Any unresolved violation of consumer law is adequate reason for an individual to file a consumer complaint. When a consumer has had their rights violated, they should first attempt to resolve the case "in house," so to speak, communicating with the company's customer service department to reach a possible agreement. After this has failed, other should be pursued, with a consumer complaint being one such step. To begin, the consumer should contact one of two organizations - the Federal Trade Commission or state/local consumer protection departments. Normally, individual complaints are best served by the latter, state/local consumer departments. The actual filing of the complaint can be completed online, at FTC.gov or the state's consumer protection website. After a complaint is filed, the case will be investigated and an attempt will be made for resolution. If mediation and arbitration are not successful, many individual cases will need to be taken to trial, where the district court will determine a solution.