Media contact: Janet C. Hart, APR, CFEE (704) 927-8617 office
CHARLOTTE, N.C.
–- In 2009, consumers filed 16,251 complaints against area businesses with The
Better Business Bureau of Southern Piedmont – an 8.5% increase over the 2008
level of 14,972 complaints.
“While this may
seem like a large volume of complaints, the good news is that 88% of these
complaints were closed satisfactorily, thanks to businesses and consumers who
worked with the BBB to resolve their disputes,” said BBB President Tom Bartholomy. The average length of time it took the BBB to
close a complaint in 2009 was 17 days from the date that the complaint was
filed with the BBB, which is unchanged from 2008.
“Unfortunately, there
are businesses in our area that have a history of unanswered complaints which
earns them poor grades with the BBB,” said Bartholomy. In 2009, the BBB provided consumers with 1,018,553
free Reliability Reports on area businesses which is a 22% increase over 2008’s
total of 832,020. “In a down economy, consumers are making careful decisions
and checking out businesses with the BBB first,” Bartholomy added.
The top five
types of businesses with the most complaints in this area in 2009 were:
1) Home
improvement contractors
2) Telephone
communications
3) Auto dealers
– new cars
4) Weight
control services
5) Auto repair
services
The top five
types of businesses with the most complaints in this area in 2008 were:
1) Home
improvement contractors
2) Auto dealers
– new cars
3) Internet
gaming
4) Auto repair services
5) Auto dealers
– used cars
For more information, please visit www.bbb.org or call the BBB (toll-free in N.C. and S.C.) at
1-877-317-7236.
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