WHAT IS THE BBB?
It is a common misconception that the BBB is a government agency or is some how governed by State or Federal government guidelines.
It is in fact, a private company which requires a membership fee from businesses each year. It has no more a government connection other than a lobbyist firm or another other privately controlled business.
They are also a non-profit company which can also be misleading as non-profit companies are still in business to make a profit to meet their payroll, business expenses and other costs which are required from any other business.
"Non-profit" companies still do make a profit each year, but they are required to spend or get rid of any surplus income which exceeds a specific percentage.
How do they get rid of all that excess money? It has been reported by ABC's 20/20 that executives who work for the BBB have substantially large incomes, many far exceeding $100,000 per year.
Where does all this revenue come from? Taxes, grants, federal funding? None of the above. It comes from local businesses that must pay membership fees in order to reap the benefits of being a member.
THE BBB RATING SYSTEM
The BBB has a rating system which was created to protect the consumers from untrustworthy businesses, but we (as well as many others) feel that the BBB rating system no longer functions to protect the consumer or businesses.
Recently, ABC's 20/20 aired a report on how the BBB rating system caused some businesses to have F ratings even though they only had one or two complaints.
The rating system also was shown giving A or A+ ratings to fictional companies which had paid the membership fees, even though those companies were terrorist groups and Nazi hate groups.
Some companies had been attacked by consumers who use the BBB to get even or hold a grudge because they don't like the outcome of a business transactions. Even more, some companies were given low ratings even though they had no business dealings with the customers who had registered the complaints.
We view this rating system as flawed. It is no better than extorting businesses for "protection" and requiring a fee to make sure you don't get a low grade. It does not represent the truth about the business transactions of the company and does not reflect the true reason why some consumers file complaints.
IS THE BBB WORTHWHILE?
We feel that in many cases the BBB does provide a specific level of information to the public about scams and con-artists who are trying to rip off the public, but that is too little considering the amount of money the BBB takes in each year.
It is our opinion that the BBB does not do enough. Based on the information given by 20/20 and the information we have found on the Internet, we feel that the BBB is in need of a complete overhaul. The BBB should self examine itself and be put under investigation by using a third, non biased party.
WHY WE NO LONGER USE THE BBB
In our line of business we deal with consumers who must put up deposits on rental properties. These deposits are taken in an attempt to protect our property owners from having tenants who might damage properties or tenants who possibly skip out early and don't pay their debt.
We don't want to keep the deposit money after the tenant moves out, but we must protect the investments of the owners. We do our best to make sure the owner is protected first and if we find that a tenant has damaged or left the house unclean, then we must take from the deposit to cover the expenses of the owner first.
We receive no percentage of the money kept from the security deposit. One hundred percent goes to the owner for the repairs or the cleaning. We do not profit from the money that is kept and it would be ideal for us to give back all the deposit, but some times we can not do so.
With this in mind, the BBB focuses on the negativity of a complaint. If a company has too many complaints, they receive an unfavorable rating. If they do not respond, the receive an unfavorable rating. If they respond, but receive too many complaints in specific time frame, the receive an unfavorable rating. If they respond and the BBB does not like the response, the receive an unfavorable rating.
ABC's 20/20 Report
While there are three sides to every opinion, we feel the ABC's 20/20 report correctly represents what is wrong with the BBB and their rating system.
We wish the BBB would protect consumers and businesses, but unfortunately, the BBB no longer provides the level of protection it should provide the community. The rating system is inaccurate and does not represent companies for the way they do business.
The BBB's rating system is flawed because companies should not be required to pay a fee in order to get a good grade (see the 20/20 report for more information) and consumers should not be allowed to file complaints with out providing strong evidence first.
We feel consumers should be forced to present evidence in the same manner that the Judicial system in our country requires. THE BURDEN OF PROOF IS ON THE PLAINTIFF NOT THE DEFENDANT!
It would be ideal if the complaint be required to put up a deposit on all complaints, maybe a $25 or $50 deposit which would be refunded 100% if the complaint turned out to be valid.
This deposit would eliminated almost all the invalid complaints and those consumers who are using the BBB as a grudge tool because they do not like the end result of a business transaction.
DID YOU NOTICE?
Did you notice that the BBB website does not have a link to register a compliment or a positive review of a business?
We notice this also and wonder when the BBB will change the practice of focusing on only the negative of businesses and also provide a fair and accurate representation of the positive views of consumers who are satisfied with a business.
We have been told by the BBB that consumers can send positive reviews for a business but as a test we had several of our satisfied customers give positive reviews on our behalf and yet, NOTHING WAS SHOWN ON OUR ACCOUNT/PROFILE.
This, we believe, is a perfect example of the flaws of the BBB and their rating system. They really have no desire to have positive reviews posted for businesses because that would take away their control over the process.
The BBB wouldn't be needed any more if we could actually relied on the reviews of ALL CONSUMERS rather than only relying on the negative.
BADGE OF HONOR
We believe that the BBB's F rating of our company is not valid and does not represent our company fairly. We handle tens of thousands of transactions each year and deal with thousands of customers in a business that is very volatile.
Less than one percent of all of our transactions have negative results. We have many happy owners and tenants who continue to do business with our company year after year.
We have had an exemplary record with the DBPR and FREC (both State of Florida agencies who govern our trade); and had very few times in court where rulings were not made in our favor.
We stopped being members of the BBB over a decade ago and we are proud to say we are not members of the BBB. We wear our F rating as a badge of honor and we will not be forced to pay extortion in order to correct this rating.
VIEW ABC's 20/20 REPORT
http://centralproperties.info/aboutus/opinionpoll.html
MORE INFORMATION/REFERENCES
http://money.howstuffworks.com/better-business-bureau4.htm
http://blog-bbb.com/facts-about-the-bbb/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/BBB-Sucks-For-anyone-who-thinks-the-Better-Business-Bureau-Sucks/111246575570697
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Anti-BBB-Club-ALL-JOIN/273542883254
http://dgdoors.com/bbb.htm
http://www.bbbroundup.com/BBBblog/blog1.php
http://www.thebluesmokeband.com/bbb.php
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yo8kfV9kONw
http://www.ripoffreport.com/better-business-bureau/better-business-bure/better-business-bureau-or-buye-eq4fb.htm
http://weakonomics.com/2010/11/22/the-better-business-bureau-scam/
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