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BBB is warning the public to be extremely wary of companies that offer "free" advice on how to get government grants. Dozens of websites claim that, because of the recently passed stimulus package and other actions taken by President Obama, consumers can easily get government grants to pay bills or get out of debt. Contrary to such claims, the Federal Government does not award grants to help consumers pay general debt. Complaints to BBB show that people who sought free advice were ultimately charged as much as $69.95 every month on their credit or debit card.
Immediately following the approval of the $787 billion stimulus package, Web searches for the word "stimulus" returned sponsored link sites like officialstimuluschecks.com and ObamaStimulusGrant.net, in addition to many news stories and Web pages discussing the bill. Ads for grant schemes used enticing testimonials such as, "I got my stimulus check in the mail in less than 30 days..."
"The stimulus package and other efforts on Capitol Hill to jumpstart the economy are dominating the headlines and unscrupulous businesses know that they can exploit the news to take advantage of financially desperate families," said Jim Hegarty, BBB president. "These businesses are simply charging people for free information and chipping away at the bank accounts of families nationwide when they can least afford it."
Ads have also popped up on one of the most popular websites on the Internet. In February, ads on Facebook directed the public to websites such as www.davidgetsgreen.com and www.jakecutler.com. These were set up to look like blogs written by people who are sharing the secret of how they received $12,000 in grants from the government to pay off their debt.
These "blogs" lead to websites such as: www.federalgovernmentgrantsolutions.com or www.GovernmentGrantSolutions.mht which prominently featured a picture of President Obama and claimed that "President Obama wants to issue a STIMULUS PLAN for people in need of government aid and free Federal money." This website is for a company called Government Grant Solutions and is selling a Grant Program Kit which provides advice on how to apply for grants as well as access to a directory of Federal and private grants. The website includes "testimonials" from people who claim that they were able to obtain money which went toward staving off foreclosure, buying Christmas presents, fixing their car or paying bills.
BBBs across the country have received hundreds of complaints from consumers who went to websites such as www.federalgovernmentgrantsolutions.com that sold information on how to get grant money from the government. Two Las Vegas based companies, Grant Instructor and Raven Media, have set up dozens of websites. BBBs received 409 and 295 complaints respectively from consumers. Both companies have an F grade from BBB.
When complainants contacted the businesses about why they were being charged for a "free" item, they were told that they had actually signed up for a "free trial"-as explained in the terms and conditions on the website. They needed to cancel within seven days of requesting the CD or they would be charged monthly.
Complainants also stated that they never received the "free" CD, they received the CD after the free-trial had expired or were unable to log into the website to access grant information as promised. These companies failed to provide refunds and some complainants tried to contact the company to cancel the service, but ultimately had to cancel their credit card to stop being billed as much as $69.95 every month.
Before paying any money for assistance in earning government grants, BBB offers the following advice:
· While it's true that the Federal government does give out billions of dollars in grant money every year, most grants are given to help students pay for college or for specifically defined reasons such as for research or to businesses in particular industries.
· There's no reason to pay for software or guides when applying for government grants. Such information is already available for free on federal government websites including: www.grants.gov, www.Studentaid.ed.gov, www.govbenefits.gov and www.sba.gov.
· Always check out a business' BBB Reliability Report at www.bbb.org before giving out any bank account or credit card information.
*Since this information was first issued by Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB) last week, some websites have been taken down or edited.