Rating FAQ's

Below are the FAQ's for the letter-grade rating system. You can also click here for the pdf version: /storage/104/documents/FAQ for ratings.pdf

What is the ratings system?

The new BBB rating system relies on an A+ through F letter-grade scale. The grades

represent BBB’s degree of confidence that the business is operating in a trustworthy

manner and will make a good faith effort to resolve any customer concerns.

identify and compare the reliability of businesses based on BBB’s unbiased

evaluation. Previously, BBB awarded businesses either a “satisfactory” or

“unsatisfactory” grade—which did not provide as much insight as a letter grade.

The ratings system relies on a proprietary formula that takes into account 17 factors

based on objective information and actual incidences of a business’s behavior that

have been verified and evaluated by BBB professionals.

Specific factors include:

Businesses are awarded points based on 17 factors, which are weighted according to

BBB’s assessment of the importance of each factor. The points are calculated and a

letter grade is awarded based on the point range the businesses fall into.

In most cases, complaint history drives a business’s letter-grade rating. Nearly 85

percent of the scoring is determined by consumer-reported complaints that have

been verified and evaluated by BBB, such as the number of complaints, the severity

of complaints and how a business resolves complaints. There are though, some

overarching factors that will impact a business’s rating even if there have been no

complaints to date, such as: how long the business has been operating, government

actions, and advertising and competency license issues.

No. The grade represents BBB’s degree of confidence that the business is operating

in a trustworthy manner and will make a good faith effort to resolve any customer

concerns. In all cases, users should also read and consider full BBB Reliability

Any time new information is reported to and/or collected by BBB and evaluated by

our professionals, that information is loaded into our database, which automatically

updates the business’s rating. For all businesses in our database, BBB reports on

complaints received in the previous 36 months.

Ratings can and will change in a number of ways. Changes depend on the factors

involved and how that factor is weighted. Generally speaking, a business’s grade is a

function of the level of trust BBB has in the business as a result of its actions in the

marketplace. Therefore, a business’s grade can rise or fall depending on how the

business performs in regard to the 17 factors.

First and foremost, BBB will want to examine what the specific deficiencies are – i.e.,

the issues that contribute to the business’s rating. From that research, BBB can then

offer specific, qualified guidance on how the business can improve its BBB rating. In

general though, BBB can certainly recommend to any business that it consistently

treat its customers in a fair and honest manner. And, if honest mistakes are made,

take prompt and appropriate action to resolve issues in a timely manner.

considering other options for updating and notifying consumers in the future, but no

decisions have been made at this time.

Individual business ratings are prominently displayed at the top of BBB Reliability

For more information about BBB Ratings, consumers and businesses can visit

consumers and businesses are always welcome to contact their BBB via phone or email

with individual questions.

For more information on the specific factors leading to a business’s rating,

about the business including complaint history.

Generally, BBB assigns a business an “NR” (No Rating) under the following

circumstances:

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sufficient time to assess the business.

The term specifically applies to types of businesses (industries) that are generally

scams or fraudulent. It can also apply to an industry that relies on a business model

that, in BBB’s experience, exhibits consistent or inherent problems or trade practice

concerns.

Industries that fall into the category of Illegal/Scam are:

loans.

repair/improve consumer credit history.

requires money be sent to others in the chain.

services that charge an advance fee for referral to positions that don't exist

or they are not authorized to promote.

using deceptive techniques.

pharmacies selling unapproved drugs and/or invalid prescriptions.

contributions from future investors to pay current investors.

primarily on monetary payments and recruitment of new payees rather than

sale of a product or service.

scammed consumers.

non-existent cash prize winnings.

advance fee and misrepresent earnings and/or nature of work.

Industries that fall into the category of “Inherent Problems” include:

has consumer start by not paying creditors for period of time prior to

negotiation with creditors.

fee for publicly available information about government auctions and jobs.

that engage in questionable advertising and charge a fee for resource

lists for grants/scholarship/aid.

that engage in questionable advertising and sales practices in sale of bulk

meat.

results for building wealth with purchase of books, DVDs, etc.

A BBB committee determines which industries fall into categories of scams or having

inherent problems. The list of industries is regularly reviewed and subject to change

as determined by the committee.

No. BBB takes into account the size of a business, such as the number of customers,

when evaluating the volume of complaints.

How long a company has been in business is one of the first things consumers

consider when researching a company to hire. They want to have a degree of

confidence that the business has experience and a track record, so our formula

factors this key consideration in.

No. While BBB Accredited Businesses do receive additional points, other factors

contribute to a company rating and non-accredited businesses can also have

favorable ratings.

Grades represent BBB’s degree of confidence that the business is operating in a

trustworthy manner and will make a good faith effort to resolve any customer

concerns – and accreditation raises that level of confidence. To be accredited, a

business has been thoroughly reviewed by BBB, meets the organization’s high

standards for integrity and reliability when dealing with consumers, signs an

agreement with BBB to continue to abide by these standards and supports BBB's

efforts to educate and protect the public. In addition, under this agreement, the

business must work with BBB to resolve complaints in a timely manner that is

equitable for the consumer.

Like most standards-based organizations that provide accreditation, we charge a

business for the time and costs associated with reviewing and monitoring their

organization. As a result, we are able to provide many important and valuable

The more information we can provide the public, the better informed they are to

make a good choice when hiring or doing business with a company. Therefore, when

we have sufficient information to evaluate a business based on our 17 factors, we

will provide a report and subsequent letter grade.