To reach the Action 9 consumer complaint team at WSOC-TV in Charlotte, email action9@wsoctv.com with your name, address, and phone number, the business’s name, address, and phone number, and a short description of the problem.1WSOC TV. Contact Action 9 To reach Action 9 at WFTV in Orlando, call (407) 425-HELP or download the printable consumer complaint form from the station’s website and fax it to 407-422-3848.2WFTV. Contact our Action 9 office Action 9 is not a national program; it is a consumer investigative unit run by individual local stations, so the intake method depends on which station covers your area.
Which Station You Should Contact
The name Action 9 belongs to two well-known local operations. WSOC-TV in Charlotte, North Carolina has run its unit since 1970, with Jason Stoogenke as the current consumer investigator.3WSOC TV. Jason Stoogenke, wsoctv.com WFTV in Orlando runs a separate Action 9 team with its own intake process.2WFTV. Contact our Action 9 office
Other stations run nearly identical consumer units under names like Call 12 for Action or Problem Solvers. If you’re outside the Charlotte or Orlando markets, look on your local station’s website under tabs labeled Consumer, Investigations, or Contact Us. Most stations put the intake email or form a click or two deep rather than on the homepage.
What to Include in Your Complaint
Gather all of this before you start writing. The core information is the same whether you’re emailing WSOC, faxing WFTV, or filling out a form at another station.
- Your full name, mailing address, phone number, and email. The team needs a reliable way to reach you if they decide to pursue the story.
- The business’s name, physical address, phone number, and the name of anyone you dealt with directly. If the business operates under a different legal name than its storefront name, include both.
- Transaction dates and dollar amounts. When you paid, how much, and what for. Exact numbers from receipts or bank statements carry more weight than round estimates.
- A timeline in order. When you hired the company or bought the product, when things went wrong, when you first complained, and how the business responded.
- Proof that you already tried to resolve it directly. Note the calls, emails, letters, or in-person visits you made and what came of each one. Action 9 teams generally look for cases where the consumer made a good-faith effort to fix the problem before going to the press.
Supporting documents make a real difference. Be ready to send copies of contracts, receipts, invoices, warranty paperwork, email threads, text messages, and photos of defective work or products. Keep your originals and send copies only.
Writing the Narrative
The written description of what happened is where most complaints either stand out or vanish into the pile. These are small newsroom teams handling far more submissions than they can investigate, so a clear, fact-driven account is what separates a case a producer flags from one that gets filed away.
Stick to what happened, in what order, with specific dates and dollar figures. A statement like “On March 3, I paid ABC Roofing $8,400 for a full roof replacement. The contract stated work would begin within two weeks. As of May 15, no work has started and the owner has stopped returning my calls” gives an investigator something to work with. Venting about how angry you feel is understandable but doesn’t help the team evaluate the case.
Reference specific promises the business made, especially anything in writing. If a contractor’s written estimate said the job would cost $6,000 and you were later billed $11,000 with no change order, say exactly that. If an advertisement promised a lifetime warranty and the company is now refusing to honor it, quote the ad. Concrete gaps between what was promised and what was delivered are the backbone of nearly every consumer investigation story.
Keep it to one page or less. Producers scan dozens of complaints looking for strong cases and patterns. A tight half-page with the key facts up front is more likely to get read than a sprawling five-page account.
What Happens After You Send It In
Submitting a complaint does not guarantee an investigation, a callback, or a resolution. Stations pick cases based on strength of documentation, the dollar amount at stake, how many other people have complained about the same business, and whether the story would resonate with a broad audience.
If a producer or reporter does pick up your case, expect a phone call or email asking for an interview and copies of your supporting documents. The investigator then contacts the business, often on camera, to get their side. In many cases the phone call from a newsroom is enough on its own to prompt a refund. Businesses that ignored a customer for months tend to move quickly once a camera crew is involved.
If you don’t hear back within a few weeks, your complaint likely wasn’t selected for active investigation. That isn’t wasted effort. Stations track complaint patterns, and if enough people report the same company, that accumulation can trigger a future story. Just don’t wait on the newsroom as your only strategy.
Preserve Your Evidence Before You File
Before you send anything to Action 9, lock down your evidence so it can’t disappear or be altered.
Screenshot text messages, social media conversations, and online ads before the business can delete or edit them. Save emails as PDF files rather than relying on your inbox, which can be hacked or accidentally purged. Back up any voicemails from the business to cloud storage or a computer. Photograph or scan physical documents like signed contracts, estimates, and receipts, and store the digital copies separately from the originals.
If your dispute involves defective work such as a botched renovation, a damaged vehicle, or a failing appliance, take dated photos and video showing the condition. Put something in the frame that establishes the date, like a newspaper or a phone screen showing the current date. That kind of documentation is what turns a he-said-she-said dispute into a case a reporter can verify independently.
Other Places to File at the Same Time
An Action 9 submission works best as one part of a broader strategy. Filing through multiple channels increases pressure on the business and creates a paper trail if you eventually go to court.
You can report fraud, scams, and deceptive business practices at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. The FTC does not resolve individual complaints, but it enters reports into Consumer Sentinel, a database used by law enforcement agencies across the country to detect patterns and build cases.4Federal Trade Commission. ReportFraud.ftc.gov
Every state has a consumer protection division within the attorney general’s office. Unlike a news station, the attorney general has legal authority to investigate businesses, pursue enforcement actions, and seek restitution. The office brings cases in the name of the state, not on behalf of individual consumers, so a personal refund isn’t guaranteed, but your complaint helps build evidence against repeat offenders.
Filing a Better Business Bureau complaint triggers a structured process. The BBB forwards your complaint to the business within two business days and gives the company 14 calendar days to respond. Most complaints close within about 30 days, and the complaint stays visible on the business’s BBB profile for three years.5Better Business Bureau. How BBB Complaints Are Handled
If you want a binding legal resolution and the dollar amount is modest, small claims court is designed for exactly this kind of dispute. Limits vary by state, and you don’t need a lawyer to file.