Each month BBB receives thousands of calls and emails from consumers inquiring about companies before doing business with them, or filing complaint about  specific businesses. Here are the results of the calls and emails we fielded in September:

September 2009 Inquiries & Complaints/Southern Arizona

Ten Most Inquired About Industries

September 2009 Inquiries & Complaints/Cochise County

*Six Most Complained About Industries

Ten Most Inquired About Industries

*If ten or more industries have not received complaints, only those industries that have are included.

Each month, BBB sends its secret shopper, “Sarah,” out into the marketplace to get the inside scoop on threats facing consumers. This month Sarah investigates some seemingly amazing offers for free groceries.

Type of Business: Consumer Research
Location: Bloomington, MN
Upfront Fee: $3.90 – $20.00
Claim: “GROCERY Stimulus Package helping people just like you!  Get $1000 Groceries!  Pay less than $20 – it’s true!  Limited Time offer – Call now!”

You may have seen this advertisement running in local newspapers or shopping guides. Consumers who call the toll free number are asked to answer a series of four questions covering their favorite shopping destinations, favorite restaurants to eat at, the amount of money they spend on groceries each month, and whether shopping habits have changed due to recent price increases.  Consumers are asked to pay $3.90 via credit card to cover shipping of a coupon packet.

When Sarah asked how the program works, the business stated they send $10,000 in coupons and she could choose $1,000 worth to use.  In actuality, the packet Sarah received from the business does not contain coupons, but instructions that directed her to a website.  At the site, she entered the login information supplied in the packet and was provided with a list of products that are marked as either free, half off, or price reduced.  Sarah was then instructed to check the box next to an item she wanted and type in the quantity she’d like to receive.  There is no number limit on any item; as explained by the business – “If someone eats a lot of hot dogs he/she could get $1,000 worth of hotdogs.”

So what’s the catch? Consumers who have participated in the “Grocery Stimulus Program” tell BBB that after they supplied their credit card information for shipping; their cards were charged several times without their knowledge, in amounts up to $89.  BBB suggests exercising extreme caution when dealing with any unknown company requesting an upfront fee for information.

Welcome to Better Business Bureau Consumer Alert Blog!  It’s our hope that Southern Arizona consumers will not only use this blog as an educational resource, but to also stay on top of the latest developments in the Southern Arizona marketplace.

Each day BBB receives around 2,000 calls from consumers checking on businesses, filing complaints, or reporting possible marketplace scams they come across. After taking in so much information from consumers on a daily basis, BBB has gleaned an extensive database of scammers, phishers, get-rich-quick-artists, and pretty much any sort of dishonest marketplace behavior you can think of.

However, for every dishonest business or fly-by-night operation, there are dozens of businesses that aim to serve consumers with honesty and integrity. It’s the ultimate goal of BBB to steer consumers towards these businesses, by alerting them to the dishonest ones.

So from all of us at BBB, we hope that you find this blog informative as well as entertaining. Consumers can call, (520)888-5353 or email info@tucson.bbb.org, for more information on any blog entry posted here.