A reader sent us a sweepstakes offer from Lindenwold Fine Jewelers and the U.S. Commemorative Fine Art Gallery in Canton, Ohio. The offer included a simulated check for $10,000 as well as the promise of a free "silver-winged liberty ten-cent piece and three historical art reproductions worth $15." (The simulated check is an attention-getting device to alert the recipient to the $10,000 sweepstakes for which he was automatically eligible.) All the recipient had to do was call the 900 number listed on the offer. The call costs $3.98 a minute.
We did a little checking to find out what we could about these companies. Here's what we came up with.The sweepstakes and free prizes are a way to introduce consumers to Lindenwold Jewelers and the U.S. Commemorative Fine Art Gallery, two of over a dozen divisions of The Suarez Corp. headquartered in Canton, Ohio. The Suarez Corp. markets various lines of merchandise through a retail store, direct mail, catalogs, telemarketing and television.
The gallery sells original art, art prints, sculptures and various other home and office decorating products. Lindenwold Fine Jewelers sells costume and fine jewelry and cosmetics.
The value of the prizes is as follows: The liberty dime ranges from $1 to $225 in value, but the average is $1. The value of each historical art print is $5, making a total of $15 for three.
The company tries to sell prize recipients a mounting for the dime for $19 and a presentation set for the art prints for $11. A burl wood frame for the prints costs $21 and a French provincial frame sells for $31.
The company says four $10,000 sweepstakes awards were available last year and, it says, were all awarded.
According to the Better Business Bureau in Canton, the company responds promptly to complaints and offers a money-back guarantee.
The company's record, however, is not unblemished.
Since Jan. 1, 1991, the Consumer Protection Division of the Ohio Attorney General's Office has received 367 inquiries or complaints about Lindenwold Fine Jewelers and one complaint against The Suarez Corp. It has received no complaints or inquiries about the U.S. Commemorative Fine Art Gallery.
In recent years several states filed suit against The Suarez Corp., according to the BBB. The suits were resolved, without the company admitting guilt, when the company signed consent agreements or assurances of voluntary compliance.
The litigation included a lawsuit filed Dec. 21, 1991, by the State of Washington's attorney general. Allegations included: the company's prize offers caused consumers to spend money to make use of the prize; the value of the prizes exceeded the value of similar goods in the same market; the company compared prices to non-identical, higher-priced goods; the company offered discounted prices for its services when that discount was not substantiated.
The company entered into a consent agreement with the State of Washington on Jan. 8, 1992, and without admitting guilt agreed to not violate the allegations. But on Aug. 25, 1992, the attorney general of Washington initiated another lawsuit claiming the company had violated terms of the consent agreement. The company denies those charges.