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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:
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Businesses in
the area are receiving emails from Peoria Award Program that say
they've won a "Best of Peoria" award in their industry.
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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.
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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.
[to top of second column] |
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] |
