COMMONWEALTH

GREENWOOD, MS
clrculatlon = 8330
DAILY
11/14/2008
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Many misconceptions about Better Business Bureau

~~dbbeck:
Jwv H
Ur
Tph
w
Oqpnization not a skze orfederal agency; BBB's
Dlck Brodbeck.
dlrector of coimnk
dcations for the
BetterWlslness
I primary god is to ensure an ethical marketplace : 8

Bms!&M~~P
Pi, left, talks wfth
glls Smlth following
Ilk pmsmtauonto
the Greemood
Klwanls Club on
Thursday. Brodbeck
sald so many people
have mlsconcep
%om about what
the Better Buslness
Bureau does to help
- ..
BBB "
As of Sepbmber, the o -f
Mississippi had 600,000
inquiries."rhatgksyou an
ideaofthewlumeofrequests
we get for information and
assktance,"Brodbeck said
TheBmdoesnot operatem
every sta@ and the BBB of
M p p covers only% of
the state's 82 counties
TheJ-gal
was founded m 1912 and is
gwerned by a anmd. There
are 125 BBBs m the United
States,and Mkisippi's was
By JENNY HUMPHRYES 'We can't give legal advice, and we are not a
Managing Editor law enforcement agency: he said 'We have no
@tory or enforcement authorityn
ManypeoplethinktheyknawwhattheBet- Whattheydo,hesaaistsytomaneth-
ter Business Bureau is, but most ical marketph
ofthe time they are wrollg. The organizationamditsbusi-
DickBrodbeck,directorofcom- neasesmthestateandho1dst.hxn
munimtiom fm the Better Busi- up to an ethical standard. The
mess Bureau of Mississppi, said agmcyalsohasadahbsetolet
thmk =a federal co- know what businem
-r state agency. That's not true. are ameditdin Miasissppi.
'TheBBEis a nobfor-profit organizationWe
are not a government age@ Brorlbeck said
1 "Wedo not receive federal funding.
C?
- a recpmment that iiBXS
some of them kit aren't valid
go away.
Once a complaint b deemed
vahd, the R B contacts the
business, m writing, asking for
a responw All B_BBm&
must agree to m u d tocom-
plaints,hesaid.
MembersoftheBBRpre-
agree to aditration, if neas
s q ,to handle a complaint
Brodbeck said retired a k -
neys andjudges W y han-
dle the A plus to
having mediation is avoidmg
fees for all the &es
involved,he said
The cakgmy a t h c h g the
most complaints is autome
b h , Brodbeck said. An auto

..e s t a b W m 1964.
Brodbeck said the Better
Business Bureau o i h is con-
fused with the Chamber of
Commeme because it does
linehasbeendMto
help with these complaints.
There also are many com-
plaints about ceJl phone corn-
panics and d e z ~hesaid
,
have memberg and the durn. .,
he1~ -
the ormnhtion servc the 0
ter than the ''salmkkuf or
phic
There are 16,000 members ZmsatisE?cto$ r a w used
m the BBB's database,Brod- in the early days, Brodberk
becksaidAi;lonceayear,the said
B e g o e s aroundthe stateand To receiveameditationfbm
has member meetings. the BBB, companies must
Business must meet cer- have-* or higher, he
tain criteria to be membera said
When invited to seek a d - TheBetter BusinessBureau
tation, they must meet tough also Toes advertafmgreviews,
standads and agree to follow chanty evaluation repork, con-
the mest principles of busi- sumer advice and education,
ness ethics and voluntary self- business ethics promotion and
etion,hesaid. mediaalertstoscams.
BrodbecksaidthemBof "Ibeomeweareheroes,to
Mw&&pi has about 2,700 others a pain in the sidcn
armplaints a year, many of Bmb& said. 'But we have
whkharen'tvalid. the satisfhon of going home
A complaint against a busi- every day and knowing that
ness must be made in writing we h e w people todaf
1