BBB warns local business about vanity awards ploy
Local business owners are being warned by the Better Business Bureau about a ploy to get companies to pay for meaningless awards and plaques.
The BBB said area businesses in recent months had been getting notifications that they had won awards from an entity called U.S. Commerce Association or U.S. Local Business Association. The businesses are required to pay to receive the award. The cost of the award ranges from $79 to $199, the BBB reported.
The BBB said this appeared to be a vanity awards scheme, where companies sell awards that are not based on achievements or independent judging used car loans. The bureau warns business owners to be wary if their business receives an award for which it did not apply or if the awarding group cannot say how the business was nominated.
The associations could not be reached. An e-mail sent Wednesday through the U.S. Local Business Association’s website was not returned. No phone number is listed on the company’s site.