Businesses selected as winners of consumer choice awards may not be best in class, an investigation has found.

The Consumers' Choice Award, an initiative of the Consumers' Choice Institute in Canada, recognizes businesses across the country that are chosen as best in class. They are selected by two groups of consumers — from the general public and from the business community — via an open-ended survey.

Consumers are asked, "Which business is your choice for excellence in each category? Please consider the elements of quality, service, value and appearance," according to the Consumers' Choice Institute.

Winning companies can advertise that they have received the Consumers' Choice Award.

But CBC News has learned that in order to advertise this fact, such as displaying the award's purple ribbon logo in their store windows and in promotional materials, winning businesses first have to pay more than $4,000 to the Consumers' Choice Institute.

And in many cases, there's more than one winner in a category.

Lianne Tregobov says her Winnipeg-based matchmaking service, Camelot Introductions, has won twice. But she wasn't willing to pay for the award, so another dating service was selected as the winner. "When I see businesses displaying the Consumers' Choice logos, I think twice about it," she says.

"I find it's very misleading to the general public. If I pay for this award, I can promote it and advertise, and if I don't I need to stay quiet about it."

Winnipeg-based Dollarwise cleaners has also won in the dry cleaning category and wouldn't pay either.

Consumers' Choice says the company does not sell awards, but rather helps companies to promote their businesses. The company's Montreal-based CEO, Ami Peleg, told CBC News the fees go to pay for the surveys and additional advertising.

He says the company's focus is less about the award than the marketing. "We don't sell awards — we're an advertising and promotion company and that's the vehicle for us to sell promotional packages."

"By fully utilizing their prestigious award, recipients can increase their business potential as never before," reads the company's website.

But Chuck Davidson, a spokesman for the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, says consumers may be misled by the Consumers' Choice Awards. "There would be an assumption that this is the best retailer, when they may not be No. 1 according to what the poll results were."