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      AN INVESTIGATIVE NEWS SERIES
    ON THE STANDARDS AND PRACTICES   
    OF THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU
       
         START WITH TRUTH


  V 1.4  Feb 2010
BOGUS BUSINESS BUREAU
The Bogus Business Bureau is a much more appropriate name for the BBB as it fits their mode of operation to a “T.”  The following two businesses are BOGUS.  They’re fake.  They don’t exist, except as members in good standing of the BBB.  Here are portions of their BBB Reliability Reports. 

EDITORS NOTE  The screen shots in all of the stories filed today represent a true and accurate representation of the BBB reliability reports for HAMAS and MOORE'S SUSHI as they appeared at 8:00 PM, MONDAY, JULY 19th, 2010.  Clicking on the company's BBB grade will take you directly to their reliability report on the BBB website in LIVE TIME.  (Your results may vary from mine if the BBB decides to cover up or otherwise "adjust" these digital records.)

If the BBB follows past behavior, these grades or business listings will be be disappeared sometime on July 20th, 2010.  For those of you who question the veracity of the screen shots published in today's stories, rest assured we took the appropriate steps:  we hired a forensic computer, expert witness, firm to verify and archive the contents of the website pages and screen shots used in today''s stories.  We also notified a few of our colleagues in the mainstream media in advance of publishing these stories so that we'll have additional third-party, independent verification of the screen shots published in these stories.



BOGUS BUSINESS ONE
(This business does not exist except on the BBB website--at a cost of $425)
HAMAS 
HAMAS...teaching troubled youth.  Sounds like the terrorist organization to me.

Editors Note:  The address given for HAMAS does not exist.  It took us less than a minute to find this out using MapQuest.com. 

mapquest to a place that doesn't exist
There's no excuse for the LA BBB not to have performed at least as much due diligence.


more bogus business bureau bullpucky
When HAMAS was being registered, the BBB was told that the organization did NOT have a website.  The BBB decided for whatever reason that HAMAS did have a website, and included www.hamas.com in the Reliability Report.  No telling where they got that idea as there is no working website at HAMAS.COM.  Where's the due diligence?

Just to push the point home, the BBB was told that the owner of HAMAS was Bill Mitchell, which just so happens to be the name of the President/CEO of the Los Angeles Better Business Bureau. 





BOGUS BUSINESS TWO
(This business is also a phony company, existing only on the BBB website at a cost of $455)
MOORE'S SUSHI
There are many cross checks the BBB could have done (but didn't) to discover Moore's Sushi is fishy.
According to the BBB, this business is located at  1010 North Ross Street, Santa Ana, CA. 
This address is actually home to law offices.



These two businesses represent just the tip of the iceberg.  After years of frustration with the BBB, who consistently refused to meet with them, a group of small businessmen across the United States have decided to get pro-active.  They figured that the simplest way to expose the BBB for what they are, the Bogus Business Bureau, was to register numerous non-existent businesses with the BBB. 

At last count there were dozens of such phony business scattered through several states that have received accreditation from the BBB as members in good standing.  The worst grade any of these phony businesses received was an A-.    In several of these cases, a fictitious address was given, an address that doesn’t even exist.  A simple check with mapquest would have led the BBB to the conclusion that something was fishy, but it’s obvious the BBB doesn’t have time to do any due diligence about the businesses they grade--there too busy raking in the money to question its source.
bbb plaque in appropriate place
BBB Plaque Resting In Appropriate Setting
From time to time, bbbroundup will “out” more of these phony businesses to demonstrate that the BBB grading system is irreversibly flawed.  Its grades are meaningless, irrelevant and harmful to both consumer and small business.  We hope these actions force the Better Business Bureau to actually start doing the due diligence they claim they do.  Based on history, BBB will go into cover up mode instead.  If they do, the BBB needs to change their name to Bogus Business Bureau.
An A Grade Costs $425 from the BBB 

When the only criteria for being a member in good standing with the BBB and receive an “A” grade is to have a valid credit card (that doesn’t even have to be in the name of the person registering the business) the time has come to shut the BBB down.  The BBB has demonstrated that they have no standards for membership.  So, how can the BBB in good faith state they have standards for grading businesses?   They have been exposed for the fraud that they are.  RIP.
Editor's note: The one thing that is impressive about the Better Business Bureau is the speed which they put your business up on their website as an accredited business--within hours of charging your credit card.



The editor welcomes any aggrieved business or reporter to set up their own bogus business with the BBB.  It’s really quite simple, email me at editor@bbbroundup.com and I'll give you the scoop.  (All you really need is a credit card that has $425 left on its balance.)

Once you get your BBB membership and are up on the BBB website as an accredited member, send me the URL to your listing and I’ll take it from there.  (email me at editor@bbbroundup.com) I realize that it probably galls all of you to give the BBB money, but it’s worth it for this cause.  Just think, you could be gracing this page, the BOGUS BUSINESS BUREAU WALL OF SHAME. 

Editor's note:  There is a need for a consumer advocacy group that the public can turn to, and it used to be that the Better Business Bureau fulfilled this role adequately.  No longer.  It is obvious the Better Business Bureau does not now, nor ever will have, the resources to fully investigate the four million businesses in their database, much less grade them with any sense of accuracy.  It's an impossible job, and to think otherwise is a mistake that the BBB should acknowledge so they can get back to their reason for existence--protecting the consumer.  There's an old saying, "who will watch the watchers" and it applies here as the BBB has set themselves up to be above the law.  We are simply here to help the Better Business Bureau do a better job so that they may properly serve the consumer, the business community and themselves.  If they refuse to reform, then they must bear the consequences.
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