The Importance of Being a Complainer

In the spring of 2023, a consumer complained to TINA.org about a mattress pad advertised on Pottery Barn Teen’s website as “Crafted in America from domestic and imported materials.” The consumer said she purchased the mattress pad specifically because she did not want one made in China. But lo and behold, the so-called “Crafted in America” mattress pad that arrived was labeled “Made in China.” TINA.org investigated, confirmed the surprise labeling and filed a complaint with the FTC. And earlier this year, this consumer complaint led to the largest-ever FTC civil penalty in a Made in USA case, which cost parent company Williams-Sonoma more than $3 million.

The moral of this story? You have the power to hold deceptive marketers accountable so complain when you’ve been deceived. In addition to filing a complaint with TINA.org, there are a whole host of federal and state agencies that want to hear about your experience. By way of example, when you file a complaint with the FTC, your complaint is shared with more than 2,800 law enforcers.

Unfortunately, U.S. consumers don’t complain nearly enough. It is well-established that consumers who have fallen victim to deception and fraud in this country generally do not talk about it publicly. In fact, customer complaints are something of a rarity for a variety of reasons, including:

• Thinking it is more trouble than it is worth
• Feeling guilty about being deceived
• Lack of faith that complaints will be taken seriously
• The stigma of being labeled a whiner
• Fear, embarrassment, shame, self-blame
• Hopelessness

And to make matters worse, some companies accused of deceiving consumers attempt to use the paucity of consumer complaints as proof that they really aren’t misleading us.

To be sure, lying to consumers can be a highly successful business strategy. Nationwide fraud losses topped $10 billion in 2023, according to the FTC. And if there is one commonality that unites us, it is the fact that deceptive marketing and fraud is directed at all of us regardless of age, race, gender, religion or socio-economic status. So do your fellow consumer a solid and make a difference by complaining about deception that you see and experience. In fact, many of TINA.org’s actions and success stories have been based on consumer complaints:

• Beyond Meat
• Bob’s Discount Furniture
• doTerra
• Frigidaire
• HeySunday
• MyPillow
• Roblox
• Snow Teeth Whitening
• Stansberry
• Step2
• USA Filing
• Vemma

So please, complain! And who knows, you might even get some of your money back!