Disputes & Complaints

Helpful Guides and Links:
Clark's Sample Letters
Collection 'Drop Dead' Letter
Talk: Customer Service forum
Resources & Contacts

Ways to Complain Effectively:

1) Document well get names of everyone you talk to, the conversation you had, the date and time of day.

2) Know where to complain (ex. the company or store). Know whom to complain to (ex. department/manager/CEO). You can get this information from the Secretary of State's office.

3) Write a letter to that person or party, stating the problem concisely. Be specific and state exactly what you want (ex. specific action). Keep a positive attitude and leave out emotions.

4) Ask for a response in a reasonable time and be sure to state how you can be reached.

5) Send the letter via certified mail with a register receipt.

34 items

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Spirit Airlines faces public wrath over dying Vietnam vet's case

The Internet and social media have changed the balance of power between individuals and companies that treat them badly. Spirit Airlines is a company that I routinely trash for their horrendous contempt of the customer that comes from the top down. Spirit is the kind of company you think I ...

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Top 4 Consumer Auto Complaints

What are the top issues that plague auto owners the most, and what can you do about them?

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Website aims to resolve consumer disputes

Taking your beef with a business to the web can be a good way to vent--but now there's a new website whose goal is to see that your complaints actually get resolved.

New website to resolve consumer complaints

Using the Internet to air consumer gripes is an effective tool, but one that's still in the early stages of chaos. Recently there was action taken against the student loan lender Sallie Mae**. When borrowers hit financial troubles and were unable to pay, Sallie Mae was granting temporary deferrments, but ...

Groubal takes your Internet gripes directly to companies

The Internet has made a huge difference in the way customers air their beefs with companies. Now comes word of a new free site that says they'll take your gripes right to a company. The thing with complaining on the Internet is that there's a certain backlash about it all ...

SOPA legislation a despicable example of our corrupt political system

There's been a big fuss over the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) recently. If you tried to go to Wikipedia on Jan. 18, you know that it was voluntarily blacked out. This is a very confusing issue for the public. Is it meaningful? I believe so. At the heart of ...

Best Buy article hits a nerve with disgruntled shoppers, employees

The Internet furor over a recent article about how Best Buy is slowly going out of business has important lessons for all small business owners. When Larry Downes wrote his article, he couldn't have anticipated that more than 2 million people would view it. Nor could he have known that ...

Honda learns a hard lesson about customer service

Amid all the ballyhoo about the class action lawsuit (and subsequent small claims court suit) against Honda, there's a simple story of a company that didn't take care of its customers and now has to face the repercussions. I used to own a 2003 Honda Civic hybrid and averaged 43 ...

Verizon backs down on $2 convenience charge

In yet another consumer victory thanks to the power of social media, Verizon has backed down from a junk fee on customers one day after it was first instated. On Dec. 29, at 11:35 AM ET, Verizon put out notification of new fee of $2 whenever a customer paid a ...

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau offers help with bank complaints

If a bank is mistreating you, you got a new place to turn. Despite the Republicans trying to defang it, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is now taking consumer complaints about credit card and mortgage abuses at the hands of the big banks. I am thrilled the CFPB exists. ...