Better Business Bureau Accreditation: Here’s What It Means to Us
Credit.org is proud to be accredited with the Better Business Bureau. We’ve been accredited since 1983—meaning that for nearly 40 years, we have earned the community’s trust. We maintain a high rating and take seriously our commitment to fulfill the BBB’s standards.
The Better Business Bureau, or BBB, has been in operation for over 100 years, and has more than 100 local branch offices spread out throughout the country. They track millions of businesses and charities and offer ratings to help consumers make better-informed decisions about which organizations and businesses they can confidently do business with.
8 Better Business Bureau’s Accreditation Standards
The BBB has a set of eight standards that are required of accredited organizations:
1. Build Trust
The BBB expects accredited charities to have a proven track record of trustworthy conduct in service to the community. Credit.org sees our legacy of trust as vital to our ability to educate and help individuals and families.
2. Advertise Honestly
The BBB has a “Code of Advertising” that credit.org follows. It’s important that we ethically present the services we offer in our advertising.
3. Tell the Truth
Our mandate is to be clear and honest in presenting our services at all times. We provide thorough written disclosures to our clients and those we counsel.
4. Be Transparent
We openly represent ourselves and present all the facts our clients need to know when deciding whether to work with us. We’re not just a website on a server somewhere; our people work with the public out of our headquarters in Riverside, California.
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5. Honor Promises
Fulfilling our commitments and contracts is essential to the work we do. We help people negotiate with lenders and creditors, so we take this standard very seriously.
6. Be Responsive
We address any disputes or complaints quickly, professionally, and thoroughly. Anyone who has a problem with any part of our services is always welcome to reach out to us directly or use the BBB’s dispute resolution services.
7. Safeguard Privacy
Our clients’ financial information is especially sensitive, so it’s incumbent on us to respect and protect consumer privacy at all times. Sensitive data is always kept secure and handled with care.
8. Embody Integrity
We act in good faith—what we say we do, we do. When you read our mission statement, integrity comes first in our five values of integrity, quality, excellence, compassion, and social entrepreneurship.
Dispute resolution
It bears repeating: anyone with any complaints or issues with any of our services should reach out to us directly. We’re always ready to respond to any issues any of our clients may have.
But just as we help debtors negotiate with their credit card companies or homeowners work with mortgage lenders, we know some people like to have a third party represent them when they have concerns.
By reaching out through the Better Business Bureau, people can be assured that every complaint will be addressed promptly and to the best of our ability. We could not maintain our A+ rating with the BBB if we didn't take this commitment seriously.
BBB rating factors
The BBB considers 16 factors when assigning its letter rating:
- The type of business and its business model
- How long the business has been operating
- Whether the business has appropriate competency licensing
- Total volume of complaints filed against the business
- The number of unanswered complaints
- The number of unresolved complaints
- The number of serious complaints
- An overall complaint analysis
- Number of complaints with a delayed resolution
- Government actions against the business
- Any advertising issues found by BBB
- The extent of background information available to BBB for evaluation
- The extent to which BBB can develop a clear understanding of the business
- Whether the business has honored any mediation/arbitration commitments
- Whether the business has achieved BBB Accredited Business status
- Whether the business has had its BBB Accreditation revoked
Source: BBB.org
Better Business Bureau’s legacy of trust
Our Better Business Bureau accreditation is one of the seals of approval we work to earn in order to demonstrate our commitment to excellence. This and other imprimaturs of quality, like being accredited by the Council on Accreditation, certified by HUD (the US Department of Housing and Urban Development), and our membership in the NFCC, are achievements we are proud of.
That said, all of the badges and seals we earn are only there to signal that the important work we do is done with integrity. The counseling, education, and classes we provide are our primary focus, and the badges of honor from accrediting bodies only underscore how committed we are to delivering our services in the highest quality way.
If you need help with credit or debt, or want to learn more about budgeting or personal finance, get started with free, confidential counseling and education right here at Credit.org.
