Better Business Bureau

I think the LAX «dog in restaurant» policies in general need to be posted in full view for patrons just as their health dept letter is posted.
I had a very very close call today with 2 dogs who SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN IN A RESTAURANT
This review is of Rooster Creek in Arroyo Grande
Please take a look. When I mentioned to the waitress that we could really have used the Mgr.
she just nodded in agreement.
I should have called the police because the 2 women with the aggressive golden retriever were verbally abusive as if we the other patrons were at fault.
Can you do something about the lack of (or non existant) regulations governing retail food service establishments?
Thank you BBB for getting back on this problem.

Firstly, I am stunned by the sub par overall rating of this BBB office. My recent complaint against Time Warner cable billing was handled IMMEDIATELY, efficiently and with dispatch. Brent Copelan followed up with me within a week. Time Warner, to its credit, did respond to BBB.

BBB Ratings are meaningless. I filed a complaint against Ace Handyman Services, the owner of which boasts about his A+ BBB rating. The owner of Ace responded with a nonsensical letter in which he offered me a refund covering about 40% of the cost of the work done so unsatisfactorily that it needed to be redone. The BBB made no effort to examine the merits of my arguments or his non-​arguments, but simply informed me that the complaint was closed as follows: «We understand you are NOT satisfied with the business’s response, and have noted your dissatisfaction in our files. While we regret we were unable to reach your desired resolution, the business has provided BBB with its position. This matter is now closed in BBB files, and will appear in the company’s BBB Business Review as: ‘Answered — the business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer remains dissatisfied.’»
The A+ rating is unchanged, but the BBB site now lists «Response to 1 complaint (s) filed against business» and «Resolution of complaint (s) filed against business» as «factors that raised the rating for Ace Handyman services.» The BBB even italicizes «raised»! In other words, if you complain to the BBB and the business owner responds within a certain timeframe, even if the response is absurd, the owner’s rating will go up!
Since writing this review, I have had a brief correspondence with Richard C. the «Owner» (if that’s really the proper term here). I’m now convinced that the BBB operates in good faith, but I’m still not convinced that they are very effective. Their site still indicates that Ace Handyman’s rating was raised because of my letter. I will grant that a BAD rating from the BBB is probably a red flag for consumers; I’m just not convinced of the value of positive ratings.

Total BS From the BBB of Santa Barbara. Was never contacted as he says I was. Was never offered any help.
Just remember, Read how a Business can buy a good review. Google it. There are ever News reporters that went undercover to expose them.
In short, The BBB is bought and paid for.

I don’t get it with the BBB. I filed a complaint and the BBB has not offered any help so far.
No contact with me. So I’m lost to there role in all this. If anyone can tell me I’m all ears. To be fair on the star rating, I gave them a 2 star which I will change once I’m able to find out what is is they do to help when a complaint is filed.
Changed to 1 star. Lowest is 1 and 1 star is too much. Do they even do anything? I’ve not seen anything yet. Total waste of time. Enjoy your review.

I tried calling to get help with my business issue. I called at 3:13 pm on Dec 23. This according to my calculations is not a weekend, holiday, lunch break or outside of normal business hours. However I got a recording which stated that I did not call during normal business hours and that I could not leave a message. Rather than lie BBB, how about a different recording for when you just don’t feel like answering the phone.

Awful experience. We were on the fence about this company until the sales rep. insulted me because I didn’t make the decision on the spot. I would like to mention his name publicly and have a ‘beware’ sign next to him however, I will wait until a supervisor contacts me here to resolve this issue.
As of now I recommend not to do any type of business with this outfit. Sales orientated and not customer friendly. Not the BBB of old where they protect customers against shady businesses rather they seem awfully shady themselves.

I gave the BBB a chance. Several, actually. Growing up, I always thought of the BBB as a protector of the consumer and a watchdog for shady businesses. I trusted the BBB. After my recent experience with this organization, I’ve learned the hard way that they are just another business watching out only for their own interests. Thankfully, the world has Unilocal now so we can learn from others’ experiences whether a company is, in fact, worthy of our business.
My experience in short: Purchased item from local business. Was misled by business’ website. Received sub-​par product. Requested return/​partial refund from business for said merchandise. It was refused despite the «Satisfaction Guarantee» plastered all over website. Contacted BBB to resolve dispute. Had ticket closed on me despite no resolution being made. I had to tenaciously email/​call BBB to stay on my complaint — finally escalating my complaint to the CEO of the BBB because I hadn’t heard anything from my original case manager. Received countless generic template emails from an assistant saying they were «working to resolve» my issue. Finally, after over 2 months of me pressuring the BBB to actually follow-​through with their job, I was told no resolution would be made. I’ve still not been refunded any money. Oh, and to add insult to injury, the business in question is accredited by the BBB.
Things that make you go hmmmmmm…
After doing some research I’ve found that the BBB is a scam in itself. Apparently 20/​20, Time and countless other news sources have conducted exposés on the BBB. Lesson learned.

Dr. Lorraine Walker– Irvine, CA
113 Waterworks Way, Suite 110
This was the WORST experience I have ever received from a doctors office. I arrived 15 minutes prior to my appointment and had to wait longer than expected to be seen. My appointment was scheduled at 10:30 and should have only taken 20 minutes and by the time I was checking out it was after 12:00. I had to be clear across town at 12:30 for a meeting and the fun part comes when Melissa the receptionist proceeded to check me out and claim my deductible had not been met and the deductible to be owed was $ 500 therefore to walk out of the office I needed to pay $ 275 for my services. This did not sound right at all as I am on a family plan and our deductible is typically met in the beginning of the year. I asked to make several phone calls and was told I could stand where I was to make the calls. I asked Melissa where she received this information and she informed me several times she was pulling this information from my insurance file. She continued to stand there and stare without offering any assistance. As this appointment had already taken more time than needed and I had a meeting to get to and I paid the amount of $ 275 and left. I soon got on the phone with my Aetna provider only to be told my deductible had been met and all I owed was my $ 25 copay as the rest would be billed to insurance. Melissa had charged me for nothing I even owed them which equates to FRAUD!!! I had my Aetna representative call the office to clarify this information and Melissa wrote a sticky note on my file for someone else to handle this issue. No action was taken and they claim they can’t refund me until they bill my insurance. This needs to be refunded immediatly as I have already escalted this issue with the appropriate sources. There is NO reason to wait weeks for this to go through my insurance. My provider was already alarmed by this situation and how this was handled by this office. I do NOT recommend this office to anyone. Please beware before booking an appointment here. I will be continuing to share my awful experience. I look forward to a phone call following up on this matter and the money I am owed being refunded to my card immediately!

The BBB is a joke. A waste of money! These people are such a con. They first said we will get a plackard in the mail and I ended up with some dinky frame. Then I tried canceling my services and they make it impossible. I tried emailing, calling, contacting their sales person. What a waste of money! I want my money back. Don’t sign up for this service!

The photographer Paul Von Reiter did a sub-​par job at our daughter’s wedding. He still has not delivered any edited pictures. My daughter, her husband and our family are very upset, He was paid almost $ 10,000, up front and from what we’ve seen he seems to lack ANY business skills and under average wedding photography skills. At the wedding itself, one friend asked me if the photographer had been drinking. I sincerely hope that he wasn’t.
I am currently chasing him for the editing photos etc that he outlined in his contract. The next step is a call to my lawyer!
Pictures are an integral part of the whole wedding celebration. He has successfully ruined this for our family!
I would NEVER in a million years recommend him to anyone for event photography.
Elizabeth C.

What a scam! If you do not pay them money as a business they say your not rated or non compliant and give you a D rating. When they call to solicit business they are rude and try and scare you in to paying money threatening to report poorly about your business. They said my license had expired and they would report me as a business with expired licenses and it would make me a non compliant business. When I called to check on my license the state said everything was up to date. They tried to scare me into paying them money in the name of Better business. I am appalled. STAY AWAY FROM THE BBB.

The BBB is a joke! I bought a new car few years back and have had many problems with it so since the dealership didnt want to do anything about it i turned to the BBB. i turned in all they asked for. I had atleast 20 work orders from A BRAND NEW CAR which put lives in danger due to the fact that it would stall in the fwy or on busy streets and the wheels always sounded like they were about to come off. All to be told that i had insufficient things to get a new car or my money back? These ppl obviously dont know wat they are doing. Also when i need to contact them they are never there. Ive called about ten times this past week to try to get a hold of someone and it always says its closed. Obviously employees here must be super lazy to not answer the phone once or return any calls. They are untrustworthy. Hire yourself a lawyer and dont spend your time on these ppl who protect big businesses vs the consumer who is being ripped off.

Thank you, BBB! I had a problem with a local appliance repair service for unnecessary charges and wrote to BBB. They helped me to resolve the issue.
This is a great service for consumers.

The BBB is an outstanding organization that works for business and the consumer. The only people that seem to have a problem with the BBB are businesses that receive bad ratings and business customers that are unhappy when they make unrealistic demands on a business or the BBB.
The Santa Barbara based BBB makes hundreds of investigations each year and have been instrumental in gaining convictions against unscrupulous businesses in the three counties they serve (Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Ventura). Just ask the District Attorney’s Office for any of these counties.
I’ve been a member of the BBB for more than twenty years — I’ve even had to respond to two complaints in that time in order to maintain my rating.
Bar none, it is the most reliable database you can access to research local business. Don’t listen to the disgruntled business men who can’t maintain a good rating because of customer complaints…

I have been dealing with Mercury Insurance for the last four months, another company that is well-​known for being greedy and dishonest. I have a very strong case against them but Mercury knows they’re a big fish and they can contort law, policy, and honesty into whatever they deem fit. I felt like I had been handed a saving grace when a friend of mine mentioned the BBB; it was a brilliant idea, I thought. In the end it was just a complete waste of time, Mercury took me slightly more seriously, possibly because it was now in writing, but the BBB does absolutely nothing to assist in the issues. After opening a case with the BBB and continually being fed misinformation from Mercury, I emailed BBB customer support for assistance where I received a response (3 days later) that was complete rubbish and had nothing to do with the simple questions I was asking. I was primarily requesting for them to get involved in my case, whether they find it in my favor or not… after all, that’s what they are there for, right? Wrong… the BBB is only a service that you can use to contact a company. Means of contacting a company has been in existence for quite some time, the phone or email. The BBB is essentially an email service with a character limit that gives you a false sense of security, brandishing the idea that they are going to help you come to a resolution.
In conclusion, as a full time college student that works, I’m learning at a young age that there is nothing that will protect hard working citizens from the select powerful money-​hungry companies. If you need to go as far as the BBB, don’t bother. By then it should be clear that the company is not willing to make it right, and I promise you the BBB isn’t willing to help you make it right.

I filled a complaint with the BBB and they just closed it without doing anything. So you should all know that the BBB gets it money from the companies that are supposed to help us with, guess how things worked out.

The Better Business Bureau of the BBB is a scam. They refuse to investigate legitimate complaints — especially against Anthem Blue Cross, Athem scams their members and literally stops all coverage for their «customers» for absolutely no reason — even when this places their «customers» in urgent situations. The BBB simply REFUSES to help and MORE THAN THIRTY DAYS AFTER ANTHEM STARTS FRAUDULENTLY TELLING DOCTORS AND PHARMACIES that there is no coverage and Anthem refuses to respond, the Better Business Bureau of the Tri-​Counties has the audacity to close the complaint and states that the «BBB found business made good faith effort to resolve complaint but customer not satisfied with business response.» Yes, and pigs really do fly. ..

My mother-​in-​law was scammed by a local business. I reported it to the Santa Barbara BBB about 8 months ago. The business was notified by the BBB and the the offending business retaliated by not refunding us an agreed upon amount of approximately $ 300.
The BBB did get my complaint, because the the offending business called and complained to me about it. The BBB performed absolutely no follow up with me an 8 months later I still have no resolution. I have made about 10 attempts to telephone the BBB with no success.
I have since read that the BBB has been under investigation since 2010 for similar issues. The below excerpt is from ²⁰⁄₂₀ or
«…The Better Business Bureau, one of the country’s best known consumer watchdog groups, is being accused by business owners of running a „pay for play“ scheme in which A plus ratings are awarded to those who pay membership fees, and F ratings used to punish those who don’t…To prove the point, a group of Los Angeles business owners paid $ 425 to the Better Business Bureau and were able to obtain an A minus grade for a non-​existent company called Hamas, named after the Middle Eastern terror group…»

If you are a paid member they will take care of you and your business. If you’re not — then watch out. My business received 1 complaint in 7 years. I was never notified by BBB of Tri-​Counties of this complaint. They closed the case without any notification to us. Even though we took care of this customer in-​house and resolved all issues, BBB and it’s rating system drove our company rating down from an A– to D– with just the one complaint. I have no doubt if we were a paying accredited member this would never have happened. Best Ratings that money can buy. Beware!

I’m a Electrical Contractor in the WLA/​SM/​CC area i got a call a few weeks ago said his name was Chris and asked my Labor rate, Right away I could tell something was off so I said This sounds like a SALES call, He said no I own a Business in Santa Monica, I said Ok where? He stated on Montana Ave, I said What type of Business?
That’s when he Hung up, So at first I thought we got disconnected waited about 20 – 30 seconds for him call back and when he didn’t I called the # back well he picked up and Hung up 4 times in a row so I called back at about 7pm and got an answering Machine stating Hi you have reached Quinn French with the Better Business Bureau, I started Laughing my ass off, So today im going to CC so i may just Pop in on Quinn and have a Chat. lol

The BBB of Southland sells memberships to the businesses in exchange for raising their BBB score and to removing complaints from the business history. I filed a complaint in February, 2010 against the World Martial Arts Federation Inc. for scam in the amount of $ 10,000. The company did not respond and the BBB closed the complaint. After the company purchased a membership, the BBB changed their grade from D to A and removed my complaint from the business history completely. I attempted to get in touch with BBB through e-​mails and phone calls but to no use. I did my research and found out that I am not they only one who experienced this. Consumers are being misled by the BBB and the businesses are swindled out of money. I am appalled by the fact that nothing is being done about this by the government.

The BBB is a joke. You pay them for a membership to better your score. Is that how a company should be rated?

I would agree with this, now!
Hey, I thought they were supposed to be independent and aid in negotiating between consumers and business.
Turns out they are paid for by business, solely.
BTW, I don’t know that there is a CC BBB, the only one I could find was for the «Southland» when I googled for an LA BBB. You are correct. They were not only useless, they indicated the business was acting according to warranty, which it was not! I had the proof, even!
BBB used to indicate if a customer was not satisfied with the business’ actions; I notice they do not do that any more.
Well, steer clear of Marina Vacuum and Appliances is all I can say. They have my vac– I have nothing.
PS. There is no way to give NO stars, is there?
Thanks for your input, which I only just read.

I filled out an online inquiry for add’l information on the BBB secure services for small businesses. I got a call from a very, pushy young lady named Katrina. She immediately wanted to get all my information to open an account. I had to stop her to ask what this costs. She said it would cost $ 300 for the service so I stated that I’m just starting a business and I’m not looking to spend a lot of $ until I can start generating revenue. So she asks if that will be next month. I said I dunno, how about I call you back. She replies «ok, I’ll go ahead and shred your application» and slams the phone down. Unbelievable and ironic that I just got done talking to someone at the BBB, an organization that is supposed to uphold good business practices in the interest of the consumer! Thumbs down!!!

Im not sure if this is the one handling my case. but they have responded promptly to my complaint again Nissan Consumers and called me withing 2 weeks with a settlement. although i did not accept the settlement, i thought it was great customer service and promptness. i will give them anothe star if they can get nissan to buy that piece of crap back.
Stay tuned…