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The BBB does nothing. It's just the Yelp of the past. They don't help mediate disputes they just extort business owners. If the owner pays enough money they can

by ebbv 10y ago

The BBB does nothing. It's just the Yelp of the past. They don't help mediate disputes they just extort business owners. If the owner pays enough money they can get rid of negative reviews. It's crap. The only thing that will do you any good against a company like that is hiring a lawyer and it sounds like you should have done that in the first month.

ideonexus 10y ago
The cost of a lawyer was more than the amount of money under dispute. It may have felt good to take the company to court and win, but the cost of representation plus the leave time I would have had to burn to spend time in court and satisfy all the discovery paperwork requests would have cost much much more than what the company was charging me. How does it make sense to spend so much time and money over such a small claim? And what about people who can't afford lawyers? Why does any American citizen have to spend exorbitant amounts of time and money disputing something that should be resolvable with a phone call?
- matheusmoreira 10y ago
  If one can't afford a lawyer, the state should provide one. Is this not how it works? Please correct me if I'm wrong. I have a professor who's also a lawyer, and he said something that resonated with me: "The law isn't about what's convenient [or profitable], it's about what's right." People who have been wronged can take things far beyond what would be "reasonable". The mere presence of a lawyer changes every interaction you have with any institution. It makes ignoring you a far more risky endeavor.
  - scaryspooky 10y ago
    > If one can't afford a lawyer, the state should provide one. Not for civil matters, at least in the US. You are only guaranteed a lawyer for criminal charges.
  - ensignavenger 10y ago
    In actuality, the state will only provide you a lawyer to defend you in a criminal case, and then only certain criminal cases (I think in Missouri it is cases where the penalty is normally jail time, not cases where they normally only fine you, like traffic ticket). Even then, state provided legal defense is usually horrendous- public defenders are very over worked and simply don't have the time to help their clients. There should be legal counsel available, and it should be a lot easier to navigate the system; but unfortunate in the US (and probably most other countries) that is simply not the reality.
  - jellicle 10y ago
    In the U.S., there is no right to a lawyer for any civil case, and for that matter not even in a criminal case. You have to be both destitute and a criminal defendant to receive a court-appointed lawyer. Many people believe that all criminal defendants are entitled to a lawyer at government expense, but in fact they are not. Unless you are indigent, you'll be required to hire a lawyer yourself or do without.
- ensignavenger 10y ago
  Small Claims Court is often a much more affordable option. Still have to take some leave, though.
- ebbv 10y ago
  You said you were charged over $1,000 and that this went on for six months. All it likely would have taken is a letter from a lawyer. The cost of having a lawyer send a letter isn't that much unless you're only considering super expensive lawyers.
cptskippy 10y ago
> It's just the Yelp of the past. More accurately it's the Yelp of a generation. I work for a 100+ year old charity that is trying to modernize while not abandoning it's constituent base which is primarily seniors at this point. There's a weird internal schism going on because we're trying to appeal to the younger generation but we have to keep one foot in the past and maintain crap like our BBB rating because our base demands it. As the Greatest Generation dies off, I think so too will old institutions like the BBB but for businesses that cater to that generation they're still relevant.

by ebbv 10y ago

ideonexus 10y ago

The cost of a lawyer was more than the amount of money under dispute. It may have felt good to take the company to court and win, but the cost of representation plus the leave time I would have had to burn to spend time in court and satisfy all the discovery paperwork requests would have cost much much more than what the company was charging me. How does it make sense to spend so much time and money over such a small claim? And what about people who can't afford lawyers? Why does any American citizen have to spend exorbitant amounts of time and money disputing something that should be resolvable with a phone call?

matheusmoreira 10y ago
If one can't afford a lawyer, the state should provide one. Is this not how it works? Please correct me if I'm wrong. I have a professor who's also a lawyer, and he said something that resonated with me: "The law isn't about what's convenient [or profitable], it's about what's right." People who have been wronged can take things far beyond what would be "reasonable". The mere presence of a lawyer changes every interaction you have with any institution. It makes ignoring you a far more risky endeavor.
- scaryspooky 10y ago
  > If one can't afford a lawyer, the state should provide one. Not for civil matters, at least in the US. You are only guaranteed a lawyer for criminal charges.
- ensignavenger 10y ago
  In actuality, the state will only provide you a lawyer to defend you in a criminal case, and then only certain criminal cases (I think in Missouri it is cases where the penalty is normally jail time, not cases where they normally only fine you, like traffic ticket). Even then, state provided legal defense is usually horrendous- public defenders are very over worked and simply don't have the time to help their clients. There should be legal counsel available, and it should be a lot easier to navigate the system; but unfortunate in the US (and probably most other countries) that is simply not the reality.
- jellicle 10y ago
  In the U.S., there is no right to a lawyer for any civil case, and for that matter not even in a criminal case. You have to be both destitute and a criminal defendant to receive a court-appointed lawyer. Many people believe that all criminal defendants are entitled to a lawyer at government expense, but in fact they are not. Unless you are indigent, you'll be required to hire a lawyer yourself or do without.
ensignavenger 10y ago
Small Claims Court is often a much more affordable option. Still have to take some leave, though.
ebbv 10y ago
You said you were charged over $1,000 and that this went on for six months. All it likely would have taken is a letter from a lawyer. The cost of having a lawyer send a letter isn't that much unless you're only considering super expensive lawyers.

cptskippy 10y ago

> It's just the Yelp of the past. More accurately it's the Yelp of a generation. I work for a 100+ year old charity that is trying to modernize while not abandoning it's constituent base which is primarily seniors at this point. There's a weird internal schism going on because we're trying to appeal to the younger generation but we have to keep one foot in the past and maintain crap like our BBB rating because our base demands it. As the Greatest Generation dies off, I think so too will old institutions like the BBB but for businesses that cater to that generation they're still relevant.