Where do I report a fraudulent debt consolidation company?

Report fraudulent debt consolidation companies to multiple agencies in parallel: the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), your state attorney general, the Better Business Bureau (BBB), and the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) for online fraud. Each agency has different enforcement powers and produces different outcomes. The CFPB and FTC produce the fastest direct responses; state AGs handle local enforcement; the BBB creates public records but doesn't have enforcement authority.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

What it does: the CFPB is the primary federal regulator for consumer financial products, including debt-relief services and personal loans. Complaints are forwarded to the company, who must respond within 15 days. CFPB tracks complaints publicly (with personal information redacted) and uses them to identify enforcement targets.

How to file: consumerfinance.gov/complaint. Online form takes 15-30 minutes; you can also call 855-411-2372.

Information needed: company name, your contact information, description of the issue, copies of relevant documents (contracts, payment receipts, communications).

Typical outcome: the company responds within 15 days. Sometimes refunds are issued. CFPB often opens enforcement investigations against companies with high complaint volumes.

Public database: all complaints are searchable at consumerfinance.gov/data-research/consumer-complaints. Useful for verifying companies before signing.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

What it does: the FTC enforces federal consumer protection laws including the Telemarketing Sales Rule (16 CFR § 310), which prohibits debt-relief services from charging upfront fees. The FTC has brought numerous enforcement actions against fraudulent debt-relief firms with multi-million-dollar settlements.

How to file: reportfraud.ftc.gov. Online form takes 15 minutes; you can also call 877-FTC-HELP.

Information needed: similar to CFPB. Include any solicitation materials.

Typical outcome: the FTC compiles complaints into investigations. Individual borrowers don't typically receive direct responses, but enforcement actions can result in consumer refunds.

Your state attorney general's office.

What it does: state AGs enforce state consumer protection laws. Most states have specific debt-relief and consumer-fraud statutes. Local enforcement is often faster than federal action for smaller companies.

How to file: search "[your state] attorney general consumer complaint" for the online form. Most state AGs have web-based complaint forms.

Information needed: similar to federal complaints. State AGs sometimes ask for additional jurisdictional information.

Typical outcome: state AGs sometimes negotiate refunds directly with companies. Larger investigations can produce substantial state-level enforcement actions.

The Better Business Bureau (BBB).

What it does: the BBB doesn't have enforcement authority but creates public complaint records and a rating system. Filing a complaint forwards it to the company; many companies respond and resolve to protect their BBB rating.

How to file: bbb.org/file-a-complaint.

Typical outcome: BBB-accredited companies often respond and try to resolve to maintain their accreditation. Non-accredited companies may not respond. Public record of the complaint helps future consumers research the company.

The Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS).

What it does: NMLS administers licensing for personal loan lenders and other financial services companies. Complaints filed with state regulators through NMLS can result in license revocation for serious violations.

How to file: through your state's banking or financial regulator, which is the entity that holds the lender's NMLS license. Most state regulators have online complaint forms.

Typical outcome: license suspension or revocation in serious cases. Slower than CFPB or FTC complaints.

The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).

What it does: IC3 collects complaints about internet-related financial crimes. Useful for online scams that crossed state or national borders.

How to file: ic3.gov.

Typical outcome: IC3 aggregates complaints for FBI investigations. Individual responses are uncommon, but reports contribute to larger criminal cases.

Your local police department.

What it does: for in-person fraud, identity theft, or local scams, your local police department can investigate. Mostly useful for documenting the crime for insurance and credit-bureau purposes.

How to file: visit the precinct or use the department's online reporting form for non-emergency complaints.

Typical outcome: a police report number, useful for documenting identity theft to credit bureaus and disputing fraudulent charges.

The Identity Theft Resource Center.

What it does: if the fraud involved identity theft (your information used to open accounts, take loans, or commit other fraud), identitytheft.gov is the FTC's identity-theft resource. Walks you through reporting, freezing credit, and recovery.

Information to gather before reporting.

Company name, address, phone number, and website.

Contract or written agreement, if you signed one.

Marketing materials. Solicitation letters, emails, ad screenshots.

Payment records. Bank statements, credit card charges, money order receipts.

Communications. Emails, text messages, voicemail recordings, written letters.

Names of representatives you spoke with.

Timeline of events. Date of first contact, key conversations, payments made, when fraud was discovered.

The order of operations for reporting.

Step 1: File CFPB complaint first. Fastest way to get the company to respond.

Step 2: File FTC complaint. Important for enforcement aggregation.

Step 3: File state AG complaint. State-level enforcement is sometimes faster than federal.

Step 4: File BBB complaint. Creates public record.

Step 5: If credit/identity affected, freeze credit and file at identitytheft.gov.

Step 6: If criminal violations, file with local police and IC3.

What if you're owed money the fraudulent company won't return.

Dispute charges with your bank or credit card. Most card networks (Visa, MasterCard, Amex, Discover) have chargeback procedures for fraud and unauthorized charges. Time-sensitive (typically 60 days from statement date).

Sue in small claims court. For amounts under your state's small-claims limit (typically $5,000-$10,000), filing a small-claims case is straightforward. No attorney needed.

Hire a consumer attorney. Many consumer attorneys take cases on contingency under federal laws like the FCRA, FDCPA, or TILA. The National Association of Consumer Advocates at consumeradvocates.org has a member directory.

Class action. If many consumers were affected by the same fraud, search for ongoing class actions against the company.

What to expect timeline-wise.

CFPB: 15-day company response, often resolves within 30-60 days.

FTC: typically no individual response; enforcement actions can take months to years.

State AG: 30-90 days for direct response; investigations can take longer.

BBB: 14-30 days for company response.

Litigation: small claims 30-90 days; consumer-attorney cases 6 months to 2 years.

What to expect outcome-wise. Refunds for clearly fraudulent transactions are sometimes available. Class-action settlements have produced multi-million-dollar consumer recoveries. Single-borrower complaints rarely produce immediate refunds, but they contribute to enforcement that benefits future consumers.

Report widely and document thoroughly. The agencies share information to some extent, but each has different powers and reaches. Five complaints across five agencies is much more powerful than one complaint to one agency.