As more and instances of moving scams come to light, more and more savvy consumers are carefully checking out the company they want to move with, before signing a contract. One of the first signs most consumers look for, in evaluating a company is their standing with the Better Business Bureau,(BBB). BBB accreditation has meaning, but it also has limitations, and the wary consumer should know exactly what a BBB accreditation means and what it doesn’t mean.

First of all, here’s a quote from a woman who was scammed by a moving company in the summer of 2009: The wording of her description indicates that she obviously got a low moving cost estimate and subsequently the company raised the price and threatened to hold her goods until she came up with the additional money. “had the worst experience ever!…very unprofessional, horrible packing job, items stolen. “
And then we ended up having to pay an extortion fee for them to deliver our furniture. I have complaints into BBB, FMCSA and AMSA to get a refund. we’ll see….. STAY AWAY!!!!! nice presentation/sales people, until you meet Louie. They are a newer company, but had no complaints with the AMSA, A- rating with BBB, etc etc. Hopefully that will change after my complaint.”

You can see what the paradox is. Here’s a company that was in excellent standing with the BBB, and yet they went on to cheat this woman, extort her and steal and destroy her goods.. So if a company with an excellent BBB rating can do this, what good is the rating?

How did this happen, and what should people think when they see that a company has an A rating with the BBB. First of all, what does a BBB rating not mean? In the words of the BBB: ” BBB accreditation does not mean that the business’ products or services have been evaluated or endorsed by BBB, or that BBB has made a determination as to the business’ product quality or competency in performing services.”

A BBB rating does not mean a company has been checked out by the Better Business Bureau, or that their products or services are endorsed by the Better Business Bureau.

So what does a BBB accreditation mean? Again, in the words of the BBB: “If a business has been accredited by the BBB, it means BBB has determined that the business meets accreditation standards which include a commitment to make a good faith effort to resolve any consumer complaints. BBB accredited businesses pay a fee for accreditation review/monitoring and for support of BBB services to the public.”

This last statement is important and does explain the value of the accreditation. Every company in good standing with the BBB must be willing to go through BBB arbitration, when required by the circumstances. f the BBB rules against a company, the company must comply with the ruling or face losing their good standing with the BBB.

The problem in the current instance is that the company was a newly registered company. Even if they had already extorted other people, maybe their victims didn’t take them to the BBB. Or maybe they’re victims had taken them to the BBB but the arbitration process hasn’t occurred yet. Essentially, this is a window period for scammers to go around with good BBB ratings, and take advantage of unsuspecting victims.

The good side of all this is that if you see an established company that has been around for years, and still has a good rating with the BBB, then they are likely to be honest, If they were dishonest, after all that time, someone would have made a complaint and they would have lost their rating. That makes such a company more trustworthy.

One other point is worth noting. Many scam companies are so clever that they maintain one identity until they lose their BBB accreditation, and then they change their name, and or ownership and seek to start all over again with the BBB, in this way trying to fool the public.

This report has been brought to you by Packing Service Inc. Packing service Inc. is an honest packing company dedicated to fighting moving scams

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