Is Better Business Bureau (BBB) actually free?

No — Better Business Bureau (BBB) does not ask for a card to use the free version. Auto-billing: —.

Consumer side free; the A+ next to a business name often reflects paid accreditation. BBB says grades and accreditation are independent, and it reformed its rating system after the 2010 scandal. But the structure remains: the nonprofit is funded by the businesses it rates. The complaint-mediation service is real value; the letter grade deserves more skepticism than its official-sounding name suggests.

File a BBB complaint when a company ignores you — the mediation channel genuinely moves stuck disputes Read the complaints themselves, not the grade — the substance is in the text An A+ means complaints get answered, not that customers are happy Scam Tracker is underused — search it before wiring money to anyone

Free to search and file complaints. Businesses pay ~$500–1,000+/year for accreditation — the seal, not officially the grade.

Free to search and file complaints. Businesses pay ~$500–1,000+/year for accreditation — the seal, not officially the grade. Free complaint mediation has recovered real money for consumers; accreditation costs businesses $500–1,000+/year.

As of our last check, partly — and the free tier is squeezed. For consumers, yes — searching businesses, reading complaints, and filing disputes is free and genuinely useful. The asterisk is the business side: BBB 'accreditation' is a paid membership, and the organization has spent 15 years living down a 2010 ABC News investigation in which businesses appeared able to buy better grades — including an A rating issued to a fake company. Free tiers change without notice, which is why every page here carries the date it was checked.