Better Business Bureau
Reviews and Complaints

We had a legitimate complaint against Saratoga Potato Chips. The company replied and we were not allowed to respond back to their final response. We feel that BBB took the position of the company instead of being a neutral party. They are supposed to allow the consumer a chance to reply to each response. The Northern Indiana Branch did not do this. They basically allowed the company a chance to cover up their situation and never let us respond with evidence. We had taken a video after receiving a bag of chips with glass chards. The company also has a review stating glass chards had been found by another family. They also have had violations in the past for mislabeled bags of chips which had allergens. They had Kroger chips Mesquite Barbecue which had Cheddar Cheese chips inside instead. This poses and allergy risk for consumers. BBB did not permit us to add our review evidence as needed. We just wanted to inform others.

I was cold called by a rep from Pure Path Marketing to place an ad in their "magazine". They place these so called magazines in high end country clubs. I agreed to a half page ad and paid $400. I was called a couple days later for a better placed ad in 3 more country clubs for $235. It was all very high pressure but seemed like a good deal. I come to find out through a BBB search that they have ripped off other businesses and the country clubs never heard of them. Their rating is a D. I filed a complaint with my bank and my money was returned. BBB tried to contact them but they ignored them. This gave them an F. Then I received a copy of a "magazine" which turned out to be a brochure, not a magazine. They claimed to have made my ad for me but I provided the entire ad, all they did was attach a picture of a Disney castle. I showed them what I had found online and they said that is permanent record once online and sent me a link from scam report site where a former agency I worked for made one against me because I left there. They literally researched this and showed it to me. They then proceeded to leave an additional report, a fraudulent report, on that site. They said their relative booked a vacation through me and was charged too much. None of the complaint made sense because it's not how it works with Disney. You can't get a higher price once you are paid in full but they were looking to smear me and had no idea how it works. The BBB advised me to report them to the Attorney GEneral for the State of Florida. This is a scam in every sense of the word. NO ONE sees these "magazines". The country clubs do not do business with this company. They even promised to book a vacation through me trying to convince me to place the ad. I have told every agency I know about them so no one else gets ripped off like I almost did. Thank goodness my bank saw through them too. If Pure Path Marketing calls you, HANG UP!

The Better Business Bureau (BBB in Washington, D.C.) allowed me (the consumer) only half an hour to respond online to a business’s response to my written complaint. BBB gave no warning beforehand of this time limit. BBB neither publicly posted nor acknowledged (in the “negative review” category) either of my submitted letters on the AME company. BBB also subsequently removed most of the public content of another consumer’s “negative review” of the AME business yet still publicly posted AME’s response to that consumer. BBB stated “complaint details [were] unavailable” with that consumer’s complaint as well as with mine. I would be curious to know how BBB justifies its A+ business rating for the AME business.

In handling another related case, the Washington, D.C. office seemed a little rude. The BBB said they couldn't help with my complaint against AAD because no financial transaction took place. The BBB website states, however, that the BBB addresses service complaints that focus on misrepresentation or violation of business policy.

When I sent my same review to a different BBB regarding this same AAD organization in its other business location of Chicago, BBB stated it couldn’t process my AAD complaint for completely different reasons than what the Washington D.C. BBB stated. The Chicago BBB gave such reasons as 1) I'm requesting some sort of "disclosure of practices." [I don't know what BBB even meant by that.] BBB also twice wrongly told me 2) that I was filing a complaint with them against a doctor's office, which they don't handle, so I wrote back each time stating that no, this complaint was against the AAD. The Chicago BBB also said 3) they couldn’t act as my lawyer or cop. I did not expect them to. They said other nonsensical things, such as 4) how I'm writing to them with a personal complaint, which they stated they can't handle. But they also said that I was 5) writing this complaint on behalf of other people, so they couldn’t deal with that, either. They said several other things that also didn’t make sense or didn’t apply.

In response to the Washington D.C. BBB's response to me on google: I did try repeatedly to contact AAD and got no response from the organization (as I already showed BBB), and I did already try filing the complaint with BBB but to no avail. The BBB provided examples of complaint cases they wouldn’t handle, cases that were not similar to mine. I was asking the BBB to direct the AAD to act on its avowed principles to serve patients and honor social responsibility, rigorous inquiry, professionalism, and lifelong learning.

In response to the Chicago BBB message to me on google: I wasn't asking for BBB or AAD to determine if another dermatology office had been careless. I was asking BBB for help in getting the AAD to stand by its promises to consumers.

Better business bureau of new hampshire bbb better business bureau under investigation; accusations of a pay to play scheme have been exposed of this (non-government) "for profit" organization that continuously extorts local business's for money to receive a better grade rating. Watch the shocking new video on you tube now... Youtube.com/watch? V=xx2aramtpj0

This site is useless for judging a company's good standing in trade - any company can go and pay them and they will give them an A- rating. I have had unpleasant surprises from purchasing from companies who supposedly have a "BBB" A rating.

Bbb scam alert. Fraud alert bbb is a scam! Bbb endorses scammers! Bbb is a fraud. Ratings are paid!
WWW.JUSTANSWER.COM has billing fraud scam reports all over the internet. Just answer has over 600 complaints with the bbb and this company has an a-rating! Bbb is telling the general public that even though your getting scammed we do not care because they keep the a-rating to other people who trust this site for advice on what to do. Bbb is a scam! Do your own research and you will see that both bbb and just answer have scam reports all over the internet but yet the bbb keeps an a-rating so everyone can keep getting scammed each and everyday! Look at this 20-20 interview to learn more about the bbb and its scams that its involved with!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yo8kfV9kONw

https://www.google.com/search?q=bbb%20houston&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&source=hp&channel=np

"In 2010, 20/20, an ABC network news magazine, reported in a segment titled 'The Best Ratings Money Can Buy' about the irregularities in BBB ratings.[14] They reported that a man created two dummy companies which received A+ ratings as soon as he had paid the membership fee. They also reported that business owners were told that the only way to improve their rating was by paying the fee. In one case a C was turned to an A immediately after a payment and in another case a C - became an A+. Chef Wolfgang Puck said that some of his businesses receive Fs because he refuses to pay a fee. Ritz Carlton, which does not belong either, also receives Fs for not responding to its complaints.[13]
In response, the president of the Council of Better Business Bureaus has stated the BBB ratings system will cease awarding points to businesses for being BBB members.[15] The national BBB's executive committee took several steps to address the public’s perception of the ratings system. The BBB ratings system no longer gives additional points to businesses who pay accreditation fees. They also implemented a system to handle complaints about BBB sales practices and planned a review of their accreditation process.[16]
In Canada, the CBC News reported in 2010, that Canadian BBBs were downgrading the ratings scores of businesses who stopped paying their dues. For example, a moving business who had an A rating and had been a BBB member for 20 years, dropped to a D-minus rating when they allegedly no longer wanted to pay dues."

The BBB of Central Virginia does not even look at complaints. Process of where their 'automated' system is a complete scam It lists my complaint as "resolved with the help of the BBB." My complaint was not even addressed by the company, let alone resolved. I was totally ignored. How did the BBB help me again? They did absolutely nothing, and in the end gave the company an A+, classified my complaint as "resolved with the help of the BBB," and didn't even bother to notify me when the company responded. What a complete joke. I had contacted them and their phone support was horrible, and got nothing but the runaround.

Same as pretty much everyone else that's filed complaints against this company, except mine has a new twist in it. Like everyone else who was contacted by this company I was called by the fast-talking telemarketer, who knew my name and said they worked with my bank/card company. I was told that I was entered in the sweepstakes, I was told I would get a free diamond watch, I was told that I would get 60 months of magazine subscriptions at cheap prices, four magazines for $4.49 a month. Like many other people I continually told the woman no, and like everyone else whose had to deal with theses people I found out that words like "no" and "cancellation" were not in their vocabulary. And like everyone else I gave away my card information. Now this call didn't set off any warning bells with me as I had gotten similar calls to this one with people claiming to be with my card since I first opened a bank account several years ago, the only thing saving me from ever getting tangled up in this before was their first survey question, the one where they ask you what age group your in, what saved me before was that I was not the lowest age that they offered, 18. Now with the call that landed me in this mess I was no longer under 18.
Now after going through the whole phone dance and being told that I was going to be charged $68.28 for the first 13 months to make payments easier. I was told I had three days to cancel if I changed my mind and was given two numbers to call: [protected] and [protected] and I was told I could call either one to cancel my account, she then thanked me for working with United Benefit Advantage. After the phone call my brain went "Hold up. If they work with my bank and card company shouldn't they already have all that information?" So I went to my bank account and sure enough $68.28 was pending out of my account, but not from United Benefit Advantage the money was pending to Magazine INC Virginia in Virginia Beach instead. I immediately called my bank to cancel my active card. I then called the first number I was given and was told that I had to wait one to two days before I would show up in their systems, the company claimed itself as United Benefit Advantage every time I called them that day and the subsequent other times I had to call them. I called the second number as the telemarketer said I could call either number to cancel my account with them. All I got from that number was an answering machine that said I needed to enter my account number, one which I was not given or was related to me too fast to comprehend by the telemarketer.
The next day I called the first number again and this time I showed up in UBA's system, I cancelled with them. But i would have to call back a few more times. The money that was pending went back in my account as available funds the next day, but was completely removed by Magazine INC four days later. I called UBA again and they said the account was still canceled and that they did not charge the high amount that I said was missing from my account. When I asked them for physical conformation of this they said that they could not give me any but that they could give me my cancellation number. Oh, also when I asked them they said that they did not work with any company called Magazine INC.
Well I got busy with other things, but I called another number I found linked to them listed as a customer service number, needless to say that didn't work either. It was another answering machine telling me that all of the representatives were busy and what their hours were and to leave a message. I left them a message explaining everything up to that point and told them that if they didn't put back my money or contact me that I would take legal action. They never did call me or give me my money back. So one week after my money was completely removed form my account by Magazine INC. I went to go and dispute the charge with my bank . When I went to the bank my representative had me call the phone number that was associated with the transaction. I wasn't even aware of the phone number as it just looked like the rest of the code on the transaction. This was neither of the phone numbers they gave me to cancel or the one listed as their contact number on several different websites including the BBB's. Basically both women I talked to said I never cancelled my account with them, when I answered that I did they just tried to haggle with first by lowering my monthly payments to $40 then to $30. When ever I told them no I wanted the account cancelled, it already was cancelled I don't want their services, they said I would have to pay in full which was $1, 028. I told them no, the account was cancelled give me back my money, and if you can't do that then cancel my account with you and stay away from the rest of my money. Well they tried lowering the prices with me again, first to a full payment of $500, then $300. At this time my bank representative told me to hang up the phone with them since they were just talking me in circles for about 15-20 minutes. I filed the dispute form with my bank and then went home.
I am now filing complaints with the attorney generals office in my state of residence and with the one in Virginia. I'm also filing with the BBB and probably a few other Gov't organizations about this fraud. Here's a quick review of how it's fraud for anyone that wants to defend this company:
1. I was contacted on a private number (my cellphone) with a local number that I could not call back(It leads to another answering machine that tells me all of the lines are in use)
2. I was told I was getting services from one company (United Benefit Advantage) but was being charged by a company they claimed they didn't work with (Magazine INC)
3. I was given two numbers to cancel with and was told I could call either one within three days and I wouldn't be charged
4. I called within the three day window and the account was cancelled
5. My money was taken anyway after I had cancelled the account
6. 1-5 are all accounts of them giving me false and misleading information

Anyone else that has been ripped off by these people and the statue of limitation for your ability to sue them hasn't passed yet feel free to contact me on this site. If enough people go after them and can bring the attention of the mass media into it then these guys may want to think twice before giving people false information and badgering them into buying products they say they don't want.

BBB is funded by businesses; most likely large businesses.

They waste your time.

Was emailed from Nita Virghes, Assistant Manager Direct Retail Services, BBB in Chicago, and I really wonder if she and her BBB colleagues are on Sears' payroll.

Also I did a google search for "chicago better business bureau", clicked on the google maps link and found:

"Vicki ‎ - Jun 10, 2011
In my situation they closed my unresolved complaint, & seemed to be on the side of the business. I finally sued the business & won, but the BBB interaction was an additional waste of my time... they also are NOT on the side of the consumer as their salaries are all paid by the business that are their members, which is a conflict of interest, as found on an investigation by 20/20"

http://maps.google.com/maps/place?rlz=1C1_____enUS440US440&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=chicago+better+business+bureau&fb=1&gl=us&hq=better+business+bureau&hnear=0x880e2c3cd0f4cbed:0xafe0a6ad09c0c000, Chicago, +IL&cid=[protected]&ei=4oleTrnJKabgsQLR462lAg&sa=X&oi=local_result&ct=placepage-link&resnum=1&ved=0CFYQ4gkwAA

http://maps.google.com/maps/user?uid=215554781450103334636&hl=en&gl=US&ved=0CE4QhQo&sa=X&ei=-4leTs-wOJqyyAXM2dC8AQ

Also Chicago BBB they put you on hold for ten minutes and then they drop the call and they do not answer their phones. A total scam paid by the large businesses that fund the BBB.

The Better Business Bureau or BBB.org is a Scam. They are a non-profit organization where their income comes from having businesses pay a “membership” fee. This means that businesses are the BBB’s source of income (even though they don’t report income). If a business pays a membership fee, then their rating is an A or A+ rating. Business that refuse to “join” their club have a B to F rating. Especially if the business disagrees with the BBB information. In researching the BBB, businesses that pay for a membership receive an A or A+ rating no matter the number of complaints. The BBB is just like the mafia. They strong arm, they extort, and they make you pay to play.

I recently made a complaint with the BBB about Verizon. Each time the rep from the BBB would respond she would state please read attachment and supply details. I would email immediately back there is no attachment. I followed up again through a general email box and hers again stating she did not attach anything to the email. She emailed me back and said case closed for not responding to the attachment. Completely ignoring my email even though that was in the thread. I also work for a business where the BBB is constantly sales calling them to purchase their endorsement...I didn't know the BBB did this until I worked exclusively for the owner of a company. When I found this out I do not take if a business has the BBB logo to mean anything at all. That just means they paid their membership dues. I thought it had meant customers had endorsed that exact business.

Does anyone know how I can get my business name removed from the BBB website? They are a complete fraud. I declined being extorted by them any longer so they changed my rating from an A+ to an F for 'using their logo' after my membership expired. Furthermore they wiped out all of my company info and state my 20 year old business has had an open file since 'January 2009'. I sent them a letter back requesting they no longer use my trademarked name and web address and they basically told me they don't care, they'll do whatever they want. Thanks for your help. PS. No complaints. Period. F Rated. What a kick in the face huh? You'd figure they'd love business owners like me. Nope. Not when they are frauds.

Bbb is the biggest scam ever so I do not buy anything from the companies who has a phony bbb logo. Period. They are saying nice things about company's service but truth is opposite because bbb does not care if u are dealing with bbb. Logo. Criminal, company. I did try to solve my huge problem with fashion4u and unfortunately I was looking for the help from bbb. What a waist of time, it was a joke. No wonder owner of the fashion4u company was laughing out loud when I mentioned about bbb. I was confused at the time but not anymore because owner of this shady business was absolutely right. Bbb company is a big scam so don't waist your time. This service is one of the biggest reason companies can rob your money with a smiling face and treat you like a trash. Thank you so much bbb =fraud!

They are full of lies! Does anyone know what the bbb's grade is? Do you know you cannot file a complaint against them? Wonder what grade they would receive? You wnat to know why? Becuase they are just as much of a fruad as you can get. Get on there bad side and it can never be fixed, what a bunch of con artists, pay some $, contribute and you'll buy that a+ back.. What a joke.

I was ripped off by AmeriPride. They took me for $5, 700. They high pressured me into thinking I was going to jail if I did not send them $5, 700. The way that they got me was that at that time I did not know that the BBB allows scam firms like theirs to buy ratings.

Better Business Bureau: The Best Ratings Money Can Buy - ABC News
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/business-bureau-best-ratings-money-buy/story?id=12123843

Better Business Bureau Sell Its Grades
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UT_BfidEBdM&feature=related

The way that it works is that they pay the BBB to become a BBB "Accredited" business. Once they pay for this "Accreditation" they automatically receive a high rating. Yes this is bad, but the true problem is that the BBB then removes their complaints if they get them. It's the perfect storm for a scam company like BBB "Accredited" Ameripride Tax Group. Furthermore www.trustlink.org, an affiliate of the BBB, is every bit the same scam as the BBB. TrustLink allows criminals like "The 3 Theft Amigos": Jared Bocachica, Torin Beeler and Jaime Esparza to post fictitious positive reviews about themselves, but if a company is "Accredited" like AmeriPride" TrustLink removes their negative reviews, just like the BBB. It is appropriate that all "Three Organizations" - the BBB, AmeriPride Tax Group and TrustLink are currently under investigation by the FTC.

Two months after I signed up with AmeriPride Tax Group I was informed by the IRS that they had never been contacted by AmeriPride Tax Group.

Just because BBB "Accredited" Ameripride Tax Group does not have an F with the Better Business Bureau does not mean that they don't deserve one. If I could rate them based on my experience I would give them a negative F-. They are thieves and have a long, long, long... history of ripping off peoples' hard earned money dating back, at least, to the times when Torin Beeler was taking advantage of a soldiers'wives while the soldiers were busy defending our country in Iraq. It doesn't stop. You need to protect yourself and listen to Nancy Reagan. When they call and, "Just say, No."

The Better Business Bureau or BBB.ORG is a Scam. They are a non-profit organization where their income comes from having businesses pay a "membership" fee. This means that businesses are the BBB's source of income (even though they don't report income). If a business pays a membership fee, then their rating is an A or A+ rating. Business that refuse to "join" their club have a B to F rating. Especially if the business disagrees with the BBB information.

In researching the BBB, businesses that pay for a membership receive an A or A+ rating no matter the number of complaints.

There are businesses that have over 30 complaints in 12 months with A+ ratings because they paid a membership. Where a similar business with 22 complaints in 12 months that does not pay a membership fee has an F rating.

The BBB is just like the mafia. They strong arm, they extort, and they make you pay to play. The State and Local goverment needs to step end and stop the BBB they should not be rating any business¿ what so ever...

The Better Business Bureau or BBB.ORG is a Scam. They are a non-profit organization where their income comes from having businesses pay a "membership" fee. This means that businesses are the BBB's source of income (even though they don't report income). If a business pays a membership fee, then their rating is an A or A+ rating. Business that refuse to "join" their club have a B to F rating. Especially if the business disagrees with the BBB information.

In researching the BBB, businesses that pay for a membership receive an A or A+ rating no matter the number of complaints.

There are businesses that have over 30 complaints in 12 months with A+ ratings because they paid a membership. Where a similar business with 22 complaints in 12 months that does not pay a membership fee has an F rating. The BBB is just like the mafia. They strong arm, they extort, and they make you pay to play. The State and Local goverment needs to step end and stop the BBB they should not be rating any business what so ever...

One final irony: if you have a complaint against the Better Business Bureau, you can't file it with the Better Business Bureau. The Better Business Bureau is not a member of its own organization. However there are numerous State Attorney General offices that are now investigating their practices. North Carolina Attorney General needs to investigate the NC BBBs practies too. They are shady and false advertising and misleading consumers and damaging NC businesses that do not pay
for a membership.

Maybe it's all a big joke? But unfortunately consumers think the BBB is an honest organization, when actually they can cause great damage to a business who refuses to pay their income.

Look at the Better Business Bureau 20/20 Investigation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yo8kfV9kONw

Other videos on the BBB scam:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ndQ2zYB1vE&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UT_BfidEBdM&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKEMDzma1b4&feature=related
/URL removed/?p=5
http://www.thebluesmokeband.com/bbb.php

From my experience with the bbb, the complaints generally come from a customer "who wants more than he or she purchased." then the bbb will ding me for sticking to my customer policy. however, paying the bbb a yearly approximate membership fee of $500.00 can turn a "f" grade to an "a". i think that's called extortion. therefore, i don't care for the bbb.

#1 - Sun May 18, 2008 12:59 PM EDT
M. S. Jones, La Center, KY
Staying off the Bad Boy List has been easy: in the 100 years my firm has been in business we have never been investigated by the BBB; honesty is our best quality. With this in mind, I went to their site this morning, found the branch for my area, and surveyed their list of "BBB Accredited Businesses" in my field. The fact that my business was not listed begs the question: How does one get on their accredited list? This is, as you may suspect, a rhetorical question. In fact, I have been approached twice in the last three years by a telemarketer representing an organization he says is the BBB. He had one pitch: purchase a membership and my firm would be listed in their directory.

Now, as I survey the situation, perhaps it would be better to put more emphasis in squeezing the budget than delivering good service to the people in my community.

#2 - Sun May 18, 2008 3:13 PM EDT
I had a customer complain about me because she paid for her first appointment and I invited her back a second time for free due to tecnical difficulties (that were resolved). She was unhappy with how her baby was performing for the FREE appointment and requested a refund for what was a free appointment. Some people will never be happy.

#3 - Thu Jun 19, 2008 1:29 AM EDT
John Somerville
In the past 2 years I have received several phone messages from the BBB asking to call them ASAP(in an ominous sounding voice).

I used to take these calls seriously, until I found each time that they were merely trying to sell me a membership.

I had to tell them to remove me from their call list.

It is really sad to see an organization designed to promote "better business" behavior use such reprehensible sales techniques.

Just out of curiousity, to whom do you report on the BBB?

#4 - Wed Jul 23, 2008 5:29 PM EDT
Phoenix, AZ
I used to think BBB was a real benefit. I checked on a company on their accredited list and in good standing when I bought a automobile warranty only to find out the company went into bankruptcy a week after. Once the company filed for bankrupcy BBB made it seem like they did not exist and did not show the numerous complaints against them. Having "no" complaints translates as they are a good company especially for elderly people that feel the BBB is a "real" watchdog. If you ask the BBB about the reputation of a company in bankruptcy you will not get an answer. I agree with the first comment above that its called extortion to be on their accredited list. So when BBB calls me to sell it I take the time to explain this to the sales representative. Translation We canceled our membership with BBB and We will not pay for the fake accreditation.

#5 - Tue Aug 5, 2008 11:59 AM EDT
Greg, Vista, California
Better Business Bureau ratings are just one factor that should be taken into account when researching a business.

#6 - Wed Oct 29, 2008 12:34 AM EDT
John Doe, Palm Springs
The BBB is the biggest scam in the world. Your rating is solely based on the amount of money you pay them. If you are not a member, your rating will be "D" or "F". I got an "F" rating with no complaints.

A business affiliate was asked for and paid thousands in cash bribes so the BBB would be fair with them, and they still got an "F" rating.

They should all be in jail, and not be reporting on which businesses are good and bad.

#7 - Thu Feb 26, 2009 10:39 PM EST
J Gonzales
I agree to all of these conversations above. It can never be determind unless we can track each sale and ask each customer if they checked the BBB before buying. I can tell you that there are people who hold your rating over your head as well. If you are a member (which I refuse to be) They harass you and threaten to give everything they ask for or else, to the customers wo you sell a wholesale, unassembeled scooter witha free helmet and they complain to the BBB that the helmet did not arrive exactly when the scooter did when they were told items would ship seperatly. It seems "stupid glue" happens to all sorts of good businesses out there and the BBB simply cares for those who spend now 500.00 annually to be a member of thier non-government agency. We have a competetor who has the same track record as our biz and they somehow have an A+ and us non-members have an F? What happened to A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, C, D+, D, D-? There is no possible way when the BBB states 24% of the biz reported have an F that statistically means somthing is wrong with thier system. Or is it since its only a negative reporting system the only biz on there are those who have mostly bad customers. Very sad to see. And yes, did you know you cannot complain about the BBB on the BBB. Whom do you report a complaint about the BBB prectices to? Id like to know.

#8 -