Should you submit complaints to the FTC, attorney general, BBB? If so, which gets the most effective results? (I too am a victim of AFNI, they are reporting that I have a dish network account).
You can... Depending on the company, you may get results. The FTC does not operate on a per-complaint basis (i.e. UNLESS they already have an open investigation against the company, or an open settlement with the company, you will probably not get a response.) The BBB operates on a per-complaint basis, but the only punishment would be another red mark on their BBB report. The state AGs office may act on a per-complaint basis, or not, but if the do, they can use legal action on the behalf of consumers.
Just one data point Today, I just got a copy of a letter from our state's Attorney General's office in response to a complaint I filed almost two months ago. In my case, the AG's office sent my complaint to the collection agency who, very promptly, replied with all the information that I'd been requesting for the past several months. So, sometimes it just takes the right letterhead to get things moving.
It is largely unnecessary to submit administrative complaints so long as you have made some good faith effort to resolve the matter directly with the entity before you file a civil action against it. With that said, even that is not necessary unless somewhere codified however, it does give the appearance that you were attempting to correct the damage caused to some extent before involving the court. The latter without any type of communication to the offending party gives the implication that the now Plaintiff may only be looking for monetary redress.
The reasons for filing complaints are several: 1) If a company is systematically engaging in illegal practices, only by consumers filing complaints will that pattern become visible to regulatory agencies (FTC, state AGs, state licensing boards) with the responsibility and legal authority to take broader actions than consumer suits to stop it. This is a long term public benefit. 2) Reporting of illegal actions to BBB may or may not resolve your specific case, but it will give some visibility to other consumers of the scope of their activities, which may affect their own decisions on how to handle their own disputes. The quantity of BBB complaints may also affect decisions by FTC or state AGs. 3) You may want to have filed FTC or state AG complaints even if you expect that you may need to sue anyway, since any investigation inquiries received from those sources as you proceed to court may pre-dispose your opponent to want to settle quickly.
