The Illinois consumer complaint form is a free filing with the Illinois Attorney General’s Consumer Fraud Bureau that reports a business for cheating, misleading, or failing to deliver on a purchase or service. You can submit it online at forms.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov, print a paper copy and mail it in, or call a regional hotline for help. Once filed, the office contacts the business on your behalf, works to mediate a resolution, and tracks patterns that can lead to enforcement under the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.
When to Use the Form
The Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act (815 ILCS 505) prohibits deception, false promises, and the concealment of important facts in any Illinois sale or service transaction. A business can violate the Act even if no individual consumer was actually harmed.
The Consumer Fraud Bureau handles complaints across retail purchases, auto sales and repairs, home remodeling, financial products, health club memberships, and health care billing disputes. Complaints about charitable organizations, franchises, and certain workplace rights go through separate intake channels at the same office.
The process is built for disputes between a consumer and a business. Purely private transactions, like a sale between friends or a disagreement with a neighbor, fall outside what the office will step into.
What to Gather Before You File
Having your information organized before you open the form prevents the kind of incomplete submission that slows everything down. Pull together:
- The business’s full legal name, street address, phone number, and the specific branch or location where the transaction happened.
- Your own mailing address, phone number, and email.
- Transaction records: signed contracts, dated receipts, invoices, canceled checks, or credit card statements showing what you paid and when.
- Copies of any emails, letters, or texts between you and the business about the dispute.
- Exact dollar amounts: the purchase price, any fees, and the value of the resolution you want.
- Key dates: when you bought the product or service, when the problem appeared, and when you first complained to the business.
The narrative section asks for a factual summary. Stick to dates, amounts, and what the business said or did. A clear, chronological account gets taken more seriously than an emotional one. State exactly what outcome you want, whether that’s a full refund, a contract cancellation, or a repair, so the mediator knows what to push for.
How to File Online
The Attorney General’s office treats online submission as the preferred method for consumer fraud complaints. Go to forms.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov and select the consumer complaint form. The system walks you through screens for your personal information, the business details, and a written description of the problem.
You cannot submit until every mandatory field is filled in. Supporting documents upload directly through the portal: scanned receipts, contracts, photos of a defective product, screenshots of misleading ads. When you reach the final confirmation screen, the system generates a reference number. Save it. You’ll need that number if you call to check on your complaint later.
How to File by Mail or Phone
Printable versions of the form are available at illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/file-a-complaint/consumer/ in English, Spanish, and Polish, with a large-print English version also offered.
Fill out the printed form completely and include photocopies of your supporting documents. Keep the originals. The office scans incoming paperwork and may not return attachments. Don’t staple or bind the pages. The mailing address is printed on the downloadable form itself; if you can’t find it, call one of the hotlines below to confirm.
The Consumer Fraud Bureau’s phone lines are:
- Chicago: 1-800-386-5438
- Springfield: 1-800-243-0618
- Carbondale: 1-800-243-0607
- Spanish-language line: 1-866-310-8398
Callers who are deaf or hard of hearing can use the 7-1-1 relay system to reach the office.
What Happens After You File
The Consumer Fraud Bureau first screens your complaint to confirm it falls under the Consumer Fraud Act, which generally takes two to four weeks. If it qualifies, the office sends a formal letter to the business explaining the allegation and asking for a written response, typically within twenty days.
From there, the office acts as a neutral go-between. The business’s response comes back to you for review. If you disagree with what the business says, you can submit a rebuttal, and that back-and-forth continues until the two sides reach an agreement or the office decides it has done what it can. Common resolutions include refunds, product repairs, contract cancellations, and credit adjustments.
When mediation on your individual complaint doesn’t produce results but the office sees a pattern of similar complaints against the same business, it can escalate to a formal enforcement action seeking an injunction, restitution, and civil penalties. Your individual filing contributes to that record even if your own case gets resolved through mediation.
What the Attorney General Cannot Do
The office is not your private lawyer. It cannot represent you in court, give you personal legal advice, or force a business to pay you. What it can do is advocate on your behalf, investigate the company, and apply the weight of a state agency to press for a fair result.
Other Options if Mediation Doesn’t Work
Under Section 10a of the Consumer Fraud Act, any person who suffers actual financial harm from a violation can file a private lawsuit against the business. A court can award actual economic damages and, at its discretion, reasonable attorney’s fees and costs to the winning party. You have three years from the date the cause of action arose to file. If you do sue, you’re required to mail a copy of your initial complaint to the Attorney General, and again when any judgment or order is entered.
If your complaint involves a financial product like a credit card, mortgage, student loan, debt collection matter, credit reporting error, or vehicle financing, you can also file with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau at consumerfinance.gov/complaint. The CFPB forwards complaints to the company and requires a response, giving you a second channel of pressure.
For physically dangerous products, whether a malfunctioning appliance, a children’s toy with a safety defect, or any consumer product that caused injury, report the issue to the Consumer Product Safety Commission through SaferProducts.gov. Reports there can lead to recalls and safety regulations. Neither federal filing replaces the Illinois complaint, but combining them covers more ground when a business is both deceptive and selling something hazardous.