Here's our personal experience: After reviewing costs for each, my husband went with Consumers' Checkbook. According to its Web site, http://www.angieslist.com/, Angie's List charges $90 for two years, which includes a one-time $15 signup fee. Consumers' Checkbook, http://www.checkbook.org/, charges $34 for a two-year subscription--but this only applies to the current quarterly issue. If you want access to its archive of of past ratings and articles, you'll have to pay another $25. Still, that's a total of $59, vs. $90 for Angie's list.
Here are some free resources to check out companies in the area:
Better Business Bureau
The Web site for the DC area chapter is http://www.mybbb.org/; it allows you to search for members and find out whether any complaints have been registered in the last three years.
Fairfax County Consumer Protection division
http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/consumer/complaint_history.htm
This division's staff is really on the ball and very pro-consumer. You can search online for complaints lodged with the county against companies; the reports are fairly detailed and tell you what the outcome of the case was. You can also file complaints online.
Arlington County has an Office of Consumer Affairs; couldn't find a page for the office on the county's Web site, but the no. is 703-228-3260.
The Alexandria Office of Consumer Affairs Web site, http://alexandriava.gov/city/citizen_assistance/consumer_affairs_home.html, says you can call them to ask about any complaints lodged about a company. Tel. no. is 703-838-4350.
Loudoun County does not have an office of consumer affairs; they refer consumers to the state's office, the Virginia Office of Consumer Affairs, at http://www.vdacs.virginia.gov/consumers/index.shtml
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