Better Business Bureau – A useless institution ?
For the last many years I had very high regards for Better Business Bureau. When I used the word “Better Business Bureau”, it sounded to me like a semi judicial institution that safeguards the consumer interests and help them when do are when companies do not provide them with fair hearing.
If you look at the BBB logo – it says – “Start With Trust”. And this trust is what is there in persons mind. They think that if they are not properly treated by companies they can trust on BBB and have their grievances addressed from Better Business Bureau. I was one of those persons.
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) was founded in 1912. It is a corporation consisting of several private business franchises of local BBB organizations based in the United States and Canada, which work together through the Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB). As per wiki – “The BBB goal is to foster a fair and effective marketplace, so that buyers and sellers can trust each other.”
How does BBB work
According to wiki – “BBBs gather and report information on business reliability, alert the public to frauds against consumers and businesses, provide information on ethical business practices, and act as mutually trusted intermediaries between consumers and businesses to resolve disputes. News media frequently turn to the CBBB and local BBBs as expert sources of news about scams and consumer issues.”
What if a consumer has an issue
The BBB does have a dispute resolution system. The procedures for dispute resolution are established by the Council of the Better Business Bureaus. This in turn is implemented by local BBBs. According to the wiki -”disputes can be resolved through mediation; when appropriate, low or no-cost arbitration may also be offered and provided through the BBB. The BBB acts as a neutral party when providing dispute resolution services.”
What happens in practice
In practise there is nothing like “mediation or low or no-cost arbitration”. If you have a grievance, you complain to BBB. What does BBB do ? The Better Business Bureau forwards it to the local BBB unit. And local BBB starts investigations ? It starts mediation ? Absolutely no. All the loca BBB does it forwards your complain to the concerned company. It gives two weeks of time to the company to respond. The company can respond anything it wishes. The company may even respond just one liner -”This is according to our terms and conditions”. The better Business Bureau, does not even read you or the companies reply. All it does it that it checks if your reply is with 700 characters. Note 700 characters – not 700 word. You can not write anything more than 700 characters. Their online system does this check. And it will not tell you automatically.
So the company replies back with a curt reply. And then what does BBB does. Nothing. It just forward you the reply. You are dissatified. You thought you made a very good case against the company. And you wanted BBB’s support or at least BBB’s acknowdedgement that the case deserves merit and attention. No. BBB is not at all concerned about it. BBB just forwards the reply to you. You can then again make a reply. And BBB then again forwards it to the company against which you have grievance. And then again 2 weeks of waiting time. The company may or may not reply. If it does reply, you get the reply from the company which may be a curt reply for half a line. And then the case is closed. BBB is not at all concerned what the reply is about.
In other words BBB is a useless institution. Worst, you have trust on BBB and that trust is shattered.
Why Does BBB exist
Well BBB is not a place to address your complaints. Never waste your time on BBB for you complaint addressal. BBB sells the BBB Certifications to companies. And this is where is makes money from. That money brings the bread and butter for its employees. If we rely upon the report http://www.ripoffreport.com/Better-Business-Bureau/Better-Business-Bure/better-business-bureau-or-buye-eq4fb.htm as reported by consumers then BBB encourages and solicits money from the very businesses they monitor! How could this be beneficial to the consumer ?
Read from that report - “What the BBB does, is give the business that is being reported the opportunity to respond. If the business responds many times this is enough to give the business a satisfactory rating, no matter what their response is!”.
What is ridiculous is that the if the business responds just once, the story ends. BBB does not care if they responded subsequently. The businesses still get satisfactory rating. The above article in rippoff report says that - “The BBB does provide a mediation service, but the BBB cannot force the business to do anything for you to resolve your consumer rip-off. They can only make suggestions. And if the business does not comply, this will not insure an unsatisfactory rating for the business that ripped you off.”. In my case however, BBB did not tell that they are ready to mediate.
You may also like to check http://bbbroundup.com/. According to the report – “of two similar businesses, the Los Angeles Times and the San Francisco Chronicle–both major market, reputable newspapers from February 2009. There are two differences between them: 1) They are graded by two different regional BBB offices (Los Angeles and San Francisco) and 2) the San Francisco Chronicle is a BBB member, the Los Angeles Times is not. This suggests either members are favored over non-members or different regions grade differently.”
If you have trusted BBB so far, it is because you have not gone to them to have any of your concern as consumer addressed.
No related posts.
I’ve long maintained that the BBB was a useless institution. This just confirms my suspicions. Thanks for the head’s up.
Agreed they are absolutely worthless. File a complaint on an autobody repair. Because I did not request any monetary compensation the complaint basically goes to BBB’s file and the Company’s file and the Company’s rating remains A+. BBB called this a “letter of experience”. I will never rely on BBB’s info again it basically Company paid accreditation.
Wow, I wished I read this before I went to the BBB, they did exactly what was mentioned…completely nothing for me!
LOL Wow you must not have a good BBB where your from. I have a great one here. Follows through, does investigations, holds business accountable and notes their record if they fail to respond or don’t resolve the dispute, which DOES effect a company’s grade. I have done alot of research and a good portion of a company’s grade is based on complaint history. If a company that has 500,000 customers has 1 complaint it is graded differently than a company with 500 customers and 1 complaint. BBB’s are non-profit, they don’t “make” money, it goes to the community. My suggestion, get some solid research under your belt and don’t throw the institution under the bus because your BBB situation wasn’t handled appropriatey. Each BBB is run differently, but adheres to a core set of principles. Making money is not one of them.
Sarah duke,
The whole point is – BBB is useless and completely worthless for an individual. Individuals are in the impression that BBB will support them and help them in case they get cheated or some fraud happens with them. It turns out that this is not the case that happened. BBB does absolutely nothing for customers when they are cheated by any company. And this is not just John’s case or Bob’s case. This is true of each and every individual.
Your assertion is absolutely true that “If a company that has 500,000 customers has 1 complaint it is graded differently than a company with 500 customers and 1 complaint.”. The point here is that the 1 customer who files the complaint to BBB does get absolutely no benefit from BBB as far as his particular case is concerned. The BBB just records is and that’s it. It does help BBB “in rating the company”.
This is different from what a person in general has the image of BBB in mind when he proceeds to BBB with a complaint. In other words, the customers are working for BBB rather than the other way round.
As far as the word “non-profit” is concerned it is misunderstood by people misused by the organizations ]. In most “non-profit” organizations, – the persons working at non-profit do get paid for the work they are doing. So, if BBB is not paid by the companies, the employees do not get paid. The persons working at BBB do have an interest to see the BBB gets customers. The BBB and any other non-profit organization, for that matter, do have a business model. And there is nothing wrong in it. The wrong thing is to use the word “non-profit”.
LOL No just for a few unfortunate individuals. The BBB has helped me when a company cheated me, and 3 of my co-workers were able to get help from the BBB when a scam was going on in our area. Again just because YOUR BBB didn’t handle YOUR complaint correctly, that does not mean that every BBB is useless. Talk to people the BBB has helped instead of having a biased article that is strictly anti-BBB. Look at both sides. Each BBB is run differently by different Presidents. You have no idea how the BBB responds to complaints. I went in person to my BBB and saw here they handle complaints. They are responded to, heard conversations between the BBB and the business being complained about. The fact is that the BBB can’t force companies to respond. If the company does not operate ethically and respond to the compaint that is not the BBB’s fault. What do you propose, send the BBB down to the business and demand a response. No instead the company’s grade is affected which DOES help future customers avoid that unethical company and costs the company business. So your situation, which is unfortunate, probably helped others to see how the company you dealt with treated you. And NO customers don’t work for the BBB what an ignorant statement. My BBB last year dealt with over 100,000 complaints alone, 86% were resolved within 18 days, in favor of both parties. The BBB is a neutral entity, it does not take sides! Do your research my word!! It is Non profit!!! The BBB pays it’s employees to handle complaints, it’s not a group of volunteers, but it is non profit in that what is left after minimal compensation to employees (minimum wage) the rest goes to the community. The fact is you are ignorant on HOW the BBB works! Your BBB is not a good one, but again there are over 114 BBB’s nationwide!!! One bad one doesn’t make the whole organization bad.
BTW the BBB does not have “customers”, the general public doesn’t pay a dime to use the BBB, business pay to fund the organization. Why is Target with the BBB, and Best Buy and Supervalu?? It’s not like they aren’t household names, but the BBB helps the community and that is why they support it.
I will encourage everyone to read the blog
http://www.thebluesmokeband.com/bbb.php.
Some excerpts
Enter The Better Business Bureau. Until last week, I thought that the BBB was a government-run organization, funded by my tax dollars. I thought that it was a neutral observer of business standards and practices, a place where one could get information on a legitimate business or where one could lodge a formal complaint against a shady one. Just about none of this is true.
The BBB is not run by the government, but they do a lot of business with the FTC — at least that’s what I hear. They are a non-profit, charity organization known as a 501(c)(3). This means that whatever money you donate to their cause is tax-deductible. The money that you donate is supposed to go into programs and charitable causes. The organization is supposed to report their income, report their board of directors, report about their programs, and so on. This information appears on IRS form 990.
990s are public information. So, with my wife’s help, I got hold of the 990 for our local BBB. Turns out, they report no income, no board of directors, no contractors who earn over $50,000 per year, and they have no programs. All they appear to have is -$849 in assets. This is, to say the least, shady.
I completely agree that the BBB is useless, and I’d never waste my time reporting a company again. They might resolve issues sometimes, but unless the business really WANTS to make an effort to satisfy the customer, and that isn’t likely to happen, the customer is out of luck. No, the BBB doesn’t have ‘customers’. People here are using the word ‘customer’ because they made a purchase for goods and services in good faith. They were a ‘customer’ of the business. Anyone helped by the BBB is fortunate. The case usually ends up closed – period. The business isn’t forced to do anything. They’re not held accountable. Why would they be? It isn’t a court. Being a member of the BBB means nothing because the businesses never look bad no matter the outcome. If you want an example, take a look at the outcome of complaints. You don’t even get details regarding the problems. It’s a joke. Businesses pay to become members of the BBB, and they have the upper hand. Customer service no longer exists in many businesses.
Contacting the BBB was a complete waste of time in my case. I was ripped off by a crooked construction company, and the BBB couldn’t do a thing about it because the ‘owner’ had no intention of doing the right thing. If you feel you have a case, take it to court a.s.a.p., and don’t waste precious time going back and forth with the BBB. Don’t count on regaining your loses even if you win the case. If the company files bankruptcy you’re out of luck anyway, and fraud is very difficult and very costly to prove.
LOL Ok again, one-sided commentary. I guess if you want to bitch about your experience, with YOUR BBB go right ahead. Mine happens to be a great one and there has been no complaints in our area regarding the BBB, and you can find information regarding programs and board of directors quite easily. If you want to find somthing negative in everything, guess what, you’ll find it. I prefer to remain positive.
You are right Kimberly, your BBB couldn’t make your dishonest contractor behave ethically but your complaint could lead to the company getting an F rating if unanswered or at least lowering their grade. Future consumers could get this information and decide to not do business with him/her based on that info. Before you invest, investigate. Our website provides information on companies and tips and links on how to be a smarter consumer. We provide free shredding services to consumers, speakers to schools and social organizations on many topics, our military line program educates our troops on scams and ripoffs. And our website continues to gain strength as more and more consumers go there for help in their buying decisions. And while BBB is not perfect (and who is), we have saved countless consumers from getting ripped off and we have resolved millions of complaints to the satisfaction of the consumer. You were dealing with a crook, what did you expect?
Yes I have had the exact same experience. As a matter of fact BBB accepts fees from the businesses that want to maintain the status of “Accredited Busines” that is clearly a conflict of interest. I wonder how come the government or anybody objects to this kind of biased mediation? It should be illegal in my opinion. In my opinion, BBB is not for consumers it actually protects the interest of businesses.
Again the BBB does not side with business or consumers! The BBB is neutral! And you don’t pay a fee to stay Accredited, you have to maintain sound business practices, that is how a company becomes accredited. My word ignorance must be bliss.
Sarah Duke – Please do some reality check before you post your next comment. Read the following content from the BBBs own website.
http://www.bbb.org/us/Business-Accreditation/
Moderator – Please include the following in my post# 14.
This is an example of what BBB charges to maintain Accredited Status.
http://louisville.bbb.org/dues/
Ohhhh! Booyah Sarah Duke! Where you at now?
I agree with you completely. I have personal experience with the BBB as I have recently filed a claim only to be told they closed it administratively when the issue was not resolved. I thought they were required to help the consumer, but this do not appear to be the case.
Speaking from experience here people, don’t waste your time with the BBB. And just because the business has a good rating with the BBB doesn’t mean anything. Case in point: a car dealer in Framingham and Marlborough, MA has 26 complaints in the past 36 months, and an ‘A’ rating. (LOL!) As long as the business pays the BBB to be accredited, the consumer will always lose. The BBB is a complete waste of time, and is a *total and complete joke.* Go to your attorney general, or get a lawyer.
@ Tim
Another thing to consider is that some of the people who file complaints are idiots.
I have had several people file complaints just because they didn’t want to abide by my terms and conditions.
my terms and conditions are completely realistic so if you don’t agree with them don’t buy. its real simple math.
another did not read her emails so thought she was being ignored.
well how do I fix that? i’m supposed to teach someone how to use email now?..lol
seriously.. it works both ways…
just because someone files a complaint it does not automatically make them right and the business wrong or bad..
There are a lot of people out there who think “the customer is always right” regardless of the circumstance..they also think that gives them the right to act rude and ridiculous. there should be a BCB “Better Customer Bureau” if you ask me.
The BBB is not a police institution. They are merely a watchdog group.
I had a case with them that went to arbritration and I won it. The BBB has no authority to make the company, that I had a beef with, pay me.
My next step was to go to court which I have not done yet. They have, however, taken the company’s good rating away and show that there are two unsettled claims against them.
That was my goal and I am satisfied with them.
I’m Windering why Sarah can’t seem to say her piece and move on.. The only time the bbb has handled any of my complaints correctly is when the company im complaining against follows the law and settles. The bbb is laid by the businesses it is protecting. I let one of them
have it today. Sarah is the only one on this thread acting like they need saintdom… Follow your own advice Sarah. Your ONE good experience doesn’t negate all of the obvious misrepresesentation. Get a life and shut up and move on
AlterWalter you were lucky… A lot of these bbb ppl apparently don’t take their job seriously. I had one say that my case was settled efficiently when a lawyer for the company wrote a letter saying that Rey could confirm or deny nothing according to Colorado law. They are reporting a LIE on my report and told me to contact them (again) rather than them contacting me. The bbb in my home town is the same way… Totally stupid and not reporting legitimate (Jason) complaints. Where do you go to complain about the bbb caseworker idiots who aren’t doing THEIR job. I agree their ‘trust’ would make the definition mean nothing … They need to evaluate their caseworkers and hold them accountable or remove the ‘trust’ word from their advertising. Two workers I’ve dealt with in two different stated didn’t even know common —-common knowledge FTC law. Gimme a break! Evaluate!! Ha
Ah yes you pay a fee ONLY after you are accepted by the BBB for meeting and maintaining standards. Why don’t you do a reality check! Why didn’t you see that standards have to be met first. Maybe your BBB doesn’t adhere to standards, but mine does. Too bad for you!
Oh my look at that right from your link…accredited by the BBB means the BBB determined the business has met standards. Fees are paid for the review/monitoring and to support BBB services. WOW thanks for the link you proved my point!
If a business has been accredited by the BBB, it means BBB has determined that the business meets accreditation standards which include a commitment to make a good faith effort to resolve any consumer complaints. BBB accredited businesses pay a fee for accreditation review/monitoring and for support of BBB services to the public.
BBB Code of Business Practices represents standards for business accreditation by BBB. Businesses based in the United States and Canada that meet these standards and complete all application procedures will be accredited by BBB. The Code is built on the BBB Standards for Trust, eight principles that summarize important elements of creating and maintaining trust in business.
BBB accreditation does not mean that the business’ products or services have been evaluated or endorsed by BBB, or that BBB has made a determination as to the business’ product quality or competency in performing services.
Businesses are under no obligation to seek BBB accreditation, and some businesses are not accredited because they have not sought BBB accreditation.
There’s my piece. The BBB does not deserve saintdom but when you can’t provide facts for what you are stating, that’s where I have an issue. Quite frankly our BBB does a great job. It’s too bad yours does not. It makes me wonder why you are so upset on this board and make personal attacks on people (ie: Sarah is a Psycho? get a life?) Maybe you have something to prove to people or lack self-esteem. I would look into that. Ba-bye
B.B.B. is useless and misleading. They solve absolutely nothing and tell you when you TRY to address an issue to go to the Labor Board or Civil Rights.It’s a dead end road for everyone other than the business’s involved. The company pay’s to be protected is about all B.B.B. amounts to.
I don’t know what state sarah duke is talking about but it’s obviously not Colo.
In case anyone is still not getting it, Sarah Duke is a BBB plant.
@sarah duke
Wrong again…(sigh). I’m a business owner. The BBB got me on the phone and went through their banter and told me “all we need to finish today and get started together is the credit card you’d like to use.”
Oh, unless of course she considered our 3 minute phone conversation sufficient evidence of our obvious adherence to the lauded BBB standards.I politely told her that we’d not be joining at that time.
BBB is an anachronism. I maintain my own standard of ethics and answer to myself. BBB is like one of those “who’s who” ripoffs where you pay for inclusion in some useless list.
Read Jason’s post above. That guy is a business owner, and he knows the deal. Disgruntled customers with an axe to grind and a self-endowed license to be rude and non-compliant with terms of service use it as a threat. They don’t realize that it’s a toothless threat.
I’ll spend my $405/year on an employee party.
It is interesting reading this. I have contacted the BBB in 3 cities on three different occasions about incidents. Each time they did absolutely nothing. Why would they? I am a citizens and not a member of the BBB.
the companies are paying members. You can’t tell me that doesn’t make a difference. If they upset their membership by ruling against them they might lose some cash.
A totally worthless and misleading organization. Not only that but deceptively making the public think they are working to make the playing field level. Only thing missing is that they don’t charge you to make a complaint. Oh I better not give them any ideas.
My experience as a business owner is that the BBB is out to extort money from businesses.
I also don’t know what BBB Sarah is talking about, but mine sucks as well. With all due respect Sarah, you seem to know an awful lot about your BBB, and it wouldn’t surprise me if you either work there or have someone close to you who does. Unfortunately, it seems yours may be the only worthwhile BBB to speak of.
My God! I have been putting my trust in BBB for settling a case in which the pavement contractor refuses to finish the driveway project upon having collecting the down payment worth 70% of full payment. … then, where shall I go to seek help? A local mafia? does a mafia charge a lot?
People, be reasonable. Nobody at BBB promised you your money back or satisfaction guaranteed. Who the hell said they gonna go and beat out that refund from that contractor, business, whoever???
They log incoming complaints and businesses’ answers and show ratings. They make some money on accreditation. They are there for local community ’cause they show where not to buy.
What I see is that furniture store I’m bitching with now has got 28 complaints (18 unresolved) and F rating. Store across the road has got 2 complaints, both resolved, B+ rating. Both stores are not accredited.
Where would you go for your next sofa learned that the easier way?
Here is your proof of the value of BBB:
AFNI, a clearly disreputable collection agency, (just google their name and you will be flooded with poor people freaked out about being dunned for accounts never opened and car accidents they weren’t at fault and very very scary practices) here’s just one place keeping tabs:
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/debt/afni_p2.html
Now, for giggles and grins go and look at the AFNI home page:
https://www.afnicollections.com/
and look in the lower right corner and there is the stars-and-stripes of confidence-building logos, that’s right, the BBB Online Reliability Program, where you click and see that AFNI has an A+ rating. That’s right folks, A+. It’s virtually impossible for a sentient being, whether or not they have had an interaction with AFNI, not to be able to see what they are all about but take heart, the BBB is here to tell you to TRUST THEM.
Of course collection agencies are a special breed of company with a special type of “ethics,” but there are many out there that don’t have the level and detail of complaints registered against them. Ms. Duke and some of the others in this discussion may have a positive view of their local BBB and they just might be good folk doing a good job. But BEWARE, and I mean be VERY AWARE, that the online BBB is just a place to take $ from companies so they can slap the logo on their website for a sense of legitimacy. Yeah, BBB is a complete waste when it comes to consumers. Do your own research, ask trusted friends and family and don’t place any stock in BBB (at least the online version of it!).
“You are all unfortunate. Too bad you can’t live by me and enjoy MY BBB. Blah blah blah.”
Interesting comments.
BBB is an organization that is used as a means of screening and eliminating complaints lodged against it’s paying members (local businessess). I challenge you to even locate their local office phone number! If the company you are thinking of hiring says”Member of BBB”. THEN DON’T BOTHER CALLING THEM!
Called and set up appointment with A&L roofing in Terre Haute. They never came nor called. When we called them they said didn’t have us set up till following Monday (this was on a Sat.) I reminded them they even asked what time we got up in the AM so they could get here early. Responce was “do you want me to come now?” It was now 12:30. They promised to be here around 9AM. Told them no and expressed our disappointment in their lack or professionalism. WOULD NOT RECOMMEND A COMPANY THAT DOESN’T BOTHER TO SHOW UP EVEN FOR JOB ESTIMATES. ONE CAN ONLY IMAGINE THEIR LACK OF RELIABILITY ONCE THEY HAVE ACTUALLY BEEN GIVEN MONEY UP FRONT FOR A JOB!
this is a joke, the BBB is just protecting its paying members…
I couldn’t agree with you more. I think the BBB is completely useless and is one of the biggest scams in the country. It’s just an institution to make money. Their business model is to create an institution, then market AGAINST those who don’t join, and collect membership fees.
mjolnir- you almost made me laugh when you said “I maintain my own standard of ethics and answer to myself”. Doesn’t every business think they are a good company? Do you think the fly by night contractors go around thinking, “wow I am a crook”!?? Really? Thank goodness there is a BBB to monitor companies just like you. I am not a business owner but if I was one I would definitely want to support ethics in the community and as a consumer I would never do business with someone that said “oh, I am not a crook, I maintain my OWN standard of ethics! If that worked so well the BBB wouldn’t have been created over 100 years ago.
If you actually believe that BBB are of any real value you have clearly been toking for too long. They gave an A- to a damned Middle East terror group, what does that say to you? Next they will be accrediting the scumbag Orange County Skinheads or the Bloods for their work in “educating the youth”
The BBB is useless. They didn’t do anything to resolve my issue all they did was forward what i wrote to them to the compnay. Then the company pretty much wrote back no we won’t do anything. Then the BBB closed my case saying sorry we couldn’t resolve the issue. Wow i will no longer use them you might as well just not use them. Its a waste of time.
BBB IS BS. it seems its just free money for whoever works there. we should figure out a way to do something about this. sarah duke kind of sounds made up? doesn’t have to be whats obvious is she works for the BBB and is dumb enough to think were going to believe her stupid bs she doesn’t even do it right. she thinks shes smarter then us and shes actually way dumber, which is rare but it happens
When Berkeley Honda ripped me off and I filed a complaint with the BBB (Oakland Branch), the BBB did nothing but send the dealer a letter, which the dealer simply ignored. I asked the BBB to step it up a notch, so what did they do? Sent the dealer another letter simply extending the deadline to respond. That’s it. Wow, guys, way to stand up for the consumer.
Problem is, the BBB has ABSOLUTELY NO NEGATIVE SANCTIONS WHATSOEVER TO OFFER. Nevertheless, they could make a difference by simply getting on the phone to advocate. So far as I can tell, they don’t lift a finger to do that either.
I’m afraid the cynics on here are right: it appears the BBB is a business-funded institution that creates an illusory assurance of recourse in order to make you more likely to spend money with a business.
Absolutely the BBB us a useless organization. I had personal problems with a company which I tried to resolve through the BBB. Look them up and you’ll fund TONS of unhappy, ripped off customers. They currently have 109 complaints in the “standard reporting period”. And their rating? A+. Ratings are for sale, apparently, and not just at the BBB. The Rip Off Report is also for sale. Look up their favorable review of Cash4Gold for proof of this. Their commercials alone tell you that you’re being ripped off. If they are able to offer you 20% higher payout than their normal rate they aren’t paying you anywhere near fair market value.
I must agree with the author’s sentiment of the BBB. I filed a grievance against a roofing company, and the process went to the point of arbitration. The roofing company precommitted to arbitration, and then refused, at which point the BBB closed the file and marked the case as unresolved. According to the BBB, the arbitration process is completely voluntary for both parties. I am mulling the idea of pursuing legal action against the BBB…any suggestions?
@sarah duke
I agree! People has to research a little bit more because my local bureau really goes after the bad complaints. If the complaint doesn’t go through is because the deal was made according to contract…Anyway nice way to explain the other side of the coin…
Just as an example: Go to ebay and you’ll find a feedback on every seller. If the seller has 200,000 transactions and 2 negative feedback he may still have 99% positive feedback because of the amount of transactions. Works the same in the BBB, if a business have a complaint and they answer accordingly and in a proper time their score will be restored by default because its based in an mathematics algorithm. The local Bureaus are constantly monitored by the CBBB or Council BBB and all local bureaus are obligated to follow the same procedures by a common software implemented lately and still under upgrades and changes. The BBB is changing the way to check on a business and its completely free for you the consumers. Even websites are getting their accreditation with the BBB because consumers have a better idea of who they are dealing with thanks to the Bureaus reports. No, I don’t work for the Bureau, It happens to be my MBA thesis a year ago. Thanks!
file a complaint against the bbb with the bbb. @E K
The BBB did nothing to help. I have long maintained that it is just a directory of businesses who pay a fee to the BBB. I had 3 non working new appliances delivered from SEARS. After 6 months, we still could not get them to do anything about it. These items were delivered in non working condition! We were not able to check them because we hooked them up ourselves and then found out later that day. BBB said SEARS did not respond to them either and still they did nothing. Sears knew all along (and told me) that all they have to do is offer some kind of resolution. It could be a stick of gum to make up for it all. If they offer anything, the BBB considers the case closed. If I refuse the offer, the case is closed and noted that the consumer is refusing to work with the company. So if you are out $4,000 and they offer you a $20 gift card and you don’t take it, they are cleared of any wrong doing.
It’s clear they side with businesses that pay them – especially large companies like Sears. I think they are probably tougher on smaller companies because they do not need their membership to bolster credibility.
I agree, the BBB is completely useless. They don’t do anything for you. They make it hard for people to complaint. Just go to their website and in the complaint form you can only sumbit 150 CHARACTERS. YOU ONLY HAVE 150 CHARACTERS!!! not only that, the font in the text box is so small that you can’t ever read it, seriously. If you don’t believe me, then just go to the website and see it with your own eyes. The BBB has a conflict of interest with the businesses it suppose to grade. The BBB is a complete JOKE!
The BBB sucks for consumers and businesses alike. If a business is a paying member, that business is able to screw over people as long as they are paying the BBB. It is a marketing gimmick for businesses to pay because they will always have a high rating – nice huh? The businesses that will not or do not pay are out of luck, because the BBB “has” to put up with those non-paying businesses too in order to keep the face of “For the public good”. That way, the CEO of the BBB can still make the well over 200k per year. So much for Non profit?? Consumers think twice before believing the BBB!
“It happens to be my MBA thesis a year ago. Thanks!” Then it seems the problems of the BBB would have been a better topic of the thesis. lol Especially for an MBA, the BBB markets its services wonderfully (by soliciting money in a bully-fashion); however, they have very little consumer/customer satisfaction or goodwill.
@sarah duke Sarah, do you currently work for the BBB and or have you ever worked for them in the past??? You sure have a lot of “stats” for just being another consumer?! Some of your stats ARE NOT CORRECT! I have worked for the BBB. your statement declaring that BBB’s are non-profit, (quote) “they don’t “make” money, it goes to the community and that they pay minimum wage” – is so far of base, I can’t believe it. I happen to have 1st hand knowledge, that most of the presidents of each individual BBB, happens to make over $100,000 per year. Some as much as $180.000. How is that “NON-PROFIT”? Minimum wage?
I don’t think so!!!
To Who Ever Is Concerned: Don’t get me wrong, I believe there is a need for such a company as the BBB, however my question is – Who REALLY governs the BBB? The Council? As long as the BBB in question meets their Quotas and Increases their Revenue each year, what’s left to govern? Don’t let them fool you, they DO have Quotas, they DO get BONUS’ for meeting those Quotas and most that work there, DO NOT make Minimum Wage, they make more. They are there trying to line their pocket books, just like anybody else. As it stands right now, they are laughing all the way to the Bank. I think the BBB needs to have a rating, just as the Members do. There needs to be some impartial force, that governs the BBB as a whole. Who is keeping them on the “straight and narrow” – it sure isn’t the Bureau!
New Castle, Delaware BBB – Company I wanted to submit a complaint on was not in data base. If I wanted to submit a complaint, I had to enter all the information on the Company first, which I had and entered. Character restriction prohibited me from adequately explaining my problem, so I abridged, hit submit “too many characters.” Three revisions and my breach of contract complaint went through. Resolution, I am offering to pay $1,900 of the $4,000 balance since I had to hire someone to fix his work, that cost me $2,100. Reply from Company sent to me via logging on to my new account at opening the “message” His reply, in short -”I want the full $4,000.” I had two choices hit accept or reject “Company’s Offer.” That’s no offer, I hit reject. Sent e-mail to BBB employee, “he didn’t make any offer” and attached copy of contract – that alone proved the guy’s reply contained lies – asked if they want anything else, maybe call and talk to me? Received a case closed notice and how neither one of us was willing to resolve the matter, and I didn’t give them sufficient information. Case closed as “resolved.” If you think this story isn’t true e-mail me I’ll send you the proof. This is a joke on consumers and no one should trust anything they see on a BBB reliability report.
BBB is a joke. Anyone can file a claim and cause a nuisance. If you have an axe to grind about a clerk at a shop — well file a complaint. If you don’t like the hamburger you at ate last nite, well file a complaint. After all the customer is always right, right? Just file another one… and again and again until their rating goes down. It will. That’s how easy it is. Tell your friends to file a complaint. It’s that simple. Now tell me, if its that simple to ruin a business, then how can that be credible, reliable, or noteworthy?
…except for filing a complaint against the BBB, now that is not easy.
I’ve used the BBB twice now and both times they completely resolved my issue. Both times they were able to get the company’s to eliminate bills of $200 & $500. I used the BBB in Las Vegas and Pittsburg. personally I think they do a great job
@sarah duke
A good portion of the grade is dependent on whether or not you’ve bribed the BBB apparently. Check out the 20/20 investigation. It will be on tonight at 10/9 cst. Here is a preview:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHxnlqJuZ2Y
Hamas, the terrorist organization, gets an A rating. So does a skinhead group. But regular businesses must PAY to get those ratings.
The BBB is under investigation by the Attorney General in Connecticut with good reason. The BBB went to the dark side in 2009. It went to a new rating system. When our company, a long time member at the time, went down in its rating with the BBB, we asked the local franchise owner, Judy Pepper, how she determined our rating. She said they use an algorithm they designed. We asked for the algorithm to determine how we could better our rating and she refused. Why would they keep that a secret? The Attorney General thinks maybe money is figured in.
We decided to evaluate our membership and determined that:
#1. Membership in the BBB is a COMPLAINT MAGNET. Our complaints grew 4 times over once we joined.
#2. The BBB does not care about being fair to businesses it only counts complaints.
We looked at our competitor who had almost 4000 complaints compared to our 133 complaints in the last three years, pretty good in our industry, and wonder how they keep their A+ rating. The judgments they make are arbitrary and subjective, no objectivity that we can see. As a member all of our complaints are resolved. Once you resign your complaints become serious.
Judy Peppers BBB franchise is doing well. They just bought a new building worth millions of dollars. Their business model has changed. They make a lot of money for a non-profit. I think it is because they have gone over to the dark side. I suggest if you own a business stay away from the BBB.
the conn. atty general has confirmed that the BBB is A scam, do not trust anything they say.
The BBB is in the business of extorting money from contractors in exchange for favorable ratings. In addition to providing favorable ratings they act as ‘nullifiers’ of consumer complaints. I reported a problem and from the start they did not respond to repeated phone calls. When I finally did contact someone they acted as though I was trying to scam the contractor. They know their roll in these situations all to well…..get the dissatisfied consumer off the back of the shoddy contractor.
The flipside to this is that contractors with integrity and quality workmanship that do not ‘pay up’ get low ratings.
The BBB is a lose-lose for the consumer and contractors (with integrity).
Pull the plug.
I’m currently fighting with them about siding with a corporation that refuses to answer my questions. I guess I’m taking my complaint to the Federal Trade Commission now.
THE BBB IS NOTHING BUT A SCAM. EVERYONE KNOWS THAT. THE BBB SHOULD NOT BE TRUSTED FOR ANYTHING.
I filed a complaint about a bank. My complaint was detailed and did not ask for any kind of recompense. I have never heard back and when I checked on the BBB site for statistics regarding complaints about this bank, BBB reported that there had been NO complaints about the bank in the last 36 months which obviously wasn’t true since I knew I had complained, and the site acknowledged the complaint had been submitted successfully.
I don’t even know where to look for the status of my complaint. I suspect it would be “trashed” or “ignored”.
This bank has an A+ rating by BBB.
I recently finished an internship at the BBB. On both sides, several things are true and false. The rating scheme was fairly new and like new projects they always need tweaking.. (What are we on now, Windows7000?). Since before 2011 it was establish that membership would no longer effect the the rating of a business. Mediators or caseworkers, (as I worked for free) don’t get paid a whole lot just a little above min wage ($8-12hrs) depending on their skills. Also, as an Executive member of any organization aren’t you expect to get a salary near the $100,000yr. Most of these people have MBAs or better and extensive experience. I handled abt 1000 cases within the 3mo of internship. I stood out as one of the top interns and didn’t get paid… I took the job seriously. I can assure you no mediators are instructed to closed cases for Business members but some are closed due to a lack of knowledge from the case worker or in error. Yes, we do forward messages from consumer and business but that does consist of mediation but the business as to be willing n if they are not their rating goes down. If a consumer had a terms of agreement then it is out of our hands. We don’t deal with all complaints either but give referrals to the correct agencies that can help; like the FTC, DCA and even the Attorney General. I have dealt with dumbest “customer” to the most irate business owner. However, I TRY to get a resolution that both parties can agree to. At the end of the day they are nonprofit because employee salary it not an income it’s a liability. And, as nongovermental/nonenforcement agency we cannot force a business to respond in any particular way but memebers must give a goodwill effort. BTW, case workering is not easy the damn complaints NEVER STOP COMING! I understand the term postal a whole lot better now, lol. Regardless of anyones grip here it isn’t that serious but the BBB was an option and you all should read more, smh… sigh–we cannot make everyone happy, such ashame. Oh FYI, and we did use to charge consumers a while back. In closing, does anyone want to donate any computers I was working off a dinosaur… you think they have so much money, :-s
I turned a complaint into the BBB seven days ago. Now I don’t know what to do. About a month ago I was baking in my oven. Ther was a loud explosion outside followed by no power. I went in the kitchen and turned my oven off until the power would come back on. I could smell burnt wires. I went to my braker box and it threw the braker. My house is only 10 yrs old and the oven very nice and about 5 yrs. I reported it to the public utility dist. They sent me a form to fill out. I had an electricion out to look at my oven. He took the back off and evrything was burnt. I turned out to the PUD. they just kept ignoring me for over a month and finally said it isnt there fault. I asked them to pay the damage. It was their fault so now where do I go. I have lived here for 30 yrs and never filed a claim but I know I am in the right…what can I do? I doubt now the BBB will help
Let me tell you about my experiences with the Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB) and the BBB offices it supposedly monitors/regulates. It would take volumes of books to give you the full details, so I will not bore you with that, but will submit to you my overall assessment that is adequately substantiated. The CBBB is more “crooked” than a dog’s hind legs (metaphorically), and the Council’s branch offices are just as crooked (no wonder, the fruit does not fall far from the tree). SELF-INTEREST and CORRUPTION are the attributes of this useless organization (i.e. worthless in the sense that the entity does not practice what it preaches, and deliberately deceives the public for ulterior motives)…. Their slogan of “TRUST” is nothing but “window dressing,” total “hogwash,” and the trademark of a “certified degenerate” in need of an enema of the brain. It would be more accurate to refer to the “BBB” as the “CGIBB” (Crooked and Grossly Incompetent Business Bureau”.
I totally agree with all of you out there who have been victimized twice, first by the disreputable company you dealt with, and then by the Better Business Bureau when you complained to the BBB. The unwary consumer needs to understand that the BBB is an organization funded by merchants for the merchants (not consumers). If a business belongs to the BBB and has paid into it, call it application fee or whatever, the BBB owes its loyalty to the paying company, and will act accordingly. The companies that do not join the BBB are ostracized in the marketplace, in some form or fashion (no matter how subtle it might be). The BBB’s catch phrase or slogan, “Start with TRUST,” is merely window dressing; and, believe or not, is intended to lure consumers away from doing business with non-BBB members and shop with BBB members (some who are reputable and some not so respectable). Do you have complete faith and confidence in someone who pounds into your ears, ad nauseam, that he or she is to be trusted? If a fox is guarding the farmer’s henhouse, is the fox to be trusted? I would suggest to any consumer to use his or her own judgment and common sense when buying a product or service, but be adequately suspicious about BBB ratings appearing in any of the reliability reports the BBB puts out on sellers…. An institution is as sound and trustworthy as its weakest link (self-interest).
Do you trust the fox that guards the farmer’s henhouse? There’s your answer about the realibility and trustworthiness of the BBB (very useful in furthering its self-interest, but totally useless otherwise).
One of my clients, whom I will call “Ms. Deceived,” once told me that she complained to the BBB about a business (which I will refer to as “X Company”) that cheated her out of $75.00. X Company is a large corporation that has offices nationwide. The parent office of X company is listed as a BBB-accredited business that enjoys a top BBB rating, whereas, to my knowledge, none of its branch offices are members of the BBB. Since Ms. Deceived did not live in the same region where the corporate office of the cheating company was located, she complained to the BBB that had jurisdiction over her case. The BBB refused to further assist the complainant, on the grounds that the branch office of X Company was not a BBB-accredited member and that office was uncooperative. When Ms. Deceived asked to have her complaint transferred to the BBB region having jurisdiction over the parent office of X Company, the BBB refused without explanation. Ms. Deceived, quite frustrated and disappointed, told the BBB do stop with its excuses and do its job, to which the BBB replied: “Your telling us what to do is is offensive and, therefore, there will be no further communication between you and our office.” Ms. Deceived was totally flabbergasted by BBB’s door-closing, freakish response. The BBB is all about trust, right? WRONG! A more accurate view of the BBB is “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.”
It seems as if anyone who writes good about the BBB is from the BBB. They are nothing more than money hungry scum bags. What i dont understand is, how can a company owner have BBB A+ Rating and be on the board directors. I saw one company that 6 months ago had 26 complaints and still today has 26 complaints. It is impossible for them not to have had 1 complaint in the past 6 months since i was scammed and ripped off by them and reported this to the BBB. The complaint was not added to their page so instead of 27 they still have 26. Nothing more than bullshit. Who can you trust these days……..?
The whole point of the BBB is to function as a B2B– that is, to iron out differences between businesses that pay for its dispute-resolution services. Businesses are themselves consumers of others’ products and services. When the complainant is a member as well as the entity complained about, of course BBB is a boatload more likely to do anything about it! BBB’s selling point to businesses is, “Wouldn’t you like to avoid having to go to Court? For a ‘nominal fee’ we can help in that regard.” In the B2B context, this sort of thing works better than in the business-to-public context; as between businesses, there’s often a fee-shift arrangement in the contract stipulating that the entity being sued can come up with a “best offer” that,should the party doing the suing receive less than that amount by verdict, then the party doing the suing has to pay the defendant’s legal fees incurred after the offer was made(which can wipe out the verdict). In contrast, such provisions are usually not lawful in the consumer-to-business context, and for that matter, neither are compulsory-arbitration clauses. Neither the business nor the consumer has a figurative gun to their head in the usual BBB complaint case and so nothing gets done. Many businesses look upon BBB accreditation as a cost of doing business to at least appear to be amenable to out-of-court settlement with displeased consumers. This is what the allegedly corrupt selling of BBB accreditation, and BBB’s alleged shakedown of noncompliant companies, is all about: appearance appearance appearance.
The Better Business Bureau of Abilene, TX states that my complaint against the Abilene Teachers Federal Credit Union, “….digressed to a point where personal issues cloud the matter.” This is siding with the business I complained about and reeks of politics in protecting the member institution against the ordinary citizen who has a legitimate problem…
All I can say is that we’ve slam dunked our case against a clear rip off and all the mediator does is send responses back and forth. There’s really no way to get a complaint to stick to a company that simply responds to every response.
These thieves have an A rating and use their BBB accredidation to convert sales. We’re standing up to them and the only thing BBB does is send our emails back and forth. Such a disillusioning process because this company is everything an A rated company would never be!
I don’t know if the BBB does their job or not, but I do know they are extremely difficult to work with from the business owner’s point of view. My business has an unfavorable rating, because of one unanswered compliant in 30 years. We have no other compliants, the one we have is recent (maybe 6 months old), and I have been working tirelessly on trying to resolve the issue. The problem is that I can’t get any help from my local BBB. I have called, emailed, wrote letters…I want to resolve this but can’t! Any suggestions??
All I’ve read here is about the consumer. What about the busineses that get railroaded into joining this BBB because they are so reputable. I joined right after opening my business, paid the dues and got my shiny new plaque for the wall. I dont even know what they are supposed to do for the small busines. They say we are members because of our high rating. Guess what, If my business is so highly rated….why would I need your so called protection anyway. I have never had any complaints. When the subscription ways over and time to renue…Well NO THANKS! They always call to reel us in again and treat us like we are idiots for not joining. Thanks ,,,but no thanks, doing fine without the extra BILL.
We thank everyone who has participated in the discussion and the thread. We expect that the article has served its purpose in educating people about what is BBB and more importantly – what it is NOT.
A big lesson learned. The BBB is a joke. Not even really reading my complaint. Doesn’t matter what my complaint was I get a generic answer. Blah…Blah…Blah…Blah…Blah!!! Integrity and Trust and Honor are a thing of the past in many cases in this world and where you deal with a company on line and they never have to see your face, makes it even easier for them to get away with what ever they want. When a company can send you a product that has been damaged and you are not reimbursed for sending it back…there is a problem. And when they try to bribe you with $20 credit to let it all go..you KNOW you have a problem. Talking to the BBB is like talking to this computer. It gets you NO WHERE!
My co. was bbb accredited for more than 10 years, but now no longer with them. They recently sent me a letter persuading me to rejoin and even said I could make payments if money was an issue. They even showed me that in the last year, there were a certain number of people looking into my account to see if I was a trust worthy company or not. Not sure if those numbers were made up though.
Withos.com ……Withos is the alternative for the BBB!!! This company growing out of Tulsa,oklahoma is going to be the next big thing (or at least comipition for the BBB). Growing rapidly out of the tulsa metro area watch for the name WITHOS to be the household name for local and national credibitity and online reputaion
FYI – The BBB is “Not” a consumer protection agency! It’s a resource for consumers to find out about the reputation of a company before spending money. You can’t pay to be a member, you can apply but there are no gurantee’s you’ll be accepted. Remember the saying about opinions, everyone has one!
I’ve tried to use the BBB on two occasions. Both were dismal failures. On the first attempt, I filed a complaint against a marketing firm for using deceptive selling practices. The BBB closed the case as satisfactorily resolved. It was not resolved to my satisfaction what-so-ever. The second instance involved the BBB Autoline service. After several months of discussion, the BBB determined that the case was out of their jurisdiction and closed the case. Again – not to my satisfaction what-so-ever.
Based on my experiences, I have to say the BBB seems to be a worthless entity that appears to cater to the businesses which they are supposed to be watch dogging. As a consumer I recommend anyone seek guidance elsewhere.
@sarah duke
Sarah Duke, you are a phony, a liar, a schill, and completely bogus.
I was under the impression that BBB would provide fair assessment to both business and consumer but I was wrong. I had some issues with cell phone service so I filed a complaint. The business replied with a “modified” terms/contracts and did not answer or explain the problems I experienced. BBB closed my case with so called “good faith effort” based on modified contract from business without further investigation. Isn’t that biased?