Eastern Mo. Better Business Bureau draws criticism

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) -- Some Missouri businesses are complaining about what they call high-pressure and heavy-handed sales tactics by the Better Business Bureau in St. Louis.

Some owners say the Better Business Bureau of Eastern Missouri and Southern Illinois pushes them to pay for accreditation. And they think that accredited businesses receive higher ratings than unaccredited ones.

The president of Flat Branch Mortgage in Columbia, Jim Yankee, says he feels like he's being asked to pay for a positive review.

But the president and chief executive officer of the Better Business Bureau of Eastern Missouri and Southern Illinois, Michelle Corey, says accredited and unaccredited businesses are both held to the same standards in its grading system.

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Information from: Columbia Daily Tribune, http://www.columbiatribune.com