We receive numerous calls a day from consumers just like you inquiring about a business, a piece of mail that was received, or an ad that was in the newspaper. Of course, answering phone calls is not all your BBB does; however, we consider it an honor to answer whatever question you may have about a business. If we can’t answer the question, we will be glad to direct you to a source that can answer it for you. We thought our blog readers might be interested in some of the calls that we get here at the BBB and maybe provide a little advice as well. So here, dear readers, is a sample of calls we receive on a daily basis and information provided by your BBB to consumers just like you.
- A consumer called to inquire about a piece of mail that they had received. That mail claimed that the consumer had won some prize money. The catch: the piece of mail was from Madrid, Spain and asked for personal information including bank account numbers. The Tips: US citizens are not eligible to win or receive money from foreign lotteries. You should never have to pay money to win money and as always, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. The FTC has issued a consumer alert on International Lotteries which you can view here.
- We had a few consumers call in to inquire about an advertisement for a coin dealer who was going to be at one of the local hotels. We were able to confirm the identity of the company who placed the ad and give the consumers the Business Review. Tip: This particular review stated that the company did not provide appraisals on site; therefore, we suggested that the consumers might want to get an independent appraisal of their items so that they would know if they are getting a good offer from the coin dealer.
- As some of you may know, your BBB provides information to the local news stations to alert the public of the possibility of questionable offers consumers might receive. We had a consumer call regarding one of the stories we provided information for regarding debt collection agencies. This consumer had received a letter stating that he owed money to a local company and this collection agency had been given the charge to collect. The consumer had gone through all of his paperwork and had found no such existing debt. Tip: Consumers have rights in regards to debt collection. The Federal Trade Commission has tips regarding what a debt collector may and may not do. You can check out those tips here. You can view the story on debt collection agencies here.
- Always a source of many phone calls are inquires about businesses. Many consumers call to check the rating or complaint history on a business the consumer may be thinking about using to acquire goods or services; however, we do not endorse or recommend any business to a consumer. We are here to provide any information we have on a company so that the consumer may make their own informed choices. You can also check out any business online through our website evansville.bbb.org.
- We also receive several calls a day requesting information on the status of a consumer complaint. Your BBB provides a free consumer complaint service. If you are having a problem with a business, we first suggest that you try to discuss the situation directly with the business as you may see success in getting a resolution. However, if you feel you can’t discuss the situation directly with the business or have been unsuccessful, you should feel free to use our complaint process. We send your complaint word for word to the business and request a response from them in return. It is our hope that during the process, the two parties can come to a resolution to the problem. Of course, we can’t guarantee a positive result; however, most businesses are receptive to a concern or problem brought to them by your BBB. You can file a complaint online, by stopping in to fill out a complaint form, or by writing us a letter.
As you can see, your BBB is gets many different types of calls in a day, and we are happy to answer any question you may have. If we don’t have the answer to your question, we would be happy to give you the contact information for someone who can.
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