Businesses are still treating customers badly and it’s time to start doing something about it. Customer complaints and reviews, lead to shrinking profits. In a business environment shrinking profits, means things need to change. Good customer reviews are critical to a brands success.
Luckily for us there is a way to voice your frustrations online directly with their brand. All it takes is a reliable Internet connection.
The Federal government has made it clear through the Communications Decency Act that they support your freedom of speech online. Just be sure to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
Complaint and Review Sites Tips and Advice
There are a couple things to think about when looking for a place to add a review or complaint online. You should consider each of these before you post on any website.
How easy it is to leave a review or complaint?
If it takes a long time you won’t use it, see how easy it is to fill out.
How long the website has been around?
If it looks shady, it probability is, you will be wasting your time and your complaint might be deleted after a while. O r will accept money to be deleted.
What size of the website?
Larger sites get more traffic and are likely to be more reputable, and get more visitors.
Does it requires your personal information or anonymous?
Sites will probably ask for your name and email for records but they don’t need anything more than that, and for most it will not be public. You might want to share your name with the complaint where people are likely to see it and provide feedback and help on what to do next to resolve your complaint.
Here are my top choices for the best consumer complaints websites in 2018, different sites have alt features and will aid in your pursuit in different ways and different times.
Complaint and Review Sites Not Connected to a Local Directory
Federal Trade Commission
The FTC cannot resolve individual complaints, but they can provide information about what next steps to take. How much information you give, is up to you. They share your report with local, state, federal, and foreign law enforcement partners. Your report might be used to investigate cases or in a legal proceeding. If they need to know more about your report, it helps us to have your contact information.
California State License Board
CSLB’s complaint process is designed to protect the public in matters pertaining to construction and to assist in the resolution of construction-related complaints. CSLB addresses violations of California Contractors License Law, whether the contractor is licensed or unlicensed, for up to four years from the date of the act.
Consumer Affairs
Consumer Affairs 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.
Better Business Bureau
There are more than 30 million businesses in North America alone; and hundreds of thousands of sites around the world where people shop online. They offer a range of information, including reviews, reports, directories, listings, and gripe sites. BBB is the one place you can find it all and file a complaint against them.
Scam.com
Free online scam message board . Defeat scammers with Scam.com, fast submission to publish process, act fast join the community is safe and easy, confirm email and your good to complain. Very popular with high traffic, great exposure.
Ripoff Report
Ripoff Report was founded in 1999 and is still the largest complaint site around. You can’t mention complaints websites without mentioning the oldest and largest site on the internet when it comes to consumer opinions. Ripoff Report covers the entire spectrum of customer problems from scams, frauds, reviews, and complaints. There have been several notable lawsuits against them over the years, so many that they have a page dedicated on their website to people who want to sue them. Ripoff Report seems to have grown into a large and cumbersome site that is difficult to navigate at times.
Complaints Board
ComplaintsBoard is one of the largest consumer sites online but has a high amount of advertising. When you talk about complaints it’s hard to ignore the size of a site like Complaints Board. They have probably the second largest database of complaints second only to Ripoff Report and continually add new features to the website. They are the only site on this list that features videos and photos prominently. The only downside to Complaints Board is that they are the most heavily monetized website by far, there are Google ads everywhere and they are designed to blend in with the rest of the site. I often wonder whether I am seeing a complaint or an advertisement.
Pissed Consumer
Pissed Consumer grew so fast they had to create separate websites for each company. The name is just too funny. Pissed Consumer is different than the rest of the complaints sites listed in several ways. First of all it creates mini-websites for each of the companies listed called sub-domains. It has lots of great data on companies such as listing the most popular complaints and trends associated with them for the month. The website also has a separate section for businesses which claims they have more the 3 million visitors a month and can help companies with their reputation. One of the features I like most about their website is that they provide you with an example complaint letter to send to a business. They are one of the only sites that give you a good example and most of their complaints are higher quality because of it.
Customer Service Scoreboard
What is better than a scoreboard comparing two of your most hated companies? One of my favorites for sure. This is one of the more creative complaints websites on the list. The site takes an interesting look at customer service, providing a scoreboard for each company which lists positive and negative comments alongside details about the types of complaints submitted about the company. It’s definitely the most visually appealing and interesting take on the average complaints site. They also have the ability to compare companies side-by-side, which is pretty useful for consumers who are looking to comparison shop.
Scam Detector
Scam Detector is the largest fraud prevention resource in the world and is operated by a full team of professionals providing the best safety measures, along with our world-class partners. We help millions of people around the globe to take conscious consumer choices, for a better life. Scam Detector is an official contributor to the Federal Trade Commission and has been accessed in over 169 countries. It updates the content daily with the newest scams so you can protect yourself from financial fraud.
Local Business Based Complaint and Review Site Directories
Yelp is the current go-to for most local business reviews, but it’s not the only one out there. Here are some others where you can post a good review or complaint for free.
Google Reviews
One of the best places to leave reviews in the local space is as a Google+ Local Guides If you have a gmail account you most likely are all ready a member. The reviews display on Google Maps and other Google products and are used in part to calculate the overall rank of the business. Plus when you reach levels of participation you can receive special offers. It has lots of other features like listing meetups or events and integration into other Google products. In my opinion it is the best interactive social review platform available.
Better Business Bureau
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is one of the most trusted names in business ratings and reviews. Businesses are rated on a letter scale, basically the grades you’d get on a high school test (A to F), and consider a number of factors, including number of reviews, type of reviews, whether reviews have been replied to or acknowledged, and type of business. Since the BBB is so trusted, the rating on the site could greatly impact a small business. Being BBB accredited, while not meaning the BBB endorses a business, does mean the business makes good-faith efforts to resolve customer complaints, which could increase the trust of consumers.
Consumer Affairs
Collecting reviews for a business is just a piece of what ConsumerAffairs for Brands offers. When a business signs up, it grants access to all kinds of resources, such as how reviews and a strong reputation can add up to increased revenue, finding brand ambassadors, and how to convert negative customer experiences into positive ones. Sign up through other social media platforms or using an email address.
Angie’s List
Angie’s List has become a household name for providing consumers with honest, accurate information about local businesses. Become a member free and share your review or complaint. This site is for services companies only.
Foursquare
While Foursquare is best known for its check-in feature, local businesses that have claimed their listings give customers the ability to not only check in, but also leave ratings and “tips” (reviews) for other customers when they visit. Signing up for Foursquare for Business lets you access user analytics, add your own tips and offer customer rewards.
Glassdoor
The unique thing about Glassdoor is that it’s a way for current and past employees to rate the companies for which they work. This is a vital tool for job searching, letting the searcher learn as much about a company as possible. With Glassdoor for Employers, not only can employers check out the reviews of their own companies, but the site also helps them find quality candidates for a position.
Judy’s Book
While it’s not free to add or claim your business on this site, the perks you get with Judy’s Book Business make it worth it. It is free for customers to review your business right on the site, but if you get any testimonials through social media, emails, letters, etc., Judy’s Book allows you to post them on your business’s page at no extra charge. With a membership, business owners also get a free mobile listing, competitor tracking, higher search engine ranking and so much more. Visit the Judy’s Book Business Center to sign up and try it free for 30 days.
Manta
Manta is a small business directory that helps local American businesses connect with their customers and each other. While reviews are not the primary function of the site, one of the features is allowing customers to leave reviews in order for a small business to manage its online reputation.
MerchantCircle
MerchantCircle aims to connect customers with deals, advice and price quotes from local small businesses. The search functions are structured primarily by city and business category, and by default, it ranks the listings starting from highest rated and most frequently reviewed, working its way down. The MerchantCircle Help Center has various links to articles to help new businesses get set up.
