Action 9: BBB releases 2012 ‘Dirty Dozen' list

The Better Business Bureau has released its 2012 list of the worst businesses in the Charlotte area.

Action 9's Don Griffin went through the list and discovered three of the companies were repeat offenders and continue to rack up complaints year after year.

Leading the “Dirty Dozen” list is Home Appliance Repair of Gastonia, a repeat offender with 12 unanswered complaints.

The BBB said owner Michael Henderson has changed his business name and number 12 times.

"What they're trying to do is hide from their past, and their past is littered with customer complaints," said BBB President Tom Bartholomy.

Action 9 went looking for Henderson at Second Chances, a thrift store he owns in Dallas. A clerk said he wasn't in and was surprised by the reason for our visit.

“I can't say nothing bad about Mike,” she said.

“But he takes advantage of people according to the BBB,” Griffin said.

“I don't believe that,” she said.

Later, Henderson called to say the BBB has confused him with someone else. But they said he's the right person.

Another company on the “Dirty Dozen” list as a double repeat offender is Appliance Repair of Charlotte. Owner Benny Stafford has changed his business name 18 times and has five unanswered complaints.

Ken Kromer said he paid Stafford $240 to order an oven window. He said Stafford never came back.

“I just feel taken,” he said.

The Handyman Company of Hickory is another repeat offender on the list, and has been the subject of two Action 9 reports. Owner Chris Robinson has changed his business name 10 times and has eight unanswered complaints.

Bill Gronin said he paid for gutters that were installed incorrectly.

“I called five to six times,” he said. “They just refuse to come.”

The BBB said most businesses work with them to resolve complaints. But when they don't, it goes on their BBB record.

To see the full list, click here.

WSOC