Who Will Protect Us From the Better Business Bureau?

Shopping for a large purchase or service requires research. We ask friends where they bought and the experience; depending on the item, we check Consumer Reports; we scan the internet for information and reviews; and we check with the Better Business Bureau (BBB). But what do we know about our research sources? How unbiased is Consumer Reports? We all know to take online reviews with a grain of salt, but what about the BBB? Should we trust them?

The BBB has reputation as a trusted source of information on businesses. This trust comes from a history of providing consumers with reliable information on a wide variety of businesses. History, unfortunately, has nothing to do with the quality of information disseminated.

The BBB is funded by businesses that are members. Therefore, the BBB has an incentive to keep members looking good so the dues (money) keep rolling in.

A question never asked is: Who watches the BBB? What if the BBB used underhanded practices in the management of their organization? Would you trust the BBB if they spammed businesses or lied to get businesses to join? The bond of trust is fragile and destroyed by bad behavior. It takes a long time to build trust and only a moment to ruin it.

I can't speak toward internal policies at the BBB; I can share my experience with them and it is not flattering. Every year in January, just before tax season kicks off, the BBB in Milwaukee calls me with the good news someone inquired about my company. They refuse to tell me who made the inquiry. I am assured the inquiry is not a complaint, but if I joined the BBB they could provide more and better information on my business. The first year I thought nothing of the event; the second year I knew the gig was up. My thoughts: I only get one inquiry a year and just before tax time? Why is someone inquiring about my business with the Milwaukee BBB, a two hour drive away, when the Appleton BBB is only a few minutes away?

The answers are clear to me. The BBB lied to get at my checkbook. Trust is destroyed. I am not, and never will be, a member of the BBB. The values and ethics the BBB practices are unacceptable in my office. The BBB has every right to try recruiting me as a member. Doing so using underhanded procedures is not.

I no longer use the BBB as a research tool in my purchases as all trust is gone. I cannot help but wonder what other underhanded practices they employ. Would they tell me about bad reports about one of their members? Probably. But I really don't trust them anymore. I trust internet reviews more because there is an understanding the reviews are slanted to the writer's opinion and companies may pay for positive reviews. The BBB wants me to believe they are a more trusted resource when in my mind they are not. Since I don't trust anything the BBB says anymore, why bother looking to the BBB for information.

So I ask again: Who will protect us from the BBB?

Paper Losses

I visited one of my print shop clients recently to finish some tax reports and pick up bookkeeping papers. As he refilled his copier for the third time with 800 sheets, holding a ream of paper, he said, "And each pack of paper is short." My eyes glossed until the weight of his words sunk in.

"What?"

"Yeah. Each ream is short. The average ream has 493 sheets instead of the 500 listed on the package."

I asked him how he knew this, knowing he would never sit down and count how many sheets are in a pack.

He pointed to his printer. "The machine prints the customer the right amount."

Argument settled and a lesson learned. Consumers of paper are suffering a paper loss and don't know it. And even though we are a paperless office, we still use enough paper to make the shortage count (pun intended.)

The 7 page average shortage is 1.4%. A small office may spend $10,000 a year on paper (accounting offices, at least.) This adds up to around $140 per year in losses. I don't know about you, but $140 means a lot to me. I feel violated. And now that you know, you do, too.

Welcome to my world.

IRS Email is a Fake

I have seen an increase in the number of fake IRS emails over the last month. Below is the bulk of the email.

Taxpayer ID: keiths-8253US
Tax Type: INCOME TAX
Issue: Unreported/Underreported Income (Fraud Application)
Please review your tax statement on Internal Revenue Service (IRS) website (click on the link below):
review tax statement for taxpayer id: keiths-8253US

The header reads: "Internal Revenue Service [autoresponse@mail.irs.gov]"

The IRS never sends this kind of email. Before you respond or click on a link, call me. I'll talk you down and put the fear of God in you so you don't do something stupid. I didn't check the link, but my guess is that it is a pfishing scam.

NEVER, NEVER, NEVER open an email like this. Send it to the spam folder. I've blocked the sender several times and they come up with new ways to sneak things through. The same goes for fake IRS emails offering an additional refund. The IRS NEVER sends refund requests via email. They don't audit by email either. Get it?

Scam Alert

Guess what I got in the mail today. A nice letter from Check Into Cash: Your One Stop Money Shop.

They want me to promote their services. They will send me, your favorite accountant/tax preparer, ten bucks every time you cash a check there, including refund checks. If a tax office asks you to do something so stupid, clutch your wallet tight, and run. You DO NOT pay to have your refund check cashed. Once you walk into a payday loan store you are poorer. Much poorer. What they do is legal, but in my opinion, unethical. I call it financial rape.

A few tips: If you need to get your refund fast, use direct deposit. If you don't have a bank account, go to a small bank or credit union that charges no fees for opening a money market or savings account and open the account with $5. Bring the bank info to your friendly tax preparer and he will see that your refund, federal and state, is direct deposited. Your refund will be fast, 10 days or so, and no added fees. Isn't that nice? No financial rape required. Same goes for Refund Anticipation Loans. Save your money.

Now I want to share additional details of the letter I received. The letter is hand signed. Very nice. They must care. They care so much they addressed the letter to: To Whom it [sic] May Concern. I am informed that I will get $10 every time a client comes in and cashes a check. If 100 people come in, they will give me $1000. Woooo hoooo! Then they ask me to "share" the enclosed flyers with employees and customers. You know, I really like my employees and customers. Why would I introduce them to the local loan shark?

There's more. The nice lady that sent me the letter says, "We also have pens, pencils, and rulers," if I would be interested. Ahhhh, no. "Marketing goes both ways," she continues. She invites me to send a stack of my business cards and flyers. "...we would be more than happy to share them with our customers." Let me make this clear: I don't want clients that frequent payday loan stores. People that have this nasty habit do not remain clients for long. They go broke is what they do.

Please, please, please, do not use payday loans or check cashing products. As a nice accountant, I must inform you, I've only seen disaster from people who do. These companies are not a last resort. They are the dirt packing tight on your financial grave.