Suburban Relocation Systems is kicked out by Better Business Bureau!

[forJustice]

BBB told me that the reasons are Suburban Relocation Systems' factors are lowered:
A. 56 complaint(s) filed against business in last 3 years
B. 33 complaint(s) filed against business in last 12 months
C. Failure to respond to 13 complaint(s) filed against this business

Not being accredited by BBB is a double-edged sword:
A. Suburban Relocation Systems' bad imaged is further damaged. Fewer prospects are willing to use this mover.

B. Suburban Relocation Systems are free to scam future customers, since it is no longer under the regulation of Better Business Bureau.

Please be careful!

https://www.bbb.org/us/co/commerce-city ... 6-90245866

[BigLeeCalif]

My understanding is that they were never accredited by the BBB. Many moving companies that operate illegally often hide a lot of their documents. If the numbers that are said to be the complaints are as indicated, there are probably twice as many that did not get reported.

[forJustice]

This company claimed to be accredited by BBB. It even put the BBB logo on its binding estimate. I asked the BBB representative. He said that it was kicked out due to bad performance, but he did not say when.

BBB dis-accredit confirms the un-authorization status with FMCSA.

FMCSA shows that Suburban Relocation Systems held FOUR hostages in recent 10 months (I am one of them). There should be more, since it used two names. Many people can NOT find its name at the FMCSA web site.

[BigLeeCalif]

If this company has been using the BBB logo on its' paperwork, that is illegal and the BBB has recourse to sue for illegally inferring that they are accredited by the BBB. If the BBB is not taking some sort of action against them something is fishy.

Also, did you check with your state moving and storage association to see if they are even members? Most crooks want no part of affiliations unless it benefits them.

[forJustice]

I was fooled by the utilization of BBB logo by Suburban Relocation System.

I am contacting BBB regarding the probable illegal use of BBB logo.

I am contacting state moving and storage association on whether Suburban Relocation System is a member.

By the way, this company told me that it has insurance, but FMCSA shows it does NOT. I am contacting the insurance company to clarify.

[BigLeeCalif]

I wouldn't be surprised by the insurance situation.

Insurance is expensive, and it is not uncommon to let it lapse or to cancel it when the operating authority has been suspended or revoked.

However, the illegal use of the BBB logo is not an issue that they will take lightly, as this company appears to be a highly unethical business. The fact is that any consumer who files a lawsuit against Suburban could also name the BBB as a defendant if they indicate it was the BBB logo that convinced them the company was legitimate.

Back in the 80s there were several independent companies that rated moving companies, but they were different in that they would go into a companies' office and go through random moving job paperwork and call the customers to get a review. The paperwork, claims and/or complaints were used to determine a rating. I think there were so many crooked companies that the rating companies closed down.

[BigLeeCalif]

I found that this company has a Facebook page, and that they are hawking their services. I filed a deceptive profile, which Facebook has not responded to.

So I put Facebook on blast. See below.

***OPEN COMPLAINT TO FACEBOOK***
Facebook, I am publically calling you out for not doing your homework. I personally have been a moving & storage consumer advocate since 2003, and was directly involved with the moving & storage industry from 1989 - 2015. Now that you know MY background, let me say that the consumer website that I consult on has been getting numerous complaints on a moving company in the Beltsville, Maryland area. Now, Facebook, if you monitored the businesses that you allow to advertise on Facebook, you would know that this particular company IS NOT LEGALLY OPERATING. In fact, their operating authority was REVOKED in July 2021 by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Not only are they operating illegally, but their insurance has also been canceled. One person reported to me that this company cost him over $17,000. They use the BBB logo on their website, yet the BBB says that they are NOT a BBB accredited company. Facebook, contact me and I will be happy to give you the NAME of the business. and show you written proof that they are operating ILLEGALLY. I am currently taking action with the Maryland Department of Labor, Household Goods Movers Registration, and the Maryland State Attorney General's Office of Consumer Protection.
Facebook, if people begin to complain that they did business with this company based on their Facebook page, Facebook may soon find itself being named a defendant.
I'm sure you cannot classify this post as against community guidelines because it is the COMMUNITY that I am trying to protect. Your move.

[forJustice]

Dear BigLeeCalif:

Awesome! They can not advertise their business when they are not authorized by the authority (FMCSA). Facebook is also liable, since it allows the deceptive practices to happen.

I also want to file complaints to FB regarding the deceptive ads by Suburban Relocation Systems. How can I do it? Thanks.

[BigLeeCalif]

I think one thing I failed to mention the last time we spoke was that the BBB is sometimes not as diligent as it should be.

It takes an awful bad operation to get booted from the BBB. The BBB operates on membership dues of the companies that are accredited.

There are 2 possible scenarios here. If Suburban's accreditation was revoked, did the BBB send a cease and desist letter informing Suburban that they were no longer legally entitled to use the BBB logo and/or mentioning that they were BBB accredited?

I question whether the BBB monitored Suburban after the fact to make sure they were in compliance with the restrictions it had imposed.

Sometimes I think that the BBB is not the best source of referral of a legitimate business operation. I think that those types of certifications should come from a non-interested third party with no chance of a conflict of interest.

Joining the local BBB requires businesses to pay a fee, which is about $400 annually, as of the time of publication. This is an average amount, and dues may be higher or lower depending on the size of a company. See what I mean? If there are 1000 businesses accredited by the local BBB, that is $400k. You can understand why they balk at kicking those $400 memberships out unless something that cannot be ignored happens. And, remember the $400 is just the basic membership and could be more.

Back in the 90s, in Northern California, there was a startup Called Valuestar, who would review companies. The companies would pay a fee to be vetted, but the company would honestly check all files and complaints, and only certify companies that met certain criteria. Unfortunately it did not survive because too few companies met that criteria.