File a Complaint with the Massachusetts Attorney General

You can file a complaint with the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office online through the Consumer Advocacy and Response Division (CARD) at mass.gov, or by mailing a printed complaint form to One Ashburton Place, 18th Floor, Boston, MA 02108. Filing is free. The office does not take complaints over the phone, though you can call the Consumer Hotline at (617) 727-8400 to request a form or ask about the process.¹

What the AG’s Office Handles

The Consumer Advocacy and Response Division fields a wide range of complaints: defective products, car sales and financing, auto repossession, debt collection, mortgage servicing and loan modifications, home improvement contracts, business closures, utility billing disputes, and shutoffs of unregulated utilities. You can also report anti-competitive mergers, price-fixing, and other illegal business practices through the same office.²

Most of these complaints fall under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 93A, the state’s unfair-and-deceptive-practices statute.

One boundary worth knowing up front: the AG’s office is not your attorney. Staff cannot give you legal advice or guarantee that your individual dispute gets resolved. What the office can do is attempt mediation, refer you to local resources, and use your complaint as evidence in larger enforcement actions.²

What to Gather Before You File

Have your materials ready before you open the form. You’ll need:

Your full name, mailing address, phone number, and email.
The exact name of the business or individual, plus any address or contact information you have for them.
A factual description of what happened, with dates, the sequence of events, and how you were harmed.
Supporting documents: contracts, receipts, emails, texts, advertisements, repair orders, and photos.

Specifics help. If you’re still trying to track down a document, file anyway and note what’s missing.

Filing Online

The fastest route is the CARD online portal on mass.gov. The form walks you through each field and lets you upload supporting documents directly.²

Filing by Mail

Print the complaint form from the AG’s website, fill it out, and send it with copies (never originals) of your supporting documents to:

Office of the Attorney General
Consumer Advocacy & Response Division
One Ashburton Place, 18th Floor
Boston, MA 02108²

Keep a copy of everything you send.

What Happens After You File

The AG’s Public Inquiry and Assistance Center reviews the complaint and decides the next step. In many cases, the office offers free, voluntary mediation: a trained mediator facilitates a conversation between you and the business and tries to reach an agreement without litigation.³

Depending on the type of dispute, the office may refer you instead to a Local Consumer Program or a Face-to-Face Mediation Program. Face-to-Face programs handle a broader range of matters, including landlord-tenant disputes.³

Even if your complaint isn’t individually mediated, it still counts. The office uses complaint data to spot patterns that can lead to larger enforcement actions. Expect it to take about a month for your complaint to appear in the AG’s public complaint database.²

If You Want to Sue: The 30-Day Demand Letter

Filing with the AG is not the same as filing a lawsuit, and if the complaint process doesn’t fix your problem, Massachusetts law adds a step before you can sue under Chapter 93A. You must send the business a written demand letter at least 30 days before filing suit.⁴

The letter must identify you as the claimant, describe the unfair or deceptive practice, and explain the injury you suffered. Skip this step and a court can dismiss your case.

The 30-day window has strategic weight, too. If the business makes a reasonable written settlement offer during that period and you reject it, that offer can cap your recovery at trial. If the business ignores the demand or responds in bad faith, that refusal can support enhanced damages later.⁴

The demand letter requirement does not apply if you’re filing a counterclaim or cross-claim, or if the business has no office or assets in Massachusetts.⁴

When a Federal Agency Is the Right Address

Some problems belong outside the state AG’s office. If your dispute involves a financial product such as a credit card, mortgage, student loan, auto loan, or credit report, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau accepts complaints and forwards them to the company for a response.⁵

For fraud or deceptive practices that cross state lines or reach consumers nationwide, the Federal Trade Commission collects reports that feed into enforcement cases against large-scale scams.⁶

Nothing stops you from filing with both. A state complaint contributes to Massachusetts enforcement patterns; a federal report contributes to national data. When a problem touches both jurisdictions, filing in both places is often the sensible move.

1
Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Get Consumer Support
2
Commonwealth of Massachusetts. File a Consumer Complaint
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OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL. Consumer Complaints and Mediation Services
4
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 93A, Section 9
5
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Consumer Complaint Database
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Federal Trade Commission. A Brief Overview of the Federal Trade Commission’s Investigative, Law Enforcement, and Rulemaking Authority