Watch for the hook when clipping coupons

The mail and the Internet are full of scam artists offering “business opportunities” and work-at-home schemes involving certificate booklets and coupon-clipping services.

Using the Internet heavily, promoters promise charities and individuals “hundreds or thousands of dollars per month” by selling coupon certificate booklets or cutting coupons at home. In reality, it’s consumers and merchants who are being clipped in these deceptive coupon capers.

There’s only one legitimate way to use a coupon, cut it out of the newspaper or other source and use it to purchase the designated product. A coupon is intended to be used only by the consumer who buys the product for which the coupon is printed. Selling or transferring coupons to a third party violates most coupon redemption policies and usually voids the offer.

Coupons are big business: more than 3,000 manufacturers distribute 330 billion coupons, worth an estimated $280 billion, every year in an effort to promote products. It is thought that 77 percent of U.S. households use eight billion coupons to save $4.7 billion on their grocery bills.

Yet fraudulent promoters are getting rich by marketing and misrepresenting coupon-based business opportunities to unwary customers. Especially be wary of offers that require you to deal with forms and difficult procedures, or to pay handling fees.

Here’s how the coupon scams work. The “investor” is promised profit by selling coupon certificate booklets. The participant is expected to sell the booklets to others for $20 to $50 each. Each booklet contains 20 to 50 certificates each redeemable for $10 worth of grocery coupons. That makes each booklet “worth” from $200 to $500. To redeem the certificates for coupons, you must complete and mail a form, select 30 to 50 products from a list and include a self-addressed, stamped envelope and processing fee. “Investors” are promised big profits in these schemes while individual consumers are assured of big savings when they shop.

“Investors” spending hundreds of dollars to start a certificate booklet distributorship lose money because inflated earnings claims never pan out. Consumers paying substantial processing fees and postage lose money because redeeming $500 worth of certificates requires postage and processing fees of more than $100 when they could have simply clipped the coupons from their local newspaper.

In addition to the above, promoters make inflated claims of profit potential for work-at-home coupon clipping deals. Assurances of making “hundreds of dollars a week” sound appealing, but they are false.

Protect yourself from bogus work-at-home coupon opportunities. Avoid guaranteed big profits, high income or amazing savings in a short time, claims that no risk is involved, pressure to “act now”, and assurances of a “hot, can’t miss” opportunity.

If still tempted, ask questions and make sure the answers add up. Ask for the company’s refund policy details before you invest. Demand the total cost of a work-at-home program including supplies, equipment and membership fees. What do you get for your money? Find out who will pay you, whether you’ll be paid on salary or commission, and when will you get your first paycheck.

Get all promises in writing or in the contract you sign. Verify the company’s reputation by writing COMBAT in care of this column. Contact the Better Business Bureau and Chamber of Commerce where the business is located. Require a list of costs associated with ordering the coupons (including hefty postage and processing fees) then do the math.

But the best advice? Just ignore these offers entirely and don’t get clipped.

Consumer Forum is a collaborative effort of the Bangor Daily News and Northeast COMBAT. Send questions to Consumer Forum, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor, Maine 04402-1329. COMBAT is a nonprofit organization with annual dues of $10. For membership information, write to the above address.