Charlotte, NC - Team Freeman Real Estate - BBB Complaints up 5%

The Better Business Bureau of the Southern Piedmont says complaints against area businesses rose 5 percent last year to 14,972.

In 2007 the bureau received 14,180 complaints, up 25 percent over 2006.

"For the second year in a row, 85 percent of these complaints were closed satisfactorily, thanks to businesses and consumers who worked with the BBB to resolve their disputes," says Tom Bartholomy, chief executive of the BBB.

The average length of time it took the BBB to close a complaint in 2008 was 17 days from the date that the complaint was filed, up from 16 days in 2007 but down from 19 days in 2006.

The top five businesses with the most complaints are home improvement, new-car dealerships, Internet gaming, auto repair and service, and used-car dealerships.

Last year, the BBB provided consumers with 832,020 free reliability reports on area businesses. That's a 71 percent increase over 2007's total of 485,798, which was up 72 percent on the 2006 total of 282,000.

"In a down economy, consumers are making careful decisions and checking out businesses with the BBB first," Bartholomy says.

For More information, go to http://www.teamfreemanproperties.com/ or find more related articles on: Active Rain Team Freeman Blog Trulia.com or HomeGain

Aimee & Team Freeman
RE/MAX Executive Realty
http://www.teamfreemanrealestate.com/
888-278-4935