I threatened the Better Business Bureau

[callthatgirl]

I'm so sick of their scare tactics to become an "accredited member" that I called them and threatened to turn THEM into THEM. I immediately got a call back from the local VP who listened to my complaints and said she would talk to their sales dept. She also said, "we have changed our sales strategy...bla bla" and I said, "apparently not, I got that same scare tactic call today". I also told her how she could have won me over 3 years ago if they had a pitch that included positives on how it would help me, but instead the sales guy was negative and somewhat threatening. I know this has been brought up here before and many members all agreed that we saw no direct benefit from being a member and it hasn't hurt our businesses not being on an accredited member.

For the new businesses out there reading TN, in your first year out (and many more years)....you will receive these types of calls and never feel like you have to join them. Angie's List pushes you to join too, but they don't scare you.

[TenYardFight]

Nice job Lisa! They are a SCAM. A classic protection racket. Good article here:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/art...au_on_the.html

[Paul Rodgers]

If you have an Android phone or use Google Voice for your business number the easiest thing to do is block their number.

[callthatgirl]

The thing is, the business itself was built on reputation and it's SCARY when you get a voicemail, "Yes, we have had an inquiry done about your business, please call the BBB at your earliest convenience"

who is reporting me!

Ok, no one. That's their tactic and it is BS.

I also told the VP that I have a voice and a blog and I am not afraid to tell the world about this at all. Blogs go viral for a reason--telling everyone that I turned in the BBB to the BBB would make for an interesting story. Threatening them back felt really good.

[Appleby]

Amen! I've been very outspoken here about the BBB and their legal scam/racket. Their tactics feel like extortion.....if you pay us money, we will watch your back and tell people how good you are.....if you don't pay us.....well...well I guess you will just have to wait and see. UGH!

I've gotten those same scary voicemails from them telling me to call them immediately. Then they lie and say there has been an inquiry.....it's the same old thing every time and every where.

When I see their signs in businesses I think it means 1 of 2 things...

1) The owner joined voluntarily because they thought it would help their business.

2) They paid them off by joining because they were scared. No different than if "Vinnie" had walked into the store, hit him in the kneecap and informed them he'd be coming by weekly for his 10% cut.

[nightkingdoms]

I got a call from them early on stating the same thing. I told them that if there was a complaint, there's a complaint process that the client needs to follow and is clearly outlined in their agreements. They stated that my business was searched for online and they had no information so they wanted to learn more about my business. I told them to send me something by mail or Email and I'll fill it out at my convenience.

A couple days later I got both an Email and letter with questionnaires. I filled them out, sent them in and checked it on their site about a week later. Totally wrong info! So I Emailed them and told them that they need to change it. They stated that's the information that they collected from me and that it stays, integrity, blah blah blah. I gave them my lawyer's name, address and phone number and told them to expect papers for libel shortly as what they're publishing is clearly wrong. I got asked to correct my information.

Went from a D- to an A+ instantly! Who would have guessed?

Edit: BTW, I'm not even a member of the BBB, but as a non-member my company has an A rating. lol

[emsbronco]

I quit the BBB after I had a dispute with another BBB member, The Berry Company. It took 3 tries for the BBB to get a response from them, I had written documentation showing they violated their contract and over a years worth of email and written correspondence showing they auto renewed me despite being told I refused to renew, etc, etc.

Long story short, the BBB closed my complaint as resolved with company response, even though I told the BBB that I did not accept their response. I then contacted my BBB and the national "office" with the recommendation to remove The Berry Company since they had so many complaints and my experience shows they violated the BBB Code of Ethics. The verbal response I got is that they pay a lot more than I do and they do not take recommendations from BBB members.

My issue was resolved shortly after once I got my lawyer involved...I got a senior director of the Berry Company to acknowledge they were in the wrong and that I was sold features of their online package that weren't even active yet.

But, after that I quit the BBB and they call me once a year trying to get me to sign up. I always tell them they are a scam and I quit them once. Their sales tactics then change and they try to explain what kind of marketing benefits the BBB offers.

[rsarceno]

I was surprise to read this post. First time I heard BBB using scared tactics.

But I'm not sure exactly how it would work because they will only rate BBB members. So if you got rated and your not a member then you get a free service. But if they bad mouth your business and can not prove it then you can sue and retire early.

Roel
__________________________________________________ ______
Sarceno Network Consulting
http://www.snccomputerrepair.com/

[emsbronco]

They will rate any business, but if you don't join, you automatically get dropped a level. When I quit the BBB, my rating went from A+ to A.

[RegEdit]

I always thought that the BBB was a government agency. I just read on Wikipedia that it's a company with franchises. That explains why they once called me about PAYING to join. They basically told me that the sky was going to fall on me if I didn't join. I told them I could care less if I was listed or not.