NEWS | Wednesday, 17 December 2008

PRINT THIS ARTICLE

EP adopts Busuttil report on business directory scams

The European Parliament yesterday adopted a report by Nationalist MEP Simon Busuttil on combating business directory scams by 632 votes in favour and 4 votes against.
The adoption of the report marks an important step forward in putting an end to a scam in which thousands of businesses every year fall victim to, when they unintentionally sign up to a listing in a business directory costing them up to €1000 a year.
The report lists a set of concrete measures to raise awareness so that fewer businesses become victims, enable victims to resort to a clearly identifiable authority to make a complaint and seek a remedy, ensure that existing EU laws on misleading advertising scams are adequately enforced, and to tighten existing EU law so that it can address such scams more directly.
The report also advises victims not to pay any fees requested of them by misleading business directories until they have reported the matter to the authorities and sought advice on how to proceed.
The European Parliament received more than 400 petitions concerning this scam mainly from small businesses across the European Union. Most complaints singled out the directory known as “European City Guide” whereas some others complained about “Construct Data Verlag”, “Deutscher Adressdienst GmbH” and “Nova Channel”.
Addressing the plenary session of the European Parliament, Busuttil lamented that the company operating European City Guide had lobbied intensively to undermine the European Parliament’s report but it had been unsuccessful.
Busuttil also called on the European Commission to do more than it had done so far on the matter. It is not enough to say that it is for individual EU countries to implement EU law,” he told Commissioner Vladimír Špidla. “As the guardian of the treaty it is also your responsibility to see to it that EU law is adequately implemented at the national level.”
“I want to send two messages,” Busuttil said. “The first is for victims of business scams: we have taken note of your concern and we are squarely behind you. The second is for the misleading directory companies themselves: your time is running out. Stop the scam immediately because from now on the European Parliament is watching you closely.”
Business directory scams mostly target small businesses, but non-profit entities such as schools, libraries and band clubs are also known to have been targeted. The scheme relies on misleading advertising whereby offers are sent out by mail, giving businesses the impression that their details would be listed in a business directory free of charge. Subsequently, however, those who sign up discover that they have been conned into a three-year contract costing some €1,000 per year.
The scheme takes advantage of legal loopholes which make it difficult for national authorities in various Member States to take action, as they do not have the authority to act across European borders. As a result, misleading business directories have been sending out offers in various Member States and have also moved their operations from one Member State to another.

PRINT THIS ARTICLE

Any comments?
If you wish your comments to be published in our Letters pages please click button below.
Please write a contact number and a postal address where you may be contacted.