Better Business Bureau: Trump University Had D- Rating in Final Year

The Better Business Bureau clarified questions about its rating of Trump University on Tuesday, saying the school had a D- score that eventually rose to A+ only after the university began to shut down and older complaints had expired.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump faced criticism over the school’s Better Business Bureau rating at Thursday’s debate, when moderator Megyn Kelly questioned Trump about former students suing to get their money back after the BBB gave the university a D- rating. Trump defended the university, arguing it actually had an A rating.

“During the period when Trump University appeared to be active in the marketplace, BBB received multiple customer complaints about this business. These complaints affected the Trump University BBB rating, which was as low as D- in 2010,” the nonprofit said in a statement on Tuesday. “As the company appeared to be winding down, after 2013, no new complaints were reported. Complaints over three years old automatically rolled off of the Business Review, according to BBB policy. As a result, over time, Trump University’s BBB rating went to an A in July 2014 and then to an A+ in January 2015.”

Since September 2015, Trump University, which closed in 2010, has had a “no rating” review.

The organization also said it never sent a fax to the Republican debate, even though Trump handed a piece of paper to the Fox News moderators during a break and said it had come from the BBB.

In a video captured by the Independent Journal Review, Trump can be heard saying, “Better Business Bureau just sent it… this just came in.” But the BBB said it did not send any document to the debate on Thursday. “The document presented to debate moderators did not come from BBB that night,” the statement said.

The BBB also said that an image Trump posted on Twitter on Thursday depicted a Trump University business report that was not current but, rather, appeared to be part of a review from 2014.