Business Consumer Alliance Responds to BBB Allegations of 'Pay to Play'

LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwire - Mar 12, 2013) - In response to the Better Business Bureau's allegations that the BBB of the Southland engaged in 'pay for play' activities, Kiry Peng, chief executive officer of the Business Consumer Alliance, Inc., formerly the BBB of the Southland, issued this response today:

"Like all Bureaus, the BBB of the Southland followed all of the BBB's policies -- including its policy of only awarding A+ grades to accredited businesses. Unlike other Bureaus, we objected to this policy in writing well before ABC's 20/20 piece aired, but our complaints were ignored and we ultimately adhered to the policy. It is ironic that the BBB accuses us of failing to follow organizational policy on the one hand, and then labels us a 'bad apple' when we do. The reality is very simple: the pay-for-play policy was the BBB's, not ours."

The Council of Better Business Bureaus has been challenging the BBB of the Southland on other issues relating to their own policies. The Council requested several changes, which the BBB of the Southland complied with including the immediate sale of a well-received member service called TrustLink as well as the efforts to provide innovative services to the members and the public.

"Despite the fact that many of the technologies and services offered by the BBB today were created by us, our innovative ideas came under scrutiny and limited our ability to enhance our services. Our desire to continue to be progressive created the foundation for the Business Consumer Alliance," said Peng.