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The Better Business Bureau of Eastern North Carolina is cautioning anyone thinking of entering an online Christmas essay contest to carefully consider their actions.
The bureau tells NBC-17 it has several concerns about the contest created by a man who runs a small marketing firm out of his Apex home.
"There's just a lot of red flags," Beverly Baskin, president of the Better Business Bureau of Eastern North Carolina, said.
Robert Brown is the person behind the CarolinaChristmasCash.com, an online essay contest which the Better Business Bureau had given an ‘F' grade.
"The problem the BBB has is lack of disclosure," Baskin explained.
For a $100 entry fee, a contestant submits an essay that has the chance of winning a $50,000 prize if 5,000 people enter.
When asked how much money he'd get out of it, Brown said, "A portion of it, but not that much ... What we'll do is give some to charity."
In an investigatory phone call on Tuesday, Oct. 27, the BBB asked Robert to be more specific.
"We did call to see what charities would benefit, and as of today, they had not decided," Baskin said.
But, when NBC-17 interviewed Robert on Monday, Oct. 26, he had a slightly different response.
"We're even going to start a charity ourselves named after my 6-year-old son, called ‘Jared's Friends' to help out kids with leukemia and things like that," Brown said.
Also worrisome to the BBB is that the contest rules posted online do not say how the winner will be chosen.
"How exactly are these things being judged?" Baskin asked. "There's no criteria laid out."
Regarding the judging, Robert told NBC-17, "At first we thought we were going to do it, but right now I think we'll have some local pastors come aboard and do that."
When asked how many pastors would be judges, Robert replied, "About 10 to 15 at least."
As of Monday, Oct. 26, Robert said he had 32 entries, with all the money from those entries residing in a PayPal account.
The BBB says there ought to be some kind of independent accounting oversight with regard to the money.
"It doesn't sound like it's in any sort of escrow account," Baskin said. "Where is that money going the meantime? Is he using it to pay bills now?
After interviewing the BBB, NBC-17 did a follow-up with Brown seeking additional answers.
He said he does not have an escrow account, but "may put the money in a short-term interest-bearing account later," and admits there is nothing in place with regard to oversight of the contest.
Right now Brown says the money remains in the PayPal account and he says he is not spending any of it.
As for what charities that will get donations, Brown said he's now considering adding a feature to the Web site asking entrants to decide where the charity money should go.
On Wednesday, Oct. 28, the BBB changed its previous 'F' rating of CarolinaChristmasCash.com to an 'NR,' citing insufficient information to issue a rating.
"Based on BBB files, Advango Marketing has a BBB Rating of NR," the BBB's Web site says. "Reasons for this rating include: This business is not currently rated. BBB does not have sufficient information to issue a rating for this business."
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By Robert Brown on 10/30 02:57 PM
To whom it may concern: My name is Robert Brown, owner of The Carolina Christmas Cash Essay Contest. Recently, there was some negatively reported news on NBC 17, which was completely without merit. I launched the site on October 23, 2009 and immediately began to send out press releases to news stations in North and South Carolina. On October 26, 2009 I received a call from Steve Sbraccia of NBC 17. He asked if he could interview me on camera, and of course I agreed. I answered all of his questions openly and honestly. The interview ran on Tuesday night at 11pm as a consumer alert, Steve had interviewed Beverly Baskin from the Raleigh BBB who said she questioned the legitimacy of the contest. How much of the money was going to charity? Who would be judging the contest? Is Mr. Brown using the money to pay bills? etc. Earlier that day (Tuesday 10/27), Courtney Smith from the Raleigh BBB called my personal cell phone (She got the number from the press release, sent to Steve). Disguising herself, she acted like an interested essay contestant. Mrs. Smith was concerned about which charity would be receiving a donation. I told her that the charity would be voted on and named by essay contestants. That legally, we could not name a charity since I was not soliciting charitable donations or fundraising. I had written into the contest that 10% of the “Net” proceeds would be the amount donated, and if she had any further questions to call back anytime. Six weeks prior to launching the contest I called two attorneys and the Secretary of State for NC and was told that I would not have to register with the state, because I was not soliciting charitable donations or representing a charitable organization and what I was attempting was perfectly legal. Since it was not a game of chance, but took “skill” to win. To answer Beverly Baskin’s questions, 1. 10% of net proceeds will go to “A” Charity! 2. I will be the judge (all essays are assigned a random number so there can be no bias of name, address, or anything to identify the contestant (content only). “NO” personal acquaintance or relative of mine will be eligible to enter the contest. 3. I have only used my own personal funds to market this contest. 4. As for oversight, Amy Thorpe of News14 Carolinas has agreed to keep consumers informed of all future details of the contest. Also, the 10% charitable donation is something I “Want” to do, it is NOT Required by law or anyone else. This negative and nonfactual information generated by Beverly Baskin & the Raleigh BBB is exactly what can happen when there’s a lack of communication. They should have called me “as themselves” to obtain the details in question. My purpose here is to have people make their own decisions based solely on facts, not opinions of people who do not have all the facts! We should all be careful who we take advice from. Sometimes we believe people because of their title or status alone….Governor, BBB Representative… etc. Well that’s all I have for now, Please email me with any questions, comments or concerns at Robert@carolinachristmascash.com. You can also contact all of the people I have mentioned here to check my story for yourself. Thank you for your time, Robert Brown Robert@carolinachristmascash.com
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