A Texas company’s alleged business practices has sports boosters across the country crying foul, according to complaints lodged with Better Business Bureau.  Jam Sports Marketing has drawn dozens of complaints in recent years from business owners seeking to support sports teams from their local schools or colleges.

Jam Sports Marketing sells advertisement space on t-shirts, stadium seats, megaphones and other promotional items distributed at no cost to “parents, faculty and students,” the company says on its website.

However, some business owners alleged in complaints that the items on which they bought advertisement space were never handed out. And others alleged items such as t-shirts promoting local football teams were distributed too late, sometime after the football season had ended.

Jam Sports Marketing has an “F” rating with the BBB, the lowest grade possible.

On its website, the company calls itself a “national leader in representing both schools and businesses at the local community level.” In addition, the company touts its services as “the most efficient, reliable way for schools to receive no cost spirit products as well as … a powerful marketing distribution vehicle that directly targets a large influential customer base of local businesses.”

Several of its customers disagree in complaints. And when some sought refunds for missing or delayed promotional items, they couldn’t reach a Jam Sports Marketing representative by phone, email or U.S. mail, according to complaints. Others who were promised refunds said their money was never returned.
Each advertisement costs between $150 and $950, according to complaints.

At least two colleges also have complained of possible trademark violations involving names and logos on Jam Sports Marketing products.

BBB urges consumers to do their homework before doing business. One way to do so is through the BBB’s business reviews, which are offered on more than 3 million businesses and charities nationwide. The reports are available for free through the BBB’s website, www.tucson.bbb.org.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 27th, 2011 at 5:24 pm and is filed under alert, Life, scam, Tips. Tags for this post: baseball, basketball, BBB, Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona, booster, college sports, complaints, football, Jam Sports Marketing, refund, softball, Tucson, University of Arizona, volleyball. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.