Complaint Review: Better Business Bureau - USA Nationwide

   It's pretty clear that the BBB sells ratings.   I read an article a few months ago where the reporter was able to register Hamas as a business and get an A- rating right off the bat.  The BBB responded that it was a mistake, but the reporter had also registered another bogus business that got the same treatment (after the money was paid). 

   On the other hand, there are numerous reports on this site of businesses that will respond to a BBB complaint after the consumer has had no luck getting them to respond directly.  In that respect, there is some value to the organization.

   It's to be expected of any for profit organization.  This site is no exception.  Some of the advertisers on this site that meet "strict standards for business conduct" are well known ripoffs.  That is far outwieghed by the value of the site in publishing reports of scams and ripoffs.

I've seen multiple ripoff reports with language to the effect of, "I will send the BBB after you!"

Things you should know:

-The BBB is not a government agency and has no ability to litigate in any capacity.

-The BBB will attempt to mediate disputes for you, but nothing further.  Most of their "mediation" will be a series of form letters sent back and forth between the person filing the complaint and the accused business.

-If you file a BBB complaint, they will forward the complaint to the accused business and give them a chance to respond.  If the business responds (they don't have to), they will then return to you to ask if the situation was resolved to your satisfaction.  If so, it will result in a "positive" resolution for the company's BBB rating.

-BBB ratings don't really mean anything.  They can however, be fairly reliable indicators of what it's like to do business with a particular company.  Ex: If you see that Company A has 65 fraud complaints against it, you might want to think twice about doing business with them.

-If a situation is NOT resolved to a customer's satisfaction, there are no negative consequences for the affected business except a lower BBB rating which as I said, means nothing.

****TRUE CASES OF FRAUD, THEFT OR MALFEASANCE SHOULD BE REPORTED TO YOUR LOCAL AUTHORITIES OR THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION AND NOT TO THE BBB****

This info does need exposure. The BBB is apparently a fraud..

I hope they are forced to stop this practice. The video from ABC news was an eye opener..I knew they did this..but not to this extent.

However, the BBB does still have a good use for consumers. I don't really care if a rating is A+ or C etc..I use it to see if companies are resolving complaints,how may they have, and to find info. web sites, physical addresses, when the company was formed, what other DBAs are used etc. etc. It is an easy way to occasionally find a wealth of info about a bad business and how some scams are conducted..

..but I would agree, the rating system can not be trusted at all.