The Akron Legal News

BBB warns about mailers hitting Ohio

KEITH ARNOLD
Special to the Legal News
Published: August 30, 2018

An Ohio consumer watchdog reported earlier this week that residents in the southwest part of the state are the target of a direct-mail campaign that ultimately sells the personal details of respondents to a third party.

The Better Business Bureau that serves the Miami Valley warned people to be wary of mailings that tout tax-free life insurance for Ohio residents.

The mailings had not been reported in central Ohio at the time of publication.

In a press statement, officials characterized the offer as not all it's cracked up to be.

Colorful mailings, bearing the headline "2018 Benefit Information For Ohio Citizens Only," claim a respondent may qualify for a state-regulated program to pay for final expenses.

The advertised life insurance benefits allegedly would pay for 100 percent of all funeral expenses, up to $35,000.

The payment is advertised as tax free for Ohio residents, officials said.

Respondents are advised to return a postage-paid card within five days to Direct Processing Center in Boise, Idaho. They are asked to, first, provide their name, spouse's name, ages and phone number.

The BBB began an investigation of the company and its mailing upon receipt of the solicitation.

The company, which also operates as Need-a-Lead, Need A Lead and Senior Supplemental Referral Service, has an F rating with BBB Northwest + Pacific in Idaho, the press release detailed.

One factor of the company's poor rating is its failure to respond to three complaints filed against the business, BBB officials said in the statement.

The Idaho consumer organization noted that that direct mail pieces were not adequately transparent regarding the fact the information provided by the consumer would be sold to third parties. Advertisers bear primary responsibility for truthful and non-deceptive advertising, according to the code of advertising.

In response to the BBB's challenge, a company representatives said the organization did not want to modify its advertising, alleging "the direct mail pieces are in compliance with the applicable state and federal regulations," the press release continued.

A similar challenge of the company's practices in Iowa resulted in the state's attorney general entering into a voluntary compliance agreement with the company. The agreement was to settle a dispute over whether mailings to Iowans were misleading, in violation of state's Consumer Fraud Act.

The bureau advised recipients of this sort of mailed solicitations, consider the following:

• Be wary of any mailer offering free publications, information or gifts. These often are inducements to convince an individual to provide personal contact information;

• Never give out personal information unless the individual seeking the information is known and the recipients knows the intended use of the information; and

• Respondents must keep in mind they are giving telemarketers permission to contact them when responding to these types of mailings.

To check out companies online, visit bbb.org or call 1-800-776-5301.

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