The Worthless Better Business Bureau

By David J. Stewart

       I like to warn people about scams and dishonesty I observe in businesses today, and there's lots of it. I recently filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) against a Doctor's office (Dr. Leon Liem in Honolulu) who "innocently" faxed my personal medical records to my employer. Releasing someone's medical records to anyone without your permission is a serious crime. So I filed a complaint with the BBB. The doctor's office apologized and said that the girl was "new" and "untrained" and made an "innocent" mistake. Unfortunately the damage was done. After trying to keep my medical records out of the hands of my employers for 4-years, that "new" girl simply gave them away like an idiot. Well, the BBB closed the case in favor of the business because they had apologized. Is this fair?

If I gave away your medical records to your employer, and then said "Gee, I'm sorry," would that suffice or make the situation better? No way, because the damage is done. I told the BBB that I wanted the case to remain unresolved and on file; but they refused, defending the unprofessionally and incompetence of the company. I was kind and replied to the BBB that I appreciated the apology from the Doctor's office, but since the damage was done they should have to live with a permanent blemish against them for it. Fair is fair. The BBB sided with the doctor's office, but my employer still has my personal medical information. The BBB is unfair.

I also filed another BBB complaint against a company (the Mullen Guitar Company in Colorado) that had sold me a product, which is received with parts missing, other parts in the wrong place, and no instructions whatsoever. I now call them "melon guitars." The company had billed my VISA at 2 different times. I agreed to the first charge, and then they said they'd contact me at the time of the second charge. Well, they charged me the 2nd time (2-months later) without my permission. They didn't even contact me. I had also paid them $300 extra to get the item within one month, instead of waiting 3-months. Well, the company sent the item after 2-months (making it one month late). When I contacted the company about all this, the sales manager (the owner's punk grandson) was a jerk, cold and uncooperative. The owner wasn't man enough to write me himself. So I filed a complaint with the BBB.

Well, the BBB again sided with the company, because they had offered to replace the missing parts and deduct $200 from the cost of the item. But I had spent $125 shipping since I live on Guam and they were in Colorado, 9000 miles away. Just the shipping both ways would have cost $250 total. And then there's the issue of the $300, which I shouldn't have to pay one penny of because the company reneged on their promise to ship the item to me in one month (which they put in writing). And then to make matters worse, I had to spend 2-days adjusting the item myself because no instructions came with it. I had asked the company for a $500 refund, but they refused. I think the BBB is corrupt and protects businesses when they mess up.

The purpose of the Better Business Bureau is to protect consumers, by allowing them to check on a company's history. It is unfair to consumers, and rotten on the part of the BBB, to side with businesses against the will of consumers who have been mistreated. The very fact that a consumer is filing a complaint against a business warrants retaining the complaint on file for other consumers to view. If there have been any past problems with a company, and the consumer wasn't happy with the outcome, I WOULD WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THAT. Therefore, the entire BBB process is flawed!

I am just warning everyone about the BBB, because they are biased towards businesses (even bad ones). Consumers go to the BBB, because they want to know if other people have had problems with a certain company. They have a right to know about ANY incidents that led to a previous BBB complaint(s) against the company. The BBB is wrong to protect bad businesses, or even businesses that upset one customer. If a consumer, such as me, is upset with a company and chooses to have something remain on file with the BBB for others to see, then the BB should honor that to be fair.

Sadly, the BBB operates like any other bureaucratic agency, they won't put up a stop sign if 1 or 2 children get killed at a dangerous intersection... they'll wait until 10 children are dead to do something about it.