Duplicate Tier 1

Hey guys, i got a gig from BHW and they messed up the tier 1's and made them all 66% the same. All the links are web 2.0's, articles, and social bookmarks. They involve a tier 2 and 3 which I'm not really concerned with. I'm looking for an answer if duplicate content across your tier 1's is really a problem. If you answer please be descriptive as to why this is or is not a problem and some proof would be nice. By the way, how do I solve this now?

The proof is when google slaps your site down to page 25

If the content is not spun then it will cause problem.

If it is a concern go back to the provider, ask them to fix the work they started and review appropriately.