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.

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.

Votes (9)  •  Comments (1)  •  Link to this review

Mark F. I feel like I stalk your reviews haha sorry your's just show up in my feed. I agree I wouldn't compare them to the mafia directly b/c of other activities they're involved in but is it a scam.... ummmmm... yeah.

8/4/11  •  Votes (3)

I would NEVER TRUST THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU!

I didn't know much about them until they contacted me about becoming a member. Having been in business for some time and not having problems, I would have thought my rating would have been very good. I had a C Rating with no explanation as to why.

The membership was explained to me that if I pay, I will become Acreddited and my grade will improve, but only if I pay will I become Accredited and can have a better grade. It seemed ridiculous but I care about my business reputation so I fell prey and paid over $500.00 to them.

The next morning I was happy to see my grade changed to an A Grade and the one complaint I had disappeared from my record! I was thrilled until I got a call from them that my credit card would not go through. They improved my grade before getting the money. I started researching them and decided they were not trustworthy and I wasn't going to give them my hard earned money. About an hour after hanging up the phone with them I decided to check my bbb report. THEY CHANGED ME TO AN F NOW WHICH IS EVEN WORSE THAN THE C I HAD BEFORE.

I called them screaming, they refused to talk to me in detail unless I was a member. If this isn't a scam, then I'd like to know what is! Their scam was just exposed on ABC's 20/20. WATCH THIS ABC INVESTIGATION ON THEM:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yo8kfV9kONw

Now I have an F Rating and I show my business was revoked! They are being sued left and right, how can they last? Nobody gives them an ounce of credit anymore. If I see a business that is bbb accredited then I know they paid for that. I will not do business with any business that paid the bbb for the fake grade / accreditation.

They gave a terror group an A rating when they paid, WHAT KIND OF CRAZINESS IS THAT? They did the same for a racist white skinhead group! Any business that pays the bbb I'd stay far away from. I would question the trust and honesty of that business if they pay the bbb for accreditation.

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.

Votes (2)  •  Comments (1)  •  Link to this review

Bob L. AGREED! A complete scam in my book! I was to pay them and get a better grade which I did. They changed my C Grade to an A in one day for about $500.00. When they claim my credit card wouldn't work which was untrue, they took the A Grade away from me and gave me an F Grade and Revoked my business. I was told that if I pay to become a member, this will go away and I'll have my rating back. As long as I'm not a member, they won't talk to me!

10/27/11  •  Votes (1)

This review of the Better Business Bureau (of particular interest to SiteJabber followers) concerns the BBB's service in reviewing businesses for consumers. You can get to that service directly at www.bbb.org/us/Find-Business-Reviews.

As a result of outside pressure, the BBB claims it no longer considers BBB fee-paid "accreditation" in its ratings. However, the review pages for each non-accredited business will include three (3) prominent mentions of that status, which you should ignore.

Considerations that the BBB says it does apply include BBB complaint history, business duration, government actions, and questionable advertising. BBB will also downgrade if a company fails to provide to the BBB complete information, if the BBB has revoked accreditation, or if the nature of the business is suspect.

The BBB also has a link for consumer reviews (not to be confused with consumer complaints), which do not seem to figure into its ratings.

BBB ratings are a helpful resource in evaluating a company, but should not be relied on exclusively. ConsumerSearch (see my separate SiteJabber review) reflects a huge number of consumer reviews from across the Web, and would be a good supplement to BBB ratings.

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.