Dale J. Venturini
President/CEO, RI Hospitality Association
How
many times have you opened a letter that looks ‘official’ to discover that you
owe a nominal sum of money to some ubiquitous state agency? It could be $50.00,
$100.00, or even $150.00. It’s never quite enough for a busy owner or operator
to flag as a potential scam.
Just
by taking a cursory look at the mailing, you determine that it looks legitimate
and write the check…and, you’ve been scammed. Most times, you won’t even know that
it has happened.
Just
recently, Rhode Island businesses were hit with a fee scam. The letter claims
to be from a company called ‘Rhode Island Corporate Compliance’ and references
a state law mandating that a business files with them for a $125.00 fee.
Unfortunately, many local businesses paid the fee just to have it out of the
way and off their to-do list.
However,
a small handful of business owners – and our organization – began alerting
media and our networks to get the word out to the public and shut this scam
down. But, as quickly as one scam is detected, another is already in the works.
Many
consumers across the nation have been hit with a banking scam – it arrives via
email and looks very official with a bank logo, disclaimers, and all the information
to fool a consumer. The email states that there has been a security breach,
potentially false charges, etc. and it asks the reader to click on a link
provided to simply confirm information. Once the consumer engages and clicks
through the link provided, his/her security and financial information has been
compromised.
We
are all running around doing more with fewer resources. How often do you say to
yourself, ‘I just don’t have the time?’ Well, you need to make time and
understand that there are predators out there who trick thousands of business
owners out of small sums of money every day of the week.
Beyond
the ‘official looking’ letter scam, there are a host of other legitimate companies
that lull business owners into thinking they are getting a great deal for
services, only to have their rate suddenly go up after an introductory period –
and, with no way out of the contract they have signed. While this is not really
considered a scam, it is still misleading and creates a situation in which the
consumer is out-of-pocket hundreds and even thousands of dollars more than is
necessary.
But,
how do you know what’s really a good deal versus what’s really a lot of hype to
get you to buy into a contract? Let your local hospitality association help you
find the best deal/resources for your company. We devote countless hours to
vetting suppliers and really looking at what they are selling – beyond the low
introductory rate and offers they come to the table with.
At
RIHA, we personally meet with a host of potential vendors including natural gas
suppliers and electricity providers. We are constantly looking for the best
overall deal – the contract that makes sense for our membership to sign onto
for the long-term. Remember, the best deal is not often the low price that a
vendor presents you with – there are a host of other factors to consider.
In
fact, members who are enrolled in either our natural gas or electricity-buying
program saved more than $250,000 in 2011 and that number doubled to $500,000, last
year. That is a real number and meaningful to any operator’s bottom line. Approximately
55% of our membership in RI has decided to enroll in a cost-savings program
through the Association and I expect that number to increase this year.
For
those of you who are part of your state association, I encourage you to reach
out to them and see what programs make sense, as well as to assist in vetting
any potential scams. We’re here to help and in the end, our industry stays
strong if we all work together.
