if you are having an issue with a CA that is breaking the rules here is some consumer protection info that I recently discovered. each state has its own department of financial institutions am I told, who regulate all collection agencies. they maintain a list of licensed collection agencies, investigate consumer complaints and force the CA to respond. they have the power to revoke their business license, freeze their assets and forward the evidence to the FTC for further legal action. each state may have a different criteria as far as CA are concerned with licenses and bonds. to find out if they are licensed to conduct business in YOUR state you can search the secreatry of state business portal or corporation commission web sites. I hope this is helpful to you all. knowledge is power use it wisely.
new info when a complaint is filed through the BBB you may get a response instructing you that they no longer handle complaints and to file a complaint with the DFI the department of financial institutions in some states are now requiring that a consumer complaint be notarized and signed under penalty of perjury to prevent libel & the filing of false accusations against businesses. I am not sure how effective the investigation or outcome may be yet but I know this is the new procedure .
I have never heard of this. What good is BBB if they don't handle complaints? Their business reports would contain no records of complaints resolved or business practices. Is this only with complaints against certain businesses or industries, or is this a local BBB's general policy? Have you run this by the national BBB organization? I once filed a BBB complaint, which was basically forwarded, with the reply sent back to me, in a case where the business ignored my direct complaint to them. BBB's role was primarily as impartial contact point. Although they do report whether the company responds, and whether the complaint is considered resolved, as well as the general nature of the complaint, they do not report specific details of a complaint.
the BBB site will state what types of complaints they will accept and will no longer handle. I guess they have been receieving too many complaints to process. as far as CA are concerned they direct you to the bureau of financial institutions, I do know the BBB is still accepting CRA complaints I think it may be due to the fact of membership?
I have seen the BBB state administratively resolved, in some cases where no reply was received by the company. I think they protect their own member ratings due to $ but who knows. others who werent members I have seen file closed no reply, the bbb seems to be getting more selective on what types of complaints it will accept.
That is why you follow up with them. If it is not resolved, check back with BBB, and report it as such. Otherwise, if you sent a complaint, the company sent a reply, and BBB heard nothing since, they will consider it resolved. Similarly, if you sent a complaint, the company tells BBB they resolved it, and they have nothing further from you, they will consider it resolved. If they deserve a black mark, make sure they get it. Although information available thru BBB is limited, it does show two things: 1) Whether a company responds to complaints. 2) Whether a company is reported to have engaged in certain deceptive or unfair trade practices.
