The BBB is about as useful as tits on a bull. I have gotten nowhere fast with this pro-business organization. Big yawn at best.

@NikkiSweet:

[quote]the company responded to the BBB claiming that I was a drug user and a stripper AND that I was a teenage mother, so obviously I was lying.[/quote]

False statements such as those are considered slander and are prosecutable - especially in a case in which the victim recieves immediate harm due to the statement (such as a refusal to do business with you).

And moreover, what should be done at this point is to gather all records you have (including ALL statements, records, etc. from the BBB), and gather more people that have had similar experiences and launch a class-action lawsuit.

The big deal about this, is that this company is repeatedly causing damaging thefts to others - possibly a large amount of damage considering some customers could be using these computers for thier businesses/office work, etc.

Sometimes getting your money back isn't enough. Some companies should simply be closed.

I just did that with DirecTV and it took me a good 45 minutes to do the whole thing and I'm sure a lot of people wouldn't even bother. They might post and vent somewhere, but I think you'd have the same level of response ans mail-in-rebates do (i.e. a lot less than 100%).

Besides, the total number of people posting to the Consumerist not representative of the total number of customers any major retailer has (see earlier comment about people being lazy, even the angriest people who post here are probably steps beyond the average consumer who will grumble about it and promptly not even switch companies).

There's a company I'm dealing with that will absolutely refuse to do the simplest thing (overnight a letter, for god's sake). I'm calling the CEO's office today. If he doesn't budge, I'm giving every member of the board of directors a call about this matter.

When I looked into a small claims case in Indiana, I was told it was $70. Not pocket change for many lower income people, especially when a company has just took their money. I suppose I should be glad all I lost was $15 thrown in the garbage (literally, by an employee!).

It just seems to me that the EECB and ECS are two methods which come up in almost every thread even when it seems likely (at least from the available information) that the problem has not reached that level yet.

If people abuse the EECB and / or ECS I fear we'll see one more layer of happy horsemanure added for consumers to traverse when they actually need to get a hold of someone who cares.

@ThyGuy: A chargeback is to be used more when it is a service or the items were never shipped or delivered.

One thing to note is that I saw that some credit card companies are trying to limit chargebacks to goods purchased within a certain distance from your home...

I did this just today...well, not the EECB, but email. I bought an X-Acto stapler at work and the spring broke. It was within the manufacturer's year warranty, so I called first and was routed to a customer service line. The automatic thing hung up on me, so I went to their website and emailed them. I got a response within the hour and was told to email or fax the sales receipt and our mailing address, which I did, and I would be sent a replacement.

We'll see if I get one. But that was a quick response. My coworker told me just to pitch it and buy a new one, but I told her, it's the principle of the thing!

[quote]the company responded to the BBB claiming that I was a drug user and a stripper AND that I was a teenage mother, so obviously I was lying.[/quote]

since when was ad hominem attacks allowed by the BBB?

When I complained to the BBB after trying several times to deal with the company directly, the company responded to the BBB claiming that I was a drug user and a stripper AND that I was a teenage mother, so obviously I was lying. The BBB sent that response, and then closed the case. I never recovered any of the parts, and the company is still operating (and stealing, according to other complaints).

If it's a product that can't be undone (Already released Advertising for the year on a billboard, placemats, TATTOO) You might lose, or even face criminal charges from theft of service.

Chargebacks are great, but don't be a crook in the process; it makes you know better than the horrible companies.

Even if your complaint to them gets you nowhere near a resolution, it will still serve as a warning for other people.

It's the customer service equivalent of the mail in rebate, everyone CAN do it, but not everyone does and that's what companies count on. The EECB could be a convenient way to give the small percentage of customers who will make a fuss a way of resolving their problem that doesn't involve outright bad publicity and in many cases could even help with customer retainage etc...

Not to say that people shouldn't try but as more and more people launch EECBs for things like 'I didn't like the smell at Target - I want money from you' or 'Replace my eight year old tires or I'll blah blah blah' there will be a corporate strategy to make it more difficult to get to the Executive level and less chance of getting a positive response. I hope it doesn't come to that.

Empowered Consumers = Good for Everyone
Annoying Consumers = Bad for Everyone

slow news day

Filing a complaint with your state's attorneys general works well too. You'd be surprised at how fast that rebate check will hit our mailbox after you do.

@timmus: Consumerist has something to say about the BBB as well. They work, with one huge caveat: The company has to care about their BBB rating.

Some do, some don't.

I had excellent luck with a BBB complaint to Time Warner, which I keep meaning to tell Consumerist about...

Small claims court in my district is something like $250 :-(

It worked like magic and within 15 minutes of sending the thing out one of their higher-ups contacted me. (This issue... going back and forth with "customer service".... had been going on for months!)

The huge and alarming error on my credit report was fixed = happy camper