[Random-bits] Priceline gets booted by the BBB

[Ned Daly]

How useful are self regulation and alternative dispute resolution
processes for the future of e-commerce?

September 21, 2000 6:55pm
                 
     Priceline gets booted by the BBB
                 
     By Ben Charny ZDNet News
                 
Priceline.com Inc. has been kicked out of its home state's Better
Business Bureau after generating about
300 consumer complaints since 1998. 

The company, whose pitchman is William Shatner, said it was "shocked" to
hear of the Connecticut Better Business Bureau's decision. It has about
a month to appeal. 

Nearly 80 percent of the complaints came from customers who bought the
low-cost airline tickets from Priceline and "didn't like one aspect of
the itinerary," said Priceline spokesman Brian Eck. 

Although Better Business Bureau membership is voluntary, getting booted
could have disastrous public relations  consequences for any business. 

Not everybody belongs 

Some companies, including Amazon.com Inc. and eBay Inc., do not belong
to the consumer advocacy group. In fact, Amazon doesn't belong to any
consumer group. Ebay is a member of Truste, which has become the online
answer to the business bureau. 

Priceline said it first learned of the 300 complaints in June. 

  [snip]
 
-- 
James Love  mailto:love@cptech.org http://www.cptech.org
Consumer Project on Technology, P.O. Box 19367, Washington, DC 20036
voice 1.202.387.8030  fax  1.202.234.5176