Arlington, VA., USA and Tokyo, JAPAN, February 27, 2002 - The North American Better Business Bureau (BBB) system and the Electronic Commerce Promotion Council of Japan (ECOM) have jointly launched a system to assist consumers and merchants in resolving cross-border disputes.

Under an agreement between the two organizations, the BBB system will handle Japanese consumers' complaints against businesses located in areas served by U.S. and Canadian BBBs, while ECOM will perform a reciprocal service for U.S. and Canadian consumers with complaints against merchants located in Japan. ECOM will perform translation services for the project.

"The complaint system represents an important step in an initiative to promote consumer trust in worldwide e-commerce through voluntary business self-regulatory programs," said Ken Hunter, President of the Council of Better Business Bureaus and BBBOnLine.

According to Yasuo Atsumi, Research Director for the Electronic Commerce Promotion Council of Japan, "We believe our agreement will afford Japanese, U.S. and Canadian consumers and businesses a new avenue to resolve potential problems that might arise in a cross-border transaction. In a shrinking world, trust is essential if online commerce is to succeed."

The new complaint system furthers a relationship that was announced in September 2001 by the BBB's Internet subsidiary, BBBOnLine; the Japanese Direct Marketing Association (JADMA); the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) and the Korean Institute for Electronic Commerce (KIEC). A major goal of that partnership is the development of compatible consumer complaint resolution procedures. (See: www.bbbonline.org/about/press/2001/092101.asp)

About the BBB/ECOM Agreement
The BBB system has offered an online complaint form for consumers since 1995. Until recently, consumers using the BBB site have only been able to file complaints involving businesses located in areas served by Better Business Bureaus (Canada, the United States and a few cities in northern Mexico). While BBBs are broadening their efforts to serve diverse populations, most are not able to accommodate complaints filed in languages other than English or Spanish.

Under the agreement, implemented on February 1st, each organization agrees to refer to the partner organization complaints involving marketplace transactions and advertising against business entities in the regions served by the partner. The complaints can be filed by consumers or small businesses. The organizations agree to utilize the same eligibility requirements, procedures and rules for attempting to resolve referred complaints as if those complaints had been filed originally by consumers residing in the other country.

Complaints will be referred by each organization using an agreed-upon complaint format, and ECOM has agreed to provide translation services.

The BBB version of the complaint form has been integrated into the BBB system's online complaint process, which can be found on its www.bbb.org web site, under the "File a Complaint" icon. At a point in the filing process, consumers are asked to indicate whether the business is located in the U.S., Canada or "Other", and whether the complaint is a general business complaint (involving the purchase of a good or service) or another type of complaint. If the complaint is a "Business Complaint" regarding a business located outside the U.S. and Canada (areas served by BBBs), the consumer is taken to an intermediate page. If the complaint involves a business located in Japan, the consumer will be linked to the new complaint form, where basic information will be gathered before referral to ECOM. ECOM's version of the complaint form can be found on its web site at: www2.ecom.jp/adr/adrform1.html

If the complaint does not involve a Japan-based business, the consumer will be routed to a separate web site, www.econsumer.gov, where the consumer can share the complaint with consumer protection agencies in several countries.

Background
The Better Business Bureau also has agreements with other organizations in Asia and Europe to cooperate in the development of joint trustmark programs, which will feature compatible dispute resolution procedures and technologies. These organizations include Eurochambres and the Federation of European Direct Marketing in Europe (see: www.bbbonline.org/about/press/2001/042301.asp), the Korean Institute for Electronic Commerce (see: www.bbbonline.org/about/press/2001/092101.asp) and China (see: www.bbbonline.org/about/press/2001/101701_01.asp). Discussions are underway with additional potential partners.

The current alliance organizations have agreed to cooperate in the establishment of an unprecedented initiative that would bind these and other future participating organizations into a formal global online trustmark alliance. The venture's mission is to help businesses implement consistently high online standards around the globe.

"The worldwide success of e-business depends on consumer trust," Hunter said. "The trust alliance's goal is to forge common standards, a consistent ADR framework and a recognizable trustmark upon which every online shopper, no matter what their base of operation, can rely."