False complaint to BBB

[muttleyeugene]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

I own and operate a painting business in Georgia. I was hired to stain an addition to a log cabin. There were several other crews at the job. A "handy-man" and my foreman got into an altercation after the "handy-man" stained a portion of deck that we were hired to stain (he used the wrong material). This man then filed a complaint without the home owners permission or knowledge to the BBB. He used terms like "we hired" (not true) said we begged for the money in full then did not complete the job (not true) he also said my foreman got verbally abusive with him on the phone (not true). This claim even if resolved in our favor will be a permanent file with the BBB and can cost me future business. Please tell me there is something I can do to this guy...What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

 

[CraigFL]

As a member of the BBB, I know that someone cannot just put somthing in your "file" at the BBB for all to see. If the person legitmately files a claim, you will have it forwarded to you for a response. If you are a BBB member, you will need to review the rules of your membership before you responnd. In any case, you will need to respond in a clear, concise way even if it means refuting the other party's "facts". At all times you have it under your power to end the dispute by giving the other party what they want-- and they need to state what they really want in the complaint. If you don't want to do that you can continue the dispute/responses back and forth through the BBB until you find resolution. In the end, the details of the dispute will never be posted, only the result. It may be ended if you give the person what they want, or it may be ended by the BBB if you tried but the customer was unreasonable or you may decide to stop communication and the BBB will log it as an unsatisfactory response to a customer.

 

[quincy]

Everything Craig said plus, complaints that are filed cannot be a basis for any successful defamation action on their own because complaints are neither true nor false until investigated. Defamation requires a false statement of fact.

The difference, in other words, between the filing of a false complaint and a defamatory statement is that with a complaint you are allowed to rebut the claim to prove its falsity before it is "published" and has a chance to ruin your reputation. A defamatory statement, on the other hand, is spread first, and injures your reputation before you are allowed to respond. Your response is, in the latter case, should the injury to your reputation be severe, a court defamation action.

If this handyman were to spread, to others in your community, false statements about you and your business, and these false statements adversely affect your business or personal reputation, then there would be the possibility of a defamation action. But, defamation actions cannot be based on what reputational injury could happen in the future, only what has already happened. You must show demonstrable reputational injury before any suit would have a chance of being successful.

 

[HomeGuru]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

I own and operate a painting business in Georgia. I was hired to stain an addition to a log cabin. There were several other crews at the job. A "handy-man" and my foreman got into an altercation after the "handy-man" stained a portion of deck that we were hired to stain (he used the wrong material). This man then filed a complaint without the home owners permission or knowledge to the BBB. He used terms like "we hired" (not true) said we begged for the money in full then did not complete the job (not true) he also said my foreman got verbally abusive with him on the phone (not true). This claim even if resolved in our favor will be a permanent file with the BBB and can cost me future business. Please tell me there is something I can do to this guy...What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

**A: you can stain the guy.