Better Business Bureaus Provide Close to 90 Million Instances of Service in 2005

Arlington, VA, March 8, 2006 -- Better Business Bureaus (BBBs) in the United States and Canada provided nearly 90 million instances of service to consumers and businesses in 2005, a 50 percent increase over the 60 million instances of service provided in 2004.

Data was submitted by all 177 BBB offices in North America. The BBB system include 130 Better Business Bureaus (116 BBBs in the U.S. and 14 in Canada) and 47 branches.

"It's time to provide a unified perspective on the services provided by BBBs across this continent," said Steven J. Cole, president and CEO of the Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB). "All data referenced in this release regards the entire BBB system - U.S. and Canada."

• Pre-purchase Information: Requests for information from consumers and businesses increased to 86 million in 2005, up nearly 52 percent from 56.5 million in 2004. These inquiries included 41.5 million requests for BBB reliability reports on businesses.

  The following charts detail the business categories for which BBBs received the most report requests in 2005:

  Top 10 Info Requests in the U.S. in 2005	No. of BBB Reports Requested
  1. Mortgage Cos.	1,221,616
  2. Roofing Contractors	1,053,642
  3. Moving Companies	1,007,786
  4. Work at Home Advertisers	963,820
  5. General Contractors	886,274
  6. New Car Dealers	735,891
  7. Home Builders	610,548
  8. Construction & Remodeling Svc.	547,926
  9. Auto Repair & Service	495,113
  10. Swimming Pool Contractors	472,202

  Top 10 Info Requests in Canada in 2005	No. of BBB Reports Requested
  1. Moving Companies	125,806
  2. Roofing Contractors	96,855
  3. New Car Dealers	52,843
  4. Used Car Dealers	43,753
  5. Auto Repair & Service	41,812
  6. General Contractors	33,363
  7. Work at Home Advertisers	33,166
  8. Auto Body & Paint Companies	30,876
  9. Plumbing Contractors	29,364
  10. Paving Contractors	29,251

• BBBOnLine Confirmations: The number of instances of shoppers checking for confirmation that an online merchant participated in BBBOnLine Reliability and Privacy programs grew to nearly 10 million in 2005, a 61 percent increase over the 6.2 million seal confirmations in 2004. The number of Web sites that have been approved to display BBBOnLine "safe shopping" seals exceeded 26,000 in 2005.

• General Tips for Consumer and Businesses: The number of requests for general information on how to shop wisely and avoid questionable promotions exceeded 34 million in 2005.

• Complaints: More than 1.1 million complaints were handled by BBBs in 2005. That total includes 781,455 complaints processed by BBBs during the year; another 261,043 people received complaint counseling or referrals from BBBs. The BBB AUTO LINE program, which assists car buyers with warranty-related disputes, handled 37,682 complaints.

  The following charts detail the business categories for which BBBs processed the most complaints in 2005:

  Top 10 Categories Ranked by Complaints in the U.S. in 2005	No. of Complaints Processed by U.S. BBBs
  1. Cellular Phone Service & Supplies	31,671
  2. New Car Dealers	23,572
  3. Furniture Stores	14,553
  4. Internet Services	14,523
  5. General Contractors	12,693
  6. Collection Agencies	11,897
  7. Banks	11,648
  8. Telephone Companies	10,638
  9. Credit Card Companies	10,423
  10. Auto Repair & Service	10,371

  Top 10 Categories Ranked by Complaints in Canada in 2005	No. of Complaints Processed by Canadian BBBs
  1. Cellular Phone Service & Supplies	593
  2. Movers	562
  3. New Car Dealers	511
  4. Furniture Stores	507
  5. Telephone Communications	406
  6. Internet Shopping Services	404
  7. Florists	358
  8. Roofing Contractors	339
  9. Internet Services	298
  10. Health Clubs	294

• Investigations: BBBs conducted more than 3,100 investigations on companies using questionable or fraudulent business practices in 2005. The results of the investigations, many of which were conducted in tandem with governmental law enforcement agencies, are made public in support of an ethical marketplace.

• Information on Charities: The BBB Wise Giving Alliance produces reports on national charities to assist donors seeking information on the accountability of not-for-profit organizations. These reports include an evaluation of the subject charity in relation to voluntary BBB charity standards. In 2005, the Alliance responded to more than 2.2 million requests for reports on nationally soliciting charities; BBBs provided 96,648 reports on local charities.

• Advertising Review: Since its founding in 1912, 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 2005, BBB ad experts at the national and local levels opened 11,137 advertising review cases. Advertising disseminated on a national level or broad regional basis was reviewed by the CBBB's National Advertising Division, the Children's Advertising Review Unit and the National Advertising Review Board.
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  Note to Editors: The BBB System's 2005 Annual Inquiry and Complaint Summaries offer data on more than 3,600 business categories, which are ranked by number of BBB reports requested and complaints processed by BBBs. The U.S. statistical summary and Canadian statistical summary are available for download and printing from the Internet at http://www.bbb.org/about/stats.asp. To purchase printed copies, send a check or money order to CBBB, Dept. 023, Washington, DC 20042-0023 requesting a printed copy of the Canadian 2005 Statistics for $10; the U.S. 2005 Statistics for $20; or both publications for $25.00.

  Reporters and journalists may contact Sheila Adkins, CBBB's Director, Public Affairs, at sadkins at cbbb dot bbb dot org or at 703.247.9312 to request an interview or additional information. If you are a consumer who is seeking additional information, or need assistance with a complaint against a business, please contact your local BBB or visit the BBB Web site (www.bbb.org).