Better Business BureauReviews 155

I have a personal training business. I was contacted by them about being accredited. After the pitch of $500 per year and another $450 per year to use their web logo, I declined. I have a static site and I'm a personal trainer. My business is word of mouth basically. Well, I was listed with a C within a week. I asked why they listed me at all since I work from home and the gym and they said because I was incorporated. I said, "Why am I a "C"? They said because I was a new, small business that wasn't accredited! WOW... so now if someone looks up my business I look mediocre. I have worked hard for the last 3 years at my business and I find this to company to be an insult to business'.

The Better Business Bureau's "dispute resolution service" is a joke. I had a roofer do my roof and I had a leak. I asked the roofer to come back and he said he wasn't liable for the leak. It costed me 3k to do the repairs through another contractor. I went back to the roofer and asked him to pay me the 3k and he told me to go to hell. I went to the Better Business Bureau and asked them for help. They told me I had to go through their "dispute resolution service". So i followed suit and emailed them my complaint. They just forwarded to the contractor and they asked if he wished to respond back. They did. So the BBB just handed it back to me and said, "the business made a good faith attempt to settle this matter, do you accept?" They were basically telling me that I had to take what the contractor was giving me. Complete BS stories and lies. Overall, the BBB did NOTHING. I thought they were a government agency but they're not. They're just a non-profit org. That sits and collects cash from business and the pretends to help people. What a joke. Don't trust the BBB, they're pathetic.

The BBB wanted us to pay to erase complaints on our business and improve our grade. We can pay to clear complaints and get a A grade.

The BBB misleads consumers since they take money to give a company a better grade. Don't ever trust the BBB, they are extorting money from business and hurting the businesses reputation if the business won't pay.

This hurts the economy, if a company paid the BBB for accreditation, do not do business with that company at all.

DO NOT TRUST THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU!

We have a complaint on our business which pulls down our grade to an F, yet we service thousands of customers and have for 27 plus years.

The BBB was offering to erase our complaint and give us an A Grade for $500

How can you trust an organization that sells it's grades!

The BBB is a scam organization as I saw on the news. DO NOT TRUST THE BBB, they take money for grades or slam the business with a bad grade, often an F.

The BBB is not given any power from any government office, though the average person seems to think it's run by the US Government!

The BBB is a Business, and they are in business to make money. The BBB charges businesses to become "accredited" and then the only service they provide is that they allow people to lodge complaints against them.

The BBB does provide a small service in that you can file a complaint against a business, but they don't tell people viewing the businesses profile that the complaints were satisfactorily settled, and they don't allow for consumers to post a positive review of any business!

Why do BBB execs make over $100,000 per year? Why don't they allow for positive feedback?

Here is an ABC 20/20 investigation into the BBB. Watch this video and learn more about the real BBB.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yo8kfV9kONw

I would be happy to give the BBB a positive review if they did something positive for businesses.

I'm not a fan of this organization. Anyone can pay them to be accredited or approved by them and as long as you keep paying their fee you're accredited. Simple mafia tactic only when you don't pay they don't destroy your shop. They just mark you as unaccredited and might give you a bad review. If this organization was government controlled (which would never happen because of possible reperocussions) then maybe they would have MY approval. Also, FYI to all of you out there any idiot can pay some joe schmo to approve of his business, it still doesn't prove that they are legitimate.

The BBB has survied for decades soley on their misleading name. They are neither Better nor a Bureau - not a government bureau as most consumers mistakenly believe. The BBB is an unusual not-for-profit franchise.

Local offices buy a franchise and the financial benefits go to the local President who is usually paid well over $250,000 and gets huge bonuses based on how many businesses he can make fall victim to his telemarketing scheme.

The scam is easy, when anyone asks them about a business they call the business implying that consumers wants the business to be evaluated. Then the business is offered an approval by paying a huge membershp fee. Or they can pay more to become Accredited Member.

The trouble with the BBB is that it ONLY allows complaints, so no alternate views can be considered. In 2009 the BBB switches to a grading system but they won't tell anyone how it is determined and businesses can't earn an A+ without being members. That's kind of like a teacher who won't give a kid a A+ unless he is of the same race.

The BBB has been dropping in value for years because other online complaint websites are offering an open system of compliments along with complaints. Plus they have a variety of ratings from zero to 5. The BBB takes only complaints. Its new grading system is a futile attempt to resurrect a system that is self serving and was never of value to business or consumers; at least not consumers who take a minute to figure out that the BBB is the least honest business in the world.

The BBB scam is biased and designed ONLY to create membership income. Last year the BBB extracted $250 million dollars in fees for naieve business owners. No smart consumer or business person cares a wit about what the BBB thinks.

There are many investigative website reviews out there that reveal the dispicable tactics of the BBB. Search and you'll be amazed - if you dare.

I remember a scene on a TV show when I was a little kid (I think it was from All In The Family) where one of the characters has an awful experience with a business and yells, "I'm going to call the BBB!" It's still around and it's still useful and it's still powerful, and it's incredibly convenient to use their site.

A few years ago, I was ripped off by a company for a small amount, only $20 or so, and filed a BBB complaint on their web site. My complaint was the first one. They had no records about this company. The owner refused to return my money. It took a while for the gears to roll into motion and for additional complaints to accumulate, but sure enough, about a year later, the scammer was investigated and exposed by a local television station for ripping off thousands from other people who had been more trusting than me. His business was forced to shut down and information about his business and about his name will remain on google forever.

The BBB can be a great force to resolve individual conflicts with businesses or to battle businesses with a history of scam-artistry, but I am wary of more subtle distinctions like their A-F rating. The idea that an A+ business can't get any better or that there's some quantifiable distinction between an A- business and a B+ business seems silly to me.

If you have a complaint on a business whether it is online or not, you can go to this website and file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau.

In addition to posting here, which I fully encourage, check out this site. I had a business screw me over once and I contacted them and filed a complaint and I not only got my money back, I got an apology as well. They send correspondence to the business and they're pretty effective.

You can check out a business as well as blog on the consumer blog. Sometimes you gotta get tough and the BBB has been around a long time. Don't settle for noncompliance. Learn how to protect yourself and your rights as a consumer.

I always recommend sitejammer and the BBB to anyone I know who has been badly treated or scammed by a business. Hit em where it hurts, guys.