24/7 Heating, HVAC, Refrigerator/Freezer Home & Commercial Major Appliance Service Network
Better Business Bureau
BBB A - Rated Till 2010
We strive to provide quality service to all those we serve. This is why we initially sought out the BBB for membership. When we paid for membership we earned and maintained an A- rating
Sadly, we discovered that the BBB is "not what you think". Despite it's pristine and official image as a "guardian" of "consumer rights" there is a more hidden and darker side to an organization that has earned the public trust with the stated mission of "protecting consumers".
SadlyNow, the national leadership sits silent, refusing to intervene on behalf of consumers who ask them for intervention and justice. Wikipedia reports that they collected over $130,000,000 (Million) dollars in just one year (based on a 2007 report) in membership dues. As it turns out, unfathomable abuses are being made by the very same people who's mission it is to protect consumers: Who will finally stand up and stop this unending sham and protect the victims of the BBB targeted by a company that hides behind the guise "Trust" and "truth" while distorting the truth and misleading consumers about what actually is going on behind the scenes. After many promises to reform, their system continues to spin out of control.
Weblink: BBB Plaintiffs' Class-action Law Suit site
Here is our unfortunate experience with the BBB
One bright day we were startled to receive an alarming email from the BBB. Our A letter grade was pulled off the internet for collection purposes(see email below) because we were behind on our payments. This email arrived with out a preceding email warning us to make a payment. With out the proper notice, they treat us a common criminal for the "crime" of being late on payments.
suddenly, our hard earned and legitimate A- rating which we thought was earned as a measure of customer satisfaction was removed from the internet so that customers who look us up online will be given the impression that we were deceptive in advertising "BBB A- Rated"
We have never imagined how quickly the very same grade that served as a mesure of good business practices would be turned against us - through its removal, it would now serve to discredit our standing as a business. Now, the A-grade that we earned is leveraged and used as a tool to intimidate a business owner into making payments.
Promptly we went on the internet to find out what these guys are about. We went to the Google and searched: "Wikipedia BBB". We could not believe what we saw
- First of all we found out that the BBB claims that their rating is not exclusive to paying businesses, which theoretically it should mean that I really did not have to pay in order to be A rated. Could you believe this? I have been paying for nearly two years for a grade, and yet no one at the ever bothered to mention that I was paying for something that I did not have to pay for but which has now been removed in-order to extract money from me. No one ever bothered to let me know that I was paying for something that the BBB gives out for "free", not even the collections staff...
- Second, through the wikipedia we learned that we are not the only people feeling that the grading system is tainted. We learned that the BBB has a conflict of interest when it took on the role of rating the very same businesses that it depends on for financial contributions.
- That almost anyone who pays will probably get an instant A, including the Hamas, or non-existent businesses, however the renowned 5 Star Hotel, The Ritz Carlton and others who did not cave in to the BBB pressure have received an F, yes an F grade (see link to 20/20 documentary below).
- That law enforcement is investigating
- The Attorney general of Connecticut and others have said that the BBB credibility is at stake as it pressures businesses
- That the Council of the BBB promised to provide an objective 3d party who would review complaints from companies regarding unfair sales practices (which I unfortunately, discovered was a sham since no one at the CBBB wanted to help me get arbitration, not even the legal office of the CBBB)
After reading this we were disheartened to discover a darker side to the BBB, one that we never imagined that existed.
We followed other links on Google to the "Rip-off Report" and to blogs and learned that:
- There are many frustrated and angry business owners all over the US that say that it is a waste of time to bother contacting the Council of the BBB for help because they don't return calls or letters (I didn't believe it, until the same happened to me)
- That the FTC should be contacted
- That Yelp lost a class-action lawsuit for what appears to be a similar scheme of extracting money from business owners for improved ratings
Logo Violation
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hide details 12/8/10
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Dear (Name omited):
PLEASE NOTE: Highlighting, bold, italics and quotations were added by us for emphasis!
BBB Greater Maryland is "truly sorry" you were not able to renew your BBB Accreditation this year. As a result, you are no longer a BBB Accredited Business – and therefore, the advertising on your website is perceived to be deceptive and misleading to your customers. Our records indicate BBB has sent you requests via email and general mail requesting immediate removal of the logo from the website. Melanie also clearly outlined that if you didn’t take this important step –BBB Maryland would be required to refer this trademark infringement to Council BBBs who are the owners of the federally registered trademark for further action.
We regret that we could not have worked out a payment plan for you to allow you to stay a member with our BBB because it does appear you found value in the affiliation as evidenced by the display of the Accredited Business seal throughout your website. BBB has received 245 inquiries about your business year to date compared to 75 the previous year. And in the month of October, when your BBB seal was activated and legitimate, you had 11 clicks from the BBB Seal to yourBBB Review. So our marketing advantage was working for you. But regretfully, now it is time to take immediate action and remove the logos from your site – and all mention of being an Accredited Business.
I have put your BBB Report on Update which prevents any customer from viewing information about your business throughBBB. We will release your report immediately upon notification that the logo/trust mark violations have been removed. Thank you for your immediate attention to this matter. Best regards – Name withheld End of email
We 24/7 lodged a complaint with the Central BBB office about extreme collection practices and we sought the council's intervention. It took several months and multiple phone calls to even get a person willing to listen and even then, the representative seemed unsure if they could do anything.
As of November 12th 2011, for the past 12 months, the BBB has reported that there was one "unresolved" consumer complaint and two complaints that were resolved in previous years. We sought 3d party mediation from the national BBB, but our request was declined. Now the BBB decided to penalize us for voicing our discontent and has distorted important facts regarding "Copy right violations" connected with an accidental and forgotten sentence that we wrote years ago regarding being "current BBB members". In no way have we ever intentionally tried to deceive anyone and to claim that we are current members of such an organization who the Attorney General of Connecticut has criticized for pressuring businesses to pay money for ratings "pay to play".
We have complained about the BBB and they followed with a downgrade for nothing related to customer service. They have distorted facts about copy right communications that we had with the council of the BBB. They would have you believe that we had a deliberate intention to portray ourselves as being a current BBB accredited business: We would never ever try to do this. What is true is that we feel that the A Rating which we earned for customer satisfaction is legitimately our accurate grade that was taken from us by an entity that portrays itself as a "consumer watchdog" while it denies consumer rights from those they serve.
We also feel strongly that they are violating the "Truth in Advertising" when they grade former customers for"BBB copy right" concerns.
This is because they are biased in issues that pertaining to former customers who logged a complaint against them. They are misusing the rating system which people assume is about customer satisfaction. In our case the low grade is due to an absolute distortion of a copy right issue and for us not choosing to have them "help" with 1 customer's complaint. The same people who denied me my right for an objective arbitrar is penalizing us for not working through them. They should be disqualified from rating our company all-together!
What is true is that we tried our best to follow through with all communication received from the Council of the BBB and in fact the council has acknowledged our corrective actions on Wed, Jan 12, 2011 at 10:35 AM
. We kept asking the council for an independent 3d party mediation but they refused and we have not heard from them again after the following email regarding any other alleged violations
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hide details Jan 12
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Mr. Phillips,
I note that the website has been modified to remove our Torch logo and appreciate your prompt response in doing so. However, there appears to be a page at http://mpappliancerepair.com/
As to your other concerns, I ask that you direct them to the local BBB -- they can clarify any grievances concerning your membership status and rating.
Best,
www.bbb.org | Start With Trust
I note that the website has been modified to remove our Torch logo and appreciate your prompt response in doing so. However, there appears to be a page at http://mpappliancerepair.com/
As to your other concerns, I ask that you direct them to the local BBB -- they can clarify any grievances concerning your membership status and rating.
Best,
www.bbb.org | Start With Trust
This is what the BBB's site states (as of 11.15.11)
Council of BBB's who holds the trademark registration has contacted the company on numerous occassions regarding romoval of these references. As of 4-4-11 they remain on the company website.
We removed all references of current membership with the BBB that we knew about (we have over 100 webpages).
Moreover, since we never heard again from Mr. Smita, we were lead to believe that the council no further concerns
Also, since Mr. Smita was offering feedback on "copy right" "violations" we thought we would hear from him again about any further action that he sought from us.
No one ever ever bothered to contact us in this regard after January, 2010 even though we followed through as the Council acknowledged and as you can see in the above email from Mr. Smita What right, or moral authority do they have to defame a sole proprietor with complete distortions!?
Who will protect the new victims of the BBB? Who will stand up on behalf of small business owners who don't have the same financial footing as the Ritz Carlton?
We asked the local BBB to provide us with mediation with the more objective central BBB office, but they have insisted that there is no one outside of the regional office with whom we could talk to. We contacted the BBB legal office and they responded that they will not provide arbitration.
COUNCIL(cbbb) LAWYER DENIES
RE: REQUEST FOR MEDIATION!
In the following email Legal council denies me my rights as a consumer to seek mediation from the BBB council as an objective 3d party
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hide details Jan 12
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Name withheld,
The Council ONLY deals with infringement matters -- as I've repeatedly said in my email communications all matters dealing with
The Council ONLY deals with infringement matters -- as I've repeatedly said in my email communications all matters dealing with
membership concerns and ratings issues and overall "fairness" concerns MUST be addressed with the local BBB.
...If you feel you have been wronged with regards to your membership status, again I reiterate that this issue MUST be handled with the local BBB.
Best,
Smita S. Aiyar | Attorney
Best,
Smita S. Aiyar | Attorney
24/7 Note: When we paid the BBB $600 we assumed that we would be treated fairly: We were lead to believe that that the BBB "START(s) "WITH TRUST" and supports the rights of consumers. No one at the BBB has ever given business owners a full disclosure to ask for our willful and conscious consent to give up our rights as consumers for fair treatment and arbitration through the more impartial National BBB Council.
Why should the BBB expect every business to be held up to a higher standard of transparency than the BBB itself ? DO THEY THINK THAT THEY ARE ABOVE the law? Did they invent consumer rights? Do their consumers suffering from wrongful defamation have no rights for a fair and objective mediation through the council?
If you read the Wikipedia you would get the impression that the individual franchises
my customers will be given more rights than what the BBB will give me.
24/7 NOTE: ANY COMPANY OR CUSTOMER THAT WAS NOT TOLD upon signing to become members that we were to be treated worse by the BBB than any normal customers and that we WOULD HAVE LESS RIGHTS (for mediation) that is granted to our customers have a right for a class action suit for a full refund since we did not get the product or service for which we paid for.
24/7 Note: Also, no one told me that the Council of the BBB is not concerned with matters of fairness. Whay should bbb clients be treated so poorly? Are we not consumers? Or does the BBB consider itself above reproach?
The FAIRNESS mentioned relates to the fact that other branches of the BBB told me that they do not require a hyper link. Not only that other branches allow for no hyper link, we had a verbal agreement with the sales person who I spoke to during my early membership that I will be allowed to post the BBB logo with out a hyper link! I also called several other BBB branches several times and the sales staff repeatedly told me that they are not concerned with enforcing the new hyperlink requirement that the local branch was demanding of me. This is why I asked for "fairness" and an objective arbitration.
mp: MY LEGAL ARGUMENT was THAT I _WAS indeed _A VALID MEMBER
from
Melanie Rutkauskas mrutkauskas@greatermd.bbb.org
to
24/7 Express Repairs <247expressrepairs@gmail.com>
date
Mon, Dec 27, 2010 at 6:59 PM
subject
RE: Prior Communication with Ms. Barnett & Others
mailed-by
greatermd.bbb.org
signed-by
smtp.com
hide details 12/27/10
Mr. Phillips,
At this time, I believe it best if you simply address the logo issue ...
I am sorry you do not believe the staff have dealt properly with you. Mr. Marshall did not include any notes... The logo issue was referred to me.
M....
Sr. Vice President, Operations
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hide details 12/27/10
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Mr. Phillips,
At this time, I believe it best if you simply address the logo issue ...
I am sorry you do not believe the staff have dealt properly with you. Mr. Marshall did not include any notes... The logo issue was referred to me.
At this time, I believe it best if you simply address the logo issue ...
I am sorry you do not believe the staff have dealt properly with you. Mr. Marshall did not include any notes... The logo issue was referred to me.
M....
Sr. Vice President, Operations
Sr. Vice President, Operations
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hide details 12/28/10
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I am out of the office for holiday vacation but have been receiving communications regarding your concerns about BBB Greater Maryland's compliance request for use of BBB on your website. BBB Greater Maryland has contacted Council BBBs who is the sole owner of the BBB Trademark to explain to you the legal requirements for use of BBB logo, seal, rating, and statement of affiliation on your website. We have asked this assistance of the council since you continue to dispute the validity of our local BBB request. Despite what other "businesses or BBBs" state, BBB Greater Maryland ... could have a slight point deduction for "advertising" concerns which could reduce your rating - it is considered an advertisement issue - you are marketing affiliation with BBB under false pretenses at this time.... "truth in advertising" - an issue we believe in as strongly today - and we expect all businesses to meet the requirements for use of any ...
"...Please await contact from Council BBBs regarding the use of the logo" A.b.
- NOTE: WHAT HAPPENED to the commitment to "TRUTH"?! HOW DOES A "slight POINT DEDUCTION EQUAL to an "F" RATING?
- "Truth in Advertising" Why didn't the BBB let businesses pay hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars for a letter grade that the BBB says is given free of charge?
- "Truth in Advertising" The BBB states that the letter grading is supposed to be a measure of customer satisfaction (what does this have to do with the issue of using logo with out a hyper link?
From: 24/7 Express Repairs [mailto:247expressrepairs@gmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, December 30, 2010 10:45 AM
To: Aiyar, Smita
Subject: Re: Cease & Desist Letter for Trademark Infringement at http://www.mpappliancerepair.com/
The BBB could be held liable for damages to my business by a court of law for illegally withholding my valid and legitimate A- Rating from
the web and for denying me my rights as a member who's payments you received, thereby indicating your willingness to accept late payments.
Sent: Thursday, December 30, 2010 10:45 AM
To: Aiyar, Smita
Subject: Re: Cease & Desist Letter for Trademark Infringement at http://www.mpappliancerepair.com/
The BBB could be held liable for damages to my business by a court of law for illegally withholding my valid and legitimate A- Rating from
the web and for denying me my rights as a member who's payments you received, thereby indicating your willingness to accept late payments.
I don't understand what the local ...(is) trying to gain by
trying these questionable maneuvers. Are the seeking "free publicity"
for "Better Business" and "customer service" which is your stated
mission: To protect consumers... And for truth in advertising!
We are consumers too! We asked for help and mediation and instead we get more of the same.
Thanks
( End of December 30, 2010 am email)
:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
"In 2010, 20/20, an ABC network news magazine, reported irregularities in BBB ratings. They reported that a man created two dummy companies which received A+ ratings as soon as he had paid the membership fee. They also reported that business owners were told that the only way to improve their rating was by paying the fee. In one case a C was turned to an A immediately after a payment and in another case a C- became an A+. Chef Wolfgang Puck said that some of his businesses receive Fs because he refuses to pay a fee. Ritz Carlton, which does not belong either, also receives Fs.[8]" The same wiki site stated that: In response, the president of the Council of Better Business Bureaus has stated the BBB ratings system will cease awarding points to businesses for being BBB members.[9] The national BBB's executive committee took several steps to address the public’s perception of the ratings system. The BBB ratings system no longer gives additional points to businesses who pay accredition fees. They also implemented a system to handle complaints about BBB sales practices and planned a review of their accreditation process.[10]
"In 2010, 20/20, an ABC network news magazine, reported irregularities in BBB ratings. They reported that a man created two dummy companies which received A+ ratings as soon as he had paid the membership fee. They also reported that business owners were told that the only way to improve their rating was by paying the fee. In one case a C was turned to an A immediately after a payment and in another case a C- became an A+. Chef Wolfgang Puck said that some of his businesses receive Fs because he refuses to pay a fee. Ritz Carlton, which does not belong either, also receives Fs.[8]" The same wiki site stated that: In response, the president of the Council of Better Business Bureaus has stated the BBB ratings system will cease awarding points to businesses for being BBB members.[9] The national BBB's executive committee took several steps to address the public’s perception of the ratings system. The BBB ratings system no longer gives additional points to businesses who pay accredition fees. They also implemented a system to handle complaints about BBB sales practices and planned a review of their accreditation process.[10]
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