StopECG

Big News From Switzerland

2009-06-30T23:00:00.006+01:00

For days now I have been getting reliable reports that the police have moved decisively in Switzerland against the Guides and associated companies.

I can confirm that at Novachannel AG, Intercable Verlag AG and Premium Recovery are not trading at this time, that arrests have been made and that at least one senior executive is reported to have evaded arrest and to be on the run.

I must qualify the obvious delight felt by all who have been touched by these companies, because it is not over yet, firstly this will all now go to court where the guide owners are sure to hire the best lawyers money can buy, secondly they have already moved parts of the operation out of Switzerland.

Around the turn of the Year Novachannel passed their med1web operation to United Directories Lda. In Portugal, United immediately set about actively hounding people who had signed Novachannels earlier mailouts, they have been very persistent and are also now mailing their own forms, forms almost identical to those previously sent by Novachannel.

Then on 1st May Intercable Verlag AG transferred disputed contracts to CEA Kft. of Budapest Hungary. CEA has already set about writing to Czech and Slovak victims who have signed Intercable forms in error. I will publish updated advice for people in dispute with the new companies soon.

These new companies are just the latest twist in a complex web of firms straddling the globe but primarily based in Europe. For over 30 years straw men and trustees have fronted holding companies that provided logistics, technical support and infrastructure, parts of individual guide activities have been secretly managed by these companies and while it is near impossible to ascertain the true owners of many of these firms money flows between them with great ease both as payments and loans. Again and again the core perpetrators have evaded justice, to such a point that some of them now feel above the law.

I know that employees of these companies, both current and past will read this blog, so I appeal to those of you reading to seize this opportunity and go to the police! You will have information that is almost certainly no longer in the paper trail. Details you consider minor might aid the case and make it harder for the guide operators to set up afresh. It is not just the current operators, if there is a resounding conviction in this case it will make it harder for people elsewhere in the world to run similar scams.

I will update this article and stopECG with details of how to contact the Lucerne police directly but in the meantime why not take what you know to your local station, even if you think the guides are unconnected.

Update: 2nd July / 6th July: as promised here are the contact details for Swiss Police, you can also pass information to me on stopscamguides@yahoo.co.uk and I will pass it on, as it is unclear who has overall responsibility I have published all relevant addresses.

Lucerne Police
Kantonspolizei Luzern
Kommando
Kasimir-Pfyffer-Strasse 26
Postfach 6002 Luzern
Switzerland
Tel +41 41 248 81 17
Fax +41 41 240 39 01
E-Mail info.kapo(at)lu.ch

Zug Police
Zuger Polizei
An der A
6300 Zug

Tel. 041 728 41 41
Fax 041 728 41 79
info(at)polizei.zg.ch
Ask for investigation officer Mr Daniel Stein

Swiss Courts
Eichwilstrasse 26010
Luzern Switzerland
Tel. +41 318 15 25
Fax +41 318 15 13

Scam supporters latest tactic

2009-06-04T09:07:00.003+01:00

I have posted here before about Internetvictims, a German forum which carries posts by persons sympathetic to, quite possibly involved with the scam guides

The forum is maintained by persons who have in the past worked for a company that now profits from the mailing of misleading contracts and they have shown by the removal of comments critical of the scam guides that they are not independent moderators of the discussion there.

A recurring name used to post is Der Weisse Ritter (The White Knight) (sic), the person (Or persons) behind posts in this name show by their content a close affiliation with, and deep understanding of more than one guide. They post against, and attempt to harm individuals who have taken a stand against the scams.

Often the targets are peripheral to the battle, people who, because of their position are forced to take action against the scams.

The latest posts name certain MEPs who have taken a stand against the scams and implore people not to vote for them, Of course the chances of a constituent for one of these MEPs seeing the post, much less being moved to vote against them is minimal, that is not the goal. The objective of the Der Weisse Ritter posts appears to be to deter those in authority, those who have the power to stop these scams from entering the fray, less they be defamed.

It is not the place of StopECG to offer political affiliations but the rather infantile activity on Internetvictims does raise an issue. Many readers of this blog have the chance to vote on Thursday and they should ask what their MEP has done for them.

Has your MEP assisted you in fighting the guide scams?
Has your MEP shown that they understand the problem?
When The Parliament looks at the matter again in early 2010 can you be sure they will do what is best for you as a victim of the scam?
If so, I hope you will be moved to vote for them!

That is Democracy 'Ritter', Knights belong in a time when it was OK for the feudal lord to steal from his subjects; your choice of name is very telling!

Jules Woodell

StopECG attacked

2009-05-15T01:54:00.003+01:00

Some of you will have noticed repeated outages for the StopECG website over the last few days, these have been the result of renewed DDos attacks

It is exactly 3 years since I reported, on this blog the first Denial of Service attack against StopECG, in the intervening period the site has been under almost constant bombardment but we have found ways of deflecting or absorbing the extra traffic.

Last week a new sort of attack was launched, this was far bigger and more sophisticated than past attacks, based on the data flows and the type of attack I have been advised that this was almost certainly purchased from international criminal gangs and that a botnet
of several hundred thousand machines may have been involved.

At the peak of the attack on Tuesday 5th march several thousand websites were taken down, these were sites for small businesses and individuals and the economic damage was considerable, it was decided that it was not reasonable to remain with our host while such attacks were occurring.

StopECG was not the only site attacked, in fact almost every website in the world that comments on Business to Business guide scams has suffered DDos attacks in recent weeks, in what appears to be a coordinated effort to remove advice from the WWW

StopECG site is being moved from host to host on a temporary basis and will soon be located on a server dedicated to websites that are subject to such attacks. Alas this will cost more… If you have benefited from the advice on Stopecg.org please consider making a donation so that others can continue to benefit from the service we offer.

You can do this by Paypal to stopecg@yahoo.co.uk or, if you would prefer to send a Cheque please email stopscamguides@yahoo.co.uk and I will provide a postal address.

StopECGs accounts are managed by a 3rd Party and are used solely for the actual costs of running and defending the website

Thanks!
Jules Woodell

Copyright Infringement Demands to UK webmasters

2009-02-25T19:41:00.004Z

A growing problem for website owners is the receipt of demands for many hundreds of pounds for ‘Unauthorized Use’ of copyrighted material, most commonly images. Getty Images and Corbis are widely reported to sending these to small firms who, often inadvertently, have placed copyrighted images on their website. The senders claim that regardless of the fact the images were often obtained in good faith, a liability exists if it has been used for commercial gain.

However no one seems to be able to identify any instance where the owners have actually gone to court, even when their demands are simply ignored. I.e. Even if these companies believe they have rights they are reluctant to test the matter in court, making the demands appear to be little more than a money grabbing exercise.

I will not cover this matter in detail as it has been analysed very thoroughly here
http://www.fsb.org.uk/discuss/forum_posts.asp?TID=1106

Suffice to say that if you obtained the image in good faith the act of removing it should be enough, you are unlikely to end up in court for refusing to pay.

More recently I was notified of a case of a secondhand record seller who received a demand because it is claimed that the artist name on an old record they listed was copyrighted and the seller had published that name on the website.

The record company demand appears to be a scam, it was pretty inevitable that, with rights holders making claims others would step in and make more suspect demands, when the whole thing is conducted by post, what assurance do you have that you are paying the actual rights holder even if the name on the letters is that of a reputable company?

If you receive a letter that you consider spurious you should take it to trading standards and try to get them to investigate to see if the sender is committing an offence. As a rule it is probably advisable not to pay any demand you receive claiming copyright infringement without seeking legal advice as you may find you have simply lined the pockets of a scammer.

That said, once notified you should remove the disputed image or text as a precaution as well as sending a reply noting that you have done this and that you refute the demand.

Constoppers: UK Tax Deadline Scams

2009-01-08T10:27:00.005Z

This Message was sent to the Constoppers email list, a free opt-in service, sending very occasional warnings about scams that affect SMEs and charities.
To join and get warnings direct to your inbox simply email: constoppers-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

To report a scam, email: constoppers-owner@yahoogroups.com

The UK Tax office, HMRC, is reporting a rise in so called Phishing Scams. These scams take the form of emails or phone calls relating to the tax deadline or a rebate where the victim is asked for sensitive information which could allow the scammer to access bank accounts and steal money. Emails might also link to a fake website which could install malicious code on your computers and compromise security
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/security/phish-scam-0109.pdf

HMRC states that it only ever contacts businesses by letter and would never request such information by phone or email.
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/security/spoofs.htm

They are also providing up-to-date information on emails and tactics used by the fraudsters
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/security/fraud-attempts.htm

If you receive an email purporting to be from HMRC please forward it tophishing@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk or call the helpline on 0845 302 0203

It is very refreshing to see a government body taking such a proactive stance against scams, hopefully this will mark a new dawn in the way government works to protect and forewarn small businesses.

Jules Woodell 08 Jan 2009

The European Parliament and the ECG

2008-12-15T19:38:00.003Z

This post comes in 2 parts, first the report, by Simon Bussutil MEP second the actions of the ECG

THE REPORT
This stems tems from our petition against the ECG is being discussed in plenary tonight, thanks to the marvels of the internet I am watching the parliament live as I type this

The final vote will be on Either Tuesday 16th or Thursday 18th December, if you have not done so before hand please contact your MEP and ask them to be present for the vote

How to contact your MEP:
You may find that you are represented by more than one MEP, if so, please contact them all!
http://www.europarl.eu.int/ ALL EU Countries please navigate to your country
http://www.writetothem.com/ UK Only (enter your postcode, you can then fax direct from the webform)

ACTIONS OF THE ECG
StopECG has received a copy of an email apparently mailed by the ECG to an MEP, which was forwarded to a constituent who is in dispute with the guide. The letter along with a number of comments are reproduced here.

When writing to your MEP feel free to reference the ECG’s letter and our comments on it, StopECG feels that if this letter is being sent to MEPs there is no harm in your referencing it and pointing out important counter arguments.

Jules Woodell

Video By Richard Corbett, MEP

2008-10-24T09:35:00.008+01:00

This Video really needs no commentry from me, Richard succinctly deals with the matter

As Richard Notes there is now a draft report from the Petitions Committee on this matter which will soon be debated by the Parliament in Brussels, you can read the draft here: English = français = Deutsch = italiano = español = ελληνικά = magyar = polski = română = slovenčina = slovenščina = suomi = svenska = български = čeština = dansk = eesti keel = latviešu valoda = lietuvių kalba = Malti = Nederlands = português

I encourage everyone affected by the guides to draw the attention of their MEPs to this report. and to ask that they follow its progress

How to contact your MEP:
You may find that you are represented by more than one MEP, if so, please contact them all!
http://www.europarl.eu.int/ ALL EU Countries please navigate to your country
http://www.writetothem.com/ UK Only (enter your postcode, you can then fax direct from the webform)

Jules Woodell

Report From Brussels Pt.2, The German perspective

2008-09-30T08:32:00.009+01:00

Below is a translation of Micheal Plümpe's report from the September 11th Meeting in Brussels including an explanation of the unique situation in Germany.

Special German Phenomena discussed in Brussels

A report by Michael Plümpe

I am from Berlin and therefore know the corridors of power first hand. Almost every week I pass the Government buildings by commuter train and regularly cannot prevent myself getting goose pimples.

This mixture of architectural pomp and bureaucratic utility is witness to the pride of a self-contained administration. This part of the city is structured like a machine and was built brand new on was what a bomb site to offer German citizens maximum efficiency in every aspect of administration, but it makes me scared.

The European Parliament in Brussels, however, is completely different. It is also a new edifice, but somehow fitted into the middle of a genuine old town at a genuine railway station. It seems to me more like a congress centre. The offices must be somewhere else, perhaps scattered throughout the whole city.

Inside people run around wearing black shoes and carrying backpacks, a strange combination. Where are the sleeve protectors? Where are the important faces in black suits? The safety procedures are relaxed and accreditation was quick and unbureaucratic - show your invitation, put on the name tag and welcome to the Plenary hall in which the committee meets. It is impressively professional. The round hall has outer walls with panes of tinted glass, behind each of which is a translator's cabin. How many languages Europe has! Despite this we can speak to each other without difficulty. These is not halls of power, these is halls of democracy.

So much for the atmosphere. A workshop is due to take place. The rappoteur of the parliament wanted to forge some ideas as to how to intervene in the problem of address book fraud. Where and how can and should the European Parliament become active to stop address book fraud.

Jules Woodell from stopecg.org spoke first. He had 3 minutes and made it even shorter. The law must be improved so that address book fraud can be punished throughout Europe.

Address Book Fraud - A German Invention?
After Jules Woodell it was my turn. I was prepared more for 10 minutes than for three, and therefore had to restrict myself top the essential points. The most important for me was to report to the parliament and to the invited organizations that address book fraud appears to be a German invention. Behind address book fraud, now active throughout the world, there are almost always German manipulators (Drahtzieher) and I believe that in Germany there are special conditions that are particularly favorable to address book fraud.

The particular German features that have enabled address book fraud to be so successful strong have also caused it to become a European and even a worldwide problem.

In Germany there is a legal distinction between the consumer and a trader. Whereas consumer protection is well developed, a trader is to a great extent left out in the cold.

There is a decision of the Federal Supreme Court that can be interpreted as an invitation to fraudsters to trick traders. In this decision it was stated that a trader must exercise particular care in signing documents. This which even prompted a judge in Düsseldorf to declare that a trader who signed as a result of a trick could have consulted a lawyer before signing. It was of course not known to the judge that even lawyers regularly fall for these trick forms.

In addition to the legal problems, Germany provides a particularly first class environment for address book fraudsters, and indeed economic fraudsters in general.

Germany - ideal for mafia-type networks
Address book fraudsters create mafia-type networks. They work with front men under the protection of service companies, shake off critics by company hopping and escape from the consequences overseas. Such mafia-type structures require overall secrecy, stealth and the special knowledge that only exists within the network.

Nothing is more harmful to dubious business practices than to be exposed to the harsh light of day. In Germany the fraudsters find the best conditions for such infrastructure.

Germany - the country of the muzzle
In German anyone can apply to have critical information forbidden, without a reasoned decision and without hearing the affected party.

This is not so readily possible in other democratic countries. Of course, also in Germany there are the usual promises found in a democracy that one can express one's opinion at any time, that information may not be suppressed. This is written in the constitution.

In Germany however, this constitutional right is not realizable in practice; a nice idea, but completely artificial.

There is a well-practiced legal structure which makes it possible to prohibit any opinion irrespective of whether it concerns information or opinion. The legal means is the "preliminary injunction" (Einstweilige Verfügung). Let us assume that a businessman has been criticized as being a fraudster on account of his dubious practices. He simply has to go to an attorney, sign a statutory declaration that he has an honest business and has never been convicted for fraud, and immediately a preliminary injunction is issued, which forbids one from calling this rogue trader a rogue trader or trickster. This happens without a court hearing and without asking the other party.

After that the other party can appeal, in which case there is a hearing in which he can prove that his statement was correct.

Theoretically he can, but it costs time and money, both of which the economic fraudsters have amply available, but not so the ordinary citizen.

Poisoning the constitution with ease
The practice of the preliminary injunction has another thorn in store for freedom of information, and this can be deadly for the expression of opinions. This is the basing of legal costs on "the value at stake".

It is a German phenomenon that the value at stake determines lawyers' and court costs. (The higher the value at stake the greater the legal costs), As far as I know this concept does not exist in other countries. With a preliminary injunction, the applicant can determine the value at stake.

In my case these sums regularly amounted to one hundred thousand euros and more, that is sums that lead to astronomical court costs. Who dares in these circumstances to publish any information or express any opinion?

These are the particularly German conditions, ideal conditions for economic fraudsters and address book tricksters who do not want their methods and accomplices to become known.

Unfortunately at this point in my lecture the Chairman indicated that my time had been exceeded, but I got the impression that the members of parliament present had understood.

The results of the meeting of the European Parliament
During the meeting it became clear that there were two basic positions.

One group was of the opinion that there were sufficient laws and that the problem was simply in implementation.

This group preferred an increased raising of awareness within the business community. In other words, the business community should be better informed and there should be a central European organization created that should help the business community to protect themselves against address book fraudsters.

The other group held the view that the law was not sufficient. An example was quoted from an ex-East block country of a firm belonging to the Ludenbach address book network that had won several court cases. Some courts there consider the wording is not deceptive and the successful decisions are then used to intimidate others into paying. In this way the tricksters are now earning millions. On the other hand, in Belgium the Ludenbach trick was given a clear rebuff by the court.

This shows that there is different legal treatment in different countries and that clearer laws are necessary in order to prevent in such miscarriage of justice as is now happening in the Czech Republic from occurring in the future.

The committee sat from 15:00 to 17:30 and in this short time discussed an astoundingly large number of aspects of the theme.

The next meeting will take place in October 2008.

Michael Plümpe

Report from Brussels: Lopez Paleaz defends the ECG

2008-09-22T19:08:00.004+01:00

As time permits I will write up in more detail the proceedings of the Public workshop of the Petitions Committee in the European Parliament which was held on 11th September 2008.

For now I will concentrate on the presentation and answers of Francisco Lopez Palaez, who, flanked by his lawyer, spoke on behalf of the European City Guide (ECG). Mr Lopez Paleaz has fronted the ECG pretty much from the outset, and has steered the company though it’s unsuccessful legal defence in Barcelona and subsequent move to Valencia. He came to Brussels to speak at his own request. While I utterly oppose the business practices of Mr Lopez Paleaz, credit where it’s due for coming into the lions den to defend himself.

When asked to speak he immediately set about criticising StopECG, me, and Michael Plümpe (Who has to managed a German language website critical of the guides).

I had signed his form but never paid, and am apparently an anti-system activist pedalling defamation and insults, the website ties his company in with unconnected companies and even separate scams, while Plumpe associated with a known Paedophile. (These are all claims made on the German defamation site used by Ludenbach guides to attack those who criticize them.)

His clients are professionals, he gets requests to sign up and satisfied return customers. At one stage he held aloft the disputed form, pointing out that it required a signature, that the terms are on the back and that the price is in black. He stated that the form complies with the law (If not he would be punished) and that the client defence was free to the customer.

He stated that the ECG mails 6 and a half million forms per annum, 32 million in the last 6 years (This figure is far higher than I had estimated). He stated (To some mirth) that he complies with the law and has never been found guilty. He also caused amusement with his claim that he could not speak for the other guides (Common ownership of many of these guides being a proven fact)

Simon Busuttil MEP, who will soon author a report on the Petition asked
1) Why the form never mentions that it is an advertisement but the first letter sent to people who signed it does use the word?
2) Why the ECG had moved to Valencia?
3) Was the ECG found Guilty in Belgium?

Lopez Paleaz Replied
1) The form has the word ORDER in bold
2) Moved to Valencia because it was an up and coming town, (Admiral's Cup, Formula One, business friendly), No mention of his company’s conviction for misleading advertising in Barcelona!
3) The Rulings against the ECG are not firm rulings (Because the Brussles conviction is under Appeal) Later Mr. Lopez Paleaz’s own Lawyer would have to qualify this point because the Barcelona conviction is now confirmed with all appeal processes exhausted.

When asked why the ECG has such a poor relationship with its customers
Lopez Paleaz replied that the complaints were fuelled by the websites rather than genuine grievance.

Later the ECG’s lawyer would state that his client was not a crook, had traded in Spain (Barcelona and Valencia both being under Spanish Law) for over 10 years and had 46 employees. He said that the use of high pressure collection tactics and claims of imminent legal action did not constitute threats as the courts exist to resolve disputes.

Then came perhaps the most remarkable claim of the session, that the Majority of the ECG’s clients were satisfied.

In response I did not see it necessary to answer the personal attacks; however I did state one thing and I will repeat it here. I did indeed sign the ECG’s form and then refuse to pay, and if Mr. Lopez Paleaz believes I am in the wrong he should take me to court and sue me for breach of contract. In fact I want him to do this because I firmly believe that I could prove to the judge that the form I signed was misleading, was contrived with the intent to deceive me (Fraud) and is not a legally binding contract.

Regarding the claim that the Majority of the ECG’s customers are satisfied I have decided to institute the Lopez Paleaz Challenge, help me to find this silent majority! If you would like to assist in this please email me

Hazardous Chemicals: Control and Regulation - spam

2008-08-06T11:28:00.002+01:00

I am always suspicious of unsolicited emails advising me of something I might need for my business to comply with new regulations or laws

So when an unsolicited email from Amy Cole of Research and Markets Ltd. arrived at a stopECG.org email address I have never used for subscriptions I thought I would give it a closer look.

The email is basically a plug for a year-old book by Herbert F Bender and Philipp Eisenbarth, Titled Hazardous Chemicals: Control and Regulation in the European Market. The title of the book is used as the subject line for the email, which is couched as a report on the book, only later on does it become clear that it is an advertisement, while the Email does not state YOU NEED THIS BOOK the intonation was that your business might be missing out or non-compliant without it.

I must state clearly that while this is spam in most people’s understanding of the word, Amy Cole is not breaking UK law as long as she only sends to business users and as long as a clear unsubscribe option is offered.

My reason for flagging this up is that whenever new legislation comes to bear there are those, both genuine businesses and scammers who will seek to profit from your ignorance. If you feel you need this book you might just click the link and buy it, the quoted price of 105 Euros is not that bad… is it?

So I followed the link onto http://www.researchandmarkets.com and added the book to my cart, at checkout Shipping and Handling was added at a cool 50 euros! That brings the total in my currency to approx £123

A quick look on Amazon and I can grab the same title, delivered to my door from one of their sellers for less than £60.

So the advice is that when you get those messages offering products to help you comply with current legislation, be careful. Even if you do actually need the product offered it may be available for much less or even for free elsewhere. A few clicks on the search engines could save you a lot of money!

An Open Letter to the owners of Expo-Guide

2008-06-17T13:43:00.005+01:00

Dear Sir/Madam,
Having studied the forms currently being mailed by expo-guide and done comparisons with the forms formerly mailed by Construct Data Verlag (CDV) I have come to the conclusion that it is almost impossible that your forms were contrived without reference to Construct Data’s mailings

I fully accept that you may have accepted the design in complete innocence, that they it have been presented to you by a third party, and that as such this letter may represent your first warning of the problems these forms can cause.

A little history
CDVs forms were widely criticised, for over a decade the company profited from the fact that people would sign the forms in error, mistaking them for a communication from an exhibition organiser. CDV suffered numerous adverse rulings, both legal and from self regulatory organisations. When faced with such rulings they would amend the form slightly, but the aspects of the form which mislead were always maintained.

In early 2007 after a prolonged legal tussle with the Schutzverband gegen unlauteren Wettbewerb CDV found it necessary to modify their forms once again and the latest layout, (the layout to which expo-guides forms correspond) was conceived. I was in no doubt that the new form would mislead and I published an open letter to Wolfgang Valvoda, CEO of CDV telling him of my concerns and offering to assist in the design of a form that would not mislead

The letter went unanswered and the forms were indeed signed in error, in very large numbers. In November 2007 I was forced to publish a second open letter in which I concluded that Mr Valvoda was either remarkably inept or had set out with the intent to decieve, again he chose not to respond. Eventually the Schutzverband gegen unlauteren Wettbewerb forced deeper concessions from CDV who are now barred from mailing new forms from Austria.

Because CDV made concessions out of court the forms were never subjected to detailed scrutiny by a judge, which does not mean that they are legal!

The Forms you are mailing
So there you have it, expo-guide are in the position CDV found themselves in back in April 2007, you are mailing a form that I predict will be signed in error, you can fully expect that many who sign the new form will refuse to pay you.

You have clearly invested considerable money in this new project, with phone lines in six countries and a substantial website at http://www.expo-guide.com but your business model could be fatally flawed if you persist with the forms you are mailing at present.

Another Free offer
So once again I am willing to offer my time and experience to help your company design a form that cannot mislead, this offer comes with two provisos:

I would expect you to accept that your initial mailshots were a mistake, and where people state that they signed in error you should offer them the opportunity to rescind the contract.
That in accepting a new design you take it in its entirety and do not modify it or alter the meaning when translating into other languages

Should Expo-guide continue to mail the misleading forms and/or demand money from those who have signed in error it will be hard not to conclude that it is your intent to mislead people. In that instance stopECG will campaign against you with the same zeal CDV experienced.

Should you wish to reply to any part of this letter, please let me know, your reply will be published here for all readers to see.

Jules Woodell - 16th June 2008

See StopECGs Advice page regarding expo-guide

A Second Trip To Brusels

2008-06-03T10:56:00.010+01:00

It has been a year since I last visited Brussels and made my first presentation to the Petitions Committee

After a slow start, things have are on the move, Arlene McCarthy MEP has raised the matter in The Parliament, leading to a short debate. Commissioner Meglena Kuneva has written to member states that host guides and received responses from several, The Petitions and Internal markets Committees have both moved forward and Rapporteur, Simon Busuttil MEP, is starting to compile his report.

In short I arrived in a Brussels where there is a real head of steam on the matter and MEPs from all parties are showing determination that this scourge must be stopped. Do not thank me for this, thank your MEPs and most of all yourselves, everyone who has written to their MEP or petitioned the parliament has contributed, if you have not yet written, it is not too late, see the info at the end of this report

I got to the Accreditation centre at mid day, I was early and there was no pass for me but the problem was quickly resolved, I must compliment the way the staff of the committees work under considerable pressure, the agendas were constantly changing to fit with who could be present but at no time was I left in the dark as to what was going on.

Once inside I had 10 minutes to go over my presentation with Richard Corbett MEP, who has done so much to help over the years, then to meet Simon Busuttil, Rapporteur for the Petitions Committee, Mr Busuttil had obtained a copy of the printed European City Guide as a prop for the press conference and he and his assistant were busy thumbing the pages for Malta, They were clearly surprised at how many organisations they knew personally were listed.

It is a challenge I suggest any reader with a few minutes to spare takes up, visit
http://www.eurocityguide.com/ and look up your home town, see how many organisations that you know are listed. Now magnify that across the whole continent! Oh, and if you have the time, why not phone a few of those companies and see if they signed in error? If they did, please tell them about this campaign and get them to write letters of complaint.

After a quick look at the guide it was time to do the press conference.
You can read reports from the press conference here and here

Interview with Simon Busuttil conducted later the same day.

After The Press conference there was time for a quick coffee before hurrying down to the Petitions Committee. Vincenso had arrived from Italy, he is the instigator of the petition against the ECG, and he was also the first person to set up a website against the guide (way back in 2000).

Unfortunately the agenda was changed again to accommodate Irish petitioners who were in danger of missing their flights home and our presentations slipped towards the end of the day. I had just discovered that my presentation to the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) was on and the 2 were now in danger of overlapping

By the time we spoke our presentations were cut from 5 to 3 minutes, I scored out parts of my hard worked on speech but still got cut short before covering the main points I had on possible ways of partially extending the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive and on the need for a central advice website. Vincenso faired better and was able to give some good data on the numbers of people affected in Italy

MEPs were then given just one minute each
See my detailed notes on MEP responses

As soon as the debate was over I had to run to catch the IMCO, here at last a longer opportunity to explain how the guides operate, what EU laws might work against them and the possible pitfalls of using such laws against a wily opponent.

This committee is investigating in greater detail what mechanisms might be used to tackle the scam guide problem. As I was preparing answers for questions I have not managed to make full notes on the proceedings.

The main questions received covered:

How Chambers of Commerce could help,
The problems raised by regional governments having responsibility rather than national governments,
How well cross border cooperation had worked in the past,
Possible use of Class actions

There were also useful suggestions on upcoming acts in the parliament and how they might help as well as the use of Self Regulatory Organisations (SROs)

What was most striking about returning to Brussels was the breadth and depth of MEPs understanding of the problem and the very clear cross-party resolve that these scams need to be stopped.

If you are affected by any of the guides listed on stopecg.org or by another business to business directory scam based in Europe, please make sure MEPs and the Commissioner are aware of your plight. Here is how.

What should you write?
StopECG encourages people complaining about the guides to send a short letter explaining your experiences, include comments on how this has affected you financially and emotionally. Has it caused strains within an organisation because one person signed in error and others must deal with the fallout? Have you lost sleep over the matter? Have you paid the guide and/or paid for legal advice? Have you suffered abusive phone calls from sham debt collection outfits?
With the letter please send scans of your correspondence with the guides/debt collectors and replies from national governments and or local authorities. If you feel a national or regional authority has replied in an unsatisfactory manner please flag that up in your covering letter.

EU Residents
Go to
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/
and click the link for your country, you should then see a link in the top tabs for ‘Your MEP’, or ‘Your Representative’ Click this link and you will get a map of Europe.
(Lost? Here is the Map in English)
On the map, Click your country,

Some Countries list MEPs by region, navigate to your region and write to All MEPs who represent the region (Yes, there may be several)

Other countries list MEPs without noting the area that elected them, in this instance you may need to contact one at random and ask their assistance in letting you know which MEPs you should write to.

Non EU Residents complaining about scam guides based within the EU should write direct to the commissioner:

Meglena Kuneva
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
DG Health and Consumer Protection
B-1049 BRUSSELS
Belgium

Please CC your letter to the Rapporteur

Simon Busuttil MEP,
Altiero Spinelli,
09E210,
60 rue Wiertz,
B-1047,
Brussels,
Belgium

For general advice on writing letters of complaint please visit the main Stopecg website

Jules Woodell, 3rd June 2008

German Tax Evaders Beware.

2008-02-24T19:52:00.004Z

Over the last few weeks a rather remarkable spat has developed between Germany and the tiny state of Lichtenstein

Poorly reported in the English Language press are events culminating in the German Government paying a substantial sum to a Lichtenstein bank employee for a CD containing the personal bank details of German Citizens.

The effective bribe followed resistance by the Lichtenstein Government to German demands that they cease shielding tax evaders with secretive banking laws, the illicit purchase of the data has caused a major diplomatic upset between the 2 countries.

The Best English Language report I could find emanates from South Africa
The BBC covers it in less detail

Raids on suspected tax evaders have followed with many of Germany’s rich and famous cowering at the prospect of their supposedly secret financial details finding their way into the hands of the tax authorities. Lawyers have been hired, bringing dozens of cases against the government in an attempt to head off any further investigations

So why is StopECG interested in these events?
Well again and again we have seen money from the scam guides passing through Lichtenstein, a network of holding companies run by fix it men in the principality appears to assist with the establishment of scam outfits and satellite companies whose activities are far from clear.

More importantly most of the people behind the scam guides (both the international operations and a plethora of smaller guides that target Germany itself) are German nationals; it is some of their personal banking details that may now be coming up on computer screens inside the tax authority’s offices.

It could well be that like Al Capone in the past, some German scam operators now have more to fear from the taxman than the police.

WARNING: United Media s.r.o / World Telecommunications Directory

2008-01-13T14:32:00.000Z

Almost a year ago I reported on a misleading advert mailed within the UK

The concern I voiced then was that the form looked like an invoice and that it would be possible for medium to large companies that did not use strict auditing of invoices to pay the amount under the misapprehension that it was a due bill.

Well take a look at this:

I was sent a scan of this last week by a former victim of the ECG who is of course now very wise to potentially misleading adverts. 2 Days later one arrived at an address where I work. I did a very unscientific test and took the form into some local shops. All the younger shop workers assumed it was a bill, only one, older, shopkeeper spotted that it is in fact an advert.

This is a serious problem, as companies grow the process of ordering goods/services can become separated from the payment of invoices. It is in such circumstances that a document like this could be sent to Accounts/Payments and unwittingly paid. Perhaps as many as 1 in 100 larger companies pay unsolicited invoices in error!

Worse is to come…

Above are the terms and conditions from the reverse. Point one states: “This offer becomes an irrevocable and binding contract upon payment or Authorisation, which at the same time implies a full acceptance of the following terms and conditions.”

Those following terms state that unless written cancellation is received you will be added to the next edition and invoiced accordingly, but of course you are unaware of your entry so are unlikely to cancel, when, next year the invoice arrives it will presumably be a proper invoice, not a misleading advert and it will go to accounts and be paid. Unless checks are brought in and all past invoices audited you could go on paying these bills indefinitely!

Do you manage a medium to large company? Then PLEASE check that you have in place a proper system to check that all invoices paid are for things you actually ordered. It is as simple as ensuring that all orders placed by your staff have a reference and that accounts must not pay any invoice they cannot tie to your ordering history. Most accounting software will have the facility to easily add such a check.

If you find that your system is not currently foolproof, please check all existing outgoings to ensure that companies like United Media s.r.o. have not accidently found their way into your accounts. Please also send this blog entry to any associates you think might benefit from the advice above.

If you find that your company has been paying United Media s.r.o or any similar directory company in error stopECG would be very interested in having copies of your communications with them for our archive. Please send scans.

If you work at a large company and receive a form like this

1) Draw it to the attention of management
2) Mark it clearly 'UNSOLICTIED NOT TO BE PAID'
3) Send it to Accounts/Payments with the advice that it be circulated so all staff are aware of such adverts. Other names to look out for include (List is far from complete)

International Trade and Business Database
International Yellow Pages World Trade and Business Directory
International Yellow Pages & Fax Directories on Internet and CD ROM
International Business & Trade Database (World Telecommunications Directories) IT & T Ag International Business Directories
UTP Digital Directories
Transworld Business and Buyers Directories
World Telecommunications Database International Trade and Business Directory
World Trade and Business Directory

Got a form that is not on this list? Please send it!

More about United Media s.r.o.
The info below represents very basic research, StopECG will follow this up with a full page if this company continues to mail forms we consider misleading.

The Name World Telecommunications Directory is new, but the form is very similar to one mailed using the name International Business & Trade Database. Here’s an example from 2002.

According to the Company registers United Media s.r.o. has been trading since 1994

Their database can be found at

http://www.unitedmedia.cz/
However when we tried to access it the search function did not work

From one of their alternate websites
http://www.unitedtelecom.cz/
It is possible to see the database entries by selecting a country from the drop down menu, what you get is an alphabetical listing served up in pages of 10. For the UK alone they have 1178466 entries, that means 117847 pages of results but you cannot navigate to a selected page number, or search the listings meaningfully. There is also no indication that companies who have paid are getting anything extra for their £371. Based on the current state of the database a listing there will be next to worthless.

Some Press coverage on the company (StopECG is not responsible for the wording of external sites)

Companies warned over invoice con (BBC)
Firms warned to watch out for scams (York Press)
Internal Audit- Fraudulent Invoices (University of Kent)

To recieve occasional warnings about scams and tricks affecting the business community send a blank email to: constoppers-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Jules Woodell

A Second Open Letter to Wolfgang Valvoda, CEO, Construct Data (Fairguide)

2007-11-29T10:38:00.000Z

Firstly for new readers of this blog, a little background.

Construct Data Verlag (CDV) has traded from Austria since around 1991, in those years the company has been the subject of consistent complaints that it’s advertising communications are misleading, indeed in 2004 a German judge ruled that the offers formulated by Construct Data AG are formulated in such a way that an intention to deceive in the sense of code 263 Par. 1 St GB German Criminal Code (Fraud) See:
http://www.vertikal.net/en/stories.php?id=1266

CDV has repeatedly modified the contracts it mails but again and again they have failed to remove the misleading aspects that lead to so many complaints. Finally, on 13th February 2007, faced with a comprehensive lawsuit from the Austrian Schutzverband CDV signed a far-reaching accord before the Austrian courts. The objective of this agreement was to prevent the problems caused by Construct Data’s mailing of misleading contracts and to assist those who had signed them in error in releasing themselves from any claimed obligation to CDV.

The Court case was not heard in order to marginally clarify the layout of the documents mailed by CDV, the case had been brought to put an end to a problem so serious that the Judge accepted it could be of harm to Austrian commerce in general.

So it would be an understatement to say that StopECG and others were frustrated when Construct Data started mailing new forms, which although different in layout were, in our opinion still very misleading, In April this year I published An Open Letter to Wolfgang Valvoda, CEO, Construct Data in which I stated my concerns about the new form and offered to assist in the design of an entirely different document that could not mislead. That offer was never accepted and the new misleading forms have been mailed in vast numbers to people all over the world.

The predicted has happened, my inbox is now full of messages from people who have signed the new document in error and are disputing payment, CDV for their part are insisting that the new forms are legal and contractually binding and are attempting to put the blame for this continuing farce onto those people who have signed in error, claiming (sic) that as businesspeople they should have paid closer attention before signing.

Worse, when people reply referring to the cease and desist undertaking as suggested by the Shutsverband and distributed by stopECG, Construct Data are replying with letters describing the messages as fallacious, out of date and coming from a “known internet source”. (Its nice to know you have noticed us).

It is clear from the volume of mail that I am getting that the atmosphere in Construct Data’s offices can hardly be pleasant. Staff must spend much of the day pedalling the same tired arguments, arguments I cannot believe they themselves have total faith in; manning the phones when angry and frustrated ‘customers’ call in, reading a bulging mailbag of complaints and answering similarly hostile emails. Indeed I am aware that many emails to Construct Data simply go unanswered. So both Construct Data’s staff and its so-called customers are being put through considerable stress… why?

The reason for this second open letter is that I have thought long and hard about the possible reasons for people allowing this situation to arise, I can think of 2 possible explanations which are outlined below, neither paints a pretty picture of the activities at CDV and I am hoping Mr Valvoda will respond to this post with a better explanation.

The first explanation goes like this… Wolfgang Valvoda and his merry band of staff in Modling are so inept, that, after a court case which nearly finished their company, they could not muster the common sense between them to design a form that would not deceive. That when told their new creation might mislead they were as myopic in outlook as to believe that they were right and others wrong. That when people started stating that they had signed the document in error the blindness got worse! Rather than take them at their word CDV staff insisted on payments claiming that considerable costs had been incurred as a result of the (other parties) mistake. That rather than examine the new document again and try to rectify what is clearly a critical problem they have blundered on, demanding payments and insisting the document is in order and that they are STILL sending out more copies of the contract even though they must now know that people will dispute it and will refuse to pay!

Does that sound unfair? OK, let us for a moment consider the alternative, an option far more disturbing and one which I have to state I find it hard to believe so many people would wilfully partake in.

The only alternative I can see is that following the court case a new form was cleverly and deliberately contrived WITH THE INTENT to deceive, both the layout and text have misleading aspects so this form would possibly be the work of several people, possibly lawyers and other experts would be consulted to affirm that it might sidestep the wording of the agreement signed before the courts.

The perpetrators would know that any new legal process would time and in that time those who signed the new form in error could be told they had no protection under the Feb 13th agreement and then be bullied into paying before any new restraints were placed on Construct Data to stop. Could it be that the perpetrators signed the agreement before the courts in the full knowledge that it could be flouted? Rather than hold out for a formal judgement on the legality of the previous forms and face the possibility of an injunction that would be hard to defy?!

I.e. the second option would indicate that the staff at CDV had deliberate and flagrant disregard for Austrian law, that they had wilfully created a document in the hope that they could con people, then scare them into paying up with bogus threats of legal action. How sickening would that be?

It is possible that I have missed something here… So Mr Valvoda, the stage is yours! Please feel free to respond and I will publish your comments.

Jules Woodell.

People in dispute with Construct Data Verlag AG can find advice on stopecg.org

SECO issues new warning about Intercable Verlag AG

2007-10-31T10:56:00.000Z

In a very brief message posted to their website (English / French / Italian) on 26th October the Swiss state secretariat (seco) advises companies to beware of forms mailed by intercable Verlag AG

The attached PDF states

The Central European Trade Register advertised by Intercable AG is not in any way associated with the cohesion fund contribution provided by the Swiss Confederation for the ten states that joined the EU on 1 May 2004.

Of the Cohesion fund they say

The form and the website http://www.cetregister.com/ refer to the cohesion fund contribution that Swiss Confederation pledged for projects in the nine new EU member countries for a commitment period of five years (for further information see: http://www.erweiterungsbeitrag.admin.ch/index.html?lang=en). With the enlargement contribution, Switzerland aims to participate in the reduction of the economic and social disparities within the EU.

They go on to warn that signing the Intercable contract involves a commercial liability and that those who sign will not benefit from the Cohesion fund

The Intercable form they refer appears to have been mailed since July 2007.

Intercable Verlag AG has been using forms that result in complaints for decades and is currently under criminal investigation by the Swiss government. It is part of the Ludenbach stable of guides, many of which have been fined, closed or reprimanded for deceptive advertising.

As always with StopECG blog postings we would welcome a response from Intercable Boss Adrian Wittmer.

Data Protection Scams (Again)

2007-10-21T09:42:00.000+01:00

This Blog Message is taken from an email sent to the Constoppers email list. Constoppers is an entirely free service from http://www.stopecg.org/. While it is not comprehensive we believe it does assist many readers in avoiding the commonest scams affecting small businesses. Please forward this message to associates you think may benefit from its content. To subscribe send a blank email to: constoppers-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
.

DATA PROTECTION SCAMS
This is a recurring issue for UK firms, just when you think it is dead and buried the scam operators return, quite cunning really, there are a lot of new companies that have begun trading since this issue gained widespread publicity, they are now vulnerable to the tried and tested tricks of yesteryear.

The Trick is very simple, you get a letter that looks like an official notification of your requirement to register with the Information Commissioner, however it is in fact a misleading advert from a company that will charge you several times the actual fee and in some cases will not actually do the necessary paperwork!

The latest misleading adverts come a company in Blackpool, requesting a fee of over £100. Ignore such mailshots, (better still take them to your local trading standards who can decide if they are legal or not)

Companies holding personal data should notify the Information Commissioner, this Costs £35, letters demanding fees in excess of £35 are almost certainly bogus.

Need to know if you should notify, see
http://www.ico.gov.uk/what_we_cover/data_protection/notification/do_i_need_to_notify.aspx
More on data Protection scams
http://stopecg.org/dataprotection.htm

Yours,
Jules

Such a simple scam

2007-05-14T11:47:00.000+01:00

The email below is the first stop on what is a very simple scam, it is part of the suite of tricks used primarily by Nigerians known as 419 scams (After the article of Nigerian law that deals with them) or advance fee fraud, however this one differs in that no upfront fee is requested. Here is how it works...

1) You respond and they sign you up.

2) The cheques start to arrive; you are implored to pay them in to your bank and wire the money immediately.

3) The Cheques bounce (they are fake) and you have to repay the money, problem is that international money transfers are hard to trace, the fraudster has made off with your money.

It really is that simple, yet it works because it has the classic scam hook, easy money, the optimist in us would love to believe that someone would just email, out of the blue offering money for old rope.

Interestingly a trace on “Michael Nash” showed that the email was send from Hamburg, Germany, not Japan as claimed.

MIN-KAN INTERNATIONAL LIMITED appears not to exist

----- Original Message -----
From: "Michael Nash" minkan.international@yahoo.co.uk
To: stopscamguides(at)yahoo.co.uk
Sent: Monday, May 14, 2007 11:25 AM
Subject: P/T Job Vacancy.

>
> MIN-KAN INTERNATIONAL LIMITED
> 1089 MARUNOUCHI,
> CHIYODA-KU
> TOKYO 1000005
> JAPAN
> Registration Number: 3699677
> VAT registration number: 832 6732
>
> My name is Michael Nash, a representatives from MIN-KAN INTERNATIONAL LIMITED with the head quarter in Tokyo, Japan.
>
> We recently expanded our sales to the United Kingdom and Europe becuase of the great innovation the company have gain across the world in the marketing of all sort of Electronic apppliances. We have been facing serious difficulties when it comes to selling our products to britain, interms of payment as majority of them offer payment with cheque payment, which is very difficult for us to cash here in Japan.
>
> We are presently working on setting up a branch in the United Kingdom for now and we are urgently in need of a representative in the United kingdom who will be working for us as a part time staff workers who will be working from home without affecting his/her present job if they have any at hand now and we will be willing to pay 10% for every transaction.
>
> We are looking for an individual in the United Kingdom who will be working for us and we are willing to pay 10% for each & every transaction, which wouldn't affect your present state of work, someone who will receive payments on our behalf, from our customers in Europe. These payments are in form of a cheque and it will be made payable to your name, so all you need do is cash the cheque, deduct your percentage and wire the rest back to us via western union or moneygram money transfer. I want you to know that you will not be investing any money from your pocket in this venture, you are to receive payments which will be sent by my customers to you via express mail.
>
> If you can assist us with this transaction, I would like you to get back to me.
>
> Awaiting your response and thanks.
>
> Sincerely,
> Michael Nash
> X-PHP-Mail: Mon May 14 12:25:52 CEST 2007 - /home/www/web93/html
>
>

A trip to Brussels.

2007-05-08T23:52:00.000+01:00

Many of you reading this blog will have signed the petition to the European Parliament, many more of you made your own petitions or submissions using the website of the parliament. The petition is important because the scam guides have for decades escaped justice by operating across borders. Rarely does a guide target the host country, and when they do the result is often swift action under national laws.

What the ECG does would almost certainly be illegal within most of the countries affected, in Belgium it has been classed as fraud, but the affected countries can do little other than to appeal to the Spanish. The EU offers a chance to transcend national borders, making life impossible for the scams within any member state.

The European Parliament receives thousands of petitions each year, most are not accepted simply because there is not the time, the committee has to select those that appear most worthy, then invite petitioners to make a more detailed submission. Simply to get to the point where I was invited to Brussels on your behalf is a major achievement.

As my train wound its way across the unusually sunny Welsh countryside I considered that my 5 minutes before the Petitions Committee might be as valuable as all the work I have done for StopECG up to now. It was also sobering to know that I would be speaking for all who had signed the petition as Vincenzo, from Italy who initiated it was unable to attend. At least the journey by train allowed me time to prepare the speech and go over it repeatedly.

And so to the morning of the 2nd May, I was due to speak at 10.30 am. The process of accreditation left little time and I was rushed to the chamber to take a seat at the back and await my turn. The chamber used was not the main parliamentary room, it was still a good size, capable of seating 200-300 people. Around the back were 14 smaller rooms fronted with smoked glass, in each stood or sat the translators. Near the front sat the MEPs, behind them the petitioners and at the back guests and press. Facing us all, on a raised platform, the committee. I donned the headphones and listened to the conversation, translated into English form several languages.

In front of the chairman was stacked a huge pile of papers, I looked at them and thought, “Oh my god, this is just TODAY’S business, surely our little petition will get lost in all this!”

Then I was called, the chairman reached over and slid the huge pile of papers forward, it was not the days business, but our petition against scam guides! I pressed the red button on the microphone in front of me and suddenly my amplified voice was being translated into every major European tongue.

Five minutes is not long to explain a subject as extensive as the campaign to stop these guides, and although the speech went well I missed a couple of points I had wanted to make. At least my main point was delivered clearly, that an extension of EU wide consumer protection laws to small businesses and sole traders would offer immediate relief from the worst excesses of these guides.

Next to speak was a representative of the commission, he was not helpful, the commission had no plans to extend consumer protection to businesses, they had made representations to the Spanish government who reported that the Valencian Authorities had negotiated with the ECG to get modifications to the contract. It was very frustrating!

Fortunately my frustration was shared by the MEPs who followed him, they managed to pick up on the main points I had missed and made it clear that the current status-quo in Valencia is not sufficient; many thanks to Richard Corbett MEP for an excellent speech.

It was decided to investigate the matter further and to send it to two more committees, dealing with Legal affairs and the Internal Market, this process will take time, but at least the matter is now firmly on the Brussels agenda.

For those of you who missed the petition, all is not lost, you should still contact your MEP, send them full dossiers of your correspondence with the scam guide you are fighting, and ask that they take an interest in the ongoing efforts of the European Parliament to tackle this problem. The Petition is in the name of the European City Guide, but will examine all the guides, As I understand it MEPs can follow its progress and attend committees where it is discussed. I will try to keep you informed as to the progress in Brussels so that you can update your MEPs on a regular basis.

An Open Letter to Wolfgang Valvoda, CEO, Construct Data (Fairguide)

2007-04-11T11:28:00.000+01:00

Dear Mr Valvoda,
We have corresponded occasionally regarding your concerns at my website and the heartfelt criticism of your company it contains, also in early 2006 I offered as a goodwill gesture to remove scans of your companies disputed contracts from the website after lawyers acting on your behalf claimed I was in breach of copyright. This week I am withdrawing that gesture and publishing copies of the most recent unsolicited mailshots sent out by your company. I will explain my reasons later in this letter.

You personally cannot fail to be aware that Construct Data AG does not have a normal business relationship with its customers. By my estimation up to 80% of people who sign your contracts never pay, I am sure the percentage who dispute the contract to some degree is higher still. This means that your staff are invariably tied up with issuing demands for payment, quoting legal points and reading angry letters when they should be promoting your website and ensuring that those who do pay get value for money.

This has culminated in a most extraordinary court case where the Schutzverband gegen unlauteren Wettbewerb won the right to challenge your business model even though they represent only Austrian firms, this to spite the fact that your company, for some unexplainable reason, does not solicit business within Austrias borders.

I had sincerely hoped that this court case would mark a turning point for Construct data, an opportunity for you to break away from the past and to join the vast majority of directory publishers who have satisfied return customers. Alas this week I was sent copies of your latest contract.

I do not have a crystal ball Mr. Valvoda, but let me make a prediction. You will encounter people who sign this new document who then state that they did not realize you would demand money for their listing. They will refuse to pay, will complain and will state that they feel duped. For this reason I am publishing scans of your new contract on www.stopecg.org and will be asking fair organisers and other interested parties to distribute the scans to exhibitors. I do this in the hope that seeing the contracts in advance will enable people to make an informed decision before returning it. It constitutes fair use and I will defend my right to show these scans, in court if necessary.

However I am not writing this letter solely to criticize, I wish to offer you an olive branch. My concerns about the misleading nature of this new document are based on several years of correspondence with literally thousands of people who have signed contracts in error. I have seen a lot of contracts, some poorly contrived, and some very cleverly schemed with the intent of misleading the recipient. I am willing to use this knowledge to help you.

Allow me, and others involved with stopECG to design your new contract, I will not produce a document critical of Construct Data, however I will produce a document that is hard to sign in error, where the recipient will have all the information they need at hand before returning the document. This document can then be used by Construct Data for future mailings. I add the restriction that while you may translate it into other languages, you cannot modify the layout or meaning. I offer my time for free in the hope that we can put construct Data’s sordid past to rest and set your company on a new and reputable course.

Yours,

Jules Woodell

Misleading forms alert: The UK Internet Register

2007-03-13T23:26:00.000Z

Today I started getting emails about a new form that was arriving at UK companies via Fax, those who examined it felt it was misleading and so sent me copies, I am always happy to see forms and contracts that you get, please email them!

The UK Internet Register is new, however it is simply a variation on a form that has been used in many countries, the layout of the form ensures that the cost is hard to spot. Like so many other forms, companies have noticed that their details are inaccurate, drawing them away from the small print and into the process of correcting their data.

What is on offer is an inter-professional directory that appears to be published online only and where signing will cost you £639 Per Annum for a minimum of 3 years, interestingly you are already fully listed if get sent the form, all you gain by signing is 3 keywords in their search engine. I checked their website on Alexia and the traffic is currently so low that it cannot be evaluated. Looks like those 3 keywords might not be a very good buy at £213 each!

The form arrives by fax with a freephone faxback number of 080 82 38 02 31. I checked this number on on ICSTIS. They note that they do not regulate freephone numbers, but they do tell you that this number is provided by MCI WorldCom Ltd.

If you receive a form and consider it misleading you may wish to contact MCI WorldCom Ltd. and voice your concerns about the usage of this freephone number

MCI Wordlcom Ltd, Barnards Inn 86 Fetter Lane, London, EC4A 1EN
Ph 0207 6754496

So is The UK Internet Register really new? Well a closer examination reveals it is actually sent by a company well known to stopECG
DAD Deutscher Adressdienst GmbH

This company has indulged for years in the mailing of misleading contracts, like so many other guides StopECG features, DAD will claim that the forms they send are clear, yet like the other guides DAD fail to amend the forms and fully remove the ambiguities their 'customers' complain of. Swiss newspaper Tagesanzeiger exposed links between DAD and other Ludenbach guides, it appears likely that they are part of his empire. You will notice that director Inga Kruskop has a long association with Lüdenbach

In the dreaded small print a website is noted where the directory can be found
http://www.uk-internet-register.com/

A whois confirms that this domain is owned by DAD and was only set up in January this year, a reverse DNS on the server shows it hosts other very similar domains such as:

American-internet-register.com
Belgisch-internet-register.com
Canadian-internet-register.com

I wonder where DAD’s misleading Faxes will be going next?

If you have signed this form in error and are now disputing the matter, please visit the stopECG page on DAD.

Construct Data (Fairguide) in full blown retreat

2007-02-27T22:45:00.000Z

Construct Data (CD) who trade as Fairguide have profited for years from the mailing of misleading contracts. To spite rulings against them in individual states they have cynically exploited the loophole which makes it hard for law enforcers in individual countries to prevent cross border business to business scams. Now things are changing.

In February 2006 StopECG reported on a court case in Austria where the Austrian Schutzverband gegen unlauteren Wettbewerb (Protective Association against Unfair Competition) were seeking not only to prevent Construct Data from mailing more contracts but also to prevent them from profiting from previously mailed contracts. CDs initial defense was that the Schutzverband represents Austrian commerce and could therefore not act on behalf of companies outside the country, the Schutzverband for their part argued that CDs activities were so damaging as to constitute a cause for concern to all Austrian businesses. They won this important argument and at this point CD settled out of court, essentially acceding to all the Schutzverband’s main demands.

See the Schutzverband website (In German)

CD have agreed not only to cease the mailing of misleading contracts to the EU, Switzerland and EWR (affiliate States of the EU like Liechtenstein) but also to cancel their demands for money against companies who dispute the contracts.

An out of court settlement avoids a definitive ruling on CDs tactics by an Austrian judge, however it would be hard for CD (who claim that their contracts are governed by Austrian law) to now pursue any so-called debt through the courts.

The wording of the settlement is such that CD has a loophole whereby if a company does not notify them that they signed the form in error, CD can technically continue to demand money.

StopECG therefore recommends that ALL companies who feel deceived by CD should write to them noting that they signed the form in error. There is no need to quote the settlement or stopECG, the simple act of notifying them should be enough to finish this for good

Proof of post is not proof of delivery! Send by registered mail to:

Construct Data Verlag AG,
Ortsstraße 54,
2331 Vösendorf,
Austria

CD has a number of emails. It may be best to send to
accounts@cdnet.at

other possible addresses include
info@cdnet.at; info@fairguide.com; info@fair-guide.com

Fax to: +43 1 / 699 40 77 - 40

We will monitor closely CDs compliance with the settlement and update the Construct Data Page on stopECG.org if needed. If you have notified CD that you signed in error and continue to recieve demands, please let me know

I cannot overstate the importance of this development, it is really important that everyone in dispute with CD is notified quickly. For that reason I ask that anyone with the time goes to CDs website
http://www.fairguide.com/
and contacts companies listed in their area, Use email or fax or post, and let them know that if they signed in error they must notify CD and that should be the end of the matter. You need only contact those companies that have a bold ‘Integrated website’ listing.

Finally, a brief note on the part that was decided in court, it appears that the judge accepted that to have a company like Construct Data trading from your country could be harmful to the national interest. Bravo! Let’s hope the authorities in other countries playing host to Ludenbach guides pay heed.

Adverts that could be mistaken for invoices

2007-02-05T14:36:00.000Z

Today I got the following Email, (Personal details removed)
=========================
I have today received a ‘renewal advice’ invoice for £84.99 + VAT from the Directory of Businesses: www.Directory-of-Businesses.com

The website gives the address as:

Directory of Businesses Ltd
45 -157 St John Street
London EC1V 4PY

There is no telephone number given.

The ‘renewal advice’ gets my business name completely wrong (details removed) and includes a box for the recipient to correct the entry.

It gives no useful information about the directory (how many copies are printed, who it goes to, when it was established…), or about the publishers or anything else.

I have never given any information to the publishers or previously ordered an entry in the directory, so this is certainly not a renewal.
===================

The sender included a scan, again their personal info has been removed

-------------------

The Attached form certainly seems misleading to me, the bold RENEWAL ADVICE at the top would suggest that the business already had a contractual agreement with the directory, a suggestion compounded by calling the document an invoice and by the provision of a Business ID and password.

The trouble with documents like this is that some firms have lax accounting, if an advert is mistakenly seen as an invoice it goes to accounts and gets paid, Unless all invoices are properly documented and authorised this can easily happen and many mailshots, particularly from overseas, seek to exploit this weakness.
Have you checked that this could never happen in your company?!

SERIOUSLY! Some years ago I investigated a misleading mailshot from the Czech Republic that masqueraded as an invoice for an existing listing in a directory and found that approx 1% of UK firms receiving the document were paying. Most of these were medium to large companies where the action of placing an order had become devolved from the process of payment. Those I phoned in my hometown were mostly too amorphous to even be bothered with an outside caller checking if their accounting procedures were allowing them to be scammed, however one haulage firm I contacted were very grateful, they had been paying the bogus invoices and were glad of the saving.

If your accounting is lax you are wide open to scams. In the 80s and 90s companies based abroad would simply invoice big firms for products they had never shipped. I would not be in the least bit surprised if such scams still exist.

-------------------

Back to the Directory of Businesses Ltd.

The sender reported that an additional page sent with the form gave no information as to how many copies of the directory were distributed or usage of the website.
There was also no phone number, unusual for a company attempting to build a business relationship....

I tried to find out more.

According to Companies house there is a DIRECTORY OF BUSINESSES LIMITED

Registered address:
98 WINSLEY HILL
LIMPLEY STOKE
BATH
SOMERSET BA2 7JL
Company No. 04910912

Until the 9th May 2006 this company traded as
TERRIK CONSULTING LIMITED

There the trail goes cold, there are no phone numbers or directory listings for either firm that I could find on the WWW.

A Whois reveals the domain name was registered by
Martin Bealey of Amersham, Bucks. Phone and email contacts are given but I did not attempt to contact him. Domain name registrants may play no part in a company, as the job is often undertaken by third parties.

Feel free to investigate this company yourself, please send me the findings.

-------------------
STOPPING MISLEADIG MAILSHOTS

Good news for the recipient of this mailshot, the sender is in the UK so there are bodies that can act if they deem the advert misleading

First port of call is the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), a self regulatory body that polices the rules laid down in the advertising codes. The ASA is effective and does keep UK advertisers in line
File a complaint online with the ASA
http://www.asa.org.uk/asa/how_to_complain/complaints_form/

Second, if you feel the advert is sufficiently misleading to be a criminal matter please contact your local trading standards office
They have the power to prosecute companies that deceive.
http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/
put your postcode in to find your local office. Alas you will need to take the time to file a complaint in person or by post.

Euro Business Guide

2006-11-10T16:48:00.000Z

Misleading ‘contracts’ sent via Email

When your company starts to get a bad reputation what is the best thing to do, change the name! Or at least spin off a new company with a slightly different name. We first saw the tactic employed by Novachannel AG, where we have had reports of many different names on the mailshots E.g. Camping Guide, Tourist Directory Restaurant Guide, Travel Agency Tourist Directory and Tourist Directory Guide D'Hotels

Next up came the ECG who at the start of this year began mailing new forms under the trading name E.C.G., S.L. the forms had titles such as Industrie En Handel 2006 and Commerce Et Industrie 2006.

Now another guide that has been getting bad press has done it. EU Company Directory has begun sending new forms using the trading name Euro Business Guide See contract (PDF)

This contract is, in our opinion, more misleading than the previous one (which has lead to many disputes). Euro Business Guide are currently sending it via unsolicited email, the emails we have seen originate in Timisoara, Romania, printed versions may also exist.

Analysis of the main misleading elements.
The first thing that meets the eye is the Euro symbol encircled by the stars of the EU, for anyone in a recent Accession Country (Quite possibly reading this in a language other than their mother tongue) this could give the impression that the form has official EEC sanction.

Scan Right and in bold Writing it reads Company Data Control, Hardly an indication that this is an advertising solicitation!

Depending on how you read the document, you will then come across one of 2 bodies of text, let’s give Euro Business Guide the benefit of the doubt and suggest that next you will read.

To update your company profile, please print, complete and return this form
(Updating is free of charge). Only sign if you want to place an insertion.

Yes the 'Free of charge' bit is in bold on the form, at least this sentence contains the only indication in the upper part of the document that this purports to be a contract (Only sign if you wish to place an insertion) this is the favoured phrase used by many of the guides featured on stopECG.org. We consider it unacceptably vague; why not state the price here?

Then the block of text on the Left….

Dear Sirs,
We are compiling information for The EURO Business Guide. We wish to be able to inform other companies about your activities and what languages are spoken in your company. In order to list your company in the internet for European businesses, just ll in and return the form. Any additional material of your company that can make your prole up to date is very welcome. We thank you for your cooperation.

Again, no indication that this purports to be a contract.

But the peach is the bit at the bottom under the word ORDER, We have seen many so-called contracts over the years, never one where the text is as dense as this, printed entirely in capitals the font appears stretched vertically making it almost unreadable without a magnifying glass, in common with most of these contracts the price is written as EURO 965 (A currency symbol is more likely to be spotted than the name as a word)

Go on, read the block of text at 100% magnification and see how quickly you can spot the price! In case you are struggling we transcribed the text below

Finally it should be noted that the email to which this form was attached states:

‘Please print and fill the enclosed document and send it back to:
Euro Business Guide,
P.O. Box 2021,
3500GA UTRECHT,
The Netherlands,
updating is free of charge!

If you want to unsubscribe send an email to eurobusinessguide@yahoo.com’

Within the email there is no mention whatsoever of contracts or costs.

Offer to the director
We wait with interest to see if Euro Business Guide will attempt to enforce this ‘contract’ in the courts and if they do what their arguments will be. Or will they follow the example of the guides they appear to mimic and threaten court action without ever taking it, instead relying on the small percentage of signers who pay up when hassled.

Of course Director, Cornelis Boot, may wish to post a response here. If he would like to defend this document or his companies marketing tactics in general StopECG will gladly publish his comments.

There is advice for people in dispute with EU Company Directory and Euro Business Guide on the stopECG website.

Full Text of the Order Section reads
THE SIGNING OF THIS DOCUMENT REPRESENTS THE ACCEPTANCE OF THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS AND THE CONDITIONS STATED IN ‘THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR INSERTION’ ON WEB PAGE: WWW.EUROBUSINESSGUIDE.NET THE SIGNING IS LEGALLY BINDING AND GIVES YOU THE RIGHT OF AN INSERTION ON THE ONLINE DATA BASE OF THE EURO BUSINESS GUIDE, WHICH CAN BE ACCESSED VIA THE INTERNET. AND A CD ROM WITH EUROPEAN BUSINESSES IS GRANTED, ALL IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONTRACT CONDITIONS STATED IN ’THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR INSERTION’ ON WEB PAGE: WWW.EUROBUSINESSGUIDE.NET. THE VALIDATION TIME OF THE CONTRACT IS THREE YEARS AND STARTS ON THE EIGHTH DAY AFTER SIGNING THE CONTRACT. THE INSERTION IS GRANTED AFTER SIGNING AND RECEIVING THIS DOCUMENT BY THE SERVICE PROVIDER. I HEREBY ORDER A SUBSCRIPTION WITH SERVICE PROVIDER EU BUSINESS SERVICES LTD ‘EURO BUSINESS GUIDE’. I WILL HAVE AN INSERTION TO ITS DATA BASE FOR THREE YEARS. THE PRICE PER YEAR IS EURO 965. THE SUBSCRIPTION WILL BE AUTOMATICALLY EXTENDED EVERY YEAR FOR ANOTHER YEAR, UNLESS SPECIFIC WRITTEN NOTICE IS RECEIVED BY THE SERVICE PROVIDER OR THE SUBSCRIBER TWO MONTHS BEFORE THE EXPIRATION OF THE SUBSCRIPTION. YOUR DATA WILL BE RECORDED. THE PLACE OF JURISDICTION IN ANY DISPUTE ARISING IS THE SERVICE PROVIDER’S ADDRESS. THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE SERVICE PROVIDER AND THE SUBSCRIBER IS GOVERNED BY THE CONDITIONS STATED IN ‘THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR INSERTION’ ON WEBPAGE:
WWW.EUROBUSINESSGUIDE.NET

Attacked Again

2006-10-25T15:47:00.000+01:00

A sense of deja-vu this morning when I discovered that StopECG.org was offline, sending a few data packets revealed that half were lost and those getting through were slow. I contacted the host who confirmed that a massive amount of data was being thrown at the site in a deliberate attempt to take it offline.

This attack has been slightly more sophisticated than previous efforts however some quick work by the ever helpful folks at Gemini Data Loggers and a bit of tech wizardry by the upstream provider had us back online by lunchtime to spite the continuing attack.

This sort of activity is known as a denial of service attack, it is a criminal action and the police are investigating this and previous efforts to silence the site.

Why you might ask, would anyone waste the time, effort and money needed to launch such an attack, well it appears most likely a person or people exposed on StopECG.org would rather not have the truth about them revealed, unfortunately for them each attack increases the information we have on them, if the attacks continue it is only a matter of time before they are caught.

However it is best to minimise any downtime that results from such attacks, to do this we need more offers of hosting, if the site is mirrored and/or dns is easily switched when an attack begins then the site will remain available to readers at all times. If you can help by mirroring the site or by hosting it please get in contact, especially if you have the ability to take large bandwidth should an attack occur. Please also get in contact if you are able to offer any other technical expertise that would help us at this time.

Jules Woodell