Filing a Consumer Complaint. Costs or attorneys' fees or both may be assessed against a defendant only if the court finds that he has wilfully engaged in a deceptive trade practice.Protect your business from unfair competition claims. Understand the origin, examples, and elements of these cases. (b) In order to prevail in an action under this Act, a plaintiff need not prove competition between the parties or actual confusion or misunderstanding. The Consumer Protection segment will cover consumer protection activities of state attorneys general and the Federal Trade Commission. At its most broad level, the Act prohibits unfair methods of competition and unfair acts and practices in the conduct of commerce. The Illinois General Assembly clarifies some of the details of unfair competition laws, and how they can affect all types of businesses. In the administrative process, the Commission determines in an adjudicative proceeding whether a practice violates the law. This statute is designed to protect consumers from deceptive business practices that may be used in the course of trade or commerce.