Volume 6, Issue 7, August, 2007
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BBB Issues Mid-Year Report for January 1 – June 30, 2007
Reliability Reports – The Better Business Bureau has information you can trust. So far this year, the BBB of Southern Piedmont has provided 172,161 Reliability Reports to consumers who have inquired about businesses. To obtain a free reliability report, visit www.charlotte.bbb.org.
Complaints –The Better Business Bureau wants to educate and inform consumers so that they don’t become victims. In the first half of 2007, the BBB of the Southern Piedmont has received 7,068 complaints on a range of scams, unethical business practices, poor quality of service received and many more issues that have turned consumers into victims. The total number of complaints so far this year equals a 35% increase over last year. “The good news is that 83% of these complaints have been closed satisfactorily, thanks to businesses and consumers who worked with the BBB to resolve their disputes,” said Tom Bartholomy, President & CEO of the Better Business Bureau. “The bad news is that there are businesses that have a history of unanswered and unresolved complaints which earns them an unsatisfactory rating with the BBB,” Bartholomy added.
Dirty Dozen for 2007– The Better Business Bureau has named the 12 worst businesses in the Charlotte Area. These notorious businesses have the most unanswered complaints are listed on the BBB’s famous “Dirty Dozen” list, which includes five repeat offenders from previous years.
1. Get It Installed (Home improvements) Charlotte, NC - 19 unanswered complaints - REPEAT OFFENDER (2006)
2. Charlotte Home Solutions (Mortgage Foreclosure Services) Matthews, NC - 15 unanswered complaints – REPEAT OFFENDER (2006)
3. BDC, Inc. (Computers, software) Rock Hill, SC – 15 unanswered complaints
4. Carolina Clean of Charlotte (Carpet cleaning) Matthews, NC - 14 unanswered complaints – REPEAT OFFENDER (2005)
5. Floors Today – (Flooring and carpet) University and Pineville locations -1 unanswered complaints
6. F-Body Motorsports – (Auto parts and supplies) Charlotte, NC - T.R. Young, Manager - 11 unanswered complaints
7. National Appliance Repair Service – (Small appliance sales and repairs) Charlotte, NC - 11 unanswered complaints – REPEAT OFFENDER (2006)
8. Ellis Engineering – (Mechanical engineering) Charlotte, NC –10 unanswered complaints
9. Warranty Services – (Extended warranties) Cornelius, NC - 9 unanswered complaints – REPEAT OFFENDER (2006)
10. JKL Needles – (Sewing & Knitting) Concord, NC - 9 unanswered complaints
11. ALK Marketing, Inc. – (Internet shopping) Mooresville, NC - 9 unanswered complaints
12. Dove Lane Interactive – (Internet services) Rutherfordton, NC - 8 unanswered complaintsTop 10 Dirty Rotten Scams for 2007 – Scammers are getting more sophisticated in the methods they use to identify, attract and scam victims thanks to the internet. The BBB recently announced the Top 10 Dirty Rotten Scams for the first half of 2007.
1. Unlicensed Home Repair Contractors - The home repair and construction industries
are continuously near the top of the list for complaints to the BBB. Unlicensed contractors can do damage to your home and cost you money.2. Mortgage Foreclosure, Credit Repair, Payment Plan Financing and Advance Fee Loan Services - These businesses target people who have little or no credit or poor credit because they are easy prey for scammers who promise to solve all their financial problems for a large up front fee.
3. Foreign Lotteries – If someone calls you to tell you, you’re the lucky winner of a foreign lottery, you aren’t. This is a common scam. The red flag is that they tell you to wire them money or give them your credit card number to pay fees and/or taxes on the prize.
4. Auto Repair Scams – If you're the typical car owner, you may not know much about how your car works which gives unscrupulous auto mechanics the opportunity to prey on you. You may take your car in with a small problem, but you may leave with a big bill.
5. Work at Home and “Mystery Shopper” Scams - The hottest “work at home” scams promise big money for people to work as “mystery shoppers.” Consumers are looking for extra income and flexible hours and businesses nationwide do use mystery shoppers. However, there are many bogus companies that offer to help you become a mystery shopping job for an upfront fee. Advance fees should always be red flags!
6. Online Job Postings - You applied for a job on the Internet and you got it! All your new job requires you to do is repackage products they send you and ship them out of the country. In most cases, this is a scam and what you are really doing is shipping stolen property out of the country which could land you in big legal trouble.
7. “Phishing” - The Better Business Bureau, the IRS, Bank of America and many others businesses have been victims of “phishing” scams where scammers “spoof” these email addresses and send fraudulent spam e-mails claiming to be from one of these companies. These fraudulent messages look very official, but they should be deleted immediately.
8. “Free” Puppies - Both the AKC and Better Business Bureaus across the country have received numerous reports from consumers who lost money after responding to ads for “free” puppies. Scammers advertise to find new homes for their puppies. If you reply to an ad for a free puppy, you can lose hundreds of dollars before you realize you have been conned when the scammers require you to pay bogus shipping fees upfront for puppies that don’t exist.
9. Cell Phone Hackers - An estimated 600,000 cell phones will be reported lost or stolen this year. If your phone is stolen, you may get a high phone bill or you may have your personal information stolen. Your cell phone and personal information are also vulnerable to “Phreakers,” who hack into your cell phone by exploiting the short-range Bluetooth wireless connection between your cell phone and headset.
10. “Free” Offers - Legal, but deceptive, lead generation advertising lures unsuspecting consumers with free product promotions. Offers range from gift cards to iPhones. BBBs nationwide have logged more than 5,200 complaints against online and direct mail marketers. If you respond to a “free offer,” you may have to jump through hoops, but you probably won’t receive the “free” merchandise.
Don’t Be a Victim – Tips from the Better Business Bureau!
• Always check a business out before you buy!
• Never give personal information out over the telephone to someone who calls you!
• If it sounds too good to be true, it is!
• “Free offers” aren’t free.
• The big print giveth and the small print taketh away. Always read the fine print.
• You have not won a foreign lottery!
• You are not the person who will “get rich quick” from investment or real estate deals.
• If you don’t know the sender, don’t download email attachments such as “e-cards.”
• Scammers “phish” for personal information using look-alike email addresses.
• Never reply to an email that asks you to give personal information over the internet.
• If you suspect that someone is trying to scam you, report it to the police or the BBB.The BBB is here to help with advice you can trust. For more information on identity theft, online information safety, fraud prevention, and keeping your company secure, please visit www.charlotte.bbb.org.
BBB Revokes Memberships of Three Businesses
The Board of Directors of the Better Business Bureau of the Southern Piedmont voted unanimously to revoke the BBB memberships of three Charlotte area businesses. In the past twelve months, the BBB Board of Directors has only revoked the memberships of 10 businesses out of more than 3,000 members. Each of these businesses failed to respond to and/or resolve consumer complaints as required in the BBB membership standards:• Doan’s Plumbing – York, SC – Johnny Doan, President – Doan’s plumbing began operations in 1980 and joined the BBB in 2005. Two consumers have filed complaints against Doan’s Plumbing, one of which was resolved and the second was unanswered. Repeated attempts by the BBB to reach Mr. Doan had been unsuccessful until his membership was revoked. He has since appealed the revocation, resolved the complaint satisfactorily and his membership revocation has been nullified.
• Horizon Home Improvement – Charlotte, NC – Lou Weber, President. Horizon Home Improvement began doing business in 1995 and joined the BBB in 2002. The BBB has received 20 complaints against this business, four of which have not been answered or resolved. Repeated attempts to reach Mr. Weber have been unsuccessful.
• Lake Norman Dredging & Marine – Mooresville, NC – Rick Miller, President. Lake Norman Dredging & Marina began doing business in 1998 and joined the BBB in 2006. They have two complaints, one of which is resolved and the other is unanswered. Repeated attempts to reach Mr. Miller have been unsuccessful.
For additional consumer tips and information, please visit the BBB Web site by clicking here.