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+--- Thread: The Better Business Bureau is a Scam in Itself (/Thread-The-Better-Business-Bureau-is-a-Scam-in-Itself)
The Better Business Bureau is a Scam in Itself - sanantone - 09-26-2014
After my recent experience with the BBB, I began to question their credibility. A car company refused to replace something that was clearly covered under a warranty. They responded to my complaint that they still refuse to replace the item that was recovered under warranty. BBB thought this was sufficient enough and closed the case on a positive note on the business' end after I refused their response. They didn't investigate anything. So how does this car company that is gaining a reputation for low quality and seeing huge drops in stock value maintain its A+ rating? It pays to be accredited.
What makes BBB even worse is that it punishes businesses that don't pay for accreditation. If they get one or two complaints, even after they've been resolved years ago, they will get F, D, and C ratings. ABC caught representatives telling business owners that, if they pay for accreditation, their rating will be changed to an A. A day after paying, their ratings were changed. The BBB is very well-known, and Americans trust the ratings when making purchasing decisions. The BBB giving businesses a low rating for not paying is borderline extortion and libel.
Better Business Bureau: The Best Ratings Money Can Buy - ABC News
The Better Business Bureau is a Scam in Itself - UptonSinclair - 09-26-2014
I prefer yelp. At least then you can see ratings from customers rather than some pay to play scenario.
The Better Business Bureau is a Scam in Itself - fourleaf_tayback - 09-26-2014
Check this story out before you use Yelp again...
Yelp Now Has Court Permission to Change Business Ratings for Money. Don't Forget It. | SFoodie | San Francisco | San Francisco News and Events | SF Weekly
The Better Business Bureau is a Scam in Itself - UptonSinclair - 09-26-2014
fourleaf_tayback Wrote:Check this story out before you use Yelp again...
Yelp Now Has Court Permission to Change Business Ratings for Money. Don't Forget It. | SFoodie | San Francisco | San Francisco News and Events | SF Weekly
If you read through the comments, the following court document is listed as the source of the story. The information is not as cut and dry as the story would have you believe. According to what I read in the documents, the business owners that sued Yelp failed to prove their allegations where true.
http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2014/09/02/11-17676.pdf
My personal experience with Yelp has been very good. When I hire people to do work at my condo, the first place I go is Yelp. I am not claiming it is a perfect system, but I trust it far more than the BBB.
The Better Business Bureau is a Scam in Itself - mrs.b - 09-26-2014
Yelp is just as bad. Here's a recent story explaining that they essentially do the same thing as BBB with constant harrassment of business owners to advertise, and for those who do not, good reviews get hidden.
On a Quest to Be Yelp's Worst Restaurant - ABC News
[URL="http://www.bottobistro.com/YELP.html"]
From the owners themselves: index[/URL]
It does not entirely escape suspicion that it is an ingenious marketing ploy for a restaurant that, perhaps, truly did earn some lower reviews by way of a few bad meals or service experiences. On the other hand, a family friend is a small business owner and commented that he is regularly bombarded with their insistence that he pay for advertising and, as a business that just started and is short spare capital for such things, he's declined and coincidentally seen some of his good reviews mysteriously filter out once he did (from reviewers with more than a few reviews, not just new accounts). I've heard that groups that do pay for advertising see their bad reviews filtered more often than not. That wacky algorithm seems largely driven by the cash deposited, and that defeats the purpose of what most users believe the site is supposed to be.
TLDR - Yelp is just as bad. The only saving grace is that users who are aware of their greasy advertising racket can go the extra mile of seeking out the filtered responses, because that is often where you'll find some of the more accurate viewpoints.
The Better Business Bureau is a Scam in Itself - Prloko - 09-27-2014
sanantone Wrote:After my recent experience with the BBB, I began to question their credibility. A car company refused to replace something that was clearly covered under a warranty. They responded to my complaint that they still refuse to replace the item that was recovered under warranty. BBB thought this was sufficient enough and closed the case on a positive note on the business' end after I refused their response. They didn't investigate anything. So how does this car company that is gaining a reputation for low quality and seeing huge drops in stock value maintain its A+ rating? It pays to be accredited.
What makes BBB even worse is that it punishes businesses that don't pay for accreditation. If they get one or two complaints, even after they've been resolved years ago, they will get F, D, and C ratings. ABC caught representatives telling business owners that, if they pay for accreditation, their rating will be changed to an A. A day after paying, their ratings were changed. The BBB is very well-known, and Americans trust the ratings when making purchasing decisions. The BBB giving businesses a low rating for not paying is borderline extortion and libel.
Better Business Bureau: The Best Ratings Money Can Buy - ABC News
I'm not saying you are one of them, but there are a lot of people out there that think the better business bureau is a government agency, or some sort of watchdog. It is a member ran system. The BBB collects money from businesses to be a middle man. As long as the company addresses the complaint, the BBB considers it resolved. The BBB's loyalty are to its members, and not customers.
The Better Business Bureau is a Scam in Itself - sanantone - 09-27-2014
Prloko Wrote:I'm not saying you are one of them, but there are a lot of people out there that think the better business bureau is a government agency, or some sort of watchdog. It is a member ran system. The BBB collects money from businesses to be a middle man. As long as the company addresses the complaint, the BBB considers it resolved. The BBB's loyalty are to its members, and not customers.
The BBB decides whether or not the complaint has been resolved. I've seen cases where a company addressed a complaint in the same manner, and it was considered unresolved. Now, I'm noticing that the companies that get the better treatment are paying members. If the BBB is not going to give fair treatment to all businesses, then it should only deal with member complaints. Their unfair treatment of non-members has serious repercussions. There are many people who get turned off by a business with an "F" rating.
The Better Business Bureau is a Scam in Itself - LaterBloomer - 09-28-2014
What is the chain of command for a car company? Use that rather than BBB. Write the regional manager, or whoever is next up the chain. Take it all the way up the the CEO. See if your city/county/state has a consumer division. The BBB and yelp are not your only recourse.
The Better Business Bureau is a Scam in Itself - sanantone - 09-28-2014
LaterBloomer Wrote:What is the chain of command for a car company? Use that rather than BBB. Write the regional manager, or whoever is next up the chain. Take it all the way up the the CEO. See if your city/county/state has a consumer division. The BBB and yelp are not your only recourse.
I already contacted the corporate office. That prompted the store manager to contact me, but she didn't agree to fix everything. I sent a complaint to the Texas Attorney General, but they only collect complaints until they see a pattern. They don't help individuals. I also sent a complaint to the FTC. They're the same. They collect complaints until they see a pattern, but they don't deal with individual cases. I did read a recent news story that said that the FTC has received almost 1,000 complaints about this car company in the past year.
The Better Business Bureau is a Scam in Itself - Johann - 10-01-2014
Some old guy, who doesn't know very much about anything, wrote in another thread:
Johann Wrote:...If necessary, litigate 'em in small claims court until they don't have a tattered pair of skivvies to stand up in...Go bravely into battle, good soldier! Right is on your side.Maybe you should get back to the corporate office - tell them you're not satisfied with the dealer's offer - and let them know you're quite willing to sue, if they don't come around. Be sure to ask for / take names and info for service of documents on the company and ask if that's really what they want. If it is - oblige them. Litigation of that sort is pretty easy; I'm sure that's part of why it's such a popular remedy.
Who knows? If you're convincing enough, you might not even have to go that far, after all. But if you have to... fire away!
Johann