Better Business Bureau is a scam; don't use it

[mr.jameswoods]

I'm sure many of you know this already but I wanted to vent. The BBB is a complete scam. Companies that are listed in their index are there because they pay the BBB to be included in their list. I hired a sprinkler repair company that was horrible and it was listed it in the BBB. The company is no longer a member of the BBB yet it advertises as such on its website. The BBB explicitly states that companies are prohibited from using it's logos unless it pays it's dues. I contacted the BBB and informed them a company was using it's logo yet was not a current member. The BBB responded yet did nothing about it. The company is still using it's logo.

Companies are only flagged on the BBB website if multiple complaints are logged. By multiple complaints, I'm referring to about 10 according to their officials. That will never happen because it's going to be rare that someone will look up their file on the BBB and file a complaint. Your complaint essentially gets ignored and not logged in their system because there wasn't enough complaints. The BBB has not interest in having many companies flagged because it will deter companies from paying for the use of their logo.

Also, the BBB informs the company of your identity in regards to who is complaining about them. It is not confidential and if anything it can inspire retribution by the company.

The BBB does not care about consumers. It's simply a scam that goads companies into purchasing their logo for the use on their website or advertising. The BBB does not indepently view and measure quality and customer service like Consumer Reports. My advice is to use Kudzu. It's free and anonymous. Also, you can use Citysearch, and Yahoo Reviews to evaluate companies, restaurants and other services.

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

I do not doubt the validity of your info. I just know I have threatened to use the BBB against different companies 3 times in the past. And actually had to follow through on one of those three.

Each time it has resolved the issue I had with the company.

So from my personal exp it has worked, but as I said I don't doubt the validity of your info.

 

[Concord]

I do not doubt the validity of your info. I just know I have threatened to use the BBB against different companies 3 times in the past. And actually had to follow through on one of those three.

Each time it has resolved the issue I had with the company.

So from my personal exp it has worked, but as I said I don't doubt the validity of your info.

I've had no problem with the BBB either.

The threat or actual usage of the BBB has worked many times for me and my wife.

 

[mr.jameswoods]

I do not doubt the validity of your info. I just know I have threatened to use the BBB against different companies 3 times in the past. And actually had to follow through on one of those three.

Each time it has resolved the issue I had with the company.

So from my personal exp it has worked, but as I said I don't doubt the validity of your info.

Likewise, I don't doubt yours or ConcordCowboys experience with the BBB. BBB's are operated locally so a BBB in your area may be better than one in another locale. However, their policies are standardized among all branches. The BBB can be used to mediate a dispute but the company in question has to essentially be ignorant and fearful of the BBB. Some companies may be afraid that their reputation will be hurt if a single complaint is made against them so they may give in due to fear. But knowledgeable companies are aware that it takes several complaints against a company for the BBB to remove them from their listing or to truly publicize a complaint against them. And the BBB has no incentive to remove a company from it's listing especially if one is listed with them since it receive dues from that particular company. So unless a company has several complaints against it, it has nothing to fear. I've filed complaints against companies to no avail. These companies oftend have 1 or 2 existing complaints but they are still members of the BBB (because they pay their dues). And even if a complaint is publicized on its listing, the BBB often won't provide specific details as to what the company did. They might list: "customer complaint about service." If anything, I feel that the BBB protects bad companies. For many people, they just want to file a complaint but you can't fine a complaint with the BBB anonymously without them providing your identification to the said company. I know that in Phoenix, a lot of people have had to file civil lawsuits because the local BBB did nothing for them.