The Better Business Bureau provided nearly 90 million instances of service to consumers and businesses in 2005.

“The 2005 data show that consumers and businesses are turning to the BBB when seeking information to help them spend their money wisely – whether it is to purchase a product or service, or to donate to a worthy charity,” said David Polino, president of the BBB Serving Upstate NY.

“The BBB also provides value to the marketplace by assisting consumers and businesses resolve disputes, by encouraging businesses to make truthful and accurate advertising claims, and by conducting investigations of businesses that are using fraudulent business practices, “ added Polino.

Nearly 500,000 of those instances were supplied locally by the BBB Serving Upstate NY.  Based on the results from a survey * of the BBB Serving Upstate NY web users, our BBB has had an impact on purchasing decisions well in excess of 1 Billion Dollars over the past twelve months. 

The Bureau also keeps records on which industries receive the most report requests, and which industries receive the most complaints.  The following charts detail that information for the Upstate New York marketplace.

*Consumers were asked how much they planned to spend when they checked BBB Company Reliability Reports prior  to making their purchasing decisions.

Top 10 Information Requests for Upstate NY industries in 2005	Number of Reports Requested by Consumers
1.) General Contractors	20,403
2.) Roofing contractors	18,771
3.) Home Improvement Contractors	11,793
4.) Collection Agencies	11,583
5.) Auto Dealers – New Cars	10,813
6.) Government Grant Services	10,294
7.) Work at Home Companies	10,218
8.) Paving and Seal Coating Companies	10,203
9.) Movers	10,168
10.) Mortgages	9,955

Top 10 Industries – Ranked by Complaints in Upstate NY	Number of Complaints Processed by Upstate NY BBB
1.) Credit Cards & Credit Card Plans	585
2.) Collection Agencies	552
3.) Auto Dealers – New Cars	505
4.) Publishers – Directory and Guide	347
5.) Internet Shopping Services	337
6.) General Contractors	300
7.) Magazine Sales	272
8.)Furniture – Retail	263
9) Fulfillment Services	249
10.) Auto Repair & Service	230

The BBB Serving Upstate New York excluded two towns located in our service area when compiling the above statistics; Champlain, NY and Plattsburgh, NY. 

Champlain and Plattsburgh NY have been dubbed across the BBB system as the cross-border scam capitals of the nation.  With total populations of under 5,000, these border-towns have proven a great resource for unscrupulous Canadian businesses.  It is fairly simple for the companies to set up mail drop boxes, use the legitimate U.S. address in their marketing, and run back across the border once they’ve completed their scam.  The Better Business Bureau Serving Upstate NY, along with other NY and Canadian government officials have formed a task group to address the specific problems stemming from these towns. 

When the BBB compiles statistics that isolates the two small towns, we find that there are several industries that have significant activity.

“Consumers from across the world requested nearly 40,000 reliability reports on the scammers who set up shop in Champlain and Plattsburgh,” stated Polino.  “Unfortunately, our Bureau also processed over 2500 complaints on the same bogus businesses, which is astonishing for towns of that size.”

 “We are aware that these scammers are setting up shop, and we are being vigilant in our efforts to stop them in their tracks” said Polino.  “We have teamed up with the government agencies who will prosecute, and that, combined with our tracking capabilities will help to clear the scam companies from our area.”

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