Better Business Bureau

Contacting BBB is a literally impossible as you ensure to discourage anyone from reporting a complaint

Why pay them anyt...

Why pay them anything at all. I get better bang for my buck using google. They have no power over conflict resolution. I am not really sure what they do now other than outright advertising.

Onesided

Onesided

Not very impresse...

Not very impressed. I wish they were more transparent.

Not a consumer rights/advocacy organization

The issue is not so much what the BBB does - it represents companies - it's the the perception of the public that they work to help consumers deal with problems with companies. They don't. The Ottawa BBB is an organization for companies, which collects and survives on company membership fees. Because the BBB needs company fees to run, the BBB has to always take the company's side in every case or the company will discontinue its membership. No company will continue to pay dues to the BBB with a poor rating. It is therefore a total conflict of interest. There is no value to consumers to use the BBB when researching a company to patronize. Paying members will always have high ratings and non-paying members may or may not have a good rating. Paying members with upwards of 7 or 8 complaints retain their A+. This is not a consumer advocacy organization; it's an association of paying member companies. A quick search of the BBB on the internet (the CBC did a story) will show the problems.