BBB Autoline Program for Lemon Law Arbitration

As a service to the public, the non-profit Better Business Bureau provides the Autoline arbitration program to consumers in all fifty states. You need not be a member or affiliated in any way with the BBB to use this service.

As you know from reading the other articles in this section, arbitration is a feature of many state’s lemon laws. Most often, a consumer seeking redress for a defective automobile must take the claim through some sort of arbitration program before a court will hear the case. Some states have their own such programs, while others certify manufacturer-run programs and require consumers to exhaust that option before bringing suit. Depending on your state, the BBB’s Autoline program may or may not satisfy that requirement – check with your local Attorney General or specific lemon law office.

Arbitrators for the BBB program are specially-trained volunteers. Often lawyers or professional mediators, they are minimally compensated for their time; most say they do it out of a sense of civic duty or perhaps as a resume-booster.

Results from the Autoline arbitration are not binding to consumers, who may accept the decision or reject it. If a consumer accepts the arbitrator’s offer, the manufacturer must also abide by the decision. If they do not, the case can still be taken through the applicable state’s process (whether that be to another arbiter – state or manufacturer – or to court. This program may be most beneficial in states that require arbitration, but do not offer a free state-run service. In New York, for example, you must pay to use a state-approved arbiter if you want to avoid using the (sometimes biased) manufacturer’s program.

Internet research reveals that consumer experiences with the BBB’s Autoline arbitration program are mixed. Although many have received satisfactory compensation, auto buyers in other cases complain that the arbitrators seem unfairly biased towards the automakers. It is worth noting here that the Better Business Bureau itself is not a government agency as many assume; in fact it is a simple non-profit organization funded through sliding membership dues – paid by the very businesses it reports on.

SELECTED SOURCES
http://lemonlaw.bbb.org/
http://www.lawyers.com/ask_a_lawyer/q_and_a_archive/view_archive/index.php?QID=22-SEP-00&site=537
http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:0sLbwCQWZmwJ:www.newschannel9.com/vnews/990218138+%22BBB+Autoline%22&hl=en
http://auto.consumerguide.com/articles/index.cfm/act/asktheeditors/article/ATE_Maintenance.html