A Washington County consumer contacted Forum after entering a recipe contest she had seen in a popular magazine. The magazine ad read, “Wanted – Your Favorite Recipe. Put money in your pocket. Submit your recipe to us and you could win up to $100.”

The consumer, let’s call her “Mrs. T,” should have been suspicious when the “contest” required a $15.95 entry fee. But she was confident that her favorite seafood recipe, which had always received rave reviews from family and friends, promised to be a clear winner.

So she submitted her recipe, with a check for the $15.95, to a company called Cooking Delight. Six weeks later, Mrs. T received a letter from Cooking Delight complementing her for her “mouth-watering entry” and promising they would be sending her a check in the future.

Cooking Delight went on to say that her recipe was chosen along with 299 other recipes, from thousands of entries, to be placed in a publication which would be distributed throughout the United States in the future and that our happy “winner” could have a copy of the publication for $22.50. Cooking Delight reminded Mrs. T of how proud she would be to see her name, town and state of Maine listed in a national publication in recognition of her culinary excellence. Are we seeing a pattern yet?

Our gullible gourmet was flattered that Cooking Delight thought her recipe was good enough to place in their national cookbook. She dutifully wrote a check for $22.50 and sent it off to Cooking Delight for the purchase of the publication.

Then, hunched over her stove with a renewed sense of purpose, Mrs. T waited patiently for the $100 check Cooking Delight had promised as her winnings. When she didn’t hear from the company for more than three months, she wrote asking when her check would arrive and when the book of recipes would be published.

When after another month she had still heard nothing from the business, Mrs. T wrote another letter, this time sending it certified, return receipt requested. This letter was returned to her mailbox several weeks later marked “refused.” She then called information to request a telephone number for Cooking Delight. There was no listing for the business. It was only then that Mrs. T contacted COMBAT’s Consumer Forum for assistance.

We promptly wrote Cooking Delight on the consumer’s behalf with an account of her experience to date. We went on to say that since our client had been promised a check, we expected the company to honor their word and requested a publication date for the recipe book.

Two weeks later, Mrs. T called to say she had received a letter from Cooking Delight with a check for $5 (not $100) in payment for being a winner in the recipe contest. The company promised that the book of recipes would be mailed within 30 days.

Though disappointed with the amount of the check, Mrs. T thanked COMBAT for contacting the business on her behalf. Several weeks later our Washington County client received the “book” of winners. It was a magazine format publication hardly worth $22.50.

Many shady companies offer “vanity” publications similar to the above recipe book. Often these books appear in a “Who’s Who” format and most are little more than an opportunity to flatter your own ego by seeing your name in print.

If that’s what you want, it would be cheaper to buy an ad in your local newspaper. Since COMBAT relies on tax exempt donations to help Maine consumers and merchants, and since our used water heater sale failed, perhaps we should consider publishing a “Who’s Who of American Suckers” as a fund-raiser. We understand there is one born every minute.

Consumer Forum is a collaboration of the Bangor Daily News and Northeast COMBAT/The Maine Center for the Public Interest, Maine’s membership-funded nonprofit consumer organization. For help or to request individual or business membership information write: Consumer Forum, Bangor Daily News, PO Box 1329, Bangor 04402-1329.