BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU UNFAIR GRADING PRACTICES EXPOSED
ByHi everyone!
We noticed this ABC News investigative story about the Better Business Bureau and wanted to share it to keep you informed and safe.
Unfortunately, we’ve been at the receiving end of BBB’s unfair grading practices and we were shocked and disheartened when we discovered that no matter how much proof we provided to support our case for a better rating, the only thing they wanted was money!
So, we were so pleased to see this recent investigative news story expose some of these BBB practices, such as unethical pay-to-play procedures, and while the news may come as a surprise to consumers and is certainly very disappointing to all, we’re glad that these unethical practices have been exposed and we are looking forward to new changes in procedure to ensure accurate and trustworthy grades for businesses.
News Investigators began back in November when a 20/20 report showed how a group of Los Angeles business owners paid hundreds of dollars to buy BBB memberships for a number of fictitious firms. The result: The L.A. BBB awarded an A- rating to a non-existent sushi restaurant and an A+ to a fake firm named after Stormfront, a white supremacist group.
The most recent ABC News investigation was based on these same allegations that the BBB is running a “pay-to-play” scheme for its grading procedure, wherein A+ ratings are given exclusively to businesses that pay for a BBB membership and businesses that do not become members are given lower grades.
In the 20/20 report, the ABC investigation showed how two small Los Angeles businesses, with an ABC News producer and camera present, were told by BBB telemarketers that their C grades could be raised to an A+ if they paid to join the BBB. After one of these owners, the manager of an antique hardware story, paid the $565 membership fee the C grade was replaced with an A+ and the one complaint was wiped off the record. Tsk tsk!
You can read more about the issue here: ABC News BBB Investigation Story
And feel free to let us know your thoughts on the matter!
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