Better Business Bureau Gives HAMAS Terrorist Organization Accreditation And A- Rating

In addition to is previous practices the BBB (Better Business Bureau) gave a terrosit organization an A Rating!  This is another horrible embarrassment for the BBB (previous story) who will give anyone a good rating who pays their fees.

ABC News first broke the story:  http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/business-bureau-best-ratings-money-buy/story?id=12123843

In an embarrassing move that shines light on how little checking is done by some Better Business Bureau’s before accrediting a business, a California blogger revealed tonight that someone has managed to get a fake business with the name of the terrorist organization Hamas accredited by the bureau in return for a fee.

BBB Reliability Report for

Hamas

A BBB Accredited business since 07/12/2010

Rating Explanation

Company Rating A-

Our opinion of what this rating means:

An excellent rating. A company with this rating may not rate higher because of a greater number of rate-lowering factors, but we do not consider them to be factors that would likely adversely affect consumer transactions.

The blogger, a businessman who uses the name of “Jimmy Rivers” to keep his identity secret from the Better Business Bureau for fear of harassment or retaliation, published the following three columns tonight, including the one about Hamas:

BBB Roundup, a BBB Watchdog also has the story:

http://bbbroundup.com/LeadStory.html

HAMAS JOINS BBB WITH A- GRADE

http://bbbroundup.com/bogusbusinessbureau.html

BBB CAUGHT SELLING GRADES TO BOGUS BUSINESSES (THOSE THAT DON’T EVEN EXIST)

http://bbbroundup.com/moregoofygrades.html

STARBUCKS HAS AN “F” GRADE FROM THE BBB? WHY? THIS STORY EXPLAINS WHY

To my surprise, the Hamas “business” which claims to provide “educational programs for troubled youth” from a nonexistent address, is still on the bbb.org website as of this morning. I guess the $425 buys you real credibility with the BBB.

Hamas was taken down later today, but I doubt the BBB will refund the $425.

Rivers has been on the forefront of investigating the Better Business Bureau’s letter grading system. When I was at the Courant we worked together on some investigative columns.

Tonight’s blockbusters take his investigation to an even higher level.

Rivers is a former journalist, now businessman, who started his blog www.bbbroundup.com as questions were raised by consumer columnists and advocates, including myself about the letter grade system that replaced the simple pass/fail system.

“So, where were these standards when the BBB accredited and welcomed the terrorist group HAMAS as a member?,” Rivers asks in his column.

“Now in case one might think this an isolated instance, be assured it’s not. A group of angry and frustrated businesses across the United States and Canada have decided to fight back. The registering of these BOGUS BUSINESSES has been ongoing for quite some time. The HAMAS registered with the BBB does not actually exist, except as a member of the Better Business Bureau. Here’s another Bogus Business that was awarded BBB accreditation from back in June of this year. Whatever happened to the review and acceptance that’s supposed to be done by the local Board of Directors of the BBB?”

“When I first started my investigation I found pretty early on that they were a corrupt and flawed organization. Never in my wildest dreams did I comprehend how fully invested the Better Business Bureau was in greed, hypocrisy and arrogance. The fact that anyone can call up the BBB and wave a credit card in front of them and get an “A” grade is just plain evil. It certainly exposes their grading system as being totally useless.”

“Unfortunately, it is the consumer and the small business who suffer from the BBB’s greed. My take is that the BBB should be shut down. Barring that, they need to immediately pull all grades from their websites and put right all that they have done wrong,” Rivers said.

It will be interesting to see what the Better Business Bureau has to say for itself Tuesday.

Students’ criminal records can be troublesome (Nebraska News)

Larry Routh, director of UNL's Career Services, said the seriousness of a mark on an applicant's criminal history is dependent on both the nature of the job and the nature of the offense. "It really is highly individualized," he said.

For example, procuring alcohol for a minor is considered a Class 1 misdemeanor (the most serious and carries the harshest penalties among misdemeanors). And that is not something you want to carry with you, said Shelley Stall, director of Student Legal Services at UNL.

"It looks really bad on your record, particularly if you're in Teacher's College or you're interested in coaching, working with kids on any level," she said. "Graduate school programs really don't want to see that on your record and neither do employers. So it's a thing to avoid." And being in the Teacher's College himself, Gambrel recognizes the challenges he may face as he begins applying for student teaching positions.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE: http://www.newsnetnebraska.org/nnn/students%E2%80%99-criminal-records-remain-troublesome-long-after-offense/?sms_ss=email&at_xt=4cb5d2d14b2d9b91,0

Expungement is a process not an event!

As Records Removal Services pointed out today, expungement is a process, not an event. Even after your expungement is granted, it is useless until government and privately owned criminal databases are updated. In most cases, criminal databases have 180 days to remove your name from their database if a pardon, expungement, seal, or non-disclosure is granted. (see related blog post)

clearmyrecord.com hired Montel Williams as a paid endorser.  The company that owns clearmyrecord.com, FiTech, Inc. is no longer an active corporation in Kentucky.

The largest privately owned criminal background check company is still in good standing in the Commonwealth of Virginia, but that is no surprise since they have so many government contracts.  

The Beter Business Bureau

About the Better Business Bureau
Though the Better Business Bureau sounds good in concept, the companies pay to be members.  Nothing is charged to you, the consumer.  Companies who generally do not pay to be members have bad ratings, while companies who do pay to be members have good ratings. (source)

Consider the following:
  Question:  If you operate a local Better Business Bureau franchise, and a large corporation is paying you $5,000.00 in dues, would you risk upsetting that company by giving them a bad rating?  If you give them a bad rating and they stop being members, who is going to pay the salaries of the people working in your local office?

Companies pay between a few hundred dollars and $10,000 to be a BBB-accredited member, and as the bureau grows, so does its reliance on those funds. Across its 112 regional offices, dues and advertising fees make up, on average, 90 percent of revenue. Some see a conflict of interest, but council CEO Steven Cole says the BBB wants members — not consumers — to pay for its programs. (source - Smart Money)
  
Criticisms of the BBB
The BBB does not recommend specific businesses to consumers, but simply supplies information.  Regarding how a group funded by businesses can be fair to consumers, the bureau's website states that its value to businesses depends on its neutrality. (source - Smart Money)

BBBs have been accused of unduly protecting companies. The BBB responds by, at a minimum, notating complaints on the "Reliability Report" section of its web sites. (source) 

Criticism on Biased Rating System
On June 1, 2009, BBB offices nationwide adopted an A-F ratings system. This grading system has been criticized for being biased in favor of companies that pay dues to BBB. (source)

The BBB of Central Illinois states on their website that only businesses which pay dues are eligible for an A+ rating. This seems to call into question the supposed neutrality of the BBB.

Criticism on Case Resolutions
It has been reported that the BBB encourages and solicits money from the very businesses they have been monitoring. This has not been beneficial to the customer as expected it to be.

BBB's soliciting of funds from business further questions it's neutrality. Numerous cases can be found in which major corporations have thousands of complaints filed against them while maintaining an A+ rating with the agency. Small business owners can receive as little as 10-20 complaints and watch their rating downgraded. Several small business owners have voiced their concerns over this practice particularly smaller businesses that must compete with multi-billion dollar powerhouses. 

Membership Privileges: Use of Accreditation term
Instead of pronouncing a firm "satisfactory" or "unsatisfactory" in its reliability reports, the bureau is now issuing a new label, "accredited," that any business can obtain by becoming a BBB member.

Council CEO Steven Cole says the business will still have to meet certain standards, but a number of chapter presidents expressed concern that disturbed companies could use the label to hide problems. (source - Smart Money)

This information was taken from Wikipedia. Accessed  July 09,2010.