Trust is a very important component in life and more so, in any business transaction or relationship. We all know that nobody just wakes up and hand their money to a stockbroker, advisor or investment company that they don’t trust. However, this trust doesn’t just come out of the blue. Trust is built over time.
The question now is how do you know which investment partner you can trust? Yes, a company might have built a solid reputation through the years but how do you as an individual authenticate that reputation? In times past, people depended on gentleman’s agreement to do business but that isn’t recommended in this day and age where there are a lot of scam operators who are only out to defraud people of their hard-earned money. You need to do your due diligence to get a reliable investment partner.
Thankfully, there are many resources and organizations that come in handy for your due process. The Better Business Bureau is an agency that has been in existence for more than a century. All through these years, the BBB has been helping people make informed decision with the information they get about prospective companies on their platform.
In this article, we will explore what this platform does, how it works and how they can be useful for your due process before you choose an investment company to work with.
Meanwhile, you can visit their site: https://money.howstuffworks.com/ for an overview of their activities.
What Is the Better Business Bureau?
The BBB is a Not-for-Profit organization that was set up to facilitate a responsive and honest relationship between businesses and customers/consumers. This organization was established in 1912 and operates in USA, Mexico and Canada.
Although this bureau doesn’t underwrite or validate any specific company, it provides full details on companies, publishes customer reviews, complaint records and trust ratings of companies based on how consumers perceive them and how they operate. The ultimate goal is to enable consumers make their choice or take decisions based on the information they have accessed and evaluated.
What Do BBB Ratings Mean?
One of the most helpful features that the platform has is the way they grade their ratings with alphabets ranging from A+ to F. This rating shows how businesses interact with their clients and not necessarily the quality of goods or services.
Factors That Affect BBB Rating
The following are factors that affect this rating: –
- Complaint history which is made up of the number of complaints, the type of complaints and how it was resolved by the company.
- Length of operation in the industry.
- How transparent the company is with their business practices.
- How often they fail to honor commitments.
- Issues on licensing and action taken by the government.
- How honest they are with advertising.
A company with an A+ rating is one that responds promptly to concerns expressed by their customers and also takes necessary actions to resolve them as much/fast as they can. A low rating on the other hand can indicate that the company shies away from resolving issues/disputes or is consistent in rendering unsatisfactory service.
How the BBB Helps with which Gold Investment Company to Hire
If you are wondering how the Better Business Bureau will help you make informed investment choices, stay with us as we enumerate them below: –
Checking for Complaints and Red Flags
When considering an investment company, broker or advisor, the first thing to od is check out the company on BBB. Things you should look out for include the following: –
- Complaints filed against the company by consumers/clients.
- If and how the complaints were resolved.
- How often do they give misleading financial advice, do they have hidden fees and how often and fast do they respond to consumers?
So, if you see a company that has many complaints about their clients losing their investments or unresponsiveness (unanswered/unreturned calls), that’s a cue to steer clear of them.
Reading Verified Customer Reviews
One major way this platform helps with financial decision making is by letter users drop reviews whether negative or positive about their interaction with businesses. These reviews are checked and monitored to ensure that they are not spam and they are truthful. This in turn makes these reviews more reliable than random or anonymous comments on the internet.
The following are some insights you can gain from reading reviews: –
- Company’s mode of communication
- The level of professionalism of their advisors
- Time it takes for them to respond to concerns/complaints
- Outcome of investments in real life.
Although there is no perfect company or business entity, anyone that has a consistent record or satisfied customers, comes close to perfect. That is why people trust companies like Goldco with its 4.8-star rating on the platform with their investments. So, if you are looking to invest in gold in any form, ensure you visit the platform before choosing a broker/custodian.
Confirming Business Licensing and Accreditation
When you visit some company sites, you will see ‘BBB Accredited’. What this means is that they have submitted themselves for the platform’s vetting process and have agree to maintain the organization standards as regards integrity and trust. They also pay a fee to maintain this accreditation.
Requirements from accredited companies include the following: –
- Protect the privacy of their clients and consumers
- Honest advertising
- Prompt and fair resolution of disputes
- Integrity in every business transaction
Conclusion
People are encouraged to save for the rainy day and invest for their future; however, some have unfortunately fallen into the hands of scammers. That is why due diligence before committing your money is very important. We have enumerated the various ways that the Better Business Bureau can help you make informed decision.
If you are looking to go into gold investment in any form, please ensure you visit the BBB to find out all there is about your proposed custodian. The time and effort you put into visiting the platform and checking out the company can save you not only money but a lot of future hassles.
