Free dispute resolution services are offered only upon receipt of a completed complaint form. To be eligible, consumers must live in our service area. See list of towns covered to the right. All dispute resolution is performed by telephone.
Acton, Ashland, Bedford, Bellingham, Blackstone, Boxborough, Brookline, Carlisle, Concord, Dedham, Dover, Framingham, Franklin, Holliston, Hopedale, Hopkinton, Hudson, Marlborough, Maynard, Medfield, Medway, Mendon, Milford, Millis, Millville, Milton, Natick, Needham, Newton, Norfolk, Northbridge, Sherborn, Stow, Sudbury, Upton, Uxbridge, Walpole, Wayland, Wellesley, Weston and Westwood.
File a complaint online: COMPLAINT FORM
To request a copy of a complaint form, call our office in Natick (508) 651-8812. A dispute resolution facilitator will discuss your problem, offer guidance and make a referral if your problem better addressed by another agency. Our staff may suggest avenues to pursue while waiting for a facilitator to become available.
After your complaint is received, our office will contact you within a week to verify that the complaint is suitable for dispute resolution. If so, with your permission, we mail a copy of the complaint to the business within 2 days.
Complaints are handled on a first-come, first-served basis.
Dispute resolution is voluntary for both the consumer and the business. After the assigned facilitator discusses the case with you, they will call the business to attempt to work out a resolution acceptable to both parties.
Our office is staffed by trained volunteer facilitators who are not lawyers and thus cannot provide legal advice. We cannot impose mediation or a resolution. If process ends unsuccessfully, the facilitator will advise you of other possible courses of action. When the case file is closed the outcome of the dispute resolution process is reported to the Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General. Complaints remain on file for 6 years.
