Why I don't trust the Better Business Bureau
I am having a really difficult time trusting the local chapter of the Better Business Bureau. After you hear the reasons why, I think you'll understand.
Actually, you may already know one of them, if you read this blog regularly. A few months ago Fidelity Observer uncovered a serious security vulnerability on the website of the Better Business Bureau serving parts of eastern New England, including the Boston metro area. In a nutshell, practically every person who used its online dispute resolution system in the preceding three years, along with every business that has been involved in a dispute entered into the system, had sensitive information -- personal contact info, financial details, and descriptions of potentially embarrassing disputes -- needlessly exposed. I estimate as many as 20,000 records were exposed until Fidelity Observer alerted the local chapter of the Better Business Bureau to the problem and it closed the hole.
At the time, I didn't get into another potentially major issue with my local Better Business Bureau's website: Its failure to document my complaint about a local car dealership in the BBB's online profile of the company. I had filed the complaint through the BBB's online dispute resolution service in February 2005. It was never resolved (fodder for a future post about deceptive advertising!) but the complaint should have been registered in the BBB's online profile of the company. When it still was not updated after six months, I complained in private to the BBB. My reasoning: other people "checking out" the dealership on the website would be misled into believing that the company was complaint-free this year, when in fact it had at least one complaint. The BBB immediately updated the dealer's BBB profile to reflect my complaint.
But I discovered last week that the profile was mysteriously cleared to clean-slate status.
What's the problem? I'll make some guesses, based on my own understanding of Web technologies, and the BBB's mission. The most rational explanation in my eyes is the BBB is technically incompetent, and hasn't the technology or processes in place to keep its online profiles up to date and accurate. This theory is backed up by my earlier experience of uncovering a security vulnerability on the BBB website, that went unnoticed by BBB staff for three years. If this is the case, the BBB should either update its systems, or not provide this service. People expect that the "check out a company" feature of the website is accurate, and can give them information about the company in advance of starting a relationship with it.
Here's another guess about the nature of the problem I experienced. Putting on my tinfoil hat, and tuning into potential conspiracies, there's another explanation, or related set of explanations. Maybe the BBB doesn't want to offend member companies (this dealership is a member) so it downplays, ignores, or "forgets" to update profiles of member companies with complaints from the public. Or perhaps the company in question asked/demanded that my complaint not be included in the chart on its profile page. I have to admit that I have no proof of this, as I only have my own case as a reference, but consider this: The BBB is a non-profit organization, which gets its operating revenue through membership fees from companies, and sometimes sponsored arrangements called "Community Patrons". It doesn't get anything from ordinary people. I therefore have to ask: Whose interests does the BBB really have at heart? How can the BBB claim to be impartial, when its closest relations are with businesses, not ordinary people, and it accepts money from many companies? Businesses -- especially those in industries with shaky reputations, such as car dealerships -- treasure associations with the BBB. The sticker in the shop window is noticed by customers, and a clean BBB record is worth a lot.
Whatever the cause of my mysteriously disappearing complaint, my problem with the BBB goes way beyond updating a webpage. The BBB tries to position itself as an intermediary between consumers and businesses and a trusted resource -- its motto, after all, is "Setting the Standard for Reliability, Credibility and Ethics". In my experience, the local office of the BBB has failed on all three points. Is this just an isolated case, or is it indicative of a more widespread problem affecting lots of other people who trusted the BBB with details of disputes with businesses?
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Strange!!! FO have you thought about telling the state gov. about this?
I did that back in September, right after I found the security hole on the local BBB website. I told them about the online profile issue too. This was the Mass. Office of Consumer Affairs. They said they'd investigate, but I never heard back from them. That was about three months ago. Yes, I'll probably go back to them and notify them of my latest findings, but it seems pretty clear that whatever investigation was conducted didn't result in any action -- hence the continuing profile problem.
Incidentally, one thing I would like to stress is that my experience with the security breach is only applicable to the website of the BBB that serves Eastern Mass., Vermont, and Maine. However, I have found that links to the profiles generated by this office are submitted to a national database, so anyone searching for this company would find the same "clean slate" profile.
Folks, the BBB is not a consumer protection organization. It is a member protection organization; i.e., they try to settle disputes before they end up in court.
I learned this three years ago when a company I contracted to purchase goods from acted in obvious violation of the Uniform Commercial Code adopted by my state. To small to make it worth my time in court (unless I wanted to prove the point), but definately worth my time to see a consumer protection organization like the BBB.
The BBB did nothing; didn't even record a complaint.
Find other ways to evaluate a company. The BBB is not reliable for a consumer.
Hello Jason, and thanks for your input. I agree with your statement that the BBB is a "member protection organization" but at the same time it must be noted that the BBB (at least the branch in my region) promotes itself as a public service. Note the following sentence on its homepage: "The Better Business Bureau is a non-profit, public service organization providing business Reliability Reports, Charity Reports, and purchase and protection tips to the public." Furthermore, the government of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (i.e., the state government) treats it as a public resource -- there are nearly 60 pages on the state website that recommend the BBB in this capacity.
