ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, September 25, 1996 TAG: 9609250037
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: Marketplace
SOURCE: MEGAN SCHNABEL
If you've called the Better Business Bureau for information about a company, or if you've filed a BBB complaint, you've got plenty of company.
According to a report released last week by the national Council of Better Business Bureaus, in Arlington, the nation's 163 local BBB offices fielded 11.2 million requests for information and assistance last year, a 6 percent increase from 1994.
During the same period, the BBB of Western Virginia in Roanoke, which serves 31 counties, responded to 68,222 consumer requests.
According to the CBBB, more than 70 percent of the requests BBBs receive are from consumers or businesses who want to check out the reliability of companies before they buy or invest.
In 1995, BBBs distributed 7.9 million reliability reports, which include information about a company's length of time in business, its owners and principals, and a summary of the company's complaint history or other information developed through special bureau investigations.
BBBs are nonprofit agencies supported through membership dues paid by business and professional members.
The BBB of Western Virginia has approximately 1,700 members, who support its $250,000 annual budget. Membership is available only to businesses that maintain a satisfactory record at the BBB and are financially sound.
In addition to maintaining files on both for-profit and charitable organizations, BBBs provide some mediation and arbitration services and may help government or law enforcement agencies investigate fraud. The recent Federal Trade Commission investigation of Telebrands Corp., a Roanoke mail-order fulfillment business charged with violating a merchandising rule, was assisted by the BBB of Western Virginia.
But all of the BBBs' self-regulation programs are voluntary; the bureau cannot force businesses to enter arbitration or to comply with its standards. BBBs cannot give legal advice, close a business, give out credit information, assist in labor disputes or make recommendations, endorsements or collections.
Inquiry and complaint information on the 327 types of businesses the BBBs keep records on can be found in the "CBBB 1995 Annual Inquiry and Complaint Summary." Copies of the summary are available for $3.50. Send a check or money order to CBBB, Dept. 023, Washington, D.C. 20042-0023.
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Just in time for the Christmas spending season, the National Consumer Law Center has published a new edition of "Surviving Debt: A Guide for Consumers."
In simple language, the book explains the rights of consumers who face debt collections, evictions and bankruptcy. Written by 14 staff attorneys of the NCLC, the 352-page book includes strategies on saving your home or car, stopping evictions and shut-offs and choosing which debts to pay. It also features a glossary and a bibliography of consumer-interest books and periodicals.
The Boston-based NCLC is an advocacy group that has represented low-income consumers before courts, government agencies, Congress and state legislatures since 1969. It published the first edition of "Surviving Debt" in 1992.
"Surviving Debt," by Jonathan Sheldon and Gary Klein, will be available next month for $15. It's available in bookstores and can be ordered from NCLC. Write: National Consumer Law Center, 18 Tremont St., Boston, Mass. 02108. Or call (617)523-8089. For more information on NCLC's other legal publications, write the same address.
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The fall edition of the Consumer Information Catalog, published by the Consumer Information Center of the General Services Administration, is available now. The free 16-page brochure lists more than 200 consumer-help publications.
New in this catalog are titles including Cybershopping (50 cents); Preparing Your Child for College (free); Planning Your Estate (free); and Growing Older, Eating Better (free).
About half the brochures listed in the book are free; most of the rest cost 50 cents, while a few will cost you $1 to $15. You may order up to 25 free pamphlets.
To order the catalog by mail, send your name and address to: Consumer Information Catalog, Pueblo, Colo. 81009. Or call (719)948-4000. You also can download a complete electronic copy from either CIC's Web site - http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov - or Bulletin Board System - (202)208-7679.
LENGTH: Medium: 84 lines ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC: Chart by staff: Complaints to the BBB. color. KEYWORDS: MGRby CNB