After I signed up as member of the Arizona Better Business Bureau in May and paid my $400 membership fees, the BBB granted my company its "satisfactory" rating, which I sought.
My company was then listed at the BBB's website on equal footing with my fellow members of the BBB who had also gone through the same process to be rated satisfactory.
On December 30, with no advanced warning, the Better Business Bureau further designated my company with a letter grade rating of A-.
This rating put my company in the bottom third of my 56 competitor-members also listed at the BBB website. Only two companies of 56 were rated lower than mine. 40 were rated higher.
In addition, language in the local press release surrounding this change, as well the explanation of the ratings themselves, encourages the public to use A companies as they are the most trustworthy in the BBB's eyes.
After closely studying the details of the rating system the BBB used (BBB's links to the detailed rating system are no longer active as of this post), I had no confidence that the BBB could be trusted to rate any company above another and I told them so.
I also pointed out that I gave the BBB information about my company in trust that they would enhance my company's position in the marketplace.instead they used it to put my company in the bottom third of my competitors and encouraged the public to go with the higher rated companies. I told them this was a serious breach of the good faith I had placed in them.
I asked the BBB for my money back and for my company to be taken from the BBB website.
The BBB said they would not give me my money back because "didn't we give you your satisfactory rating?" totaling denying they hurt my company in anyway with their third-rate rating. It was like arguing with drunks. They were in complete denial and making no sense at all.
The BBB said they would not take my name off their records because it was their mandate, right and obligation to the consumer, to rate every business nationwide, using the same 16-point process they used to rate mine. They still haven't explained how they can possibly do this in any responsible manner, but that is what they said.
The bottom line is that the Better Business Bureau is not to be trusted.in my case, their actions did even come close to the standards of trust and ethics they claim to instill in the marketplace.
Their rating system and the way it was put into effect leave a lot to be desired and reflects poorly on the BBB as well.
Don't let them fool you like they fooled me. Avoid the BBB like the plague. My business did well and prospered before the BBB came along. It will certainly do well without me wasting another dime or thought on the BBB.
You are well advised to do the same.
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