One well-prepared complaint beats ten rushed ones.

1. The company itself — a written demand

Most disputes end here, and every later channel asks whether you tried. A short written demand — what happened, what you want, a reasonable response date — sent to the company's support or legal address creates the paper trail everything else builds on. Keep it factual and unemotional: dates, order numbers, what was promised, what was delivered.

Keep copies of everything — the demand, their replies, receipts, photos. If you use RecourseLink, your private Evidence Vault can hold these records under your control; nothing in it is shared without your consent.

2. Chargeback / bank dispute

If you paid by card and the charge was unauthorized, the goods never arrived, or what arrived was not what was described, your card network's dispute process may apply. Time limits exist and they vary by card network and bank — check your card agreement for the window that applies to you. We cannot calculate that deadline for you.

A chargeback reverses a specific payment; it does not award damages or fix a broader practice. Start from your bank or card issuer's own dispute page, and bring the same paper trail from step 1.

3. Your state attorney general

Every state attorney general has a consumer protection division. They mediate some individual complaints, and they watch complaint volume to decide what to investigate — your complaint counts even when it is not individually resolved. Some state AG offices get real results through informal mediation; others mainly log patterns for enforcement.

Find your state's consumer complaint portal through the National Association of Attorneys General directory. For issues with a judge rather than a company, RecourseLink maintains a separate official judicial accountability channel navigator covering all 51 jurisdictions, and a family-court complaints rights-and-limits guide.

4. Federal agencies — honest expectations

Each federal agency does one specific thing with your complaint:

• FTC ReportFraud feeds a law-enforcement database used to spot patterns and bring cases. It does not resolve individual complaints, and you should not expect a reply.
• The CFPB complaint system routes financial-product complaints to the company for a response. As of 2026, expect identity verification and a requirement to dispute directly with the company first; processing capacity has been substantially reduced, so a well-documented complaint matters more than ever.
• NHTSA for vehicle safety defects and FDA for food, drug, and device safety — these feed safety and enforcement decisions.

5. Small claims court

Small claims court is a real lawsuit with simplified rules, usually no lawyers required, and filing fees that are typically modest. Dollar limits vary by state — most fall somewhere in the low thousands to low tens of thousands. Your state court system's self-help portal explains the limit, the forms, and how service works; the National Center for State Courts links each state's system.

We cannot tell you whether your claim qualifies, what it is worth, or when a filing deadline runs — those are questions for your state's court resources or a licensed attorney.

6. Raising public awareness

Journalists find stories through their own channels, and the way to reach them is directly — RecourseLink has no submission path, does not pitch stories, and does not pass your information to reporters. If your experience is part of a bigger pattern, these outward routes exist:

• Individual outlets' own tips pages, which many newsrooms publish alongside Signal numbers for secure contact.
• Source of Sources, where reporters post requests for people with specific experiences.
• The Hush Line directory for anonymous, secure tip submission to participating organizations.
• The Signals Network for whistleblower-grade matters involving serious corporate wrongdoing.

One warning before going public: public statements about a company or person carry real defamation and retaliation risk, and complaints made to an official body are often treated differently by the law than the same words posted publicly. Consider talking to a licensed attorney first, especially if your matter is in litigation or involves a signed agreement with confidentiality terms.