Colorado Springs, CO, May 4, 2004 -- Better Business Bureaus (BBBs) in the United States and Canada logged 56 million instances of service in 2003. This is the first year that data for both countries was collected and compiled into one report.

“With the growth in e-commerce, it’s not unusual for buyers to consider doing business with merchants in other countries. The BBB system is a rich source of helpful information on reliable businesses in the U.S. and Canada. Before doing business with a company, check with the BBB,” said Ken Hunter, president and CEO of the Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB).

Carol Odell, President and CEO of the BBB of Southern Colorado, noted that BBB reports contain complaint data that can help consumers avoid becoming victims of fraud, whether it’s cross-country or cross-country. “The BBB is well aware of the scam artists who take advantage of consumers. Calling the BBB can save you time, money and heartbreak, especially when you check with us before you make a commitment to buy a product or sign up for a service. You can even check with BBB’s in another state for free by using the Internet to do your search. ”

By visiting www.bbb.org, consumers can search for business reliability reports from BBB’s in the U.S. and Canada, as well as U.S. charity reports from the BBB Wise Giving Alliance. The BBBOnLine Web site (www.bbbonline.org) has a safe shopping database of businesses in the U.S., Canada and elsewhere that participate in BBB seal programs to promote safe e-commerce. The local BBB Web site, www.bbbsc.org, offers over 20,000 reports on businesses and charities throughout our 25 county service area.

Pre-purchase Information: In total, BBB’s responded to 51.8 million requests from consumers and businesses for pre-purchase information in 2003. These requests included 32.5 million BBB reliability reports on businesses (members and non-members).

Locally, the BBB of Southern Colorado provided over 178,000 reports on businesses in 2003, up more than 25% from the previous year.

Other pre-purchase inquiries to the BBB system included 14.7 million requests for general information on shopping wisely and avoiding questionable promotions, and 4.6 million instances of shoppers checking for confirmation that a business participated in BBBOnLine Reliability and Privacy programs. The BBBOnLine seal confirmations had increased 28 percent over the 3.6 million instances of shoppers checking for confirmation in 2002.

Complaints: BBB’s across the U.S. and Canada assisted consumers and businesses with more than 1.9 million complaints in 2003. That figure includes 930,121 complaints that were handled by local BBB’s. Of these, approximately 63 percent were filed online.

The BBB's online complaint form, which is accessible through the www.bbb.org Web site, makes it easy for consumers to seek assistance in resolving disputes with businesses located in the U.S. or Canada.

Top 10 Most-Asked-About Businesses

Mortgage and escrow companies topped the list of businesses that are most frequently checked out with the BBB. Inquiries about mortgage and escrow offers totaled 1.04 million in 2003. Ranking second in number of reports requested was work-at-home promotions, with 1.02 million report requests, and the third most-asked-about business was roofing and guttering contractors, with 953,406 reports requested in 2003.

Top 10 Businesses Ranked by BBB Report Requests

• 2003 Rank-----Type of Business/U.S. & Canada Stats------Number of Reports Requested
• 1-----------------Mortgage and Escrow Companies-------------1,043,188
• 2-----------------Work-at-Home Promotions-----------------------1,017,739
• 3-----------------Roofing and Guttering Contractors----------------953,406
• 4-----------------Moving/Storage Companies------------------------799,536
• 5-----------------General Contractors-----------------------------------709,580
• 6-----------------Home Remodeling Contractors--------------------646,486
• 7-----------------Automobile Dealers------------------------------------577,209
• 8-----------------Home Builders-------------------------------------------509,186
• 9-----------------Auto Repair Shops-------------------------------------402,695
• 10----------------Plumbing Contractors---------------------------------333,150

The BBB of Southern Colorado saw similar trends in our service area:

• 2003 Rank----Type of Business – Southern Colorado Stats-----Number of Reports Requested
• 1-------------Business Opportunities---------------------------------------7,717
• 2-------------Mortgage Companies-----------------------------------------7,215
• 3-------------Heating and Air Conditioning-------------------------------5,004
• 4-------------Roofing Companies-------------------------------------------3,858
• 5-------------Builders------------------------------------------------------------3,333
• 6-------------Auto Repair -General------------------------------------------2,931
• 7-------------Work-At Home---------------------------------------------------2,758
• 8-------------Insurance Companies-----------------------------------------2,721
• 9-------------Painting Contractors/Services------------------------------2,639
• 10------------Moving Companies-------------------------------------------2,586

Top 10 Most-Complained-About Businesses

Automobile dealers topped the list of the most complained about industries, with 24,383 complaints processed by BBBs in the U.S. and Canada.

Ranking number 2 and 3 in terms of number of complaints were cell phones and credit card companies, with 18,592 complaints and 16,023 complaints respectively in 2003.

Top 10 Businesses Ranked by Consumer Complaints U.S. & Canadian Data

• 2003 Rank-----Type of Business-----------Number of Complaints Processed
• 1-------------Automobile Dealers--------------------------------------24,383
• 2-------------Mobile and Cellular Telephones----------------------18,591
• 3-------------Credit Card Offers and Plans--------------------------16,023
• 4-------------Internet Services-------------------------------------------15,598
• 5-------------Credit Collection Agencies-----------------------------13,477
• 6-------------Mortgage and Escrow Companies-------------------12,793
• 7-------------Computer Sales--------------------------------------------12,544
• 8-------------Home Furnishing Stores---------------------------------11,969
• 9-------------Telephone Companies-----------------------------------11,571
• 10------------Banks---------------------------------------------------------10,751

The BBB of Southern Colorado typically tracks the top five complaint categories. Those categories differ from the national statistics because they are specific to business being done right here in our area. The BBB processed over 2,900 complaints in 2003. The top five categories to receive complaints in our area this year were: Auto Dealers – Franchised, Auto Repair – General, Heating and Air Conditioning, Mortgage Companies and Check Printing (which is a category that services customers from all over the nation.)