How to File a Complaint Against a Dealership With the Attorney General’s Office

At CarEdge, we recently shared the steps you can take to challenge dealer add-ons, but what if it’s too late? When do misleading pricing, forced add-ons and financing games cross legal boundaries? Does the consumer have any recourse? Here’s what you need to know, and how you can file a complaint against a car dealer. 

When Can I File a Complaint Against a Dealership?

Did a dealer sneak fees or add-ons into the contract after you agreed upon the price? Were there two versions of the final paperwork, one with add-ons that you weren’t supposed to see? Did someone in the finance office tell you that you could only secure financing if you purchased a product? These are all justifiable reasons for filing a complaint. 

Where should you start? Before paperwork is signed, follow these steps to push back and demand transparency. If the car has already been bought and driven off the lot and the dealership management refuses to right their wrongs, filing a complaint with the state attorney general’s office will surely get their attention. 

Here’s how to contact your state’s attorney general to file a complaint against a car dealer in all 50 states, DC and Puerto Rico:

STATE	ATTORNEY GENERAL	LINK TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S OFFICE	LINK TO FILE CONSUMER COMPLAINTS
Alabama	Steve Marshall	https://www.alabamaag.gov/Divisions	https://www.alabamaag.gov/consumercomplaint
Alaska	Treg R. Taylor	https://law.alaska.gov/	https://law.alaska.gov/department/civil/consumer/cp_complaint.html
Arizona	Mark Brnovich	https://www.azag.gov/	https://www.azag.gov/complaints/consumer
Arkansas	Leslie Rutledge	https://arkansasag.gov/	https://arkansasag.gov/resources/contact-us/file-a-consumer-complaint/
California	Rob Bonta	https://www.oag.ca.gov/	https://www.oag.ca.gov/consumers
Colorado	Phil Weiser	https://coag.gov/	https://coag.gov/file-complaint/
Connecticut	William Tong	https://portal.ct.gov/ag	https://portal.ct.gov/DCP/Complaint-Center/Consumers—Complaint-Center
Delaware	Kathy Jennings	https://attorneygeneral.delaware.gov/	https://attorneygeneral.delaware.gov/fraud/cmu/complaint/
District Of Columbia	Karl A. Racine	https://oag.dc.gov/	https://oag.dc.gov/consumer-protection/submit-consumer-complaint
Florida	Ashley Moody	http://www.myfloridalegal.com/	http://www.myfloridalegal.com/pages.nsf/Main/E3EB45228E9229DD85257B05006E32EC
Georgia	Chris Carr	https://law.georgia.gov/	https://consumer.georgia.gov/resolve-your-dispute/how-do-i-file-complaint/consumer-complaint-form#no-back
Hawaii	Holly Shikada	https://ag.hawaii.gov/contact-us/	https://web2.dcca.hawaii.gov/ocpcomplaint/
Idaho	Lawrence G. Wasden	https://www.ag.idaho.gov/index.html	https://www.ag.idaho.gov/office-resources/online-forms/?form=File%20a%20Complaint&complaint=Consumer%20Complaint
Illinois	Kwame Raoul	https://illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/	https://illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/consumers/index.html
Indiana	Todd Rokita	https://www.in.gov/attorneygeneral/	https://www.in.gov/attorneygeneral/consumer-protection-division/
Iowa	Tom Miller	https://www.iowaattorneygeneral.gov/	https://www.iowaattorneygeneral.gov/for-consumers
Kansas	Derek Schmidt	https://www.ag.ks.gov/	https://www.ag.ks.gov/in-your-corner-kansas/home
Kentucky	Daniel Cameron	https://www.ag.ky.gov/Pages/default.aspx	https://www.ag.ky.gov/Resources/Consumer-Resources/Pages/default.aspx
Louisiana	Jeff Landry	http://www.ag.state.la.us/	http://www.ag.state.la.us/Resources
Maine	Arron Frey	https://www.maine.gov/ag/	https://www.maine.gov/ag/consumer/index.shtml
Maryland	Brian Frosh	https://www.marylandattorneygeneral.gov/	https://www.marylandattorneygeneral.gov/Pages/CPD/default.aspx
Massachusetts	Maura Healey	https://www.mass.gov/orgs/office-of-attorney-general-maura-healey	https://www.mass.gov/how-to/file-a-consumer-complaint
Michigan	Dana Nessel	https://www.michigan.gov/ag/	https://www.michigan.gov/ag/0,4534,7-359-82915_82919_86407—,00.html
Minnesota	Keith Ellison	https://www.ag.state.mn.us/	https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/Complaint.asp
Mississippi	Lynn Fitch	https://www.ago.state.ms.us/	https://www.ago.state.ms.us/divisions/consumer-protection/
Missouri	Eric Schmitt	https://ago.mo.gov/	https://ago.mo.gov/app/consumercomplaint
Montana	Austin Knudsen	https://dojmt.gov/our-attorney-general/	https://dojmt.gov/consumer/
Nebraska	Doug Peterson	https://ago.nebraska.gov/	https://protectthegoodlife.nebraska.gov/
Nevada	Aaron D. Ford	https://ag.nv.gov/	https://ag.nv.gov/Complaints/File_Complaint/
New Hampshire	John M. Formella	https://www.doj.nh.gov/	https://www.doj.nh.gov/consumer/index.htm
New Jersey	Matthew J. Platkin	https://www.njoag.gov/	https://www.njconsumeraffairs.gov/
New Mexico	Hector Balderas	https://www.nmag.gov/	https://www.nmag.gov/consumer-protection-1.aspx
New York	Letitia James	https://ag.ny.gov/	https://ag.ny.gov/consumer-frauds/resource-center
North Carolina	Josh Stein	https://ncdoj.gov/	https://ncdoj.gov/protecting-consumers/
North Dakota	Drew H. Wrigley	https://attorneygeneral.nd.gov/	https://attorneygeneral.nd.gov/consumer-resources
Ohio	Dave Yost	https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/	https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/
Oklahoma	John O’Connor	https://www.oag.ok.gov//	https://www.oag.ok.gov/consumer-protection
Oregon	Ellen F. Rosenblum	https://www.doj.state.or.us/	https://www.doj.state.or.us/consumer-protection/
Pennsylvania	Josh Shapiro	https://www.attorneygeneral.gov/	https://www.attorneygeneral.gov/public-protection-division/bureau-consumer-protection/
Puerto Rico	Fernando Figueroa Santiago	http://www.justicia.pr.gov/	http://www.justicia.pr.gov/secretarias-y-oficinas/oficina-de-ayuda-al-ciudadano/
Rhode Island	Peter F. Neronha	https://riag.ri.gov/	https://riag.ri.gov/consumerprotection
South Carolina	Alan Wilson	https://www.scag.gov/	https://www.scag.gov/inside-the-office/legal-services-division/consumer-protection-antitrust/
South Dakota	Jason R.Ravnsborg	https://atg.sd.gov/	https://consumer.sd.gov/
Tennessee	Herbert H. Slatery Iii	https://www.tn.gov/attorneygeneral.html	https://www.tn.gov/attorneygeneral/working-for-tennessee/protecting-consumers.html
Texas	Ken Paxton	https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/	https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/consumer-protection
Utah	Sean D. Reyes	https://attorneygeneral.utah.gov/	https://consumerprotection.utah.gov/consumers/
Vermont	Tj Donovan	https://ago.vermont.gov/	https://ago.vermont.gov/cap/consumer-complaint/
Virginia	Jason S. Miyares	https://www.oag.state.va.us/	https://www.oag.state.va.us/consumer-protection/
Washington	Bob Ferguson	https://www.atg.wa.gov/	https://www.atg.wa.gov/file-complaint
West Virginia	Patrick Morrisey	https://ago.wv.gov/Pages/default.aspx	https://ago.wv.gov/consumerprotection/Pages/default.aspx
Wisconsin	Josh Kaul	https://www.doj.state.wi.us/	https://www.doj.state.wi.us/dls/consumer-protection
Wyoming	Bridget Hill	https://ag.wyo.gov/	https://ag.wyo.gov/law-office-division/consumer-protection-and-antitrust-unit/consumer-complaints

Dealerships would rather not become the subject of legal action, so the mere mention of filing a complaint with the attorney general could be the motivation they need to make things right for you. If the state consumer protection agency receives too many complaints about a particular dealership or dealer group, the whole business can ultimately be at stake.

Keep your auto advocates at CarEdge in the loop if you’re thinking about filing a complaint. Don’t forget to leave a review of the dealership you worked with at CarEdge Car Dealer Reviews to let others know what you experienced.

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