2003 BBB International Data Reveals Businesses With Most Inquiries And Complaints

Arlington, VA., May 4, 2004 -- Better Business Bureaus (BBBs) in the United States and Canada logged 56 million instances of service in 2003. This is the first year that data for both countries was collected and compiled into one report.

Consumers can access BBB services by phone, fax, postal service, e-mail or BBB Web sites. In 2003, consumers also had the option to file a complaint or access BBB business reliability reports online through the central BBB Web site at www.bbb.org.

"With the growth in e-commerce, it's not unusual for buyers to consider doing business with merchants in other countries. The BBB system is a rich source of helpful information on reliable businesses in the U.S. and Canada. Before doing business with a company, check with the BBB," said Ken Hunter, president and CEO of the Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB).

Bob Whitelaw, president and CEO of the Canadian Council of Better Business Bureaus (CCBBB), noted that BBB reports contain complaint data that can help consumers avoid becoming victims of cross-border fraud. "Canadian BBBs are well aware of the scam artists and fraud perpetrators who take advantage of those who reside in the U.S. Consumers can save themselves time, money and heartbreak by checking with the BBB before they make a commitment to buy a product or sign up for a service. Use the Internet and you needn't pay for a long-distance phone call."

By visiting www.bbb.org, consumers can search for business reliability reports from BBBs in the U.S. and Canada, as well as U.S. charity reports from the BBB Wise Giving Alliance. The BBBOnLine Web site (www.bbbonline.org) has a safe shopping database of businesses in the U.S., Canada and elsewhere that participate in BBB seal programs to promote safe e-commerce, and the BBB Wise Giving Alliance Web site (www.give.org) offers access to several hundred reports on charities that solicit nationally in the U.S.

Pre-purchase Information: BBBs responded to 51.8 million requests from consumers and businesses for pre-purchase information in 2003. These requests included 32.5 million BBB reliability reports on businesses - member companies as well as businesses that are not BBB members but that have generated inquiries or complaints from the public.

Other pre-purchase inquiries included 14.7 million requests for general information on shopping wisely and avoiding questionable promotions, and 4.6 million instances of shoppers checking for confirmation that a business participated in BBBOnLine Reliability and Privacy programs. The BBBOnLine seal confirmations had increased 28 percent over the 3.6 million instances of shoppers checking for confirmation in 2002.

Complaints: BBBs across the U.S. and Canada assisted consumers and businesses with more than 1.9 million complaints in 2003. That figure includes 930,121 complaints that were handled by local BBBs. Of these, approximately 63 percent (586,429) were filed online.

The BBB's online complaint form, which is accessible through the www.bbb.org Web site, makes it easy for consumers to seek assistance in resolving disputes with businesses located in the U.S. or Canada. This use of technology also permits BBBs to provide businesses with a speedier means to be responsive to customers and quickly address issues that are causing dissatisfaction.

In another 982,151 instances, the BBB system in 2003 assisted the public by providing complaint counseling or referrals to appropriate agencies or organizations. BBBs handled an additional 30,987 complaints through the BBB AUTO LINE program, which serves residents of the U.S. with warranty-related automobile disputes.

Information on Charitable Organizations: BBBs not only offer information on the reliability of individual businesses, they also provide information to those interested in checking out charitable organizations.

"Just as we help consumers to be savvy shoppers, BBBs encourage members of the public to be discerning donors," Hunter said.

The BBB Wise Giving Alliance (www.give.org) produces reports on charities that solicit on a national basis in the U.S. In 2003, the public accessed national charity reports on the site 2.19 million times, an increase of nearly 78 percent over the 1.23 million charity report requests of 2002.

Advertising Review: Since its founding, the BBB has worked for "truth in advertising," asking businesses to voluntarily change or halt advertising or selling claims that appear to be false, misleading or deceptive, or that cannot be substantiated. In 2003, BBB advertising review experts evaluated 7,535 advertisements. Within the U.S., advertising is also reviewed at the national level through programs of the CBBB's National Advertising Division and Children's Advertising Review Unit.

Businesses Ranked by Inquiries and Complaints: The BBB system released its first U.S./Canadian Top Ten, a listing of business categories that generated the most requests for BBB reliability reports, and that accounted for the most complaints processed by the BBB system in 2003.

Top 10 Most-Asked-About Businesses
Mortgage and escrow companies topped the list of businesses that are most frequently checked out with the BBB. Inquiries about such offers totaled 1.04 million in 2003. Ranking second in number of reports requested was work-at-home promotions, with 1.02 million report requests, and the third most-asked-about business was roofing and guttering contractors, with 953,406 reports requested in 2003.

Top 10 Most-Complained-About Businesses
Automobile dealers topped the list of the most complained about industries, with 24,383 complaints processed by BBBs in the U.S. and Canada.

Ranking number 2 and 3 in terms of number of complaints were cell phones and credit card companies, with 18,591 complaints and 16,023 complaints respectively in 2003.

The BBB System's 2003 Annual Inquiry and Complaint Summaries offer data on 1,104 business categories, which are ranked by number of BBB reports requested and complaints processed by BBBs. The three statistical summaries - U.S. data, Canadian data, and U.S.& Canadian data - are available online at www.dr.bbb.org/DRresults/.