Better Business Bureau: Buyer Beware ‘Free Money’ Conferences
NEW ORLEANS — A series of conferences to be held in New Orleans this weekend promises to teach attendees how to find free money — but buyer beware: The Better Business Bureau said it may be too good to be true.
National Grants Conferences is a company that hosts free seminars across the country, educating people about no- or low-cost government grants and loans. But consumer advocates question their sales tactics.
Search “National Grants Conferences” online, and a Web site pops up promising easy money with little investment through various business ventures, including real estate.
A man featured in an infomercial on its Web site said, “I joined NGC, and it taught me to go to the city. I went there, got a $30,000 loan at 3 percent and don’t have to make any payments for seven years.”
The money-making information is given via invitation-only conferences at area hotels. But what the Web site and fliers don’t say is that access to information comes at a cost — up to $1,000 to attend a weekend seminar with “industry experts.”
The Better Business Bureau said it has seen many of these companies come to town, especially since Hurricane Katrina.
“Many times, they turn out to be nothing more than trying to figure out how to get money from you with very little or no information or total misinformation,” said Dick Mitchell.
Mitchell said grant-writing isn’t for beginners.
“There may be money out there, but there is a skill required to get it,” he said. “Generally speaking, an individual or a consumer themselves is going to have a tough time getting a grant unless they’re tied in with a university or something like that through some kind of foundation or program.”
The local BBB has not received any complaints about National Grants Conferences. But the BBB in Southeast Florida gave the company an ‘F’ after receiving more than 80 complaints.
“I think what they need to do is, before they put their money up, they find out what the refund is, make sure they have a thorough understanding of it,” Mitchell said. “That seems to be the crux of the problem.”
A quick search of National Grants Conferences online will take you to other consumer sites and blogs that offer similar warnings.
National Grants Conferences’ headquarters is in Rochester, N.Y.