"Best Of" Award May Not Be Your Best Bet!

Austin, Texas - March 5, 2009 - Everyone loves winning awards, but Dorothy Brooks of Southwest Movers Association thought there was something suspicious about this one. The email came from the "Selection Committee" of the U.S. Local Business Association and said Southwest Movers Association received the 2008 Best of Austin Award. The email went on to say that in recognition of their achievement, a 2008 Best of Austin Award plaque had been designed for display in their place of business.

" The email asks nominees to confirm their business information," says Dorothy. "But it provides no other details on the award or any costs associated with it. It just seems like a scam to me."

Bonnie Schaefer of San Gabriel Eye Center was also suspicious when she got an email saying her company received the 2008 Best of Georgetown Award.

"There is no telephone number or physical address," Bonnie says. "I feel like it's just a scam to sell plaques."

All across the country, companies report receiving email notices from U.S. Local Business Association, saying they have won a "Best of Local Business" award. They tell BBB that they are asked to link to the group's website to obtain a plaque commemorating the award. There is a cost for the plaque, but that fact is not part of the the e-mail notice.

Once the firm links to the website, it can be routed to the information about costs. An 8" x 10" award plaque is $79.94 each and a 10.5" x 13" award plaque costs $99.94 each. It is unclear if a company can opt out of the award cost, once it gets that far. The only means of contacting USLBA is via e-mail.

Your BBB warns that the U.S. Local Business Association may be misleading businesses who receive their awards. BBB believes this organization may be honoring businesses with the goal of getting the winners to purchase plaques. The awards look as though they may be local. They are called "Best of" and then name the city the company is located in. The awards are broken into business-type categories. BBB has identified that multiple businesses in a city are sometimes given the same award within the same category. The categories can also be so specific that only a few businesses would actually qualify for the award. USLBA also does not disclose how their selection process works.

The names of the Best of Local Business awards are also very similar to the names of legitimate awards given by organizations that are not affiliated with USLBA.

Based on BBB files, this company has a BBB rating of F due to unanswered complaints. Click here to view BBB's report on this company.

The Washington D.C. address of the firm is a known mail receiving/forwarding address. BBB is attempting to determine if the entitiy has a real presence in that area. We have no current phone listing for the USLBA, which indicates on its web site at www.uslba.net, that it is a business membership association. No contact information is obtainable from the web site except via e-mail. Those approached with e-mail notification of such awards are advised to be cautious, as with any contacts from unknown groups.

"Winning an award is exciting for any business, especially when they want to have a competitive edge over their competition," says Carrie A. Hurt, President and CEO of BBB serving Central, Coastal and Southwest Texas. "However, vanity schemes only honor businesses to get money from them. They prey on a company's desire to look good."

Being recognized for performance in the local marketplace is a pleasant situation, but BBB advises care must be taken in such a flatttering circumstance to be sure that the recognition is not, in fact, an attempt to obtain access to a company's information or to elicit funds by an entity that may not be what it represents itself as being. Your BBB offers the following tips for checking the validity of an award:

• Can you find out who is making the award? Can you verify the group's existence, location, and history? What is the cost to the honoree for the award? If these questions are unaswerable, it might be wise to be cautious before dealing with a group that is not transparent in its approach.
• Visit www.bbb.org to find a Reliability Report on the business or organization distributing the award.
• Check out the business or organization with the Federal Trade Commission at www.ftc.gov.
• Look at the title and category of the award. If the award is something only a small number of businesses could receive, it could be a vanity award.
• Check to see if there are any fees associated with winning the award. If there is a fee for winning or for receiving a certificate or plaque, it could be a scam.
• If the announcement for the award leads to a website, do not enter any personal information on that website unless you are positive of the award's validity.

Feel free to ask questions. Businesses and organizations providing legitimate awards will usually be willing to provide detailed information on why a specific category received the award.

To check the reliability of any company, visit www.bbb.org.