Fake Yellow Pages Marketers Bilk Spanish-Speaking Businesses
You didn't think I'd forget to tell you about a naughty business this week, did you, what with all this election stuff going on? Puhleeze.
A U.S. district court judge has frozen the assets of a Canadian business and ordered a halt to its allegedly billing businesses in the U.S. and Puerto Rico for directory listings they did not order until the matter is resolved in court.
The Federal Trade Commission is seeking to permanently prohibit the defendants from future violations and make them give up their ill-gotten gains.
According to the FTC's complaint filing, the operation deceptively sold Internet business directory listings and Web page hosting services by phone to Spanish-speaking businesses. Consumers were allegedly told that the person was calling from the yellow pages or the local telephone company to verify or update business names, addresses, and telephone numbers. Consumers are told the call is a renewal, although they typically do not mention cost, the FTC says. When asked, the business says the cost will be "the same as last year," although the consumers have never purchased their services before.
Bills then typically arrive in envelopes bearing the familiar symbol associated with local telephone company yellow pages directory - the two fingers walking across a directory.
Enterprise Who's Who typically charges $359.40 on the initial bill, which many unsuspecting businesses pay because they believe the bills are from their local telephone company. THe FTC says that some businesses are told that someone at the business agreed to the service and that the defendants have a tape of the authorization. Consumers who question the charges are threatened with collection and bad credit. Consumers who listen to the defendants' tape hear no authorization but are still threatened with collection.
If that's not enough, the FTC says that when consumers continue to refuse to pay, Enterprise Who's Who allegedly sends letters from a purported collection agency called PCM Collections, and threaten adverse credit reports and lawsuits. In many cases, consumers pay the bills to protect their credit.
It doesn't stop there. Consumers who pay often receive additional invoices for other unordered services, variously described as the balance owed for the original service, a renewal fee, or an additional Web hosting service. If the consumer tries to cancel additional unauthorized services the company sometimes charges them undisclosed cancellation fees ranging from $299 to $500. Even when the Better Business Bureau gets involved, the FTC says the companies agree to stop charging those consumers, but they continue to bill and dun them.
Listed in the complaint are Quebec, Inc., doing business as Enterprise Who's Who and PCM Collections, and its chief executive officer, Rodolfo Garcia Rodriguez, Jr. They are charged with violating the FTC Act by falsely representing that they have a preexisting business relationship with consumers, that consumers have agreed to purchase their services, and that consumers owe them money.
Nice.
Categories: Complaints, Naughty businesses/NBotW, Scams
