The complaint process sits inside the enforcement scheme described in Georgia consumer protection laws and the Fair Business Practices Act. This article covers the mechanics: which complaints the division takes, what to assemble first, the three submission channels, and what the office does with a complaint once it arrives.
What the Consumer Protection Division handles
The Consumer Protection Division enforces the Fair Business Practices Act, O.C.G.A. §§ 10-1-390 et seq., along with the Lemon Law and roughly two dozen other consumer statutes listed on the division’s statutes we enforce page. Enforcement is the operative word. The division represents the State of Georgia, not the person who filed the complaint. Four screening questions decide how far a complaint goes, and the division publishes them on its types of complaints we handle page: – **Is it a consumer transaction?** With few exceptions, the purchase, lease, or rental has to have been entered into for personal, family, or household purposes. Investment transactions and most business-to-business dealings fall outside the statutory definition. – **Does it affect the public good?** The office cannot address a dispute that reaches no further than the two parties involved. – **Is there a pattern?** The division looks for evidence that the company has kept engaging in unfair or deceptive acts affecting the public at large. Without that, the response may be nothing more than monitoring the company going forward. – **Does another agency have jurisdiction?** If a state or federal agency has specific authority over the allegations, the division must refer the complaint there. Four things the division states plainly that it will not do: give legal advice or act as your attorney, comment on a particular business’s reputation, take a complaint one business files against another (outside narrow circumstances), or handle a matter where another government agency has primary authority. Vehicle complaints are routed separately. A defect claim on a new car goes through the Georgia lemon law process on its own form, and the Georgia lemon law arbitration track has its own notice and repair-attempt sequence before a claim is heard. ## What to gather before filing The complaint is a written record, and the division works from documents rather than phone conversations. Assemble the contract or purchase agreement, receipts and proof of payment, warranty paperwork, advertisements or written promises the seller made, and copies of any letters or emails exchanged with the business while trying to resolve the problem. Two identifiers matter more than the rest: the business’s full legal name and street address, and the exact dates of the transaction and of each attempt to resolve it. A complaint naming a storefront that turns out to be a trade name for some other entity slows the review. ## How to submit the complaint Three channels are open, and the division describes each on its file a complaint page. The online form is the fastest route; the paper form suits filings with bulky attachments; the phone line handles questions and screening rather than the filing itself.
Confirm the complaint fits the division's jurisdiction
Run the transaction through the four screening questions on the types of complaints we handle page. A complaint about insurance, banking, professional licensing, or an environmental or health-program issue goes to the agency with primary authority instead, and filing it here only adds a referral step.
Complete the online form or the printed version
The online consumer complaint form walks through the parties, the transaction, and the resolution attempts in one session. The printed form covers the same ground and is available in English and Spanish.
Write the narrative in dates and amounts
The description of what happened carries the complaint. A chronology naming what was purchased, what was promised, what went wrong, and what each party said afterward gives the reviewer something to match against other complaints about the same company.
Attach copies, never originals
Documents sent to the division are not returned. Attach legible copies of the contract, receipts, warranty, and correspondence, and keep the originals.
Mail the paper form or submit online
Printed complaints go to the Consumer Protection Division at 40 Capitol Square SW, Atlanta, GA 30334. The consumer complaint line is (404) 651-8600, toll-free within Georgia at (800) 869-1123.
Georgia Consumer Complaint Form (English)
From Georgia Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division
URL verified July 2026 · 200 KB
O.C.G.A. § 15-10-2(a)(5), with no lawyer required. The division itself notes that it often refers people to magistrate court. A collections dispute has its own timing rules, see the Georgia statute of limitations for debt collection lawsuits for how long a creditor has to sue.
Fraud, scams, and deceptive practices that cross state lines can also be reported to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. The FTC does not resolve individual complaints either, but its reports feed a database that state and federal investigators use. Filing with both offices is common and neither filing forecloses the other.
Suing on your own under the Fair Business Practices Act
Filing a complaint with the Attorney General is separate from a private lawsuit. The FBPA gives a person injured by a violation the right to sue individually, not in a representative capacity, for injunctive relief and for general and exemplary damages, under O.C.G.A. § 10-1-399(a). Exemplary damages are limited to cases of intentional violation.
The statute imposes a step that catches unrepresented plaintiffs. At least 30 days before filing, a written demand for relief identifying the claimant and describing the unfair or deceptive act and the injury has to be delivered to the prospective defendant, under O.C.G.A. § 10-1-399(b). A defendant who makes a written settlement tender within 30 days of that demand can later file the tender and cap the recovery at the amount offered, if the court finds the offer was reasonable in relation to the injury. The demand requirement drops away when the prospective defendant keeps no place of business and no assets in Georgia.
Two more provisions shape FBPA suits. A court that finds a violation awards reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses of litigation to the injured person regardless of the amount in controversy, though fees incurred after rejecting a reasonable written settlement offer are denied. And the Attorney General has to be served by certified or registered mail or statutory overnight delivery with a copy of the initial complaint within 20 days of filing, under O.C.G.A. § 10-1-399(g).
Frequently asked questions
Does filing a complaint with the Georgia Attorney General get my money back?
Not directly. The Consumer Protection Division states on its process page that it does not act as a judge in the dispute and cannot force a business to reimburse a consumer or comply in any other way. Refunds sometimes follow when the division contacts a business, but the outcome is voluntary on the company’s part. A court judgment is the mechanism that compels payment.
How long does the Consumer Protection Division take to respond?
The office does not publish a fixed timeline. Its guidance is that responses come by letter or email, that thorough reviews take time given daily complaint volume, and that filers refrain from calling for status reports unless several months have passed.
Can I file a complaint anonymously?
No. The complaint form asks for the filer’s identity, and the submission becomes part of the division’s permanent public records under Georgia’s Open Records Act. The contents may also be shared with the business complained about or with a regulatory agency, which is why the division’s form instructions direct filers to omit account numbers and Social Security numbers.
Do I have to complain to the Attorney General before suing under the FBPA?
No. The statutory prerequisite is a written demand for relief delivered to the prospective defendant at least 30 days before filing, under O.C.G.A. § 10-1-399(b). An administrative complaint to the Consumer Protection Division is not a precondition, and filing one does not pause the two-year limitations period in O.C.G.A. § 10-1-401.
What if the business is out of state?
The division can take a complaint about a company doing business with Georgia consumers, and it coordinates with other states’ attorneys general on multistate conduct. For a private suit, the 30-day written demand requirement in O.C.G.A. § 10-1-399(b) does not apply when the prospective defendant maintains no place of business and keeps no assets in Georgia, per the text at O.C.G.A. § 10-1-399. Cross-border scams can also be reported at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
Is there a filing fee?
No. Submitting a consumer complaint to the Georgia Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division costs nothing, whether filed online, on the printed form, or discussed first by phone at (404) 651-8600. Court filing fees are separate and apply only if the dispute moves to magistrate or superior court.
Sources
- Georgia Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division: File a Complaint
- Consumer Complaint Form (online submission)
- Types of Complaints We Handle
- Our Process: What Happens When We Receive Your Complaint
- O.C.G.A. § 10-1-399, Civil actions for violations; remedies
- O.C.G.A. § 10-1-401, Limitation of actions
- FTC: ReportFraud.ftc.gov