If an item may be unsafe, stop using it and move it somewhere nobody will pick it up. Set it aside. Keep the model label, serial number, receipt, and packaging if you can do so safely. Then find the official recall notice and contact the manufacturer or other business named in it for the remedy listed there.
Which office takes your complaint
Your first stop depends on the product, not the store that sold it. Different product, different office.
| What you have | Who regulates it | First stop |
|---|---|---|
| Cars, tires, car seats, and other motor-vehicle equipment | NHTSA | NHTSA recalls |
| Toys, furniture, appliances, and most household goods | CPSC | SaferProducts.gov and CPSC recalls |
| Drugs, medical devices, and other medical products | FDA | MedWatch |
| Meat, poultry, and processed egg products | USDA FSIS | FSIS complaint form |
Use the linked agency as your first search or reporting point. A state attorney general's consumer office can be useful later, but it usually isn't the first mailbox for a recall.
Check whether a recall is already posted
For a vehicle, start at NHTSA's recall page and enter the 17-character VIN. If the page says "0 unrepaired recalls associated with this VIN," the lookup found no unrepaired safety recall for that vehicle. Manufacturer customer-service campaigns and other non-safety campaigns are separate from this result.
Safety recalls more than 15 years old may drop out of the public result, except where a manufacturer offers more coverage.
Turns out, the VIN is often easier to find than the paperwork. Look at the lower-left corner of the windshield or the label inside the driver's-side doorjamb. It may also appear on the registration or insurance card. Check the doorjamb if the windshield has been replaced. A dealer still needs that number.
NHTSA says manufacturers must notify owners by mail within 60 days of notifying NHTSA about a recall decision. The NHTSA VIN FAQ describes a safety defect as a problem in a vehicle or motor-vehicle equipment that creates an unreasonable safety risk or fails minimum safety standards.
For scale, NHTSA reported 997 vehicle safety recalls affecting more than 29 million vehicles in the United States in 2025.
Household goods need a different search. Check CPSC recalls and search incident reports on SaferProducts.gov. Some notices say to stop using the product immediately. Others offer a repair kit, replacement, refund, or instructions to discard it. Follow that notice's directions.
What the manufacturer is supposed to do
An agency complaint is not the remedy request.
NHTSA says manufacturers must fix a recalled vehicle or piece of motor-vehicle equipment. The fix may be a repair, replacement, refund, or, in rare cases, repurchase. Ask for the listed fix without paying for the recall repair, and get the process in writing.
If you prefer a different option, ask about it, but don't assume the company will substitute it for the remedy named in the notice. For a CPSC product, the notice controls whether you receive a repair kit, replacement, refund, or disposal instructions.
File a complaint in this order
- Photograph the product, model label, serial number, and any injury or property damage.
- Search the applicable official recall site before drafting a long complaint.
- Contact the manufacturer through the phone number or portal in the notice. Ask for the remedy, shipping or return instructions, and written confirmation with a case number.
- If no recall appears, or the company stops responding, report the problem to the agency that regulates the product.
- Save every email, support ticket, receipt, and shipping label.
Thing is, a phone call without a case number is hard to prove later. Get the next step in writing.
SaferProducts.gov lets consumers search reports and submit their own. CPSC investigators review those submissions, and businesses may post a public comment beside a report.
Serious problems involving drugs, devices, and other medical products belong in FDA's MedWatch program. Consumers can complete the online form themselves. Your health care provider isn't required to report.
Use the USDA FSIS electronic complaint form for meat, poultry, or processed egg products. It asks what you ate, how soon symptoms or an injury began, and whether you have photos or other documents.
When the company stalls
Some brands answer in a day. Others leave you in a phone tree for weeks.
File an agency report if the product could still cause harm. NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation looks for complaint patterns involving vehicles. CPSC staff review consumer reports when deciding what action to take.
These reports aren't lawsuits. They show agencies that the same defect may be affecting more than one household.
A credit-card billing dispute is a separate track from a recall. Check your card agreement and contact the issuer promptly; federal billing-error rules may apply, and the recall notice does not start that clock.
Your state attorney general's consumer office may accept a complaint when a company advertised a remedy and then failed to deliver it. Use the state's own website. Retailers sometimes process a return while the manufacturer is slow, so ask the store and keep the original receipt.
What to keep on file
Serial numbers matter.
Write down the campaign number, the date of your first contact, the name of anyone you spoke with, and the case number. Keep the product photos, receipt, emails, support tickets, and any prepaid shipping information together.
If anyone was hurt, keep the medical records with the photos. To be honest, a blurry picture of a brown box won't identify a recalled model.
You don't need a lawyer's letter to start. You need the model number and a paper trail.
Tonight, photograph the label, run the VIN or applicable recall search, and send the manufacturer one written request with the images attached. If no recall appears or the company stays silent, submit the matching agency report and keep its confirmation number.