Editing Better Business Bureau (section)

==Criticism==
In 2010 ABC's ''[[20/20 (US television series)|20/20]]'' reported in a segment titled "The Best Ratings Money Can Buy" about the irregularities in BBB ratings.<ref name="ABC News 2020">{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/business-bureau-best-ratings-money-buy/story?id=12123843|title=BBB Ratings|publisher=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC]]}}</ref>  They reported that a man created two dummy companies which received ''A+'' ratings as soon as he had paid the membership fee to the BBB of the Southland, serving the Los Angeles area. They also reported that business owners in Los Angeles 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‑minus became an ''A+''. The chef [[Wolfgang Puck]] said that some of his [[Los Angeles|L.A.]]-based businesses received F ratings because he refused to pay a fee. These allegations led to procedures against the BBB of the Southland from the BBB system. On March 12, 2013, the Council of Better Business Bureaus expelled the Los Angeles-based Better Business Bureau of the Southland, the largest local BBB, claiming that the group had not met the Council's "standards relating to accreditation, reporting on businesses, and handling complaints."<ref>{{cite news |last=Lopez |first=Ricardo |date=March 12, 2013 |title=Better Business Bureau expels Los Angeles chapter, largest in nation |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-better-business-bureau-expels-los-angeles-chapter-largest-in-nation-20130312,0,730305.story |access-date=May 25, 2013}}</ref><ref name="cbbb-press-release-2013-03-12">{{cite press release |url=https://www.bbb.org/better-business-bureau-expels-los-angeles-organization-for-failure-to-meet-standards/ |title=Better Business Bureau Expels Los Angeles Organization for Failure to Meet Standards |publisher=Council of Better Business Bureaus |access-date=May 25, 2013}}</ref> The Los Angeles chapter disputed the charges and continued to operate under the new name of [[Business Consumer Alliance]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 12, 2013 |title=Better Business Bureau L.A. chapter changes name after expulsion |url=https://www.latimes.com/business/la-xpm-2013-mar-12-la-fi-mo-after-expulsion-bbb-of-the-southland-now-is-business-consumer-alliance-20130312-story.html |access-date=December 16, 2020 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Lopez |first=Ricardo |date=March 12, 2013 |title=Better Business Bureau L.A. chapter changes name after expulsion |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-after-expulsion-bbb-of-the-southland-now-is-business-consumer-alliance-20130312,0,6197106.story |access-date=May 25, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=About Us |url=http://www.businessconsumeralliance.org/Mission.aspx |access-date=May 25, 2013 |publisher=Business Consumer Alliance}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/business-consumer-alliance-responds-to-bbb-allegations-of-pay-to-play-1767269.htm |title=Business Consumer Alliance Responds to BBB Allegations of 'Pay to Play' |access-date=May 25, 2013 |publisher=Business Consumer Alliance}}</ref>  From March to November 2013, BBB served the four-county Los Angeles area via a "Virtual BBB" staffed by volunteers from other BBBs. The effort won the American Society of Association Executives "Power of Association" award.<ref>{{Cite web |title=BBB in LA wins award in 2013 |url=https://www.bbb.org/article/news-releases/26074-bbb-in-la-wins-award-in-2013 |access-date=August 2, 2022 |website=www.bbb.org |language=en |archive-date=November 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221126213851/https://www.bbb.org/article/news-releases/26074-bbb-in-la-wins-award-in-2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In November 2013 the Council of Better Business Bureaus reassigned the Los Angeles area to three established California BBBs.<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://la.bbb.org/article/new-bbb-serving-greater-los-angeles-has-banner-first-month-helping-consumers-and-businesses-41707 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130703201733/http://la.bbb.org/article/new-bbb-serving-greater-los-angeles-has-banner-first-month-helping-consumers-and-businesses-41707 |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 3, 2013 |title=New BBB Serving Greater Los Angeles Has Banner First Month Helping Consumers and Businesses |date=April 17, 2013 |publisher=Council of Better Business Bureaus |access-date=May 25, 2013}}</ref>

In 2011, a ''[[The New York Times|New York Times]]'' columnist described a complaint from a consumer that the Austin chapter of the Better Business Bureau refused to resolve complaints against companies if customers do not pay a $70 mediation fee.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/13/your-money/13haggler.html?hp|title=Complaint Resolved? Well, Not Exactly|work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=March 13, 2011|first=David|last=Segal|date=March 12, 2011}}</ref>