by Eric Bailey

Created on: February 17, 2010

The Better Business Bureau is a consumer-reported accreditation body that serves to highlight businesses throughout the world that are testified to utilize safe, ethical, customer-friendly business practices. Their website offers a search function for finding BBB-approved companies; considering the popular prominence that the Bureau has gained as a watchdog entity, such endorsements are valuable for any organization, and often the BBB badge is proudly indicated on company websites, in offices, and other visitor-visible areas.

But just as it offers the positive reinforcement of beneficial consumers' testimony, so too does it provide the other side of the coin: The Better Business Bureau also tracks complaints against commercial enterprises, even files concerning fraudulent charities. If someone encounters a business that is treating them unfairly, unethically, illegally, or in any other manner that the public should be aware of, there are a few actionable steps one can take to file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau.

Documentation

Before taking any strong action, consumers and businesses alike should be sure that they have effectively documented the wrongdoing to a detailed extent. Such record-keeping should answer questions such as: What is the name of the business in question? In what manner, and to what extent, did they establish contact? What, exactly, did they do wrong, and why is it so bad? When, precisely, did the foul deed occur?

In addition, the BBB encourages consumers, before filing a report, to try resolving the issue with the company directly. They also make it clear that they are an advocacy tool that is not meant to be used in place of government, private, or legal agencies that would otherwise be better suited to resolve the matter.

Website

Once it is established that the instance of misconduct is a prime candidate for a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, all that has to be done next is to visit the website at bbb.org. On the homepage, there is an orange button marked “FILE A COMPLAINT” that leads to a form process to, indeed, file the complaint. There will also be an opportunity to leave your own contact information for follow-up purposes, sometimes with a local branch of the BBB.

One of the reasons that the Better Business Bureau has become such a widely used authority is because of the ease of which it accepts, and even resolves, consumer complaints. By making these complaints easy to file, illicit organizations everywhere have reason to think twice before trying to scam or otherwise mistreat people.

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