Uniform BBB Standards of Membership
To be a member of the Better Business Bureau, an applicant must, at a minimum:
- Be in business in the Bureau's service area for not less than one year, or such longer period of time as necessary to evaluate an applicant's record, unless:
- The principals previously operated a firm with a satisfactory record in this or another Bureau's service area, or
- The firm is a branch of an existing member or company which has met these standards, or
- The business has moved from or is an expansion of a firm in another Bureau city where it maintained a satisfactory record, or
- Sign the Membership Application and pay the appropriate dues and fees as set by the BBB.
- Supply background information about the company, its principals or other information deemed essential to the Bureau's responsibility to provide inquiries with factual reports which bear on the reliability of the business.
- Fulfill all licensing and bonding requirements by applicable city, county, state and federal agencies and authorities, provide license numbers upon application for BBB membership and provide periodic updates on request.
- Promptly respond to any and all complaints forwarded by the Bureau, and report the deposition of these complaints within 25 calendar days of the mailing of the complaint; and make a good faith effort to resolve all such complaints in accordance with generally accepted good business practices. A member must have no unanswered or unresolved complaints at the BBB and be free from an unsatisfactory report at the BBB in whose service area the company is headquartered.
- Comply with any decisions rendered through Bureau or an alternative provider’s binding arbitration program, or make a good faith effort as to whether to adhere to any informal dispute settlement decisions. For participants in the BBB Membership Identification Program or BBBOnline , they agree to, for unresolved complaints; (a) binding arbitration under BBB Rules of Arbitration (Binding) if the consumer also agrees, or (b) non-binding informal dispute resolution settlement (IDS) under the BBB Rules for IDS, or (c) pre-commitment to a dispute settlement process through a provider other than the Bureau, and which the Bureau determines substantially complies with the Bureau consumer dispute resolution criteria.
- Cooperate with the Bureau in efforts to eliminate the underlying cause of patterns of customer complaints which the Bureau may call to the company's attention.
- Cooperate with the Bureau's activities and efforts to promote voluntary self-regulation within the business's industry.
- Adhere to established standards of advertising and trade practices, as set forth in the BBB Code of Advertising and other Bureau guidelines; adhere to relevant laws, regulations and industry standards, where appropriate; correct advertising and trade practices where recommended; supply upon request substantiation for selling and advertising claims.
- Be free from governmental action concerning the marketplace and its customers that demonstrates a significant failure of the company to support the principles and purposes of the Better Business Bureau. A membership must be suspended by the BBB's board when an action is filed if the allegations suggest such a failure.
- Refrain from using the name or logo of the Better Business Bureau for commercial, sales or advertising purposes in any manner not specifically authorized in writing by the BBB.
- Support the principles and purposes of the Better Business Bureau and not engage in activity that reflects adversely on the Bureau or its members.
- Meet all its financial obligations to the Bureau, the BBB Foundation and any affiliated entities.
Any member may be suspended or expelled for cause of conduct which is a variance with the By-Laws of the Corporation and/or Standards of Bureau Membership as it specified in the Corporation By-Laws. All final actions of the Board of Directors regarding the exoneration, suspension, or expulsion of member firms shall become a matter of public record.
Approved by Board of Directors March 23, 2006