| Abstract: | Local consumer protection agencies have proliferated in the United States in the last decade. Attention is given to the need for maximizing the efficiency and effectiveness of these systems in order to better serve the consumer. The overall objective of this study is the assessment of the effectiveness of two major systems of consumer redress, the Better Business Bureau and the Small Claims Court. The study documents the nature of the formal third party consumer complaint system at the local level with empirical data from the two major consumer redress systems in a large, eastern, metropolitan area of the United States. Significant differences are found in the complaint characteristics and the redress probabilities of the two systems. Significant differences in consumer satisfaction with the two systems are discussed. |
