Business Watchdog Offers Help Online

Information from the Better Business Bureau on companies in Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties can now be accessed online at https://www.santabarbara.bbb.org.

The bureau has created a database on member and nonmember firms that includes the name of the owner, the nature of the business and the company’s rating (satisfactory or unsatisfactory).

“We are proud to be one of the first bureaus in the nation to offer this valuable service to not only the local community but the global community via the Internet,” said Rick Copelan, president of the tri-county office in Santa Barbara.

The World Wide Web page also contains charity reports, consumer alerts, online complaint forms and a membership roster.

“We are currently inundated with over 500 incoming calls per day, and while this innovation won’t diminish the calls we handle, we will be able to give out far more information,” Copelan said.

The bureau is a nonprofit organization that has been serving the tri-county area since 1945. It is supported by membership dues. For more information, call 963-8657.