| Some of the mentioned websites have received information about hundreds of thousands of complaints. This information is rarely available from traditional consumer organizations such as a local Better Business Bureau. |
Other Resources:
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The second message is that these sites rarely ever solve a complaint. All the sites mentioned below specifically mention this too.
So why then have hundreds of thousands of consumers documented their? To provide an opportunity to publicly vent and warn consumers about what they say is an unfair business policy or defective product. Most of the complaints include facts, figures, drawings, timelines and more. They appear to be factual and objective.
Highlighted Websites:
My3cents.com Consumeraffairs.com Complaintsboard.com Ripoffreport.com
For almost every company or product, my3cents.com contains the largest number of complaints since 2008. Second in records is complaintsboard.com, though consumeraffairs.com received far more complaints about checking bounce fees of a big bank. Complaints.com and ripoffreport.com have the lowest number of complaints overall.
The best site seems to be my3cents.com mainly because it educates consumers on the complaint process and offer resources at its "my consumer tools" drop down menu.
If you want to make a formal complaint about a product or service start the process at http://www.consumeraction.gov/state.shtml
Summary:
Consumer complaint websites are of more value to shoppers than to complainants but release pent up frustration from those that have complaints. The study also revealed, "For some complainants and shoppers, however, we also urge the use of other more specialized websites. That is especially true for consumers interested in automobiles, who should begin with carcomplaints.com".
