Complaints (for Business) FAQs

BBB's role in the complaint process is to help facilitate communication. BBB does not take sides, and does not favor one party over the other. BBB wants to hear your side of the story, because there are 2 sides to every story.

Responding to BBB complaints is a good business practice and “the right thing to do” whether or not a business is BBB Accredited. A majority of non-accredited businesses cooperate with BBB by responding to complaints. Cooperation by non-accredited businesses is voluntary. Unlike BBB Accredited Businesses Members, non-accredited businesses have not made a commitment to respond to BBB complaints.

Many good businesses are BBB Accredited, but many other good businesses are not accredited. BBB is committed to dealing fairly and even-handedly with all businesses in the manner in which we handle, close and report customer complaints.

You can login to your BBB Account at any time to respond to complaints .

You can respond using this form.

Can I email my response? 
Yes, you can email your response to complaints@boston.bbb.org 

If you are not able to respond in writing, you can leave BBB a voicemail message as your response.  Please call 508-652-4852 to leave your voicemail response.

You call also respond by sending a text to 508-652-4852.  Please include the case number and your business name.  Message and data rates my apply.

Read about our BBB complaint process here.

BBB reports on all businesses, and can process customer complaints for all businesses. What’s important to remember is that one of your customers is not satisfied, and would like assistance from the business to remedy the issue(s).  Learn more about BBBs Right to Report.

In the United States, BBB’s right to develop and issue Business Profiles is protected by the First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and freedom of the press, including BBB’s right to report on and publish complaints.  BBB complaints cannot be removed and appear online for three years from the date they are filed. Your best course of action is to respond, professionally and appropriately, and share your side of the story, keeping in mind that both the customer’s original complaint and your responses will be publicly available.  Learn more about BBBs Right to Report.

Businesses are encouraged to contact BBB so that our information can be updated to ensure that all communications, including complaint notifications, reach the business. Complaints closed without a response can be reopened if the business would like to respond.  Just contact BBB at complaints@boston.bbb.org.

BBB does not currently publish photos along with the text of a complaint. 

BBB may ask a business to respond to a customer’s comments if they have rejected the business’ initial response, and have new information to introduce.  If there is additional information the business should address, BBB will ask the business to review and respond again.

BBB Processes complaints for all businesses. BBB Accredited Business Members are held to a higher standard and are asked to not only respond to complaints, but can jeopardize their Accreditation if they do not. Or if they do respond but don’t address the issue(s) of the complaint. 

Please send any refunds directly to the customer.

BBB is not a Goverement Agency. BBB is a separate agency from the Attorney General, or any licensing board, etc.  While BBB will use other agencies as a resource for information, BBB reports on its own information including complaints.  If a business does not respond to a complaint filed with BBB within 30 days, it will be closed as No Response. If the complaint a customer has filed with another agency is the same as the complaint filed with BBB, businesses are welcome to provide BBB with the same response as another agency, if appropriate.

BBB does publish complaints after they are closed, but BBB also redacts any personally identifying information (PII), including names, phone numbers, and addresses. Here is the BBB Privacy Policy.

Any time a business receives a complaint from someone who isn’t their customer, BBB would like to know.  BBB may have the wrong contact information for the business, and BBB does not accept third party complaints.  It’s also important to remember that BBB complaints can be filed by someone who has had a marketplace interaction with the business, and money does not necessarily have to have exchanged hands.

If a business has proof that a customer is trying to commit fraud through BBB’s complaint process, BBB would like that information. BBB can evaluate all the data before determining whether or not the complaint meets BBB’s Complaint Acceptance Policy, and if the complaint will continue to be processed.

BBB handles disputes that relate to marketplace issues experienced with the services or products a business provides. The complaint must meet our acceptance guidelines. BBB contacts the business and requests a response. 

Businesses and customers should be civil, courteous and polite in their responses to complaints. It is important to remain professional and productive when participating in the BBB complaint process.

BBB complaints are published after they are closed.  People who are doing research and may be considering hiring the business will be able to read the contents of the complaint on the BBB Business Profile, and the business’ response (or lack thereof) could help determine whether or not they choose to hire the business.

Failure to respond to a BBB complaint may have a negative impact on the BBB rating of any business, because being responsive to customer complaints is a core element of both BBB Accreditation Standards and BBB Reporting Standards.