To report a violation of consumer law, consumers can choose to file a complaint using a few methods, one of which is an online consumer complaint form. At the website for Federal Trade Commission (FTC) consumer protection, located at FTC.gov, consumer should first click to the page File a Complaint. When filing a complaint, consumers will need to provide information about the violation that occurred, but may not be required to list personal information.

At this point, the complaint will be placed and securely kept in the Consumer Sentinel, an online database containing nationwide/worldwide consumer complaints. According to the FTC, the entry into the consumer complaint form takes a mere 5 minutes to complete. From here, investigation of your case may proceed, including possible actions or judgments being taken against parties found guilty. However, due to the fact that the FTC handles nationwide complaints, not all complaints warrant FTC investigation and should therefore be reported to local or state attorney general's offices.