By Samantha Paul Home repairs, vehicle purchases, and utility bills can turn into serious consumer problems when a business refuses to explain a charge or honor a written promise. West Virginia residents can ask the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection and Antitrust Division to review suspected unfair or deceptive conduct. Unlike a phone inquiry, a completed complaint provides the written facts and documents needed to assess the problem.
West Virginia currently offers three ways to submit a consumer complaint: online, by email, or by mail. The office may then work toward a voluntary resolution with the business. This article explains the current attorney general, official contacts, the correct submission routes, and the limits of the process.
Who Is the Current Attorney General of West Virginia?
As of October, 2026, John B. “JB” McCuskey is the Attorney General of West Virginia. He took office in January 2025, following his service as West Virginia State Auditor. The Attorney General is the state’s chief legal officer, representing state interests in legal matters and overseeing consumer-protection work, among other responsibilities.
The Consumer Protection and Antitrust Division addresses potential unlawful business practices and maintains a consumer complaint program. Its role is to promote fair markets and investigate patterns that may justify public enforcement. It is not a substitute for a private lawyer or a court acting on an individual claim.
West Virginia Attorney General Contact Numbers
- Consumer Protection Hotline: 1-800-368-8808 — general consumer complaints, suspected scams, and assistance with the complaint process.
- Consumer Protection Division: 304-558-8986 — local division contact and consumer-protection business inquiries.
- Attorney General main office: 304-558-2021 — general inquiries and office correspondence.
- Consumer complaint email: consumer.complaint@wvago.gov — the published address for sending a completed complaint PDF and documents.
- General consumer division email: consumer@wvago.gov — questions that are not a formal emailed complaint.
The Consumer Protection Division lists office hours as Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Official filing instructions: https://ago.wv.gov/consumer-protection/file-complaint-consumer-protection-division
West Virginia Attorney General Office Address
- Attorney General main office: 1900 Kanawha Boulevard East, State Capitol Building, Room E-26, Charleston, WV 25305.
- Consumer complaint mailing address: Office of the Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division, P.O. Box 1789, Charleston, WV 25326-1789.
The current government website contains different physical-location descriptions for the consumer division on separate pages. Its complaint instructions consistently direct mailed consumer complaints to P.O. Box 1789. Use that dedicated postal address for paper submissions; contact the division before planning an in-person visit.
How to File a Complaint With the West Virginia Attorney General
Step 1: Choose the proper consumer complaint form
Open https://ago.wv.gov/consumer-protection/file-complaint-consumer-protection-division. The office provides a General Consumer Complaint form and a specialized Broadband Consumer Complaint route. General matters may include false advertising, billing disputes, warranty issues, vehicle-dealer concerns, contractor fraud, and problems involving purchased goods or services.
Step 2: Collect the business and transaction details
Identify the business and its address, the dates of the transaction, what you were promised, what you paid, and what went wrong. State whether you asked the company to fix the problem. Contracts, invoices, repair estimates, warranty documents, screenshots, and relevant messages should support the sequence of events rather than replace your written explanation.
Step 3: Choose online, email, or postal submission
For the online option, complete the state’s complaint form, upload relevant evidence, and retain its immediate confirmation. For email, fill out the appropriate PDF and send it with documents in PDF format to consumer.complaint@wvago.gov; use “Consumer Complaint” as the email subject. The state lists a 25 MB attachment maximum for this email method. Alternatively, mail the completed form and copies of supporting documents to P.O. Box 1789.
Step 4: Explain the remedy requested and protect your information
Give a realistic proposed outcome, such as a refund, contract cancellation, repair, or replacement. Be precise about amounts and dates, and note the company’s last response. Avoid sending original records, passwords, or complete account numbers. The Attorney General may share complaint details with the business when seeking its response.
Step 5: Keep the submission record for follow-up
Save the online acknowledgment, email transmission, or postal delivery details along with an exact copy of the complaint. Make sure the contact phone number, email, and mailing address you provided remain active. If the Consumer Protection Division requests another document or a reaction to the company’s explanation, answer with the relevant evidence.
What Happens After You File a Complaint?
The division says it first reviews complaints for jurisdiction and supporting information. Where appropriate, it contacts the business and facilitates voluntary mediation. The consumer may be asked to respond to the business’s account, and the division may explore a mutually acceptable result. There is no published guarantee that every case will end with payment or another remedy.
Repeated complaints suggesting broader unlawful conduct can inform a formal state enforcement action. But mediation is different from an investigation or lawsuit, and the Attorney General cannot act as the individual consumer’s attorney. Preserve any payment-dispute or legal deadlines instead of waiting indefinitely for an administrative outcome.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Can I submit a complaint without using the online form?
Yes. West Virginia expressly allows a completed PDF complaint to be emailed or a printed complaint to be mailed. Email submissions should use consumer.complaint@wvago.gov with “Consumer Complaint” in the subject and PDF supporting documents within the published 25 MB limit.
Q. Does the Attorney General have a separate form for broadband problems?
Yes. The complaint page lists a Broadband Consumer Complaint form alongside the general consumer form. Consumers challenging internet-service charges, service promises, or related problems should review that specialized option before submitting.
Q. Will the office force a company to offer the refund I request?
The complaint program describes voluntary mediation, not an automatic refund order. If the business disagrees, a negotiated resolution may not be possible. The division may still retain the report as evidence of a broader pattern of questionable conduct.
Q. What if I discover another invoice after submitting?
Send the additional evidence through the contact channel provided by the assigned office staff, with identifying information tying it to your complaint. Keep the original filing and new documentation together, and explain what the new invoice changes rather than filing an unrelated duplicate report.