BBB serving Southeast Louisiana has recently become aware
of several websites which propose to be BBB Accredited Businesses but are not. The websites show a BBB Accredited Business
logo, which links to a phony BBB report generously giving the company a bogus
A+ rating.
Consumers are urged to check with the BBB before completing
a business transaction. However, neither an apparent A+ rating, nor BBB
Accreditation logo always guarantees that the company in question is reliable.
Since June 2010, the Better Business Bureau serving Southeast Louisiana has
received inquiries about a firm that, posing as a BBB Accredited Business,
swindles bargain-hunters across the nation out of their hard-earned cash.
The
company operating under a number of names, including ZET Electronics and American
Garden Appliances, and in other areas as Orange Electronics, Team
Appliances, Home Garden Appliances, Chrystal Beauty and Aaron’s Shop among
others, offers a variety of merchandise—ranging from beauty supplies to farm
equipment—at prices well below suggested retail. The BBB has been notified that
the firm, aside from running multiple websites, is active as a seller on such
e-commerce websites as Amazon.com, eBay, and DealItem.
Even
consumers who are skeptical about the enticing offers may be reassured by the
BBB Accreditation seal proudly displayed on the company’s websites. Clicking on
it forwards the shoppers to a fairly accurate replica of a BBB Reliability
Report, where instead of the well-deserved rating of F, the businesses give
themselves an A+. The BBB has contacted the company requesting the removal of
the unauthorized BBB Accreditation logo with no success. The conmen went so far
as to register several domains that mimic the official Internet address of the
Better Business Bureau, including www.lousiana-bbb.org,
(a misspelling of Louisiana), www.bbb-company.org, and www.bbb-community.org,
which are NOT real BBB sites, but rather copied versions of BBB pages. Some of
the phony links actually forward to the REAL www.bbb.org
to lend authenticity.
Two
of the scam websites offer local New Orleans addresses at 3900 S. Carrollton
Ave. After investigating the addresses,
they were found not to exist. The closest
location to that address was an overpass of Interstate 10 and S. Carrollton
Avenue, at which, of course, there are no businesses located.
According
to BBB in New York, when misled consumers proceed to check out on one of these
websites, all attempts to pay by a credit card result in an error message. At
this point, the shoppers are told that the website is experiencing technical
difficulties and are asked to wire the money for the merchandise via Western
Union. If they do so, the complainants never receive the product they purchased
and have no chance to recover their money.
These scam businesses have sprung up and been identified by BBBs in New
York, New Jersey, and Ohio, and these two seem to be the most recent iterations
of this scam.
The
BBB offers the following tips for shopping online:
- Be cautious of
companies that offer merchandise at prices significantly below market. If
something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
- Avoid purchasing
goods from the following websites:
americangardenappliances.com
zetelectronics.com
onlineluxury-shopping.com
orange-electronics.com
homegardenappliances.com
standard-electronics.com
team-appliances.com
appliances-4home.com
team-2appliances.com
team-4appliances.com
team-elctronics4you.com
team2appliances.com
team4appliances.com
teamapp-inc.com
beauty-shoponline.com
- If a company
claims to be a BBB accredited business, make sure that the URL of the page
to which you are forwarded after clicking at the BBB Accredited Business
Seal begins with "https://www.bbb.org/". Double-check by
searching for the company’s name, address, URL, or phone number at http://www.bbb.org/us/Find-Business-Reviews or
contacting your local BBB.
- Read terms and
conditions
- Beware of the
companies that accept payment via money transfer only.
- Never wire money
to anybody you have not met in person.
If
you have any questions or concerns and are no able to verify the company’s
authenticity yourself, please contact the BBB serving Southeast Louisiana at: (504)
581-6222 or info@neworleans.bbb.org.