How to File a Complaint on a Cell Phone Company
- 1). Try to solve the issue by contacting your cell phone carrier. This can be done by going to its website, calling the customer service number or writing a letter (the web address, customer service phone number and mailing address can be found on your bill). Explain your complaint and see whether the carrier will rectify it.
- 2). If you can't work out the issue with your carrier, you still have other options. If you want to report them to the government, you can file complaints with the Federal Communications Commission or Federal Trade Commission. The FCC will send your complaint to your carrier with instructions to respond to both you and the FCC within 30 days. The FTC will record your complaint and use it as evidence to investigate a company if it is suspected of criminal practices. Note: The FCC does not handle contractual disputes, and the FTC does not resolve the complaints of individual consumers.
- 3). For issues involving billing or your contract, or about consumer fraud, contact the attorney general's office in your state. The office in some states mediates between the consumer and the company, and if there is a widespread issue involving a company, the attorney general's office may sue the carrier to force it to change its business practices and pay refunds to consumers.
- 4). You can also contact the Better Business Bureau. The BBB encourages consumers to first deal with the company directly, or use government agencies if the situation calls for it, but will accept complaints whether you've done this or not. The BBB will send the complaint to the company within two business days, asking it to respond withinm 14 days. The BBB may offer arbitration or mediation to help resolve the situation. More than 70 percent of complaints it receives get resolved.
