The Better Business Bureau, more commonly referred to as the BBB, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating an “ethical marketplace where buyers and sellers trust each other.” The BBB primarily does this in three ways: providing accredited businesses with a letter grade on trustworthiness, acting as a moderator between businesses and customers, and offering an online review marketplace. When looking up a mortgage lender on the BBB Website, take their profile page with a grain of salt. Here is a breakdown of how to regard each of these three categories.
Evaluating the BBB Letter Grade
This is the component we recommend taking into the highest level of consideration. According to Investopedia, letter grades are calculated very carefully over dozens of factors, including weighing heavily on the number of unresolved complaints, failure to honor mediation or arbitration, and the presence of any government actions against the company.
Still, the BBB recommends that consumers look at the whole picture of available information to properly evaluate a company.
Evaluating Customer Complaints Through the BBB
Consumers are able to file complaints about a business through the BBB. Essentially, businesses are given 14 calendar days to take appropriate action in response to the complaint. When reviewing complaints about a business, be sure to also review the responses. Responding is a sign the business cares about customer service, and their interpretation of the issue may seem sound and logical to you. Keep in mind, only the extremely unhappy customers file complaints out of most likely thousands of customers.
Evaluating Customer Reviews on the BBB
In today’s digital age, millions of customers are submitting reviews of businesses at the touch of a button. And here’s the interesting thing; you don’t even have to be a customer to give an opinion on a business. Go ahead and look up your favorite restaurant. We have no doubt that it will have some horrifying reviews, but we also encourage you to continue eating there. While one bad experience should not be ignored, it is not the full picture.
See more of our tips on evaluating online reviews.
The key thing to remember here is to look at the greater picture and all the information when evaluating mortgage lenders. Happy mortgage shopping!
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