BBB gave a Hamas front group an A- rating and has also giving Wolfgang Puck an F rating, with no justification. Also gave Ritz Carlton an F rating.
It’s pay for play at BBB, always has been.
As part of the ABC News investigation, an ABC News producer with a camera was present as two small business owners in Los Angeles were told by Better Business Bureau tele-marketers that their grades of C could be raised to A plus if they paid $395 membership fees.
Terri Hartman, the manager of a Los Angeles antique fixtures store, Liz’s Antique Hardware, was told only a payment could change her grade, based on one old complaint that had already been resolved.
“So, if I don’t pay, even though the complaint has been resolved, I still have a C rating?”
Hartman then read off her credit card number and the next business day the C grade was replaced with an A plus, and the one complaint was wiped off the record.
In a second case, Carmen Tellez, the owner of a company that provides clowns for parties was also told she had to pay to fix her C- grade, based on a two-year old complaint that she says had already been resolved.
The C minus became an A plus the very next day after she provided her credit card number for the $395 charge.
“If I’m paying for a grade, then how are the customers supposed to really trust the Better Business Bureau?” she asked.
This is very true. We’ve seen it with our own business which has ZERO complaints...but our rating depends on what we pay.
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/business-bureau-best-ratings-money-buy/story?id=12123843