Kokua Line

By June Watanabe

Tuesday, July 1, 1997

Sweepstakes outfit gets
‘unsatisfactory’ rating

Can you please warn your readers about World Wide Award Group, which sent us a notice saying we won $12,000. It turns out we were the winner "pending official match verification of case file identifier as necessary" and if we sent in $7.99. Our odds of winning were 1 in 3 million. It said we would also receive a "special benefit" worth up to $3,500. The $3,500 is actually in the form of discount coupons for various items, which "require additional expenditures to effect savings indicated."

We asked the Better Business Bureau of Hawaii about the group. It, in turn, contacted the Better Business Bureau in metropolitan New York.

This was the response: Tristar Marketing, which uses various names, including World Wide Award Group and American Sweeps Center, has "an unsatisfactory rating which is the bureau's lowest rating." The group's file was opened in July 1993.

"The bureau has written to the firm requesting substantiation that the firm is registered with the New York State Department of State as a sweepstakes company, the names and addresses of consumers who have actually received a prize and the exact odds of a consumer winning a prize. The bureau has not received a response to this request."

The New York BBB also said it has received 33 complaints in the past 36 months about the firm, which has a pattern of not responding to complaints.

The BBB's warning: "It has been the bureau's experience that legitimate sweepstakes companies do not ask you to pay any handling fees or other charges."

More Kokua Line
in today’s Star-Bulletin:

  • Motorcycle fund-raisers
  • Mahao

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