BBB Can Be Effective
I disagree. I've used the BBB to help resolve personal issues (I got a refund from a car dealership for my wife) and for my clients. It is a cost effective way for consumers to get some help. The BBB will usually try to mediate the dispute. If the dispute is not resolved the BBB will post on its website the nature of the complaint and the fact that the dispute was unresolved - and that serves as a warning to others.
I have also represented business clients who were the subject of complaints filed with the BBB. My clients (the honest ones) would bend over backwards to resolve the problem in order to remove the complaint from their records.
If that isn't proof enough, the BBB was responsible for getting one of my clients (a not so honest one) to spend a few years in the pokey (the BBB put presure on an attorney general which resulted in the arrest and prosecution) [By the way, I never practiced criminal law so I did not defend that business client.]
On the other hand, I can't believe that Marriott has a satisfactory record with the BBB. So I agree that the BBB is not perfect.
Other good sources for help include the attorney generals for each state (use the state where the consumer resides) and the Federal Trade Commission. They all have Websites.