An award you did not enter

Sometimes a message arrives saying your website has won an award or made a shortlist. Then it asks for a fee, for a trophy, a listing, a certificate or a place at a dinner.

Did you enter?

Citizens Advice says, A scam can often start when someone you don't know contacts you unexpectedly. Its warning signs include a message with no postal address, a push to transfer money quickly, and nothing in writing about what has been agreed.

What the fee buys

Citizens Advice also says, Paying more for something than you think it's worth isn't the same as being scammed. A scam, it adds, usually involves theft or fraud.

Ask for the offer in writing, with what the fee covers, before deciding.

Who runs it

A search of the Companies House register on GOV.UK shows whether a company is registered, and where its registered office is. Look for reviews of the company on several websites, not only on its own site.

Showing the badge afterwards

A badge on your own website is part of your marketing, and the advertising rules cover it. Rule 3.52 of the CAP Code says marketing must not display a trust mark, quality mark or equivalent without the necessary authorisation. Before you show the badge, read the organiser's terms for using it. Keep a copy of them, with a note of what the award was for.

Schedule 20 of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 lists the same practice among those that are always treated as unfair.

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