13 Gripes

When a company takes your money and gives you the runaround, it's easy to feel like there's nothing you can do. 13.gripe exists to flip that feeling into action. It's a free tool that turns your frustration into something a business actually has to deal with — a sharp, shareable complaint card, a professional demand letter, and a ready-to-file complaint that puts real pressure behind your case.

Whether you're dealing with a bad refund, a broken promise, a shady seller, or an outright scam, the process is the same: tell us what happened, and 13.gripe helps you say it in a way that gets results. No lawyer, no cost, and no more being ignored. Below, you'll find the generator to build your gripe, plus a full guide on how to report a scam and get your money back.

Consumer Guides

Stop getting the runaround — file a complaint that works, dispute a charge, get a refund, and report scams. See all guides →

How to Report a Scam

Getting scammed is not your fault, and reporting it is how you stop the loss, warn other people, and give yourself the best shot at getting your money back. Here's exactly what to do — and how 13.gripe turns your report into pressure the scammer can't ignore.

1. Act fast — the first 48 hours matter most

If you paid by credit or debit card, call your bank or card issuer immediately and ask to dispute the charge and open a chargeback. If you sent a bank transfer, wire, or payment-app money (Zelle, Cash App, Venmo), contact your bank right away and report the transaction as fraud — recovery is hardest here, but reporting quickly gives you the best odds. If you paid by gift card, report it to the card's issuer; some can freeze the balance if it hasn't been drained.

2. Document everything before it disappears

Scammers delete listings, profiles, and messages fast. Screenshot the ad, the seller's page, every message, receipts, order numbers, tracking, and any phone numbers or emails used. Save it all in one folder with dates. This evidence is what makes a complaint, a chargeback, and a police report actually stick.

3. Report it to the right agencies

You can — and should — report to more than one. Each one feeds a different database that investigators and other consumers rely on:

• FTC (all scams): file at reportfraud.ftc.gov — the main U.S. hub for fraud reports.
• FBI IC3 (online & internet scams): report at ic3.gov for anything that happened online.
• CFPB (banks, cards, loans, payments): file at consumerfinance.gov/complaint for financial companies.
• Your State Attorney General: search "[your state] attorney general consumer complaint" — they can act on in-state businesses.
• BBB Scam Tracker: report at bbb.org/scamtracker to warn others and flag the business publicly.
• Identity theft: if they got your SSN or opened accounts, start recovery at identitytheft.gov and consider a credit freeze.

4. Put public pressure on the business

Formal reports work slowly and quietly. A public, well-documented complaint often gets a refund faster — companies hate a paper trail that other customers can see. Post a factual review, tag them where they're active, and send a firm written demand that references your evidence and the agencies you've already filed with.

Turn your gripe into action with 13.gripe

That's where this site comes in. Use the generator above to lay out exactly what happened, and 13.gripe turns it into a shareable complaint card, a professional demand letter, and a ready-to-file BBB-style complaint — the pressure that actually moves a company to refund you. Reporting protects the next person; a demand letter protects your wallet. Do both.

13.gripe is a free consumer-advocacy tool and is not a law firm; this is general information, not legal advice.