Complaint Review: BBB of Kansas City - Kansas City, Arlington MO, VA

I can't believe how incompetent this office is at their jobs.

I filed a complaint against a contractor for failing to install 7 fence posts per the terms of the written agreement. I had contacted this company numerous times before the complaint over the phone and in writing, and they failed to respond. I gave them a deadline and stated if I didn't hear back from them by "x" date that I would be filing a BBB report and one with the AG's office. So, I filed.

Immediately following filing, the contractor arrived at my home, banging on the door without an appointment and sent me written correspondence. Over the course of two weeks, the CEO and the contractor's son sent written correspondence to me by e-mail. All of this correspondence was forwarded to the BBB for their records. I planned on filing suit in small claims court per the AG of Kansas's recommendation, but I discussed the problem with my credit card provider and they agreed to open a dispute to reduce my stress and to expedite the problem.

Mackenzi, the BBB rep, closed out the file without a proper written response from me, citing she had my response from the correspondence and that the CEO was obviously trying to work out an arrangement with me, although I knew better from their track history with me and others. And, following their supposed resolution, they sent a contradictory one in the mail that failed to match the original written terms, trying to wriggle out of properly applying Creo Coat to the posts by extending the warranty. That wasn't the agreement, and I have no faith the company will stay in business that long considering their shoddy workmanship. No other BBB handles complaints this way.

They formally send the customer a response by e-mail asking if the resolution from the business is acceptable. Then, the complaint is closed. Moreover, I had to hear the complaint was closed from the CEO who openly bragged in writing about getting it closed. When I requested that it be reopened, Mackenzi flat out refused. I asked to speak to her supervisor, and she initially didn't provide her information although she claimed she would call me. Another 3 weeks later, still no callback. Over the course of over 45 days, I e-mailed the contractor 3x regarding setting a date for utilities and reinstallation. No replies.

I e-mailed Mackenzi and stated the contractor didn't live up to the resolution. She agreed to reopen the complaint, and I said I'd give them another 2 weeks to respond. At that point she finally provided her supervisor's phone number. When they failed to respond and American Express honored the dispute in my favor, I sent Mackenzi an e-mail with an update and told her I was tired of haranguing the contractor. I said she could reopen it or not, but I was providing them with the new information all the same for public records. I further said I would happily repay the contractor when they install as contracted. I received this message back from Mackenzi: "The BBB has audited your complaint history through our system and found that we can no longer handle your complaints against a business in good faith. Any current and future complaints will be closed as invalid."

What? I will freely admit I file my share of BBB complaints and am prone to whinging if something goes awry because that is what the forum is about, but all of my complaints are factual. Period. And, this e-mail isn't going to prevent me from continuing to file complaints. In the future, I am copying and pasting all complaints into a Word document. And, I will be compiling them and submitting complaints about this office and other offices that fail to properly record my complaints for record or fail to forward my complaints to the business.

I'll further say that I have filed BBB complaints recently, and the only office failing to process them is the Kansas City location. I recently pulled up the complaint history with the contractor, and they removed my complaint. I also pulled up the Google review I left for their office through Kansas City. Under my Google login, it shows the complaint is posted for the public to see. If I pull it up without the login, the complaint isn’t shown. Therefore, I believe the BBB of Kansas City contacted Google and suppressed my complaint.

More importantly, they sided with the business when I supplied ample documentation to show they were at fault, they had not resolved the matter and even sent them a record of the CEO’s criminal history published on the Missouri Secretary of State’s website. I have recently filed a complaint against the BBB with the attorney general of Virginia, where their International Association of Better Business Bureau’s is located. The behavior out of this office is absolutely atrocious.

I tried to keep an open mind with the BBB over the years, but all the bad press is valid. They don't care about the customer; they care more about collecting fees from business owners.