- The BBB asks for a response within 10 to 15 calendar days of filing. Treat day 10 as your deadline, not day 15.
- A response that closes as Unanswered sits in the widest published range on the rating scale, 40 to 0 points.
- Write for three readers: the customer, the BBB staffer and every future buyer who reads your profile.
- Offer a specific resolution. A response that only defends yourself invites the Unresolved status.
- You cannot delete a genuine complaint, but you can control how it closes.
Know Your Response Window First
The BBB asks the business to respond within 10 to 15 calendar days of the filing date, and complaints are generally closed about 30 calendar days after filing.
Enter the date the complaint was filed with the BBB.
Here is the published sequence. The BBB forwards the complaint to the business within two business days. It asks for a response within 10 to 15 calendar days of filing. If there is no response, it sends a follow-up. The consumer is invited to reply to your answer, and the BBB may ask you for a second response. Complaints generally close about 30 calendar days after filing.
Different BBB pages word the window slightly differently, so we use the sourced range and advise answering within 10 days. The extra days are a safety margin for the notice that went to a spam folder, the owner who was traveling, or the complaint that needs facts from another department.
On the BBB's published rating scale, unanswered complaints carry a range of 40 to 0 points, the widest of any element. A complaint you answer well, inside the window, is a different file entry than the same complaint ignored. Read how BBB ratings work for the full scale.
The Structure of a Strong Response
A strong response has six parts: a thanks, the facts, ownership, the resolution, a next step, and a close. Keep it short enough that it is read.
Open with the customer's name and a thank you
Thank them for raising it. This sets the tone for everyone who reads the exchange later.
Restate the issue in one or two sentences
Show you understood it. A customer who feels heard is more likely to accept a resolution.
State the facts you can verify
Dates, order numbers, what was delivered, what was promised. Keep it neutral. Stick to records you hold, never assumptions.
Own what was yours
If something went wrong on your side, say so plainly and once. Do not hide it in qualifiers.
Offer a specific resolution
A refund, a redo, a credit, a replacement, a call. Name the action, the person responsible and the date.
Give a direct contact and close
Provide one name, one phone number and one email. Invite them to confirm through the BBB so the complaint can close the right way.
Our response templates turn this structure into fill-in-the-blank paragraphs for six common situations.
Want a Specialist to Look at Your BBB Profile?
We will check every published rating element on your file and tell you exactly what is costing you points. Free, and honest about what can and cannot change.
Tone Rules That Protect You With Every Reader
Write as if the customer, a stranger and a judge will all read it, because on a public profile they might.
Do
- Stay calm and specific
- Use the customer's name
- Say what you will do, with a date
- Keep it under a few short paragraphs
- Use plain words, not legal language
- Respond once, well
Do not
- Argue or correct the customer's tone
- Use all capitals or exclamation points
- Blame staff or third parties by name
- Promise things you cannot deliver
- Share private customer details beyond what is needed
- Copy the same text into every response
You will often feel that the complaint is unfair. Sometimes it is. Write the response that wins with the people who are not in the argument, which is every future buyer. A reasonable owner reads as a trustworthy one.
Complaint text may be posted publicly after closing, so assume your words will be read. If the complaint comes from someone who was never your customer, say so politely and factually, because the BBB does not handle parties without a marketplace relationship. See removing a BBB complaint for that path.
What to Never Write in a BBB Response
Never write threats, insults, private data, false statements or promises you cannot keep. These turn a manageable complaint into a lasting problem.
- Threats of legal action against the customer, including baseless legal threats meant to silence them.
- Personal attacks, sarcasm or comments on the customer's character.
- Private details such as account numbers, health information or addresses.
- Statements you cannot support with a record.
- Offers of payment in exchange for withdrawing or changing the complaint or a review.
- Pasted boilerplate that ignores what the customer actually said.
- Admissions of legal liability you have not reviewed. If your industry is regulated, have counsel read the response first.
The FTC's 2024 rule bans review suppression through intimidation and bans paying for sentiment. Do not offer anything of value for a changed or removed review. Keep complaint resolution about the problem, not the posting.
How Your Response Affects the Closing Status
The BBB closes a complaint as Resolved, Answered, Unresolved, Unanswered or Unpursuable, and your response decides which of the first four applies.
| Status | What the BBB says it means | What your response influenced |
|---|---|---|
| Resolved | The consumer verified satisfaction | A real resolution the customer confirmed |
| Answered | The business addressed it, the consumer did not accept or did not confirm | A good-faith answer that the customer left open |
| Unresolved | The business responded without a good-faith effort | A response that argued or ignored the issue |
| Unanswered | No response | Missing the window |
| Unpursuable | The BBB could not locate the business | A profile with outdated contact details |
The published rating scale lists unanswered complaints at 40 to 0, unresolved complaints at 30 to 0 and delayed resolution at 5 to 0. So the target is a real resolution that the customer verifies, and a fast one. Resolved is the customer's call, not yours. Your job is to make a response worth accepting.
One more point. Keep your profile contact details current. Unpursuable is the status for a business the BBB cannot locate, and a missed notice is a common reason owners never see a complaint at all.
If You Missed the Window
Respond anyway. A late response may not close as well as an on-time one, but an Unanswered status is worse than a late Answered or Resolved one.
The BBB sends a follow-up when there is no response, and complaints generally close about 30 days after filing. If you are past day 15 but before the close, answer now using the same structure. If the complaint has already closed Unanswered, you cannot undo the status yourself, but a documented late resolution and an honest request to your local BBB is a fair place to start.
We cannot promise a particular result, and neither can anyone else, because only the BBB closes complaints. What we do is read the file, tell you what is realistic, and work the case when a result is achievable. You can start with the free BBB audit or see the complaint resolution service, which is results-based. Reputation Resolutions, our parent company, also explains its done-for-you process at its BBB complaint page.
