American Value Grocery
Queja 79059 Detalles

An ad played on the air on WTOP today (2/24/12, at app. 4pm), something to the effect of: participate in consumer market research, and receive $2000 in vouchers.

I called the number, 1-800-299-8966, and after providing some basic info (name, address, # of people in household, etc.) was told I qualified to participate and help companies "track spending habits". After listening to more details, and I was eventually told I would need to PAY THEM MONEY ($19.95, for some kind of processing fee).

Sounds like a scam! So I ended the call, but not before receiving the name of my contact: "Kristie" ID: #645 and her phone, 1-800-520-7034.

When I got home I goggled the first number (1-800-299-8966) and NOTHING came up--no company name, nothing. Next, I went to the website "Kristie" gave me, americanvalue.com: it is bogus. Goggling "american value grocery" brings up info about this scam.

WTOP accepted money from this scam operator and ran this ad.

BTW, the female voice narrating the ad, sounds a lot like the same voice which advertises the ad which periodically runs on WTOP about signing up to participate in an actor/actress search and star in a series with actors like Justin Bieber or Selena Gomez: makes me wonder if they're connected and if that's another scam promoted on WTOP...

PS If you have been charged, you do not need to report your card stolen--you can file a complaint, also known as "disputing the charge". Just call your credit card company and tell them you were scammed and you want to cancel the charge. They will ask you for info (phone number etc.) and take it from there.