A tool that is always at the disposal of the consumer is to complain to the Better Business Bureau about the company in question. The BBB is a consumer watchdog group that helps facilitate communication with a business. Many businesses respect the rating system and will try to resolve matters with the consumer. Some companies, such as many collection agencies, do not care about their rating. Occasionally, you will find one that responds to complaints. LVNV Funding and Resurgent Capital are examples of companies that will work with consumer through the BBB. Below are the steps on How to File a Better Business Bureau Complaint.
- Point your internet browser to the following website: www.bbb.org.
- Once the site loads, you will see a window to type in your ZIP code. This will take you to your local BBB office.
- Select on File a Complaint. Once there, you will be shown the following screen:
- You will be asked to select the nature of your complaint. The preferred selection for collection agencies is “business’s privacy policy or practices. Once you make your selection it will take you to a screen to type in the company name:
- In this example, I selected Capital One. After you type in Capital One, it will present you with many options, such as local branches and regional offices if applicable. You should always select the option that states corporate headquarters.
- At this point you will be presented a screen to enter in your personal information. It is a very standard form, such as name, address, phone and email. Complaints cannot be lodged without this information.
- The final step will be to file the actual complaint. You will be presented with multiple options. Usually, the complaint with collection agencies will be ‘billing or collecting practices” – You will then be able to enter in notes to what your complaint is about. Be as detailed as possible.
- After you submit your complaint. You will receive an email confirming the complaint.
At this point, most future correspondence will come from the BBB via email, and you will log into the system to update an incident, or agree/disagree with their findings. It is not a perfect process, but it is a nice secondary removal technique.
This article was last updated on December 24, 2022