.

NCCC Can Help

While NCCC cannot compel a company to resolve a complaint, we still want to hear your complaints.

Why? We want to put you on the right track to getting your complaints resolved. We'll let you know about the successes other consumers have had with particular issues and send you to the appropriate location if you are unable to resolve the complaint on your own. We do not charge ANYONE for our help.

Unlike other organizations that blindly listen to complaints, we take actions wherever we can. To date, automobiles remain our most popular complaint category. And we listen! NCCC has petitioned for and won a number of high profile recalls for automobiles, and it all stemmed from complaints from consumers like you. While the federal government and the car manufacturers dragged their feet, we put pressure on them to do the right thing.

Please send us detailed, complete copies (no omissions) of your complaints so that we can have them on file. We will reply to you shortly. We are unable to take complaints via telephone.