Earlier this year my husband and I contacted the Better Business Bureau for the first time. After repeated attempts to contact a certain company, we were given the brush off as we tried to claim a rebate for a computer purchase that we were entitled to. Thankfully for us, the situation was rectified quickly and with a satisfactory result. Consumers interested in contacting the Better Business Bureau, or BBB, should keep these tips in mind as they begin the complaint or claim process.
Try to rectify the situation with company on your own before contacting the Better Business Bureau.
According to theBetter Business Bureau website, they encourage individuals to try to resolve matters on their own with a company or organization before contacting them. However, they won’t ignore or deny your complaint if you haven’t done this. When we had our rebate denied without just cause, we contacted the two organizations involved in the denial before contacting the BBB. After emails and phone calls with promises that they didn’t deliver on, we felt we had no other recourse but to contact the Better Business Bureau. In addition, we informed both organizations that we were preparing to contact the BBB if action wasn’t taken by a certain date. The companies that we dealing with actually promised to comply by this date, but then failed to make good on their agreement. This was the point, for us, that we decided to contact the Better Business Bureau, feeling that we had done our best to handle the situation on our own and needed external assistance.
Provide as much documentation as possible to the Better Business Bureau, and be specific.
Names, dates, emails, receipts, proofs of purchase, and other records of communication provide substantiation to your claim and reliability to your cause. Offering to provide copies of all relevant material is helpful to your case as well as to the Better Business Bureau’s investigation. If you are filing your claim online, be aware that there is a word limit to your claim. Be as succinct as possible, and offer details of what other information you can provide if required. In addition, be factual, calm, and precise in your claim. Leave emotion out of the situation, and stick with relevant material. It doesn’t help your case to get upset, and in fact, if you use foul or abusive language, it could actually result in no action by the BBB.
Be prepared to follow up on your claim at the Better Business Bureau and the company you are filing a claim against.
Be tenacious. The Better Business Bureau is actually a well organized and well run organization. Our claim was handled promptly. If you haven’t received an email informing you that your claim was received, contact the BBB and politely ask for the status. According to their website, claims are usually resolved within 30 days. If this time period expires and you haven’t heard anything, contact them again to be sure. In addition, while it isn’t necessary, we did contact both companies that we were filing claims against to let them know that we had contacted the Better Business Bureau and would let them handle the situation from this point forward. Doing this may be helpful to your claim once they are contacted by the BBB.
Don’t give up if you feel that you have been wronged by a company, business, organization, or non-profit. There are appropriate channels to follow if consumers hope to have their grievance rectified. The Better Business Bureau provides a wonderful service to consumers throughout North America.
Resources:
Better Business Bureau; Online Complaint System; https://odr.bbb.org/odrweb/public/GetStarted.aspx
