BBB National Programs Archive

ERSP Refers Advertising Claims for Automation Riches to FTC After Marketer Fails to Respond to ERSP Inquiry

New York, NY – Oct. 12, 2018 – The Electronic Retailing Self-Regulation Program has referred direct-response advertising for Automation Riches to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) after the marketer declined to participate in the ERSP inquiry.

ERSP is an investigative unit of the advertising industry’s system of self-regulation and is administered by the Council of Better Business Bureaus. The marketer’s advertising came to ERSP’s attention pursuant to an anonymous competitor challenge.

The core advertising claims identified by ERSP included earnings claims (“If I showed you a proven, legal and ethical system- where you can bank gigantic commissions of $500, $1,000, $2,000, $3,000, $5,000, $10,000, $15,000 and $20,000 every single day of the year, and where you simply cannot fail- would you be interested?”) general product claims (“These trained professionals, coupled with the company website, handle all the selling and explaining for us- ensuring we continue to receive a steady flow of mammoth commissions… forever!” “There has simply never been a better or faster was for the average person to transform their life and quickly start bringing in enough cash to quit their job.”) and testimonials (“‘I’ve averaged over $2,000 a day in the last 19 days… predict profits with absolute, 100% certainty’”).

The company failed to respond to ERSP’s initial inquiry and the marketer was afforded a second opportunity to submit a substantive response, but failed to respond. Pursuant to section 2.6(B) of the ERSP Policies and Procedures, this matter has been referred to the FTC.