A quick background on my company; I own a General Construction company in Southern California since 1975. For over 35 years we have given exemplary service to our clients with little to no complaints. Any concerns or complaints by our clients we would resolve it immediately and fully until our client was satisfied. Not once in 35 years has it ever came down to where our clients had to file a complaint with an outside source in order to get the problem resolved. Our clients satisfaction has always been in our best interest, sometimes even when we knew they were wrong.
With this said; We have been a member with the Better Business Bureau for many years and every year we paid our dues. I, like many others, thought that the Better Business Bureau was a government agency that consumers relied on and trusted to assure they are making a right decision when selecting a company to do work for them. Therefore, I felt that it would be in our best interest as a company to be a member of the Better Business Bureau to show our clients that we are a company they can trust based on our outstanding rating (A), no complaints in 35 years and the ethical guidelines the BBB sets forth on its members.
Just recently I have a whole new outlook on the Better Business Bureau. It is a SCAM.
About a month ago I was contacted by the office of the BBB letting me know that our membership is about to expire and they wanted me to pay our dues. I explained to them our business has taken a real hit during these economical times and we would not be able to renew our membership at this time. She proceeded to tell me that it would be in my best interest to renew our membership because they have received over 25 calls inquiring about our business and they can not give them any information about our company if we are not a member. The first thought to my head was why didnt the 25 people call me, we need the work, but I apologized to her and told her we were not going to be renewing our membership at this time.
About two weeks ago I received another phone call from a different lady at the BBB office whos approach was a little more high pressure. She told me that if I didnt renew our membership all the years we have been an outstanding member would no longer be shown to people that are inquiring and we would have to start over as a new member. I have to admit this did get me to think twice about renewing. We have been a member of good standings for so many years this must be important to whomever looks at the report, but knowing our financial position at this time I had to stick to what is best for my company and decline the membership. She didnt stop there she then offered me to make payment to them. I declined. She then let me know that she will be canceling our membership as of today.
I thought this was the last of it until today, December 2. I got unto the BBBs web site, as many of us do, to check on a business to see if they were a reputable company and just out of curiosity I looked up my company. I am appalled F rating! How can you go from a A rating to an F rating in less than a week, especially when you really havent had a project in the last year and no complaints listed?
This is when I started to do my research on the BBB and found this web site (usacomplaints.com) in hopes to find some answers:
1) What can I do as the company who knows people our going to go to the BBB web site to check on a companys rating even if it is false?
- Everyone, including myself, believes and trusts this site.
2) Who can I file a complaint with? (you cant file it with the BBB department)
3) How can we get them off the web and let people know what they really are?
It wasnt until this happened to my company I discovered that the BBB is a SCAM. Many years I have trusted and relied on the information they have put out. Thousands of dollars I paid to be a member thinking that the reports they give are reliable and accurate (good or bad towards my company). People deserve to know the honest standings of a company.
I would appreciate any input or suggestion on how we can put a stop to this dishonest non-profit company that is scamming all of us, consumers and companies alike.
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