Join BBB, along with hundreds of other exhibitors, at the 2010 Southern Arizona Home Builders Association (SAHBA) Home and Patio show April 9-11.

The show will be held at the Tucson Convention Center, 260 South Church Avenue, in Tucson. Admission tickets are $8 and half price for ages 50 and over on Friday. Military discounts are available all days. Children 12 and under are free.

BBB will be operating a booth during the following hours:

April 9- 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
April 10- 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
April 11- 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

According to an annual report released today by Better Business Bureau, consumer complaints to the organization increased by 9.7 percent in 2009. Not only did BBB receive nearly 1 million complaints filed by disgruntled customers last year, consumers turned to the non-profit more than 65 million times for help researching businesses across North America.

“Amidst the housing crisis, high unemployment rate and the chaos on Wall Street, the last year has not been easy on consumers and the increase in complaints to BBB reflect this troubled economy,” said Kim States, BBB President. “Now more than ever, struggling families should rely on BBB to find businesses they can trust and to help their voice be heard in the marketplace.”

The cell phone industry received the largest number of complaints in 2009 with 37,477, a 2.1 percent increase over last year. The cable & satellite TV industry ranked second with 32,616 complaints, an 8.7 percent increase over the previous year. Rounding out the top three, banks received 29,920 complaints, a 42.3 percent increase over the previous year.

“For the second year in a row, banks experienced a significant increase in complaints coinciding with 140 bank failures in 2009,” said States. “Trust in the financial sector is already extremely low and the dramatic increase in BBB complaints against banks reflects the growing discord between consumers and the industry.”

While the cell phone industry, cable & satellite TV industry and banks received a high volume of complaints, two of the three industries saw improvements in their resolution rates over the previous year. Cell phone companies resolved 97.4 percent of complaints; the cable & satellite TV industry resolved 97.2 percent. The resolution rate by banks declined slightly to 95.2 percent.

The report also reveals that BBB Reliability Reports—which are available online for free and contain information on a business’s accreditation status, letter-grade rating and complaint history—are increasingly popular as a free tool for consumers to research the trustworthiness of businesses.  The nearly 4 million BBB Reliability Reports® on businesses across North America were viewed more than 65 million times in 2009. The most popular industries researched through BBB were roofing contractors, general contractors and mortgage brokers.

Complete rankings are after the jump.. (more…)

The holiday season is often one of the busiest times of the year for charitable giving, and as you might expect scammers will be coming out of the wood-works to try and take advantage of consumers’ generosity.

While most charities provide and important service, many are set up for no other reason than to deceive and rip people off. Charity scammers use a number of techniques to make themselves appear legitimate, but rely heavily on making seemingly heartfelt emotional appeals to their victims.

Yesterday Arizona Attorney General, Terry Goddard, issued a series of tips for consumers who plan on giving to charity in the coming months. The tips are as follows:

• Do not pay bills or invoices you have received from charities unless you know you have already made a commitment to support them.
• Be skeptical of anyone asking for a donation by requesting your credit card number or bank account information over the phone unless you already donate to that charity.
• Don’t be shy about asking what percentage of your donation will go directly to the charity versus what percentage will go toward administrative costs.
• Remember to ask for a receipt and a statement that the contribution is tax deductible.
• Call the Secretary of State’s Office at (602) 542-4285 or visit their Web site, www.azsos.gov, to make sure the charity is registered with the Secretary of State.  A charity that operates without such registration is violating the law and should be a red flag for consumers. Be aware, however, that registration with the Secretary of State does not ensure that all of the charity’s activities are legitimate.

Consumers can visit www.tucson.bbb.org or call (520)888-5353 for a Wise Giving Report on any charity they plan on giving to.