Complaints serve an important function in California's economy by resolving disputes, providing information to businesses, alerting others to potential problems, and allowing unscrupulous businesses to be disciplined or put out of business. When necessary, however, a well thought-out and documented complaint is the first step towards a solution.
Complaints are an important tool for businesses, providing feedback on customer wants and needs.
With California's high volume of business transactions, disputes will happen. Companies want to know when customers are unhappy and when given the opportunity to resolve problems will usually do so. Complaints also help ensure that other consumers won't needlessly repeat a bad experience. Finally, complaints help alert consumers to potential problems, and spur action by government agencies to discipline the business or otherwise change the behavior. Last year, the department took disciplinary action against more than 32,000 licensees.