Better Business Bureau Opiniões 

This review is based on first-hand experience with the BBB Greater Ottawa location since from 2018 - 2025.

Our clinic operates in the regulated personal care and health services sector, where client privacy is protected by law. We were deeply concerned to learn that the BBB permits the publication of consumer reviews containing personal health information—details that no responsible clinic can legally confirm or refute under PIPEDA or Ontario’s Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA).

This places health-related and other privacy-bound organizations in an impossible position: the BBB publishes sensitive client narratives yet expects licensed providers to respond publicly, even though doing so could breach statutory confidentiality. The result is a system that invites reputational harm while discouraging lawful engagement by regulated professionals.

Equally serious is the BBB’s handling of defamatory content. In our case, a demonstrably false and defamatory review—containing personal attacks and criminal accusations—was brought to their attention through legal counsel, yet the BBB refused to remove it. By knowingly maintaining defamatory material after receiving notice, the BBB acts not as a neutral publisher but as a participant in reputational harm.

It is also troubling that BBB staff attempt to handle or “negotiate” legal correspondence directly, rather than referring such matters to licensed legal professionals. This practice is procedurally improper and raises serious concerns about the BBB’s professionalism and understanding of its legal boundaries. In Canada, only lawyers may represent an organization in legal dialogue.

For businesses considering BBB membership or participation, it is essential to understand that the Better Business Bureau is not a regulatory, governmental, or adjudicative authority. It is a private marketing entity that publishes and moderates consumer content under its own policies—not under Canadian law.

We urge the BBB to modernize its platform, implement responsible moderation policies consistent with Canadian defamation and privacy law, and ensure that professional organizations—especially those in health and personal service industries—are treated fairly, with equal respect for truth, privacy, and the law.

I always find it funny when old people tell business's that the BBB will go after them. Lol I feel like the BBB has scammed two whole generations of people into believing they are some sort of regulatory agency or police. But in reality they are basically Yelp but worse because any business can pay them to maintain a great rating regardless of customer complaints. That's all they don't have any authority to do anything or go after anyone.

My experience with the Better Business Bureau was extremely frustrating. Despite submitting a professional, factual complaint, my issue was dismissed with a generic automated response listing “inappropriate language” as a possible reason—even though my submission contained nothing inappropriate. The process was opaque, there was no specific feedback, and it felt like complaints simply get auto-rejected without genuine review or consideration.

Organizations like the BBB are supposed to protect consumers, but they seem more interested in brushing off complaints and protecting business reputations. After this, I have no confidence in their mediation or accountability. If you need real support and a fair hearing, don’t expect it from the BBB.

Twice, now, the Better Business Bureau has got other companies to provide a satisfactory resolution after I was mistreated (account closed / denied service by mechanical systems implementing stupid and blind security policies) and denied any resolution trying to contact the businesses directly.

I would highly recommend opening a BBB complaint the next time some faceless corporation is mistreating you; (unlike arbitration proceedings, which are complex, impossibly expensive, and more likely than not to end up slapping you with a binding anti-consumer ruling,) it's easy enough, can't hurt to try, and you might get a pleasantly surprising outcome.

BBB is Not Neutral not a government agency and not ADA compliant. I used to think of the BBB as a pathway to holding an organization legally accountable. They absolutely are not. They are a nonprofit but they are not a government entity nor a pathway to holding an organization accountable for following the law.
I contacted them regarding Extra Space Storage about a very common scam they run, so common that all you need to do is read their annual report and SEC filings - Extraspace is not really a storage company is a company that exploits vulnerable populations breaks the law and knows it (and admits it as part of their practice) but also knows that most people will not hold them accountable. in their risk section of annual report is an admission that as the government tightens its rules its likely its profilts will decrease as they will be hit with increased penalties. I am reviewing BBB but for context describing the interaction in which my rent was was without any notice (CA requires 30 days), they raised it by 100% from 55 to 110, and they produced false documentation of a notice (an after the fact postcard of the rate increase that was not post marked and was not actually mailed and I have Informed Delivery check my mail always it wasnt sent. The post card does not actually meet the requirement of notification anyways according to the law. The notification must be given in the usual way it communicates with the customer (e.g. via email their monthly bill) and my October bill did not contain notification. I also provided documentation that Extra Space does this on purpose knowing that its target population is likely to just absorb the rate increase because moving is expensive and difficult. They acknowledge the risk of turnover and chargebacks (my bank was so familiar with the process it immediately credited me) and will not accept the post card as evidence as proof of notification. Yet BBB closed the complaint. My intent was for BBB to do its job and notify law enforcement which I will have to do separately as the business both did not comply with the law and then falsified documentation. BBB gives you 30 minutes to write your response to the business which is arbitrary and discriminatory to people with certain disabilities like myself and the BBB (Utah and Nevada) did not even acknowledge my request for accommodations. The truth is there are very few places to review a business that is not biased. The fact that anyone can remove a 1 star review (both paying and not paying) s not evidence of neutrality it is evidence that anyone can cause further harm through invalidation) of a personal experience (like on this platform). The truth is if a business violates the law the best place to documents it is with a government entity and the BBB is not a government entity nor is it compliant with US law.

A+ Ratings can be bought. Pay a monthly fee and just respond to messages and make sure you aren't doing anything illegal and you're good to go. Nevermind the 1,000+ negative reviews from actual customers .

It is insane how terrible companies are able to get A+ ratings representing "customer transparency" and "quality service" and "honoring promises" can be true with thousands of negative reviews.

They are SO NOT A NON PROFIT. Profit is all they r about. You can buy an A+!rating for a monthly fee. It’s such a shame. Such. Crooks make a killing on false pretense of. NOn profit.

My experience was great at Peters Auto Mall on SMain High Point, NC because the process was smooth, quickly and stress free. I got the car I wanted and the staff is Amazing. Thank you Peter’s for my beautiful car and I will me back.

the worst experience Ive ever head with a group that is supposed to HELP consumers
are they getting paid by businesses like Amazon to ignore complaints against them- I think so.

The product did not meet expectations. I found the product ineffective for the advertised benefits after using it for [30 days ].

Misleading advertising. The product listing promised. In my experience these claims were not true.

Price and billing issues. The price on the site changed from [30$] to [140$] after I placed the order. My bank shows an unexpected charge

Unauthorized transactions and bank concerns. I noticed transactions related to this company on my account that I did not authorize. I reported these to my bank and opened a disputecase

Poor customer service. I contacted Rosabella’s support on [8 oct ] After [20 ] follow ups there was still no satisfactory resolution.

Data/security concerns. I have reason to believe my payment details were handled insecurely because of multiple unexpected charges, messages from bank about suspicious activity]. I recommend anyone concerned to check their statements carefully.

The Chicago Better Business Bureau and the BBB is a waste of time. Do not complain to them because it is a total waste of time because all the Business has to do is write a response to the complaint and they maintain their A rating.

I usually trust BBB complains system to bring problems to companies attention that otherwise go unnoticed. However, some of my last reviews about a health care monopoly in charlotte, nc, have not being published making me think that BBB is protecting the company from accumulating more terrible reviews about their authoritarian services and ripp off billings.

People had said that they use BBB to try to get their Discord accounts reinstated, and they managed to get their accounts back, just like that. But when I try to do that, I was rejected for the third time already.

I've made multiple ban appeals on Discord Support, but all of them got rejected with an automated reply, so I might as well give up because it seems Discord and BBB have a lot in common. Negligence, that they both cannot hide at this point.

It's pretty clear BBB also uses AI to reject complaints with an automated reply. I will not take back everything I said, and I will not update or delete this review until the suspension of my Discord account gets lifted before July 23, 2026.

Update (01/23/2026):
Noticed how Discord's accreditation has finally been revoked? I'll tell you why in case you didn't know already. Their rating has been revealed to be D-, after failing to respond to 384 complaints and counting, as of the time this post was made. It was already obvious that BBB won't do anything, and it just explains how neglectful Discord is to their community.

Is the BBB still a legit third party rater of business? I just went on to look up Nutrafol and it had pages of bad reviews, yet the BBB still rated it as A+. I don't think the BBB is to be trusted in their ratings.

BBB is a SCAM. Completely useless to consumers, waste of time. Here is how BBB works:
Better Business Bureau (BBB) makes money by selling memberships to businesses who want to be officially "Accredited", so any business who pays them can put BBB logo/seal on their site and say they are accredited by bbb, to appear legitimate. BBB has no interest helping customers because BBB makes money from the businesses, not customers. Maybe they were useful some time ago, but BBB now is nothing more than a tool for forwarding messages. When you file a complaint, they forward it to the business, the business can give you any response no matter how ridiculous and won't even address your problem, BBB will close the complaint stating that the business responded so the case is closed, even when nothing was resolved. BBB is nothing more than a scam, to sell memberships to businesses (to make them appear legit with BBB logo) and harvest your information. They have nothing to do with solving anything or protecting customers.
Don't be fooled by their name, it's just a scam.

Had a positive experience after posting a complaint on their website. Had an immediate answer from the business, which not only proceeded to address my claim but was also kind enough to personalize an apology.

Zero stars! They did nothing… BBB used to be a resource for consumers. They have no power or pull now and are useless. I had two complaints. The first was for Sleep Number Mattress company not disclosing to us that even though they offer 100 “free” sleep trial, the base is NOT returnable… BBB said my dispute was about policy and they rejected my complaint. My second complaint was about Fidelity National Home Warranty. Six times they have sent an oven repair person to my home and my oven is worse off then it was before I called FNHW. The BBB told me the FNHW responded and the matter is now closed. Yeah, the company responded by sending me a copy of their limited liability policy stating they can do whatever they want and have no responsibility to fix anything in a timely manner nor do they have to fix it to any standard. There are multiple complaints on the BBB website about FNHW, and out of 192 reviews they have 1.2 stars; however, the BBB has given them an A+ rating! What the what?

Feel like its merely a messenger app for Business and Consumer to send messages back and forth regarding a complaint and Business is free to type whatever they want as a valid response even when it doesn't move toward any resolution

For example. check EQbank's response on BBB's website on 08/08/25 to a complaint you can see that the business flat out just declare matter is closed by themselves by just saying it is being "handled"

As a matter of fact, no resolution was ever provided by said business to the said customer

Platform seem useless if Business can do something such as above in response by simply declaring matter is closed on their side

A hail storm on March 14, 2025, did over $20,000 damage to my home in St. Louis. I signed a contract with Premier Roofing of Glendale, Colorado, on April 3 to repair the roof and the siding. I am currently involved in an ongoing dispute with with Premier about undocumented charges on their final invoice. Officials of Premier have been uncooperative, so I filed a complaint with the BBB Great West + Pacific. Premier responded by saying that they had referred my complaint to their local office in St. Louis. I rejected their response because a referral is merely passing the buck; it is not a resolution to the problem. BBB, however, considered the complaint resolved and closed the case! I was bitterly disappointed in the ineffective way the BBB handled my complaint. I wondered whether there was some collusion between the BBB and a big corporation. The BBB used to be a respected force for consumers to resolve issues with businesses. Apparently, they have lost their credibility as well as my confidence. It was a waste of my time to file. Don't waste your time, too. If you have an issue with a business, you would be wise to explore other alternatives for a resolution. The BBB is an empty exercise, just going through the motions.

I submitted a documented complaint to the BBB against Chicago Title — a title company involved in blatant deal interference while I was under contract on a real estate transaction.
I included clear evidence, screenshots, a full paper trail, and listed the regulatory agencies I filed with (TREC, Texas Dept. of Insurance, Texas Attorney General).

What did the BBB do?

❌ Removed my review

❌ Closed my complaint

❌ Protected a company that isn't even BBB-accredited

❌ Offered no resolution or investigation

Let that sink in... the BBB sided with a company that doesn’t even pay their $50/month membership fee. That’s all you need to know about who the BBB really works for.

They claim to be a watchdog, but in reality they’re just Yelp in a suit offering businesses protection, not holding them accountable. It’s a toothless, outdated system pretending to care about consumers while quietly taking down anything that might hurt a business’s image.

My complaint wasn’t anonymous. It wasn’t vague. It wasn’t abusive. It was detailed, factual, and backed by regulatory filings, and they still swept it under the rug.

If you're a consumer thinking the BBB will help you, they won’t.

If you’re a business looking to hide bad reviews, you’ve come to the right place.

This experience taught me one thing: the BBB isn't about accountability. It's about appearances. And every consumer should know that. They are a facade.