Friday, August 02, 2013
 
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Better Business Bureau alert: 'Best of ...' awards scheme

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[August 02, 2013]  PEORIA -- The Better Business Bureau of Central Illinois is warning businesses and organizations to be cautious of emails from Peoria Award Program. The emails say that you've won their 2013 award for your industry and congratulate you for joining "such an elite group of small businesses."

You are then offered the opportunity to purchase a plaque, a crystal award or both at a cost ranging from $79.99 to $199.98. A complimentary digital award image and personalized press release are included in the package.

Fast facts:

  • Businesses in the area are receiving emails from Peoria Award Program that say they've won a "Best of Peoria" award in their industry.

  • These emails and awards look to be a mirror image of the efforts by U.S. Commerce Association in previous years, which proved to be phony vanity awards.

  • It appears to be a localization of a scheme to get businesses to pay for vanity awards of little or no value.

The awards appear to be part of a widespread scheme designed to get businesses to pay for vanity awards of little or no value and will more than likely not be isolated to just one city. They mirror offers made in the past by U.S. Commerce Association, an organization whose vanity awards were the subject of several BBB investigations. In fact, the business address listed for Peoria Award Program is the same address as U.S. Commerce Association's.

Instead of using the name U.S. Commerce Association everywhere, the scheme has been localized with a city name such as Peoria. BBB's across the nation have issued warnings about these kinds of vanity award schemes since 2008.

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Peoria Award Program says that each year they identify companies that have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. "What that really means is that they were able to find your contact information on the Internet," said Bonnie Bakin, BBB president. "There's no explanation of the nomination process or the criteria for choosing winners."

Vanity awards prey on small businesses that are trying to make their companies stand out in their industry. The program's website tells business owners that "a select few have been able to benefit from the strategic value of business awards" and that "a business award can be an account executive's ace-in-the-hole."

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For 100 years, the Better Business Bureau has been helping consumers find businesses, brands and charities they can trust. In 2012, consumers turned to BBB more than 100 million times for reviews on more than 4 million companies and reports on 11,000 charities, all available for free at www.bbb.org. The Council of Better Business Bureaus is the umbrella organization for 114 local, independent BBBs across the United States and Canada, as well as home to its national programs on dispute resolution and industry self-regulation.

[Text from file received from the Better Business Bureau of Central Illinois]

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