Better business bureau - Do they help? (fee, insurance, legal advice)
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I am in a conflict with a contractor - he charged me way more than he originally estimated and isn't backing down from his price. Should I file a complaint with the BBB? What can they do? Is this really much of a threat for a company?
I will show up on their BBB record. So if someone else looks them up they will see a complaint was filed. If you run a business, you'd want to avoid a record of complaints.
they don't resolve the situation but they do report that you are dissatisfied with the contractor. occasionally, a contractor will negotiate since they know it will be on their report, but sometimes they don't care.
In my experience, the only people that the local BBB helps is themselves.
They're simply a business out to make money.
I've had way too many high pressure solicitations from them to join up, even from BBB's that weren't based in my business area and weren't going to give any benefit to my business. All they wanted was my membership fee ... and they knew that I wasn't going to benefit except to have the BBB plaque on my wall. I guess that's supposed to impress customers that I'm a reputable business, just because I'm a member of the BBB?
Anyway, they have no enforcement ability, no legal standing ... and, the one time in 30 years I did have a customer register an alleged "complaint" ... the BBB had simpy no comprehension of how the automotive repair estimate laws worked in my state.
I had the proper diagnostic estimate signed off and the work explained and authorized in advance by the client, and he was po'ed because it was going to cost him a lot of money to fix the car ... and almost as much to put it back together from the tear-down inspection without fixing the car to put it back into it's towed-in condition. Nobody wanted to understand that being a tech doesn't mean I have x-ray vision for engine mechanical failures after a client (knowingly) drives a car after having run into a parking lot concrete abutment and tears open the oil pan, stops, and sees the oil leaking out from the pan ... and drives the car a few miles until the motor locks up.
I advised the client I'd have to remove the motor from the car and tear it down to determine the extent of the damage and what it would cost to repair ... he just wanted to blame everybody else for his stupidity. He even went to the extent to claim to his insurance company that the motor I had on my engine stand wasn't his car's motor, but a "junker" that I must have had around my shop ... the guy was too ignorant to know that the motor had a serial number and I had the car's build tag showing that to be the motor from his car.
IMO, a BBB staffed with folks pressing a complaint with this profound level of mis-understanding and trying to use it to coerce me into joining is all the reason I need to know these folks are worthless. Their whole focus was on the "fact" that I had an unhappy customer who had registered the complaint ... not recognizing the possibility that the customer was refusing to acknowledge their part in destroying their motor, or accepting responsibility for authorizing work to be done to their car in accordance with the consumer protection laws of the state. Those laws work both ways ... to protect the consumer and the shop authorized to do the work.
I refused to put the motor back together and re-install it in the car without being paid for my professional services, but I allowed the guy to tow the car away without payment for my work to that point. Of course, when his insurance company called up to find out what had happened, I was able to prove that the motor he had with the car was the correct one from it ... and he'd told me and the tow truck driver that he'd damaged the car pulling into a parking spot and then stopped to see the oil leaking out. He said he thought it wasn't leaking out fast enough that he'd have to worry about it for a few days, but only made it a few hundred yards. He also tried to get a claim in with the extended warranty company, but they weren't going to cover driving the car with the damaged oil pan. Too bad, it was a nice 240D MB before it got damaged.
I am in a conflict with a contractor - he charged me way more than he originally estimated and isn't backing down from his price. Should I file a complaint with the BBB? What can they do? Is this really much of a threat for a company?
Welcome to my world. I just finished up a new garage project, after I let my original contractor go due to cost/schedule overruns. He turned out to be a worthless piece of dung and I'll roast him via the BBB website, but I don't expect it will do much good. He could simply change his company name and it won't matter.
I could take him to small claims, but for all that mental anguish and hassle, there's a very good chance I'd never see a dime even if I win.
At least with the BBB, people who are considering him will see the complaint and reconsider, so it hurts his ability to get business.
In my opinion, the BBB is worthless - I filed a complaint months ago. After emails from me asking why I hadn't heard anything yet I received ONE email months ago saying they'd opened a claim and would contact me when they hear from the contractor.
I am in a conflict with a contractor - he charged me way more than he originally estimated and isn't backing down from his price. Should I file a complaint with the BBB? What can they do? Is this really much of a threat for a company?
Actually I filed a complaint with the BBB about a home builder and specially the president of the area I live in. We had to deal with him because he started to interfere with an issue with my neighbors and wanted to presure me to agree to certain things that were not in my best interest. We were also involved with another thing with this builder and we were supposed to get money back from the builder but her refused to do so if we were not agreeing to what this president wanted to do for my neighbors.
After i had filed the complaint I didn't hear anything for a couple of weeks but I felt that at least I had done something and still we wrote letters to the Corp. office and complaint. This president was fired and we got our money back and our neighbors didn't get exactly what they wanted since it interfered with our property but the got to do it in a different way....So I'm very happy that I did file that complain and I always check out a business through the BBB website. (so i never had to hire an attorney and it saved me a lot of money)
BBB worked for me. They got me part of the money owed to me by my cable company. The businesses pay to be a member. The BBB will try to help you with all businesses, whether they are a member or not. There is no cost to you. If the business is a member then they have agreed to binding arbitration to settle your dispute. Binding arbitration will cost you less than $100, but the BBB will try to resolve your complaint first. If you are not happy with the outcome, then you can go to binding arbitration, only if the business is a member of BBB.
I am in a conflict with a contractor - he charged me way more than he originally estimated and isn't backing down from his price. Should I file a complaint with the BBB? What can they do? Is this really much of a threat for a company?
The answer is maybe...
If the contractor is a BBB member, he has pre committed to binding arbitration to settle marketplace disputes. I have mentioned this to friends and colleagues in disputes and 3 of the 4 were pleased with the result and the 4th one said he should have taken the guy to court since he had free legal advice in the family.
Individual complaints don't amount too much. A large number of complaints have prompted action by State's Department of Consumer Affairs and/or Attorneys General.
The BBB also administers Lemon Law Arbitration at no cost and non binding on the Consumer... it's a can't loose for the consumer with a Lemon Law dispute.
Your State's Contractor License Board may have more pull if you can prove the contractor failed to comply with Contractor Law regarding estimates, draws and deposits.
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(so i never had to hire an attorney and it saved me a lot of money)
