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UNIFORM STANDARDS FOR BBB ACCREDITED BUSINESSES

To be an accredited business of the Better Business Bureau, an applicant must, at a minimum:

• Be in business in the BBB’s service area for not less than six months, 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 BBB’s service area; or
  • The firm is a branch of an existing BBB Accredited Business or business that has met these standards; or
  • The business has signed a Pledge to Arbitrate agreement and/or an ADR Pre-commitment Program [agreement] other than Identification Program (IP) or BBBOnline (BOL) 1 with the BBB and is not engaged in a type of business that historically generated unresolved complaints or patterns of complaints.
  • IP/BBBOnline policy requires program participants to be in business for no less than one year. Accordingly, the IP/BBBOnline programs cannot be used to satisfy the dispute resolution commitments that allow the BBB to waive the six month in business requirement under certain conditions.
• Pay the appropriate dues and fees as set by the BBB; and
  • Agree to the accuracy of applicant’s accreditation information as well as applicant’s commitment to comply with BBB accreditation standards through either (i) a signed accredited business application, which may be signed by a legally recognized electronic signature, or (ii) a written document sent by the BBB that confirms previous oral agreement and sets a specific time within which the applicant must tell the BBB if it does not agree.
• Supply background information about the business, its principals or other information deemed essential to the BBB’s responsibility to provide inquirers with factual reports that bear on the reliability of the business.
• Fulfill all licensing and bonding requirements of applicable city, county, state and federal agencies and authorities, provide license numbers upon application for BBB accreditation and provide periodic updates on request of the BBB.
• Promptly respond to any and all complaints forwarded by the BBB, and make good faith efforts to resolve all such complaints in accordance with generally accepted good business practices.
• Be free from an unsatisfactory report at the BBB in whose service area the company is headquartered.
• Comply with any decisions rendered through the BBB arbitration programs in which the firm agrees to participate.
• Cooperate with the BBB in efforts to eliminate the underlying causes of patterns of customer complaints that the BBB may call to the businesses attention.
• Cooperate with the BBB’s activities and efforts to promote voluntary self-regulation within the businesses industry.
• Adhere to established Better Business Bureau standards of advertising and selling, and cooperate with the BBB in matters relating there to.
• Be free from any 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. An accreditation 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 any activity that reflects unfavorably on the BBB and its accredited businesses.
• Charities and charity-like organizations (such as police and firefighter groups) agree to provide the necessary information to allow the BBB to evaluate the organization’s compliance with the BBB’s Charity Standards currently in effect. The organization must be in full compliance with those Standards. In order to maintain eligibility for accreditation, the charity must be evaluated no less than every two years to confirm that they remain in full compliance with the Standards.
• A BBB Accredited Business may not reproduce the Better Business Bureau insignia for any reason. However, Better Business Bureau IP participants may utilize this insignia in transient advertising as outlined in the logo use and advertising agreement.
• An Accredited Business Certificate/Plaque may not be: reproduced in any form; used as a “seal of approval”; used as a part of salesman’s display of displayed in a window.