"In 2010, 20/20, an ABC network news magazine, reported in a segment titled 'The Best Ratings Money Can Buy' about the irregularities in BBB ratings.[14] They reported that a man created two dummy companies which received A ratings as soon as he had paid the membership fee. They also reported that business owners were told that the only way to improve their rating was by paying the fee. In one case a C was turned to an A immediately after a payment and in another case a C- became an A . Chef Wolfgang Puck said that some of his businesses receive Fs because he refuses to pay a fee. Ritz Carlton, which does not belong either, also receives Fs for not responding to its complaints.[13]
In response, the president of the Council of Better Business Bureaus has stated the BBB ratings system will cease awarding points to businesses for being BBB members.[15] The national BBB's executive committee took several steps to address the public’s perception of the ratings system. The BBB ratings system no longer gives additional points to businesses who pay accreditation fees. They also implemented a system to handle complaints about BBB sales practices and planned a review of their accreditation process.[16]
In Canada, the CBC News reported in 2010, that Canadian BBBs were downgrading the ratings scores of businesses who stopped paying their dues. For example, a moving business who had an A rating and had been a BBB member for 20 years, dropped to a D-minus rating when they allegedly no longer wanted to pay dues."
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