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BBB Announces 2005 Pluto Awards Recipients

January 2006

BBB Announces 2005 Pluto Awards Recipients

The Better Business Bureau of the Southland has announced the 10 southland businesses chosen to receive its not-so-coveted annual Pluto Awards. Appropriately named for the mythological Roman god of the underworld, the Pluto Awards recognize and expose companies that use underhanded business practices and ambiguous advertising to augment their riches and defraud the American public of billions of dollars each year.


Here are the 2005 recipients, where they're located, and the number of complaints the BBB has received about each over the past three year. Click on the company to view their company report.


   1. Consumer Reward Network - Canoga Park (1415 complaints)
   2. Buyer's Union - Orange (1724)
   3. Yellow Pages Incorporated - Anaheim (1453)
   4. Singer Lazer Storm Vacuum - Los Angeles (1225)
   5. National Small Business Alliance - Palm Springs ( 612)
   6. Girls Gone Wild - Van Nuys (560)
   7. Satellite Systems Network, LLC - Aliso Viejo (502)
   8. Appera Teeth Whitening System - Newport Beach (295)
   9. American Tax Relief - Los Angeles (170)
10. EDebitPay - Valley Village (174)



The BBB has assigned each recipient an F rating. Their nefarious practices are briefly described below:


1. Consumer Reward Network, of Canoga Park (1415 complaints), offers discount coupons for up to $500 at places such as Wal-Mart or Home Depot to get consumers to try their products or enroll in their discount clubs. Once they get the customer's bank account information to deduct the $4.95 or so shipping charges, they make other debits of hundreds of dollars without ever delivering merchandise or coupons. Customers can't cancel, because the company will accept only phone cancellations and then won't answer their phones. Since the beginning of its telemarketing solicitations early in 2005, CRN has amassed more than a thousand complaints, and complaints continue to pour in to the Bureau. This company could have been the inspiration for the advice, "Just Hang Up."


2. Buyer's Union, of Orange (1,724 complaints), mirrors Consumer Reward Network's practices, offering incentives and making unauthorized debits to customers' bank accounts. Although some manage to contact Buyer's Union and obtain a cancellation confirmation number, they still discover membership fee debits on their bank statement. Consumers should mirror the BBB's advice in dealing with CRN: Just Hang Up.


3. Yellow Pages, Inc., of Orange (1453 complaints), banks on recognition of the 'yellow pages' name and the 'walking fingers' logo when it sends out a $2 or $3 check to businesses. Believing that the check is related to a legitimate 'yellow pages' listing, the business deposits it. Yellow Pages collects bank account information and the businesses, who overlook the fine print disclosure that if they cash the check they're agreeing to pay for advertising, get the bad news about debits approaching $200 when they get their bank statement. The BBB believes that 'Yellow' is a good name for this sneaky company.


4. Singer Lazer Storm Vacuum, of Los Angeles (1225 complaints), is not the typical company that collects money but doesn't deliver the goods. On the contrary, its Internet ad for a powerful, bagless vacuum cleaner at a great price and a buy-one-get-one-free offer induce consumers to order two. What they get, though, are four, and what they are charged for are four. When they complain that the vacuum cleaner does not clean satisfactorily, they are left to pay shipping charges to return all four of them. This is one storm the BBB recommends taking cover from.


5. National Small Business Alliance, of Palm Springs (612 complaints), telemarkets small business owners, pitching a 'platinum' membership with an $8,000 credit line. After agreeing to a membership fee of approximately $100, they learn, to their dismay, that $5,000 of the credit line is good only for vacation-package travel and requires a deposit plus full payment 30 days before departure, and that the remaining $3,000 is good only for a pre-configured computer about which little information is given. Both vacation and computer are available through independent providers who require compliance with their own terms and provisions. Although NSBA has made some refunds, the BBB recommends not allying with this alliance.


6. Girls Gone Wild, of Van Nuys (560 complaints), uses infomercials to advertise an inexpensive video or DVD and enrolls customers who order in a subscription program whereby GGW ships an additional video each month. With bank account information from their initial purchase, GGW bills them at a higher rate for these subsequent videos, plus shipping charges. By the time unsuspecting customers receive their first additional shipment, their bank account has been debited for the purchase and they have to pay shipping charges both ways to return the video. This can happen again and again. Explanation of the automatic enrollment is hidden in pages of almost inaccessible terms and conditions on the company's website. The BBB believes that consumers who order from GGW may go a little wild themselves.


7. Satellite Systems Network, LLC, of Alisa Viejo (502 complaints), offers a free DVD player or home theater system for a $29.95 shipping fee to customers who sign up for satellite TV service. Most who sign up and pay complain that they never receive the promised incentive and that it's difficult or impossible to reach the company by phone. Even when they do, they get such excuses as that the item is out of stock, sometimes for months. The BBB recommends avoiding this satellite's orbit.


8. Appera Teeth Whitening System, of Newport Beach (295 complaints), which attracts consumers to its teeth whitening system by means of a 'free trial offer,' sells on a number of websites. To take advantage of the free trial, customers must pay a small shipping and handling fee, whereupon they're enrolled in a continuity program and receive additional shipments. Unaware of their enrollment, they follow required procedures to request a refund of the credit card charges Appera has billed them for, three months at a time, but Appera refuses to issue them the authorization they require to make a refund. The BBB cautions that the cost of this 'free' offer won't make Appera's customers smile.


9. American Tax Relief, of Los Angeles (170 complaints), advertises on their website that they can settle tax debts for a fraction of the debt. Those who owe tax debts pay for the company's services but end up with no tax debt reduction, often no service at all, and unauthorized deductions from their bank account. They may also end up owing more because of interest and penalties, in addition to what they paid the company. This company's relief may be more taxing than the taxes themselves.


10. EDebitPay, LLC, of Valley Village (174 complaints), offers a prepaid debit card, which it will activate for a one-time fee of $159, as well as savings cards, buying clubs, and online payment services at additional cost. How ever they present their program, complainants to the Better Business Bureau say they didn't request a debit card and didn't authorize the charges made to their checking accounts or credit cards. Debit or credit, the BBB believes consumers will pay if they take EDebitPay's bait.


Although these 10 are our losers of the year, many, many more companies may seem legitimate but also operate in the shadows of the ethical business world. We encourage consumers to get a reliability report from us before doing business with any company.