February 13, 2008
We're taking action to warn businesses about a Yellow Pages
ad offer that some people are mistaking as a bill. The Better Business
Bureau of Central and Eastern Kentucky has heard from business owners
and employees who said they had received what they thought was a bill to
renew their annual ad in the yellow pages, only to find out it was an
offer to advertise in another directory that they didn't want to be in.
Click here for full story.
January 29, 2008
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has issued a report that,
in its current form, recommends to the Minnesota State Legislature that
legislation be drafted in the 2008 legislative session mandating that directory publishers deliver directories only on
an opt-in basis. This means that publishers would only be
allowed to deliver directories to households and businesses that had
affirmatively responded to an offer sent by the publisher. YPA has
filed comments to the MPCA urging that its report be amended and that
the opt-in language regarding directory delivery be removed.
Please click here to read a copy of YPA's
comments. Should you have any questions,
please do not
hesitate to contact YPA's director
of public policy, Amy Healy at
amy.healy@ypassociation.org.
November 10,
2007
The Texas
Attorney General wants restitution from a false Yellow Pages company
that deceived businesses, churches and nonprofits, a spokesman said
Friday.
Barbara Sommer and her company,
Ad Telamerica Inc., which does business as Yellow Pages Directories, has
been charged in an El Paso district court of sending misleading direct
mail pieces. More than 2 million businesses and individuals througout
the nation received them, according to Tom Kelley, spokesman for the
attorney general's office. The forms were printed with the words "FINAL
NOTICE" in all capital letters, giving recipients the false impression
that they maintained such a listing in the past, according to a media
release. The attorney general's legal action, brought under the Texas
Deceptive Trade Practices Act, seeks $20,000 for each violation, the
release states. Some 19,000 of the forms delivered by Sommer's company
were answered, Kelley said.
The attorney general's office is
asking residents who may have been a victim of the scheme to contact
them at (512) 463-2100.
Source: http://www.news-journal.com/news/content/news/11102007_attorney_general.html
New York Opt Out
Legislation
The New York State
Assembly is considering legislation that would restrict the delivery of
unsolicited advertising material, including independent and
non-affiliated telephone directories. The legislation, A.
8807, would authorize a registry for residents who wish to opt-out of
such printed advertising matter.
YPA strongly opposes A. 8807 as it creates an uneven playing
field for directory publishers. YPA President Neg Norton
has contacted the sponsor of A. 8807, Assemblywoman
Nancy Calhoun, urging that all directory publishers be exempt from
this legislation. YPA's letter was also sent to all members
of the Assembly's Committee on Consumer Affairs and Protection which has
jurisdiction over the legislation.
Please click
here to read a copy of YPA's correspondence. Should you have
any questions, please do not hesitate to contact YPA's
director of public policy, Amy Healy at amy.healy@ypassociation.org.
Many feel duped by Canadian
directory
Catherine
Pritchard
Q: A volunteer at our small
church accidentally agreed to an ad in something called The Official
Yellow Pages when the caller kept badgering her. She thought the caller
was talking about the small, free listing that we always have in the
regular yellow pages and she kept saying that and the caller eventually
got her to say she was authorized to OK the ad, which she thought was
the usual listing. We didn’t realize anything was up until we
started getting calls from a collection agency and they played me a tape
of the whole conversation. They say we have to pay $399.95 for the ad or
$199 to cancel it. What can we do? — S.D., Spring Lake
A: Your volunteer is hardly alone in feeling bamboozled
and fast-talked by this Canadian company (Click here to
continue reading)
Checks
mailed from alleged check-mailing scheme
FRANKFORT, Ky. - Restitution checks are being sent out in Kentucky to
the alleged victims of a check soliciting scheme, Attorney General Greg
Stumbo said Friday.
The checks total $70,000 and will be mailed to more than 800 consumers
and small business owners. It is the result of a settlement between
Stumbo Yellow Pages Inc., Electronic Directories Companies and
Continental Recovery and Filing Solutions.
Yellow Pages Inc. is alleged to have mailed checks to consumers for
$3.47 and then claimed the consumer was obligated to pay $177 for
Internet directory services when the checks were cashed.
"Scams like this are targeted by my office," Stumbo said. "Small
business owners were harassed and defrauded by these bad actors. I am
pleased to provide this recovery to affected citizens."
Stumbo also boasted that Kentucky is a "pioneer" in the area -- "We have
now become a model for the nation in stamping out this abusive
practice," he said.
After consumers did not pay the $177 bill, it was turned over to
Continental Recovery and Filing Solutions, a collection agency.
Stumbo says state law provides that checks being mailed as a
solicitation must contain certain mandatory disclosures. He adds that
the companies violated the Consumer Protection Act.
Mail fraud case charges laid
OTTAWA - A scam to bilk companies for ads in a misrepresented
directory has led to charges against one of the alleged
participants.
James Tetaka is said by the Competition Bureau to have used
misleading representation and deceptive marketing techniques in sending
out phoney invoices.
The invoices asked recipients to send $85.55 to a company calling
itself Yellowbusiness.ca for a listing in its directory.
It is claimed that the invoices were deliberately designed to
resemble those of Bell Canada or Yellow Pages, which have no connection
with Tetaka's company.
"These charges," said Raymond Pierce, Deputy Commissioner, Fair
Business Practices Branch, "signal the Bureau's ongoing efforts to
pursue all individuals responsible for these deceptive mailpieces which
target thousands of Canadian businesses and non-profit
organisations."
Earlier this year, a director of Yellowbusiness.ca, Peter Kuryliw,
was fined $30,000 and given 90 days to shut down the company. If you
think you have been a victim of deceptive mail, you are asked to call
the Competition Bureau's Information Centre at 1-800-348-5358 or Project
PhoneBusters at 1-888-495-8501.
The Competition Bureau can be found online at http://www.competition.ic.gc.ca.
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FCC Order to Grant Stay
The FCC has granted the Fax Ban Coalition's request to extend the
stay of its controversial rule requiring written permission to send a
commercial fax. The stay has now been extended to July 1, 2005. As a
member of the Fax Ban Coalition, the YPA will continue to press for
legislation to nullify the FCC's rule entirely. For more information
contact, Amy Perlik
Healy, YPA Public Policy director, at 908-286-2390.
 View FCC Order
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Missouri Bar Association Proposes Severe Restrictions on
Yellow Pages Ads
If a proposal put forth by a special committee of the Missouri Bar is
adopted, attorneys in Missouri would no longer be allowed to buy Yellow
Pages display advertising on the cover, back cover, spine or other areas
of a Yellow Pages directory outside the attorneys/lawyers heading. In
addition, advertising under the attorney heading would be limited to
one-quarter page per firm. The attorneys heading ranks 6th out of more
than 4,000 headings, with almost 310 million references annually.
The Association believes the proposed rule unfairly targets the
directory industry and violates the U.S. Constitution on First Amendment
grounds. In advance of an Aug. 31 deadline, the YPA filed comments with
the Missouri Bar Association expressing strong opposition to the
proposed rules.
Read the filing
In addition, the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) at the
request of the YPA has also urged the Missouri Bar to oppose the
proposed rules directed at the Yellow Pages industry. An excerpt of
ANA's filing stated, "...the Yellow Pages directory is where 'the rubber
meets the road,' where the consumer has made a decision to hire a lawyer
and needs more information, not less."
Full text of the ANA's comments
YPA is cautiously optimistic that the Missouri Bar will reconsider
this drastic rules change, and we will keep our membership apprised of
any developments.
For more information contact, Amy Perlik Healy, YPA
Public Policy director, at 908-286-2390.
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Yellow Pages AssociationTM Responds to the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) Proposal for a National Do-Not-Call
List
On December 9, 2002, the Yellow Pages
AssociationTM formally submitted comments to
the FCC arguing against the agency's proposed rule that would establish
a national Do-Not-Call list and possibly limit the telemarketing of
Internet and Web services to businesses, including Yellow Pages on-line
advertising. This move would not only raise the cost of these services
for small enterprises and limit their access to tools to grow their
businesses, but would do nothing to thwart fraudulent organizations from
scamming businesses in this area.
The elimination of the business-to-business exemption for
telemarketers of Internet services or Web services is more than just
unsound public policy. If such a rule were put into place it would
impede small business's access to these emerging technologies, thereby
hindering their ability to expand their product and service offerings
and attract new customers.
View a transcript comments of submitted to FCC
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PPC Meets in Washington to Discuss Policy Issues Facing the
Yellow Pages Industry
"The Yellow Pages AssociationTM held an
important meeting comprised of its public policy committee, members and
advertising association representatives at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
headquarters on September 19 - 20, 2002. The meeting provided an
opportunity for senior Yellow Pages
AssociationTM leadership, including John A.
Greco, Jr., President and CEO, Yellow Pages
AssociationTM members and guests from
prominent advertising associations to listen to policy presentations and
to participate in discussions on critical industry issues, including the
recent array of sales of Yellow Pages divisions, online privacy
regulations, new corporate governance laws and copyright infringement
cases.
David Dunn, Vice President of the Media Group at Deutsche Bank gave a
presentation on the recent willingness of telecom service providers to
sell their highly valued Yellow Pages operations to protect their core
assets. In addition, Bruce Josten, Executive Vice President, Government
Affairs, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, gave a presentation on the state of
political affairs in our nation's capitol in the run-up to the 2002
Congressional elections. Roberta Horton, partner at Washington, D.C. law
firm Arnold & Porter, presented on day two to the members on the
state of copyright and trademark issues - a top policy priority for the
Yellow Pages Industry.
Yellow Pages AssociationTM member companies
participating in the meeting included: Verizon Information Services,
Alltel Publishing Corporation, Sprint Advertising and Publishing, R.R.
Donnelley & Sons Co., GE Global eXchange, SBC Directory Operations
and Qwest Dex. Special guests from the Ad Council, Association of
National Advertisers, U.S. Telecom Association and the U.S. Chamber also
attended."
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Directory Telemarketers Settle With FTC
Two Canadians doing business as American Business Solutions have
agreed to stop telemarketing business directories to U.S. consumers and
return uncashed checks as part of a settlement of alleged fraudulent
telemarketing practices, the Federal Trade Commission said
yesterday.
The FTC alleged that ABS founder/president Kelly Nguyen and his mother
and director of the company Minh Tam Vo along with several related
companies deceptively marketed business directories to U.S. consumers
via unsolicited telephone calls and then sent invoices billing them
between $249 and $459 for the directory and the listing. If recipients
refused to pay, they were harassed by phone and mail, the complaint
further alleged.
As part of the settlement, the defendants were banned from selling
business directories in the United States and have agreed to forfeit
more than $36,000 in checks seized from their U.S. mailboxes.
The FTC was granted a default judgment against ABS including a
$908,710 judgment representing the total amount of consumer injury in
the case. The defendants will have to pay that amount if they are found
to have misrepresented their financial status.
Several Canadian law enforcement entities worked with the FTC on this
case as well as the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the State of Nevada
Office of the Attorney General, the Washington State Office of the
Attorney General and the Better Business Bureau of the Southland,
CA.
The stipulated final order for permanent injunction was entered by
the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington on Feb.
9. The Court entered the default judgment against ABS on November 16,
2005.
The FTC voted 5-0 to authorize the staff to file the stipulated final
order for permanent injunction.
The FTC is still pursuing cases against remaining defendants - Global
Management Solutions; Commutel Marketing, also doing business as
Marketing USA; Ty Nguyen; Cory Kornelson; Byron Steczko; and Phong Anh
Vo.
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