BBB’s gratitude list during season of thankfulness

The season of gratitude is a time for slowing down and considering the people and things for which we all have reason to be thankful.

The Better Business Bureau seeks to recognize those who help make our marketplace an ethical one. Buyers and sellers who trust one another are the cornerstone of a positive business environment.

Accordingly, here is the BBB’s gratitude list – those who help us work toward our mission of advancing marketplace trust.

Savvy consumers

At the top of the list are those consumers who take the time to share with others what they discover in the marketplace.

Whether the issue is bait-and-switch advertising tactics, false employment offers, identity theft or any of the myriad other Internet scams out there, letting others know what happened to you is vital.

When the light of exposure is shined on those who try to deceive, crooks and scammers lose. That’s why the BBB urges consumers who have been victimized to tell their stories publicly.

Filing a complaint with the BBB is as easy as going to bbb.org and clicking on “File a Complaint.” Notifying the Federal Trade Commission of dishonest activity is also vital and can be done going to ftc.gov/complaint.

In 2014, the BBB handled more than 856,208 consumer complaints and received more than 156 million inquiries about businesses. There are lots of issues to be resolved in the marketplace, and consumers who take the time to inform others about their experiences are easing the process.

That’s why the BBB is grateful for those who take the time to share their experiences in the sometimes wild and wooly marketplace. Hopefully it can thereby become more tame and smooth for future consumers.

Accredited businesses

Gratitude is expressed by the BBB for our accredited businesses. It’s only through the support of our Accredited Businesses that the Better Business Bureau is able to offer the many programs we provide to consumers and the business community – most of them free of charge.

Programs such as our annual Secure Your ID Day, Senior Line, Integrity Awards, Dispute Resolution and our Solution Directory are a few of the many programs the BBB offers.

We could not do any of the things that we do without the support of our Accredited Businesses who believe in our mission and wish to create a fair and equitable marketplace for all built on a foundation of trust.

We would like to thank our member businesses for their kind support, and we ask that when you do business with an accredited business or see the BBB logo on a company’s website, that you take a minute to thank them as well for allowing us the opportunity to serve you and the communities in which you live.

Thankful for shredders

An issue that plagues many today is that of identity theft.

Identity thieves will victimize one in four Americans during their lifetimes. The damage done by these scammers is considerable.

That’s why the BBB has periodic shredding events, opportunities for the public to bring bags and boxes of paper documents to be shredded at no cost. Even the most innocuous junk mail that comes to your address should be shredded because it can contain clues to help an identity thief do their dirty work.

The BBB is grateful to those businesses that co-sponsor our shredding days, helping pay for the expenses of the events.

This story was originally published November 27, 2015 at 4:16 PM with the headline "BBB’s gratitude list during season of thankfulness."