BBB is not as legit as we thought

[LisaR]

Did anyone see the piece on 20/20 about the Better Business Bureau? It seems that having a good rating by the BBB may not be all it is cracked up to be.

They were showing businesses that had been given the grade of a C and all they had to do to move their grade to an A was pay the BBB membership and their poor grade disappeared.

They interviewed Wolfgang Puck and he said he refused to become a paying member so his grade is a C.

Looks to me like it is just another organization that can't be trusted.

Here is the link to 20/20. Right now the video is on their front page.

http://abcnews.go.com/2020

 

[golfgal]

I have never thought BBB was "legit" to begin with. Most people think it is some grand, non-profit organization to help consumers and it just is not. Also, if you file any kind of legal action, you can not report that company to the BBB so a company could have 50 lawsuits against them and have a perfect rating with the BBB. I have never taken any stock in a company claiming to be in good standing with the BBB.

 

[LisaR]

While I never looked for a company based on their BBB standing, I admit it made me feel better if I picked a company and noticed that they were a member. Obviously, I was way off base!

 

[bicker]

There's no such thing as a free lunch. If people wanted the BBB to be "trustworthy" - in this case, I think the word was meant to imply "in favor of the consumer" - then it would need to have been funded by consumers. Instead, the BBB is funded almost completely by business.

Their stated goal is to foster a fair and effective marketplace, so that buyers and sellers can trust each other. As such, I'm a bit confused. What does the BBB do so that sellers can trust buyers?

 

[C.Ann]

My own past experiences with them have shown how utterly useless they are.. I'm not surprised by this 20/20 episode at all.. Didn't even have to watch it - LOL..

Good that you are bringing it to the attention of others though..

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I have never looked up a company at the BBB ever before using them. I did know that it is a BS thing anyway and that you just pay to be a member.

If I want to look up "scammy" or questionable companies, I just google.

 

[Joyful3Heart]

I had a problem with tracfone about a year ago and made a report to the Florida BBB. Tracfone told me I was trying to scam them and refused to return my money for service they never activated..long story ..I called the BBB, and all of a sudden real managers who spoke fluent english were calling me and I got my refund...maybe in different areas the BBB is more legit...

 

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

nothing new (Didn't watch the show) but years ago I was going to file a complaint about a business.

found out that not only would my complaint be removed if the business contested it, but found out that even if my complaint was verified, the business can have it removed by various means.

then a family friend, who is a small business owner, told me about how the BBB collect fees from businesses to run. so like a lot of previous posters stated, its set up to protect the interest of the BUSINESS, not the consumer.

waste of time to complain to them.

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

First and only word of wisdom that my father gave me after buying my first house... "the BBB stands for nothing", the only true review will come from friends and family who will say the bad along with the good.

 

[tasha99]

I have found the BBB very helpful with complaint resolution. All three BBB complaints I've made over my lifetime (Verizon, ETS for my GRE testing date, and a company that sold me moldy food over the Internet) were resolved to my satisfaction (refund for unwanted "premium" texts, opportunity to pay the fee to move my test date, and replacement of food.) I've always just used it as a place to complain--one step down from writing the Atty General.

 

[Tiger926]

BBB is pretty useless. I'm known as an amateur consumer advocate around here, and have gotten way farther than BBB would have given me all on my own. Went to them with a major scam, that the city police, OPP, RCMP and Michigan Attorney General were investigating, and they told me I was out of luck! Not so fast - I did some very good research, contacted the president of the company myself, who was floored that I discovered who he was behind all of his shady companies, and he gave me most of my money back. Said he was impressed with my knowledge and gumption in trying to get my money back as the company had lied. Regardless, I was happy to get most of money back, no thanks to the BBB.

Not surprised by that report at all - no one around here uses the BBB, yet they still have a very nice downtown office that is staffed with employees.

Tiger

 

[cm8]

I have never thought BBB was "legit" to begin with. Most people think it is some grand, non-profit organization to help consumers and it just is not. Also, if you file any kind of legal action, you can not report that company to the BBB so a company could have 50 lawsuits against them and have a perfect rating with the BBB. I have never taken any stock in a company claiming to be in good standing with the BBB.

 

[Colleen27]

All it takes is living in a small town to see how useless it is - just about every company we do business with personally or professionally has a D or lower rating for lack of information. No complaints, no negative information, just a note that "BBB does not have sufficient background information about this business" and a failing grade. And many of these are companies we've done business with on a regular basis for 5+ years without a single problem.

As far as I can tell, it is just another advertising tool - you pay for the accreditation because that gives you the right to use their logo in your ads, and the public believes that makes a difference. My husband's company is probably only listed because we have a DBA; the only information they have about us is what is public record and that's only good enough for an F. For the first two years we were in business we weren't listed at all, and we've never had any complaints filed. But if we want to improve our rating we could become an accredited member for the low-low price of $500 per year.

 

[tasha99]

It never occurred to me to look to BBB for an official recommendation of a company. The complaints I made, though--especially about Verizon and ETS--were things I was having no success with solving on my own. Both those companies were not willing to help me at all. I was so shocked when ETS called me and offered to let me reschedule my GRE for the $40 fee weeks after I had had to cancel due to illness. Verizon, too, refunded $75 to my account and gave me a personal apology (this after letters and numerous phone calls did nothing).

 

[Deb in IA]

My son was telling me about this.

I was just pleased that he was watching 20/20!

 

[castleview]

The state Consumer Protection Department is your best bet. Granted, they deal with companies who have stiffed customers and you won't find glowing reviews there, but as far as legit - you're better off checking them.