Complaints (for customers) FAQs

No, reviews are not considered as part of a company’s rating, as complaints are. A customer files a complaint when the customer wants BBB’s help to resolve a dispute with a company, usually (but not always) involving a monetary claim, and wants to share the outcome with the public. Customer reviews allow people to share with BBB and the public their opinion – good or bad – about companies with which they had a marketplace interaction. Unlike most review sites, BBB requires people to provide their name and shares this information with the business to confirm the interaction and prompt a response. This and other measures help maintain the integrity of BBB’s customer reviews by reducing the incidence of fake reviews. More about BBB Customer Reviews.

• Employer/employee disputes
• Complaints about the postal service
• Complaints about government agencies (administrative units of a local, state, federal, or provincial government)
• Complaints about discrimination or violation of similar statutory/constitutional rights
• Complaints seeking criminal penalties or alleging criminal violations
• Cases that are already in or have been resolved by a previous court action, arbitration, or settlement between the parties
• Complaints raising issues concerning the competency of doctors, dentists, licensed therapists, veterinarians, Certified Public Accountants in the U.S. or Chartered Accountants in Canada, and lawyers (However, BBB does accept complaints such as billing disputes or customer service issues)
• Complaints against companies that are out of business
• Collection of payment owed for goods or services provided (BBB cannot act as a collection agency)
• Issues based solely on dissatisfaction of price
• Buyer’s remorse
• Complaints against an individual who is not engaged in business
• Complaints that are not from a person (or a person’s authorized representative) or entity (business-to-business) that had a marketplace relationship with the business
• Complaints that do not indicate a request for BBB assistance
• Anonymously filed complaints

BBB is a neutral third party used to facilitate communication and transparency, we are unable to make a judgment on a complaint. 

Start here with our online complaint form to file a complaint on a business with the Better Business Bureau.

Please note:
Whenever there's an update regarding your complaint, the BBB will notify you promptly via email.

When you get an email from BBB regarding your complaint, it is the latest and most up to date information available on your complaint; BBB personnel do not possess any further details.  When there's an update BBB will immediately email you.

If you have questions or want an update to your complaint, you may:

• Complete this form to obtain the status of your compaint
• Contact BBB at complaints@boston.bbb.org
• Call 508-652-4800 for more information

Read about our BBB complaint process here.

Once a complaint is closed, BBB will assign one of the following closing statuses:

• Resolved = The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
• Answered = The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either (a) did not accept the response, OR (b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
• Unresolved = The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
• Unanswered = The business failed to respond to the dispute.
• Unpursuable = BBB is unable to locate the business.

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. 

You may want to consider pursuing this matter through an alternative resource. 

Here is a list of Government Agencies that you may wish to contact for additional assistance.

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.

Typically, the BBB does not reopen a closed complaint. However, if you did not receive the resolution promised by the business, the BBB may consider reopening the complaint.

Re-Open My Complaint Request Form.

How to Approve Receipt of BBB Emails