3. USE YOUR POWERFUL FRIENDS
Now that you've sent a letter to the Better Business Bureau, your State Attorney General's Office, and your local legislator, we'll tell you what those offices actually do.
The Better Business Bureau
Better Business Bureaus are private non-profit organizations that, among other things, provide reports on businesses that will be helpful to you before making a purchase. If you listened to our advice, then you've already been using this service before making purchases. A BBB also helps resolve consumers' disputes with businesses through dispute resolution. Once you file a complaint, it is forwarded to the business. Because most businesses care about satisfying their customers (and not pissing off the BBB), complaints generally are resolved and the matter is closed. If a Bureau is unable to obtain any cooperation from the company, this will be noted in the business's record and it will be reported to anyone who asks about the company.
Your State Attorney General's Office
Your State Attorney General probably has a Consumer Protection Bureau to handle complaints exactly like yours. Although the procedure varies from state to state, the State AGs are responsible for regulating businesses, so they have to address consumer complaints. You should receive a confirmation letter from the AG's Office within three weeks after sending your letter. Your complaint may be referred to another agency that is better equipped to deal with your particular complaint, but either way you should hear from someone within three weeks. If you haven't heard anything, don't get all excited, just give the office a call and make sure they got your letter.
Your local legislator
Aside from their obvious responsibilities of proposing and voting on legislation, legislators also do a lot of consumer advocacy. A state senator can't really pressure a company to give you your money back, but a legislator can lean on an administrative agency, like the AG's Office, to resolve your complaint quickly. Most agencies are staffed by bureaucrats, some of whom who would just as soon smoke your complaint as resolve it. Luckily, those bureaucrats depend on the money allocated to them by your legislators, and since your legislator depends on your vote to stay in office, you can exert some indirect pressure to make sure your complaint is given special treatment.
