5 Ways Better Business Bureau® Helps Homeowners
Find
trustworthy service providers like contractors, roofers, and more – in your
neighborhood.
When you see the BBB Accredited Business seal
on a storefront or on a business profile in the BBB Business
Directory, you can make confident decisions fast. That’s because the
BBB Accredited Business seal is a badge of honor. Only those who uphold our
standards for trust can display the BBB Accredited Business seal.
Evaluate
businesses before hiring them.
Recommendations from friends and family,
commercials, and social media can all help you find new businesses, but
sometimes you want to learn more before making a commitment. Over 49,000
Maryland businesses have a BBB profile, which displays their BBB rating,
customer reviews, and complaints if they have any. Researching businesses on BBB.org
allows you to determine if a company is trustworthy and responsive, so you can
make confident decisions about where to spend your money.
Stay
informed about scams affecting homeowners.
Between 2019 and 2020, reports of scams
jumped, due in large part to the pandemic. In November 2020, BGE revealed their customers reported a major
rise in utility scams, following the end of a utility shutoff moratorium that
had been in place up to that point. Thanks to the BBB Scam
Tracker, an online crowd-sourcing tool where Marylander's report
scams they’ve encountered, BBB always has relevant tips and scam alerts to help protect
you from fraud.
Resolve
complaints against service providers.
Even after doing ample research, some
purchases just don’t live up to the expectations, or worse they become a major
problem. When this happens, customers can submit a complaint to BBB. Although BBB cannot
guarantee complainants receive the desired outcome, we have helped countless
customers resolve issues with businesses. In doing so, we hold businesses
accountable to high standards of trustworthiness, and consumers learn important
information about local businesses.
When
tough issues arise, BBB offers Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).
Let’s face it. Some conflicts between
businesses and consumers aren’t easily resolved. Conflicting parties can’t
always come to a consensus, but most people don’t want to escalate their
disputes to the costly and time-consuming legal system. That’s where BBB’s ADR services can help. Through ADR, the
conflicting parties can work towards a resolution alongside a trained neutral
party.