By Bakari Chavanu, MakeUseOf – October 11, 2010 at 09:43AM
Before the age of the Internet consumers had to contend with sending complaint letters to businesses and the national Better Business Bureau. But unless the media picked up a complaint, it might usually go unheard about by other consumers.
These days however, we consumers, as well as business owners, can publicly express to the rest of the world via some very useful websites, our complaints (and appreciations) about companies and business people that we buy products and services from.
Most Twitter and Facebook users are aware of Yelp (see our review here), but the following are some other useful complaint sites that you can read and post consumer complaints using your first-hand experience with products and services.
Like all the sites under review. PissedConsumer includes a database of consumer complaints on a wide variety of topics—auto, computer, education, fiance, food, government, etc. There’s a Latest Reviews page that consist of very clear titles and summaries of consumer complaints, as well as positive feedback.
However, the one page that stands out in this site, is its Reviews & Pictures section where you can include an image or two that illustrates your complaint.
Each complaint listed on the site can be responded to in the comments section.
ComplaintsBoard includes an even wider category of listings, everything from Airlines to Wedding Services. In addition to posting complaints, you can also ask questions about products and services.
This site also includes hundreds of articles and videos on consumer buying tips and tricks, such as ”How to Save Money When Watering Your Lawn and Garden“, and how to save money at the grocery store. Complaint listings are easily accessible on the front page. The site also includes discussion groups on a wide range of topics; however, many of them don’t appear to have a lot of activity yet.
ConsumerAffairs focuses on consumer news on a ride range of subjects including investing in gold, house foreclosures, toxic toys, and safety recalls.
The bottom-right side of the home page includes links to consumer complaints, broken down by each day of the month. Complaints, though, don’t include a way for businesses or other consumers to respond back to posted grievances.
Consumer Affairs says that all complaints posted on their site “are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for publication on our site.” So basically you file a report with them and they follow up on it. Other menu items in the site include Scam Alerts, Recalls, and Class Action Suits.
Complaints.com is a database of consumer complaints presented to help consumers “make better-informed purchase decisions.” The site is mainly researched based. All complaints are indexed by Google and Yahoo search engines.
There are no category listings on the complaint site. You must do a subject search to get results of listed complaints. Businesses can also reply to posted grievances.
ShamScam says that its website is “intended to provide businesses and consumers the opportunity to expose scams, online frauds and rip-offs.”
ShamScam is also a search-based site. There’s a long linear listing of complaints but they are not broken down by category or business. Companies that receive complaints can respond to the consumer directly or post a comment/response to the grievance.
The sites I describe above appear to be very reputable and easy to access. There are of course several other similar sites. Let us know about complaint sites you find useful.
Image Credit: Shutterstock.com
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