"Start With The Truth And Full Disclosure Of Everything"

Mechanic’s Responds® "Mechanic's Dependability Report" for the
BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU OF METROPOLITAN ATLANTA, INC.

THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION ON THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU OF METROPOLITAN ATLANTA, INC., HEREIN CALLED "BBB" AT TIMES, WAS DERIVED FROM PUBLIC RECORDS, INTERNET POSTINGS, INTERNET NEWS ARTICLES, INTERNET FORUMS, INTERNET BLOGS, OTHER PUBLIC SOURCES AND OUR OWN
Mechanic’s Responds® RECORDS:

Public Records Show the Following at http://corp.sos.state.ga.us/corp/soskb/Corp.asp?695477

BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU OF METROPOLITAN ATLANTA, INC. filing:  http://corp.sos.state.ga.us/imaging/13799589.pdf

BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU OF METROPOLITAN ATLANTA, INC. filing:  http://corp.sos.state.ga.us/imaging/14955233.pdf

BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU OF METROPOLITAN ATLANTA, INC. website:

http://atlanta.bbb.org/WWWRoot/SitePage.aspx?site=39&id=d2c3a647-28a3-4d20-a061-8df2c936acaf

Mechanic's Has Rated The
BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU OF METROPOLITAN ATLANTA, INC.
An "F" For Following Reasons:

1. Reasons as stated in our Mechanic's "Preamble".
    

2. Reasons as stated in our Complaint to the BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU OF METROPOLITAN ATLANTA, INC. dated February 12, 2009.
    

3. The BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU OF METROPOLITAN ATLANTA, INC.'S failure and refusal to put up a link on our so called “BBB Reliability Report” to our web site http://www.airconditioningatlanta.com/Mechanics_Customer_Compliments.htm in order to give our potential customers a “fair and balanced” look at what our customers have been telling us about our services.
    

4. According to our records, the BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU OF METROPOLITAN ATLANTA, INC. has NOT ONCE responded to our emails in our response to the BBB's "Middle Ground Letter(s)" to our firm.  Mechanic's has asked the BBB the following many times: "However, we would appreciate the Bureau’s help in proposing steps that both parties may take to resolve this matter. Please provide us a list of proposed “steps” as soon as possible. In the interest of good customer relations, please respond within 5 business days."  No "steps" were ever provided to our firm from the BBB.
    

5. The BBB has its own “Secret Formulas” yet calls for businesses (to) “be transparent” as one of its own hallmarks of a good company.  In our opinion, the BBB holds itself out to the public as the “Leader and Advocate” for transparency, but its own web site says “BBB’s Proprietary Ratings Formula”.  The BBB hammers our firm for so called “ad” issues, but the BBB has their own secrets!
    

6. The BBB hammers our firm for our “training”, yet we have never made any “accredited” training claims.
    

7. The BBB fails to tell the public as of August 6, 2007, our responses contained no “series of questions” to the customer.
    

8. No one at the BBB seems to be able to make a final decision on the merits of a complaint.
    

9. The BBB seems unable or unwilling to either point out to us where we have violated the Law or our contract(s) in relation to any matter, or to have the professionalism and the courage to put a complaint to bed once and for all.
    

10. It seems no one at the BBB reads our responses, but rather just pushes a button on the BBB’s new computer system.
     

11. The BBB’s “customer complaint process” seems to be nothing more than an exercise in endurance for both sides.
     

12. In our opinion, The BBB allows consumers to abuse the BBB’s services.
     

13. The BBB does NOT check out their own Members.  This is listed on their web site:
    http://atlanta.bbb.org/WWWRoot/SitePage.aspx?site=39&id=a519722a-7a5a-4af6-9377-6ed5b2d76840
    "BBB accreditation does not mean that the business’ products or services have been evaluated or endorsed by the BBB, or that the BBB has made a determination as to the business’ product quality or competency in performing services."
     

14. The Better Business Bureau of Metropolitan Atlanta thinks it's morally right to send complaints to companies on Christmas Eve, according to Fred Elsberry of the BBB.  Please see the following link: Page 1
     

15.  The BBB has refused to re-open their so called "ad review".  The BBB told us on February 25, 2009 "Because the original ad challenge was opened in 2007 and you did not respond, the complaint will remain as is."  Please see the following link: Page 1
     

16. The BBB has refused for 19+ months to take appropriate action against "Reliable", apparently ran by Dan and Barbara Jape.  The BBB refuses to inform the Public in relation to their many issues as listed at http://www.mechanicsresponds.com/Reliable%20Heating%20&%20Air%20Conditioning%20and%20Dan%20Jape/Reliable%20Heating%20&%20Air_Table_Of_Contents.htm and http://www.mechanicsresponds.com/Reliable%20Heating%20&%20Air%20Conditioning%20and%20Dan%20Jape/Reliable%20Heating%20&%20Air_Court_Documents.htm.  Rather the BBB has decided both of the Japes deserve "A+" ratings.  Please see our numerous emails asking the BBB to take action.  Please see the following emails: Page 1, Page 2
     

17. The BBB has refused for 19+ months to inform the public that Hammock's Air,  a former member in good standing, has a sexual offender working for them, at the last time we checked.  Your BBB was informed about this troubling information on July 24, 2007 by our firm, and with our repeated emails begging the BBB to warn the public.  Your BBB has failed to protect, much less inform, the public.  The BBB has told us they consider this information "personal information" and will not tell the public.  What the?  Please see the following link and BBB emails: Page 1, Page 2 
    http://services.georgia.gov/gbi/gbisor/SexualOffenderDetails.jsp?action=SexualOffenderDetails&sexualoffenderId=559801LB6

On Web Sites, News Articles, and other Internet Information Sources, People, Individuals, Entities and / or Companies have complained about the following Subjects, News Stories and Issues in Relation to the "BBB" (Better Business Bureau).  These allegations from all over the Web include:

Complaints as listed at:

http://www.mechanicsresponds.com/

And

http://www.mechanicsresponds.com/BBB%20of%20Metro%20Atlanta/Mechanic's%20Response%20to%20the%20BBB%20of%20Metro%20Atlanta.htm

Other Complaints Alleged:
 

http://www.wacotrib.com/opin/content/news/opinion/stories/2009/01/24/01242009waceditorial.html
Struggling businesses in grim economic times are well justified in questioning the Better Business Bureau’s new system of ranking businesses, especially considering the dubious, even self-serving criteria being used.  As Trib staffer Cindy V. Culp revealed in her Page One story yesterday, some business owners — including here in Waco — are rankled by the BBB’s new standards for rating businesses, including rankings partially determined by whether a business is a dues-paying member of — guess who? — the BBB.

http://www.mechanicsresponds.com/BBB%20of%20Metro%20Atlanta/BBB%20-%20Ranking%20Means%20Better%20Company%20-%20PDF/Does%20a%20Better%20Satisfaction%20Ranking%20Mean%20a%20Better%20Company.pdf
Charter Communications was in the dog house with the Better Business Bureau until the bureau's most recent customer satisfaction
ranking, which gave Charter an "A." Does that mean Charter saw the error of its ways and started taking care of its customers? Not exactly.

http://www.wacotrib.com/news/content/news/stories/2009/01/23/01232009wacBetterBizBureau.html
When Mohan heard that the only reasons his company didn’t get an A+ was because it is not a bureau member and because the bureau supposedly does not have enough background information on the 31-year-old business, he said it confirmed doubts he has had about the bureau for decades. Any system that gives less than stellar marks to a company that has never had a complaint lodged against it and is operating legally has problems, he said.

http://www.mechanicsresponds.com/BBB%20of%20Metro%20Atlanta/BBB%20A%20Can%20of%20Worms%20PFD/New%20BBB%20grade%20card%20‘a%20can%20of%20worms’.pdf
In addition, many businesses with the highest grades (A plus or A) also appear to be BBB-accredited,
meaning they pay a minimum $350 annual membership fee to the BBB. Corey said these businesses
must uphold high ethical standards and are terminated from the BBB if they don’t.

http://www.10tv.com/live/content/consumer10/stories/2009/01/23/bbb.html?sid=102
Businesses Give New Rating System An "F"  - Friday,  January 23, 2009 5:04 AM - The Better Business Bureau's new evaluation system is angering business owners who say they can get low ratings even though they have few customer complaints, 10TV's Kurt Ludlow reported.

http://www.mechanicsresponds.com/BBB%20of%20Metro%20Atlanta/Better%20Business%20Bureau%20-%20Play%20To%20Pay.htm
Rick Berman, president of Berman and Co., a Washington, D.C.-based public relations firm that represents restaurants nationwide, refers to it as a “pay-to-play system.” He has mounted a nationwide media blitz against the system.

http://www.mechanicsresponds.com/BBB%20of%20Metro%20Atlanta/Better%20Business%20Bureau%20-%20Paying%20the%20BBB%20Appears%20to%20Have%20Instant%20Benefits.htm
But a random search of the organization's database of about 4 million North American companies seems to show that the roughly 400,000 accredited businesses, even those that get numerous complaints, very often receive higher grades than unaccredited companies with spotless complaint records.

http://www.mechanicsresponds.com/BBB%20of%20Metro%20Atlanta/Better%20Business%20Bureau%20-%20Heading%20Down%20Hill%20as%20a%20Consumer%20Tool.htm
The latest nail in the coffin comes from the consumer columnist for our sister paper - Los Angeles Times - which makes a compelling case that the bureau is giving easier grades to members who pay yearly fees than to non-members (the total column is at the end of my blog).

http://blogs.courant.com/george_gombossy/2009/01/better-business-bureau-heading.html
Better Business Bureau: heading downhill as a consumer tool

http://www.mechanicsresponds.com/BBB%20of%20Metro%20Atlanta/BBB%20-%20Dues%20Favor%20Paying%20Members/BBB%20-%20Dues%20Favor%20Paying%20Members.pdf
The bureau does only limited research on companies it lists on its databases, and depends on the firms — members and nonmembers — to provide it with information.

http://www.baylor.edu/lariat/news.php?action=story&story=55842
The BBB's ratings are unfair, "How the bureau chooses to issue extra points is comparable to a student paying a teacher for higher grades. As this practice would never be tolerated in the academic world, such practice should also be condemned in the business world."

http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/022/RipOff0022813.htm
Better Business Bureau BBB unfair in arbitration hearings, and are dishonest ripoffs 85% of the time. Akron Ohio

http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/149/RipOff0149147.htm
BBB is full of Sh*t Newton Massachusetts

http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/043/RipOff0043880.htm
BBB Better Business Bureau Consumer Advocate? Think Again! Don't Trust Them! Leaglized Thieves big ripoff to consumers Atlanta Georgia.

http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/311/RipOff0311326.htm
Better Business Bureau BBB's John Scott commits Grand Larceny by stealing our motor home Denver Colorado

http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/107/RipOff0107852.htm
The BBB is not fair to consumers because they don't provide accurate information about companies. A company may have thousands of happy clients and one complaint, yet the BBB will not acknowledge that fact. The BBB does not check the credibility of any complaint they receive but they will post a company as unsatisfactory. Their practices are completely unfair to both businesses and consumers. If you are a business, don't do your business harm by joining them. If you are a consumer, don't use them to reference a company.

http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/354/RipOff0354515.htm
BBB Better Business Bureau IS A COMPLETE SCAM. BBB IS COMPLETELY UNFAIR TO COMPANIES WHO ARE NOT A BBB MEMBER - BBB treats companies that are BBB members COMPLETELY differently than companies who are not BBB members. They are extremely unfair to companies who do not pay the yearly BBB fee and yet let companies who are BBB members get away with so much.

http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/341/RipOff0341063.htm
BBB Of Metropolitan Dallas, Inc. Dallas BBB Unethical/ Unfair business practices towards Non-Member Businesses Dallas Texas - It seems that if you are a member you probably get a little more 'support' in these regards. If you're not a member, well you probably are at the mercy of the customer. Since I have nothing to hide, I am considering exposing this entire matter (the BBB & the customer name) in full detail on a link off of my business website.

http://www.mechanicsresponds.com/BBB%20of%20Metro%20Atlanta/Problems%20with%20the%20BBB/PDF%20Files/Problems%20with%20the%20BBB.pdf
Has the BBB's grading system, unfair business practices lost you money? Have you been bullied, bribed or humiliated by the BBB of the Southland? Has your good name or the name of your business been harmed?

http://www.lubbockonline.com/news/012697/embattle.htm
Embattled dating firm turns tables on BBB

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_pwwi/is_200804/ai_n25159929
A Los Angeles trial court ruled January 4, 2008 that a case alleging that the Better Business Bureau of the Southland (BBB) is engaged in deceptive and other illegal practices may proceed in a case brought against it by Entertainment Career Connection, Inc. Entertainment Career Connection provides educational apprentice programs for the entertainment arts including the music recording , radio , film and television industries. A new trial date is pending, but expected on or before August. The 24-year-old Los Angeles-based business offers certificate programs in all aspects of filmmaking, radio broadcasting and audio engineering. More than 6,000 students have graduated from Entertainment Career Connection programs, creating a vast alumni network worldwide.

According to papers filed with the court:
--  The BBB provides consumers with a rating for business from "AAA" to
    "F."  But the BBB falsely represents that it makes no difference for ratings purposes whether or not a business has paid for a BBB membership.
    The fact is that businesses that pay for memberships are automatically
    awarded more points under the BBB's rating system. The BBB charges
    businesses as much $9,000 per year for memberships.
--  Similarly, the BBB does not tell the public that it uses a separate,
    more lenient rating system for larger businesses that pay larger membership
    fees. The result is that a small, non-member company like Entertainment
    Career Connection can have a small number of complaints against it with the
    BBB -- small in terms of raw numbers and as a percentage of its
    customers -- and get a bad rating; but a big dues-paying BBB member
    like Cingular, with more than a thousand complaints against it,
    receives one of the BBB's top ratings.
--  Although the BBB claims that only legitimate businesses can become
    members, the fact is it gave memberships and ratings of "Members in Good
    Standing" to an auto repair shop and a sushi restaurant -- neither of which
    actually existed.  It required only that the purported "businesses" provide
    payment for memberships, i.e., the BBB did not check to see if they really
    were businesses. The address provided for one of the alleged businesses
    turned out to be someone's apartment.
--  The BBB lowered its rating of Entertainment Career Connection to an
    "F" in retaliation for the company challenging what it believed to be an
    unfair rating. In fact, the BBB's president, William Mitchell, personally
    directed the BBB to change its report on the company to include allegations
    of misleading advertising when, in fact, no consumer had ever made such a
    complaint.

http://www.latimes.com/news/columnists/la-fi-lazarus21-2009jan21,0,4466980,full.column

The private, nonprofit Better Business Bureau insists there's no "pay-for-play" component to its new rating system.  But a random search of the organization's database of about 4 million North American companies seems to show that the roughly 400,000 accredited businesses, even those that get numerous complaints, very often receive higher grades than unaccredited companies with spotless complaint records.
 

http://valleywag.gawker.com/5026675/better-business-bureau-dont-do-business-with-google
Wall Street's not the only American institution down on Google today. The Better Business Bureau rates the search giant "unsatisfactory." Why? On its record, 2 out of 331 complaints over the past three years were listed as unresolved. And for this, the BBB deems Google "unsatisfactory"? We can just imagine Googlers' complaints: "How unfair! How bureaucratic! We demand to know the algorithm that has generated this result!" Funny, they sound exactly like Google's customers.

http://www.searchrank.com/blog/2007/01/bbb-discriminates-against-online-businesses.html
There was one year where I cancelled our involvement in the program and instead placed the regular BBB logo that you would use in traditional advertising material and then linked it to our online profile. We got away with it for about a year until someone snitched us out. We were forced to remove the logo as well as any links to our online profile. I fought them on this to no avail stating that they were in fact discriminating online business by their policies. If members are allowed to display the logo in their brick and mortar businesses, then they should be able to do the same in their online businesses. "Sorry, that is against policy," was the only reply I received. So naturally I once again succumbed to being forced to pay extra fees so I can display the logo online.
 

http://www.topix.com/forum/county/orange-fl/TN5HRV9EG2MMIOCV9#lastPost
THE BBB IS UNFAIR AND THEIR GRADING SYSTEM IS A FRAUD!!
The L.A. Times just came out with a NEWS REPORT and ARTICLE on Jan. 22, 2009 about how companies that pay The BBB get better grades then those that don't. Here is the link to that article and news story: BRAND NEW NEWS STORY ON THE BBB http://www.latimes.com/video/...  AND L.A. TIMES ARTICLE WRITTEN YESTERDAY ON THE BBB http://www.latimes.com/news/columnists/la-fi-... THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU IS A FRAUD !!!!!! They are extorting companies to pay for good grades while punishing companies that dont pay their stupid fees. HAVE YOU HAD A RUN IN WITH THE FRADULENT BBB????? If yes we want to hear your story. Please email us your story @ BBBFraud@yahoo.com Thank you!

http://townhall.com/blog/g/ec51bddc-29e8-4a79-aad4-9086df5a3491
In the old days, the better business bureau (BBB) was a trusted friend of consumers, telling them which businesses had received complaints for shoddy service, products, etc.  Today, thanks to new rule changes, the BBB has decided to give businesses bad ratings, merely for being (gasp) politically incorrect (or at least, because the BBB doesn't like them).

http://www.thesqueakywheel.com/complaints/2008/MAR/complaint23566.cfm
The BBB Council Headquarters has refused to answer these charges:
1)BBB fraudulently claims non-profit status, 2)BBB gives false ratings to members for money, 3)BBB lobbies Congress and Senate for illegal monopoly and immunity from prosecution, 4)BBB violates State and Federal Laws in fraudulent arbitrations to benefit their business members,
5)BBB violates anti trust laws, 6)BBB is very profitable and does not qualify for non-profit status, 7)BBB is deeply involved in organized crime,kickbacks,extorsion,racketeering,anti-trust violations and RICO Statutes violations. 8)BBB is modern day Corporate Mafia, selling protection from the consumers, in the form of a satisfactory rating, to fraudulent businesses for membership dues. 9)BBB gave satisfactory rating to American Engine Installations (AEI)with over 550 complaints for 3 years 10)BBB held fraudulent arbitrations in violation of Colorado State Laws, stealing motor vehicles from 66 consumers and awarding them to AEI for fraudulent business practices." by: John and Stephanie Sions
"All you have to do, is to Google BBB sucks and count the number of angry consumer complaints at various websites such as ripoff.com, squeakywheel.com, Google blogs etc If someone were to organize these angry litigants against the BBB, we the defrauded consumers, could shut down your organization with an avalanche of lawsuits, like you have never seen. All it takes is one person to bring down your fraudulent business empire."
 

http://yourbiz.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/01/07/1733975.aspx
What do you all think? Is this a good move for the BBB, or should we be giving the agency an FFF?
 

http://www.puppymillssuck.com/bbb/index.html
When I think (thought) of the BBB, I thought of it as a bastion of right, the objective party to a dispute, a means of resolution, a champion for the consumer. HA HA HA!

http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/001/ripoff0001343.htm
Better Business Bureau or Buyer Better Beware? BBB ............Nationwide Alert! ........... THE FOX GUARDING THE HEN HOUSE

http://www.mechanicsresponds.com/BBB%20of%20Metro%20Atlanta/The%20BBB%20and%20Reliable%20Heating%20Air.htm
Does the BBB engage in "Pay to Play"? Check this site out.

http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/043/RipOff0043880.htm
BBB Better Business Bureau Consumer Advocate? Think Again! Don't Trust Them! Leaglized Thieves big ripoff to consumers Atlanta Georgia.  A BBB arbitration hearing was held and during the process it was obvious that the arbitrator was biased towards the member business from the start.

 

OTHER INFORMATION:

Mechanic's Responds® records, found via public records, the Internet, and our own records, shows Fred Elsberry (AKA Fred Elsberry Jr., Fred T. Elsberry, Fred Thomas Elsberry) associated with the BBB of Metro Atlanta.  Click Here for More Information.

Mechanic's Responds® records, found via public records, the Internet, and our own records, shows the following individuals are employees or officers of the Metro Atlanta Better Business Bureau, Inc., along with their public information found on-line: 

Dottie Callina  dcallina@atlanta.bbb.org

http://www.facebook.com/people/Dottie-Callina/1407424411

Deborah Flatley  dflatley@atlanta.bbb.org

Jennifer Warren  jwarren@atlanta.bbb.org

Barbara Ward  bward@atlanta.bbb.org

Anita Pearre  apearre@atlanta.bbb.org

VP of Operations at BBB Serving Metro Atlanta, Athens & Northeast Georgia

http://www.02.01.snc1.facebook.com/people/Anita-Pearre/1418224838

Mike Boynton
mboynton@atlanta.bbb.org

Director of Sales & Marketing at Better Business Bureau-Metro Atlanta, Athens, NE Georgia

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/dir/mike/boynton

Ginny Phillippi – CFO, Secretary  - Metro Atlanta Better Business Bureau, Inc.

Mechanic's has found another firm with an association of a "FRED T. ELSBERRY" with the same address as the above "BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU OF METROPOLITAN ATLANTA, INC."

Please see the following link:     http://corp.sos.state.ga.us/corp/soskb/Corp.asp?680935

If you have any complaint you wish to file on any BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU, Business Trade Association, or other Business Group, or their employees or agents, or if you wish to file a News story, comment or give an opinion to Mechanic’s Responds®, please email Mechanic’s Responds® now at News@MechanicsResponds.com.

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