The FTC has sued Yellow Page B.V., Yellow Page (Netherlands) B.V.; Yellow Publishing Ltd.; and Yellow Data Services Ltd., for making false representations to businesses in the U.S. A temporary restraining order has been granted by a U.S. Federal Court fraudulent on the grounds that they falsely represented that businesses and nonprofits had a preexisting business relationship with them, and falsely represented that they were affiliated with a local yellow pages directory, in violation of the FTC Act. See details of the FTC action here:
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2011/07/yellowpage.shtm
This site is dedicated to ferreting out as much information as possible about the Yellow Page, B.V. scam, (recently renamed Yellow Data Services LTD) sharing that information, and bringing to light all those who are cooperating with this outrageous rip-off.
If you've found this site chances are you have received a fax that looks like this:
I am wondering if anyone has been sued in court by Yellow Page, B.V. or their collection agencies. Also, if you have paid anything to Yellow Page, B.V. or Yellow Data Services LTD, I would be interested to know that.
331 comments:
1 – 200 of 331 Newer› Newest»Go get em! Someone has to stop these guys.
I am a victim of this scam who unwittingly signed this fax thinking it was YellowPages. When I received their invoice, I realized it is not the same Yellow Pages. I have not paid them yet and tried to tell them it was not them who I wanted to advertise with. However, as you described I was informed I am legally bound. Is there anything I can do? Please help.
Hi Mimi,
I think I might be able to help you get these guys off of your back. Please fax me your documents (along with your contact information) to 949-335-4604. I will review and get in touch with you about this.
Reported to FTC and BBB of NYC (easy, online, suggest you do the same. Strength in numbers.) Keep your documents and forget about these pigs. There! I said it! Although that, actually, is an insult to pigs everywhere. Congrats on this great blog. Power to you!
Duped in Virginia -- I also signed the fax thinking it was the real yellow pages where my business has a legitimate presence. I received the invoice for over $1000.00 for a year's service and free google listing. I started investigating the company and found it is indeed a scam. I haven't paid the invoice and reported the company online to the BBB in New York. Can't wait to see what's next. I also called the rental management company in New York and told them that they were housing a scam. They said they thought it is a legitimate business. I am also turning over all my correspondence with them to my attorney.
I read the fine print at the bottom of the fax when we received the fax at our business. The second line states "Registration in the directory is for a term of two years at a cost of $89 per month..."
It was clearly a scam, with misleading intent, yet...it was clear that they wanted $89 per month for two years. Scoundrels they are, but buyer beware!
I am sick that I signed this scam thinking it was part of the real Yellow pages. I have sent them a registered letter canceling my account (which they ignored)and sent a formal complaint to the Attorney General's office of New york and emailed the BBB in Georgia (where I am)I am concerned about their taking me to court in New York which would be a major hassle but I do not intend to pay them without a fight.
It is a well known fact that dealing with telemarketing agents can sometimes be one of life's most stressful and stagnating experiences.
Harassing calls, threats and use of obscene language can pressurize you to the edge and moreover, a collector may embarrass you by contacting your employer or even be pursued to disburse for a debt that is not rightfully yours.
There are limits on how far telemarketers can go, that is why we provide information on how to put an end to telemarketer calls and more efficiently, how to correspond with them about your account and/or to dispute a collection action and can teach you what are your rights in terms of privacy.
You can find out more information on our website: www.spgconsultants.com
By informing each other, we protect each other.
Sincerely,
SPG Consultants
This scam is reaching every corner of the country. We are dealing with YellowPage-Kansas.com We have been turned over to a collection agency called Adjustment Associates, Inc. in Hasbrouck Heights, NJ. They immediately offered to cancel our contract and charge us for the 4 months we were into the contract.
Has anybody tried to Google their company - what a joke. Have you gone to your state specific website and tried to find your business - yet another joke.
I have recently be snared by this scam. The fax I unfortunately signed was of such poor quality the small pring was unreadable. I do not intend to pay this...I can not.
I have faxed you some papers.
I stupidly signed as well and am also a victim. I thought I was the only one!
Anyway, I just received an invoice today. The only good thing is it says that there was a contractual agreement dated 2010, 1-13, but in fact, I wrote the date as 2009.
I've called the local BBB and am waiting for them to get back to me about next steps.
Thanks so much for starting up the blog to help us with this.
PS. It seems they are now calling themselves Yellow Page Marketing B.V. (not publishing, or just B.V.)
Like all of the comments on this blog, I too mistakenly thought this was for the actual Yellow Pages in Texas. It is completely fraudulent and these "insects" are trying to take advantage of ligitiment businesses that are trying to survive in a horrible recession! We filed a complaint with the Attorney General in Texas and are meeting with our attorney tomorrow.
These people are scum that are praying on hard working, honest people! I didn't read the miniscule print but saw the logo and our correct business information and was mislead to believe that it was our local Yellow Pages. We are a small business and are doing our best to make it through this tough business climate. Has anyone out there not paid this scam? I dont want to risk a blemish on our credit rating.
We too have been taken. It was signed by my husband thinking it was for the legitimate local Yellow Pages for which we have a one line entry. As the address was in incorrect he made the change and returned. We DO NOT ADVERTISE in our own Yellow Pages, just the standard one line. Additionally the faxed copy was rough and difficult to read. Since I get multiple "bills" for various "Yellow Pages" over the course of the year, all of which are hoping some unsuspecting accounts payable will submit payment, I just toss them. It wasn't until I received the "Collections" one that I took notice and called them to tell them off only to find out they had a signed copy. arggghhh. These people despicable. Oh, and the whole Google thing, please I've been able to find our Co. on Google by searching typed of co and location for years! please ...
I have received a second letter (very official)stating Yellowpages B.V. only contacts by fax. This is not true. I was called and then faxed. What do I do now? Can you help me? I always pay my legitimate bills on time.
I have received a second letter spelling out my contract and that I must pay this bill. The letter stated that B.V. only contacts in writing by fax. Our Fax is on a spam no call list. We were called by a telemarketer,which they deny. What do I do now?
I would suggest we all contact the New York State Attorney General's office with a complaint. they re more likely to act on multiple complaints then on just a few.
I just want to help all of those who have been scammed by this company. Here is their cushy address out in spain.And their "nick name".
Innovative Internet Strategies
CProtectora 10, Local 4
Palma De Mallorca 07012
Spain
NY State AG office wrote me back saying they could not help.
They referred me to the BBB or a private lawyer.
Anyone gone past the collection phone call stage.
I am still at the polite letter phase
We received our second notice demanding payment in Ohio. Our secretary mistakenly signed it, but she is not authorized to enter contracts for our corporation. I wrote 2 letters asking them to credit our account with no response. In looking at the contract in more detail, the deadline to respond was January of 2009 and our secretary signed it in December of 2009. Therefore it probably isn't a valid contract anyway.
I live in texas and we just got a fax exactly like the one you show in the pic but it says Texas instead of California. So... watch out for those who live in Tx too.
Signed the contract mistakenly, then recieved a phone call in which I was told if I did not pay the 1,428.00CDN it would be sent to collections! Will not pay.
Edmonton, Alberta
Got one in Grande Prairie Alberta, mistakenly signed. Now they are threatening collections. Do they have any legal recourse here?
AG
Our secretary that was laid of signed one of these faxes, but she was no longer employed and not authorized. I have emailed them and phoned them, yeasterday i first screamed at one woman there and she let go to another woman and she said that probably she could negotiate with the collections place to let go if i paid 6 monts of the advertisement i said we cannot pay all at once no way then she said i might work out for you to pay 86 dollars a month.
She told me she had a signed contract in february but the fired secretary signed the documet in december. I said to her we are a almost bankrupt LLC anyway and we are leaving for europe next week. We are doing bussines under dba and they sent the invoice to the dba and not to the company. She asked what the real company name was but i gave a fake. She was going to call back but never did. If she does i am going to tell her that my swedish company is going to follow up on their wherabouts in spain. Do you want me to fax the papers iwe got? Got a collections notice yeasterday.
Oh By the way Jim! Thank you for doing something! If i can help with anything just tell me what! You can come visit sweden at my place anytime! we need more people like you acting dooing something!
sincerely Per
This scam has also reached CANADA! They now have YellowPage-British Columbia and I'm sure one in every single province. I mistakenly signed the contract and then received an invoice for $1,428.00 CAD! Yellow Page Marketing BV is supposedly located at One Dundas Street West, Suite 2500 - Toronto Ontario M5G 1Z3. These people need to be caught, this is a complete International Scam!!
I signed last August-trying to correct our business address as we had moved our offices. I wrote and told them I was not authorized to make any purchase for this company and I got the usual letter(s) back. I just ignored them. Several months later I received a fax from STA International, but never a phone call. I am hoping it got tossed when Jim convinced STA to drop them as an account (THANK YOU Jim for everything you have done and are doing) I haven't heard or been contacted in months, but would rather cut off my left arm than pay them a red cent. I am sick at the anguish they have caused so many people. I also haven't heard of one person that has been taken to court by them. I am sure they would not push a suit that would bring to light what they are doing (and how they are doing it). They will just push so far and then move on to another market and see who they can scare into paying.
Jim -
Is it possible to file a class action suit against them for not performing their portion of the contract or for deceptive trade practices or something??
I'm in British Columbia, Canada, and also thought it was from Yellow Pages. Moreover, the fax basically implies we already have an account with them (we do with Yellow Pages), so I thought we just signed for our listing on Google.com. I've received two invoices, and a letter saying we're legally bound. Should we pay them or just ignore them?
Thank you for this blog by the way, it's good to know we're not alone in this!
I recommend that everyone report this scam to the real/legit Yellow Pages and pressure them into taking legal action against this scam. I've already reported it to my area's Yellow Pages, but I think the more voices there are, the more likely something will be done (especially on a global level since this scam is reaching far and wide now).
I received an invoice for $1068. and I never signed anything, but they say they have a contract. I retired 2 years ago. Anna, in their collection agency, put me on hold for her supervisor and never returned! WOW! BBB better get on this one.
I, too, was taken in by this scam. When they called I asked if this was a free ad and was told it was by some man with an accent. Then I get their fax, put in my search words not bothering to read the small print then I get a invoice for $1068.00. I wrote to the company and told them I did not want there ad but they responded with the threat of a collection agency. I have contacted the Attorney General here in Missouri.
I have also been scammed up here in Canada. I however beleive that someone at the legitimate yellow pages is tipping someone off at the fake yellow pages, as we received our Yellow Pages renewal about 3 hours before the scam Yellow Page renewal. So I signed all the papers in a hurry as the first few were from the legit company. I think there is a lot of money to be made in this and they have probably made contacts with the Yellow Pages sales people (you just need one corrupt one in each city) ... and then you are off to the races.
There is a Canadian office listed on my scam letter about non payment. One Dundas Street West Suite 2500
Toronto Ontario
M5G 1Z3
866 3384226
647 723 7406
Hope this helps.
I too mistakenly signed thinking it was our Yellow page add looking for changes. They have offered me the 6 month buy down deal. We are a small LLC and cannot afford this. The State Attorney General will not help in PA they only help consumers not businesses. What can I do? I am not even authorized to sign contracts. I tried to explain that to these thieves but they are unreasonable now they are threaten collection agency. Please help.
I'm not going to pay anything. I am expecting to receive a collections notice sometime soon but that's probably a scam letter too. The fine print says that if there is a judgment made on a collection it's in England! What good will that be in Ontario? or any province or state. Just don't pay ANYTHING!
For Canadians, this is their BBB page with additional information http://www.bbb.org/kitchener/business-reviews/yellow-page-advertising/yellowpage-ontariocom-in-toronto-on-1203930#complaint
Hi there,
I am from British Columbia and the same exact thing happened to my business. We recieved a fax and unwittingly signed it thinking that we were dealing with the real yellow pages company. We gave all of our documentation to our lawyer who advised us not to pay. And we are going to fight it because this is indeed a scam and needs to be stopped. We appreciate all the information on your blog and will be in touch regarding our results.
So yesterday I left the last comment stating that I am from British Columbia and that this same scam happened to me. Since then I have done a ton of research. I have emailed my local MLA, MP, three newspapers, CHBC, CBC, CTV, BBB, www.phonebusters.com, as well as the company that has the building in Toronto that they list there address as. I also found out which bank they are using (In the Netherlands) and have emailed them as well. I am not going to rest until something is done about this. There are far too many people being suckered into this.
I have not recieved a collection notice about this yet but I am wondering if there is anybody in Canada who has recieved one, what is the name of this company. I would like to email them as well.
Hope this will at least create some awareness about this scam/misrepresentation.
We too are a small business in Berkeley CA who fell for this scam for exactly the same reasons as all the other victims did--we assumed this was an AT&T Yellow Pages contract. As a small business with limited operating funds, we obviously can't afford to be victimized like this. The lesson to be learned here is to BE CAREFUL. Our contract was signed by somebody who actually has no authority to enter into contracts on our behalf, though I doubt this will be a useful legal defense.
ST John's Lutheran Church in Ohio was also scammed by these losers. WE will be happy to support any class action or other activities to stop this scam business
We were victims of the scam. As Jim has noted, Yellow Page B.V. in not licensed to do business is NY and cannot file suit there to enforce their fraudulently obtained "contracts." Also note that these fax solicitations, unless you gave permission, publicly list your fax number, or otherwise have a prior business relationship with these guys, probably violates the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. The format of the faxes also appears to violate the FCC rules regarding fax advertisements. Of course, the solicitations are deceptive and any collection agency would be continuing the scheme subjecting themselves to liability. I hope everyone puts these guys on notice and/or files suit for their deceptive actions. At the very least, file complaints against Yellow Page and the collection agencies acting on their behalf with all relevant parties (FTC, FCC, BBB, State Attorney General). I will post updates as we attempt to resolve the matter.
Thank You ! We will not give them a dime. They can try to come after our small business. I have filed complaints with the BBB of NY and will contact the other agencies you have listed. I also called the hotel they are working out of and gave a verbal complaint, but to be honest I think it fell on deaf ears.
These guys are real scam artists. What ever you do DO NOT PAY THEM... They cannot do a thing. No legit collection agency will risk their reputation to work for them. Contact BBB, FBI, RCMP, Competition Bureau and report them. If anyone can take the trouble it would be worthwhile to contact INTERPOL, the international police. They might be the best agency to track and put away these crooks. Got a note yesterday asking to pay half or they would refer the total amount to collections. HA HA! I don't even bother replying. Waste of time! Will post updates to keep all informed. Again, whatever you do DO NOT EVER PAY THEM A PENNY!
INTERPOL update...
Just reported these scammers to the INTERPOL. Hopefully, they will track and put away these crooks. Will post updates. Let's band together and rid these thieves forever...
I haven't heard from them in a month.
I did retain a local attorney and am prepared to fight them in court. I sent them a notice via registered mail telling them to cancel. I don't know if they have given up or will try again with me but I will not send them anything
All effected by this SCAM should call ACL Collections at (877) 288-7144 Toll Free and tell them that they are risking their reputation as a legit collector by associating with Yellow Page B.V. If ACL continue to harass with bogus collections, then they should be reported to FBI FTC FCC and the Attorney General in New Jersey. Yellow Page B.V. was using STA International, who ended up dropping them after they found out that they were bogus.
We too have been scammed by this. We were not aware that this was not Yellow Pages until we received the invoice for payment of $1068. We are located in California. Has anyone in California been sent to collections and had their credit affected by this?
Has anyone responded to their "last reminder" where you're supposed to call or email them before a certain date (but you don't usually receive the mail until AFTER their suggested deadline) before they pass you off to collections?
And has anyone that's been scammed in Canada received notices from any Collections company yet?
I sent the collection agency a copy of all the complaints on this blog, plus a copy of my complaints to the FTC and BBB, and also a copy of the FTC class action lawsuit against similar practices in Canada. Haven't heard a word since. I am done wasting any more energy on this, and I suggest you do your small part in stomping them and move on with a peaceful life. They are not worth a minute of your concern!
Unfortunately, we were also presented with this scam last fall, just as my wife was deciding to close her business. She responded to a "update your advert" request, which was followed by a bill for $1068 for a 2 year 'listing'. She immediately asked to have it cancelled. The response was a collection letter from ACL. Unfortunately, she paid them. I doubt we'll ever see that $ again.
And to make matters worse, a SEPARATE request, which upon closer inspection, came from yet another YP boilerroom (Yellow Pages Directories, in Carrollton TX) came last week. She fell for that one too, thinking that she was at least going to change the name on the entry for YP BV. A bill for $298 came today, and I started digging. That one's NOT being paid, but we'll do what we can to support you.
I am from Winnipeg, Canada. Not only did I sign the form that they faxed me, I paid them too. However, I still get the threatening letters trying to collect the payment anyway. I can figure these guys out...So far I have been ignoring them. I asked my lawyer about it, and he said that it is a gray area, and that because I agreed to it, I may be on the hook for the 2nd year too...
Our company has also been scammed by this company. I am not letting these people intimidate me, I have contacted the BBB Toronto, competitions bureau and I even did a search on one dundas street suite 2500 in Toronto which is building of Cadillac Fairview, I have contacted them and the company in suite 2500 is a credit card company. The man I spoke with at Cadillac Fairview has never heard of Yellow page BV. I have also spoken with the real yellow pages, they have said that their lawyers are looking into this and advised not to pay; they have several complaints and so far nobody has been taken to court.
I just posted the prior comment. Actually the floor with suite 2500 is leased by Regus (but building still owned by Cadillac Fairview). I did contact Regus, and they have had many calls re: Yellow page. Lady at Regus was not happy to talk to me at all! Told me to call the police or BBB and in between the lines to leave her alone. haha
I am a victim of this scam, too. I am in British Columbia, Canada. On February 19, 2010, I signed up on their stupid fax offer thinking they are real YellowPages which my company has a listing for a long long time. Today I got a statement with $20 latepayment fee on top of $1428. I am not going to pay! I've filed a complaint with Ontario BBB and Ontario Ministry of Consumer Services at www.ontario.ca/consumerservices (BBB referred me to contact.) Can anyone tell me what else I can do?
I was wondering if anyone in Canada has actually received a collection letter? Have you ever noticed that they are not charging taxes, they need a business # to operate in Canada, their GST# should be on their invoice.
I am also a victim of this scam. It has the name of "YellowPage-Massachusetts.com".
JS
Well I too completed, signed and sent off the scam fax and today, I received an invoice for $1068. It didn’t seem legit so I did a little research. Low and behold here we are . . . boy do I feel duped! I will not pay them one red penny. Anonymous in Canada (3/22/10) suggested that there might be some connection with unscrupulous individuals working for the legitimate yellowpages. Makes sense to me, I received the scam fax just days before being contacted by my legitimate yellowpage sales rep. Coincidence perhaps, but agree with comments from Anonymous, someone from the legitimate yellow pages may be tipping off these scoundrels.
Now what ?????
In Calgary, Alberta, and got scammed by this scheme as well. Very clever scam actually. Surprised that they are allowed to use essentially the same logo as Yellowpages. Not only am I not going to pay but I am going to send them my own bill for wasting my time. I feel I am worth $850/hour incidentally...
Here in Ontario we were scammed by this company in Feb.. The invoice and letters came about payment and we are not sure whether to pay or not, just to protect credit ratings.One thing we did notice was that the invoice did not show a busines number, a tax number or a breakdown of tax being paid.. A phone call to the tax informant line was placed and was well received.. Also, is an invoice valid if that information is not on it, a legal decision on that would be good to know.?
Our Winnipeg business was also scammed. I almost posted that payment then took a harder look at invoice. OYE Thank you for this blog.. very informative. I read that Yellow Pages.. legit one lol did not register trade mark nor the yellow pages name? Wonder if that is true?
Jane/Nappa
We wondered same thing about coincidence that yellow pages and scammers calls same time period.
from: Winnipeg
I am also a victim of this scam in Ontario Canada with the Yellow Page office supposedly operating out of Toronto. Upon receiving the invoice we immediately contacted Yellow Page and they informed me that I was no longer within the cancellation period. And that I am bound to a contract of two years at $1428.00 per year. We paid the first amount and asked them to send us a signed document stating that our contract will be aborted at the earliest possible date. They corresponded numerous times with the same row about not being within the cancellation period anymore, not at all addressing my request. Finally what we ended up doing was faxing a copy of a letter down every day for a couple weeks. Finally we got a response "we have noted that you wish to cancel your contract after the first year" when I very clearly stated that I realize that we are bound to two years. I was starting to question the intellect of these people. They have now given me a letter stating that they can reduce my second year to $714.00. But thanks to this blog they will get no more money!!
As I mentioned four comments up, why on Earth would you even worry about sending them a single payment? They are borderline illegal and honestly if someone showed up they'd get punched in the face.
Start sending them your own invoice for wasting your time. I am going to send them to collections if they don't pay.
Now in Sydney, Australia... Fax received on Wednesday 19 May 2010. headed "YellowPage-Sydney.com" with the inverted almost-copy of the Yellow Pages logo.
Amount to be charged is "$129 per month". Company details listed as:
YELLOW PUBLISHING LTD
111 Piccadilly Manchester M1 2HY UK
info@yellowpublishing.com
Return fax number: "1-800-191-300" and appears to have come from "1300 733 677" (difficult to read due to overprinting on that sheet of paper).
This scam has now reached Australia! We received a fax today from Yellowpage-Victoria.com... wanting over $3000 for 2 years subscription and a FREE google submission... (you submit stuff to google?)... Forwarding fax onto the Department of Fair Trading....
Cheers
Michael
Melbourne Vic.
Just FYI, this came a few minutes ago to Melbourne, Australia - exactly the same template, but YellowPage-Victoria.com as the heading. I wonder if their logo being an inversion of the real Yellow pages, but giving us the 'two finger salute' is trying to tell us something. I can scan it and email it to you if you like, just for further evidence.
David.
I contacted the BBB in New York and go back a letter from YellopageBV offering to settle for $534. I have contacted a lawyer and he advised me to send them that amount as "final settlement" sayong it would cost more for me to sue them or defend myself in court. My only advice to everyone is to contact the BBB where ever thy are using a mailing address and maybe if there are enough complaints the BBb will helps some how.
I've copied you on an email Jim to Regus in Toronto where they operate their Canadian office. I also copied Cadillac Fairview who lease to Regus, as well as our local MP, and the Canadian Press who, incidentally, are also victims of the scam.
Further, I noted that at least 25 Royal Trust locations in Canada are listed in directories, so I notified RBC's counsel David Allgood.
I'm in Austalia (QLD) and also received - and fell for - this fax thinking it was the real Yellow Pages. DO NOT pay them a cent. The Trade Practices Act of 1975 is very clear on deceptive conduct (Sect V). I am going to follow the advice I read on another blog which is ask them for a copy of the offical organisations Purchase Order form. I am also contacting Consumer Affairs.
While I feel like an idiot for falling for this scam - I cannot see them taking any sort of sucessful debt collection. If they do - it will make a mockery of the Trade Practices Act, and do untold damage to the real Yellow Pages. They will also need to come out of hiding - and I'm sure the Federal Police and Interpol will be there waiting - judging by other comments here.
Incidently - I received this fax soon after paying for/finalising my real Yellow Pages add - so their fax asking for "key words" seemed appropriate. While I feel so stupid - these bastards are not getting one penny. Any lawyer that defends them is going to have their name splattered all over the media in a very, very negaative way.
Thank you so much for creating this blog.
We too have been scammed.
We are in Toronto.
I intent to send a scam fax to all our clients as a warning.
Glad to know that we were not the only ones scammed.
I just send an email to Toronto Police Fraud at http://www.google.ca/search?q=toronto+police%2C+fraud&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a
If more people from Ontario send email to the police fraud then hopefully they can do something.
I intend to send it to our local MP as well.
Thank you for taking the time to create this blog
Sydney, Australia. Just received an invoice from "YellowPage-NSW.com" for $1548.00. We haven't had previous contact, so I guess they are trying their luck. The address is level 39, 2 Park St, Sydney, ph 1800216601. It was great to confirm our suspicions right away. Thank you for the blog site and good luck to all caught up in their lies.
We received a fax from the Ontario branch of "YellowPages" in April this year and an invoice two weeks later.
Thanks for keeping up the good work on exposing this scam!
I'm in Sydney Australia, excatly same template and yes i fell into it. Just received an invoice demanding a cheque, after going thru and reliased it's a scam. I guess i will wait for their next action then since i am not going to pay a cent. Good luck people.
Received invoice in Toronto, Canada. Thanks to advice from this blog, I have sent complaint to BBB and also email to Toronto Police Fraud. Also sent a complaint to the Ontario Ministry of Consumer Services but they refused to look into it indicating that this is a business-to-business dispute and does not fall into consumer protection legislation. That such fraudulent practice should be allowed to continue operating around the world is a real shame. Keep up the good work of posting here and updating us all. If there is anything we can do collectively let me know.
Bittersweet to see that I'm not alone in being duped by this scam. I faxed a cancellation in writing very soon after realizing this was not a legit company, and they rejected it along with sending another invoice. I called the company and as soon as I told them I was going to report them to the BBB the woman hung up on me. Thanks for creating this blog - I no longer feel obligated to pay these scammers. ...duped in Utah
i have also receive so many scam which is about paying some money but always i ignore that because we think don't run back to money
Have received a bill.
The Regus Group in Sydney is helping them out by allowing them to use their virtual office facilities. I wonder if Regus know that they are helping the scammers to rip off Australians??? The media in Sydney would have a field day with this.
See http://www.regus.com.au/virtualoffices/default.htm
The address on the scamemrs invoice is:
Yellow Page Marketing B.V
Level 39, 2 Park Street
Sydney NSW 2000
- Which is the Regus building.
Scammed in Ontario.....
I received the fax as well. I have been receiving an invoice for $1428 which I refuse to pay. I have yet to be contacted by collections. If you have been scammed, please phone the Competition Bureau at 1-800-348-5358. They were very helpful.....and I won't be paying the invoice!!!!
It seems to now have started in Australia. YellowPage-NSW.com They sent the fax to one of our regional offices, who signed it, and are now billing us for the money. Have refused to pay. See how we go.
What does the Yellow Pages Group think of all this? They are clearly tricking people by using a similar logo.
I feel pretty dumb falling for this. I have received the 2nd urgent reminder to pay. Like others, I tried to cancel, but was told I was out of the cancellation period. I see a lot of people complaining and asking questions, but no answers. Does the BBB or state Attorney General get involved at all? If so what is the status? Have any collection agencies pursued collection? Has anyone had their credit history impacted. Are there any answers here other than be more careful and read the small print?
Apparently, their so-called "Collections Agency" is just another subsidiary of their own company.
For those of you in the United States, here's a good article about filing lawsuits against debt collectors: http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20100701/pl_mcclatchy/3554594
For everyone, don't pay these scumbags anything! Hopefully they'll run out of money and die off...
I received this fax in Melbourne, Australia.
All companies that send us stuff are routinely screened, so this one was caught out very quickly.
Sending a copy to you Jim and to the authorities (i.e. ACCC) here, thanks for your excellent work mate!
We are also victim and not paying a penny! We are in Canada and we tried all the yellowpage-province websites and our company is listed in all Canadian provinces!! This company seems to be leasing virtual offices from Regus all over the world. If Regus is not involved in this scam, they should realize that by helping yellow page publishing will tarnish their name! Call the competitive bureau (phone busters) to make a complaint.
I have also fallen victim of this scam. Melbourne, Australia - exactly the same template, but YellowPage-Victoria.com as the heading
I will not pay them anything and will be contacting all relevant govt departments
Has anyone had action done to them beyond demands for money
Do NOt Pay These Scum Bags Any MONEY. They have misrepresented them selves to look and feel like a legitimate company. They received your signature under false pretenses. No self respecting Judge would give them judgement in their favour. It is also very difficult to collect.
They are preying on your fear. That is how they operate. Like you I also signed due to lack of time frame, and laziness to read the fine print. But I am not afraid of them.
DO not pay them one cent of your money. It is a scam through and through. If you paid them any money already, do not be hard on yourself, and beat yourself up for that. You are one of thousands of good people.
They are running out of time, and they know it. That is why they are offering 25% settlements. They are getting ready to cut and run. The words I have to describe these low lives, is too obsene to print.
Take heart and put this behind you.
Sincerely
Also Taken, And I should have know better.
All in Canada please take note... DO NOT PAY THESE SCAM ARTISTS. After a while they will leave you alone. It appears the real Yellow Pages has Competition Bureau in Canada after these crooks and hopefully have them shut down soon. See link below:
http://calgary.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20100505/CGY_Yellow_Page_100505/20100505?hub=CalgaryHome
Canadians take note. The Government of Canada is now warning businesses to watch for the Yellow Page scam. See link below:
http://www.competitionbureau.gc.ca/eic/site/cb-bc.nsf/eng/03226.html
So whatever you do, DO NOT EVER PAY THEM ONE PENNY... Their days are numbered and hopefully they will be shut down soon.
A similar scam was investigated by Canadian Government and resulted in resulted in jail term for criminals. See link below. So all in Canada take note: DO NOT PAY A PENNY TO THESE CROOKS! They will be soon behind bars. For Aussie businesses being scammed, please contact your government Fair Trade Practice agencies similar to Canadian counterparts to investigate this illegal activity. Governments must protect businesses against this fraud.
http://www.competitionbureau.gc.ca/eic/site/cb-bc.nsf/eng/00249.html
Canadians take note... There was criminal charges and convictions in Canada for similar Yellow Page frauds. See link below: Aussie friends: Please contact your Government Fair Trade Practice Agencies and let them know what Canadian Government has done to protect consumers against this scam. We need our Governments to protect us. People, PLEASE DO NOT PAY THEN A SINGLE PENNY... They will be shut done soon and there is not a thing they can do about it. DO NOT EVER GIVE INTO FEAR DO NOT PAY THEM...
http://www.competitionbureau.gc.ca/eic/site/cb-bc.nsf/eng/01865.html
I am feeling sick about this. I unwittingly fell for this scam in Sydney Australia and feel so stupid. I haven’t told my boss and have had two letters of demand for payment. Although I feel like paying it out of my own pocket, the ACCC advised me (as do other bloggers) not to pay a cent. I suppose this is how these scum bags want you to feel. Has anyone in Australia got any suggestions.
Hi Aussie friend...
Please read the 3 previous posts to yours and PLEASE check the links provided. These are from the Government of Canada web sites. Trust me, if you ignore them they will stop bothering you after their last letter for collection. When it comes to actual collecting they really cannot enforce that as no legitimate collection agency would work for them as they have used deceit and illegal trade practices to procure a contract. No court would side them, even if it goes to a court. They just prey on your fears and hope that you pay. Those who ignore them are even offered to pay half or collection action. Ignore this step and they will leave you alone. The only place they actually use a collection agency is in the USA where an equally shady outfit named ACL adjustments use same same tactics to collect. I am sure if you stand upto them, they would not be able to enforce collections and so many US fair trade practice rules are violated here. So rest easy and sleep well, this will pass... Remember, whatever you do DO NOT PAY THESE CROOKS A SINGLE PENNY! Again, please do research the links I have provided in the posts and I am certain you will feel better. And do contact parallel agencies in your country for guidance.
Thank you
I too was hit with this scam. I got the harassing invoices and calls to stop by reporting the scam to the BBB being very specific about invoice dates.
As soon as the Better Business Bureau got involved all invoices and calls stopped.
I too have been hit by this scam. Sydney, Australia. Received a phone call from a telemarketer who explained that this was a free listing, they would send through a fax for confirmation of our search words... blah, blah.. Of course, I did not read the fine print. Signed off, and after ignoring the first three payment reminders, they told me tday that they would refer the case to their debt collection agency.
I have to admit I do stress about this actually going somewhere, but after reading all these posts, I am more relaxed. If I actually hear from a debt collection agency, I will make sure I post the name and contact information here. I will also visit them at their address, to try and find the people behind this.
I also reported this to SCAM Watch in Australia today.
I will never pay a cent..
Looks like these scammers are finally out of business in Canada! Their internet site is down and phone number is no longer in service!!!!
I just got a fax for a listing in yelow-pages-sydney (see http://www.flickr.com/photos/dougbeckers/sets/72157624685770840/ for a copy of the fax). When I first looked at the fax I was suspicious because there was no phone number to call, no website for information and the yellow pages symbol is upside down!
Do not contact these people, it is just a rip off!
Have also been caught out SOUTH AUSTRALIA. Same thing now Yellow Page Adelaide. Have contacted ACCC they advise to not pay and ignore.
Have also been caught out SOUTH AUSTRALIA. Same thing now Yellow Page Adelaide. Have contacted ACCC they advise to not pay and ignore.
Victoria has been hit via the Sydney address for this scam. Can the actual yellowpages get them for trademark or copyright on the logo. It would be helpfull if a body like the ACCC could procecute under section 52 of the trade practises act.
Received this letter for 'last reminder - debt collection pending' for $1,608 (including a $60 late payment fee) from Yellow Page Sydney.
The logo is upside down and the contact details are from Hague Equinox and St Georges Terrace, Perth Australia.
Same as all the others, the terms and conditions stated $129 per month fee for 2 years payable upfront. I filled out the form as I only read the heading re free advertising on google.
Do not fall for this!
I just reported this to Scamwatch at ACCC as there's a form at http://www.scamwatch.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/694011#h2_17
I have also emailed feedback to the genuine yellow pages at http://www.yellowpages.com.au/pages/contact-us/comments/thanks
Just received this scam - We're in New Zealand - seem to be the first poster from NZ
IN QLD SAYS: I have received my 1st threatening letter from these bozo's re debt collection. Personally I am not too worried. I have had many a conversation with a lovely lady in at the Sensis Yellow Pages about this and they have taken legal action to stop them using the similar 'finger' logo and name in their website. Hence even if they chase me for the money I can say "nope - I paid for a web site that says " Yellow Page Queensland" not "The Queensland Directory". I dare say the same thing will happen in other states - and I will contact my contact in at Sensis Yellow Pages and let her know also - so that if they haven't taken action in other states they certainly can.
See :
http://www.yellowpage-queensland.com/en/site/index.xml
You will notice it says "The Queensland Directory" - not what is on their invoice " Yellow Page Queensland"
ALSO: All Aussies - write to your local call back station / media outlets etc stating how the REGUS GROUP is helping to rip off Aussies. I know I have - enough of us do it, Regus will get really bad press and will probably pull support - if they don't well - their loss re the bad publicity.
My 'invoice' address has moved from Regus in Sydney to Regus in Perth. I wonder if the Sydney people got paid?? 1800 number is the same. Why the gov't cannot stop their communications I don't know?
It is heartening to read this blog. I was on the verge of accepting their 25% offer to protect my company's credit rating. I too was dealing with the legitimate Yellow Pages around the time this scamming fax arrived. I will be contacting the official agencies mentioned. Thank you all!!!!
Our Company was scammed in Canada as well. Great help came from the Competition Bureau. Go on their website - they are familiar with the the scam and were very helpful.
the familiar "walking fingers" logo is not protected as a trademark and may be used by anyone
Received a Fax from them this day
Dear Sir
We are happy to inform you that, with immediate effect, your company details will be removed and we would like to aplogise for any inconvenience caused
Thank you for your understanding
Yours sincerely
YELLOW PAGES B.V.
Legal Team
I am so amazed at how many folks out there were scammed like myself. I am a single mother with a brand new healthcare practice and this Yellow Page invoice has been haunting me for weeks now. I immediately sent them, in writing, a letter of cancellation. When I was told that my grace period for cancellation had expired, I told them that I had not even received one patient lead from this ad. They told me to be patient and that the results would come soon. I told them that I was not satisfied with the ad and they encouraged me to write a letter of dissatisfaction. I did, I told them my sob story about how I'm struggling financially and then I offered to pay for the one month of advertising that I have already supposedly received. After reading everyone's comments, I will not pay them one cent. I will report them to Better Business Bureau and try to talk with someone at Score.org. Unfortunately I cannot afford and attorney right now but it doesn't seem that it will be necessary. I have read nearly every comment on this page and it doesn't seem that anyone's credit has been tarnished so I'm going to just take the chance and refuse to pay! Thank you (ALL OF YOU) for speaking out. I will put this on my facebook page and write a blog on my website as well.
Be well, Veronica
Our Attorney actually suggested it would be a waste of money to use his services. He told our company to disregard all correspondence from Yellow Page B.V.
Caught like everyone else . Thought it was for a free google listing until I got the bill . Phoned their office and tried to cancel and then had to fax my cancellation request . I have NO INTENTION of paying and wont lose a wink of sleep . What low lifes . I told the woman over the phone , I couldnt believe she could wiork for such a scam company .
I have contacted Consumer Affairs and the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission and my solicitor who have all informed me that as an Australian citizen and them being a UK based company , I am not obliged to go to court in the UK . They have also advised it would be very unlikely due to the amount of people not paying that we would have to go to court in Australia . If that was the case there are issues for them in Australia of Breach of Copy write of the Yellow pages logo and their scam also raises concerns under section 52 of the Trade practises ACT for Misleading or deceptive conduct .
Just keep using the back of their letters for scrap paper . At least they are wasting some of their money trying to get money out of us . Just totally forget about it .
After reading all of these comments, I've noticed that the address for the Canadian yellowpage scammer and the Australian ones were BOTH hosted by "Regus".
That's a little disconcerting, don't you think?
A few people claimed to have called Regus and that a "curt lady" had answered and was "not pleased".
Sounds like a clever ruse.
I'm not planning on paying either..and I will threaten legal action if they have the capital and knowhow to send "collections".
sheesh.
Has anyone received a letter from their "collections agency" recently? I'm wondering if they are capable of reporting to any of major credit companies successfully. I called the FTC and they advised me to watch the credit report and if it pops up to dispute it. Keep up the fight!
Received this cocky response from the company after refusing to pay because they did not answer our Better Business Bureau complaint: “The Better Business Bureau (BBB) give a rating based on the level of complaints and not on the validity of the complaint. As we are a global company logic dictates that even within Canada there will be a higher level of complaints due to the size of the business. If the BBB has found in your favour by default then congratulations but this alters nothing legally. We are still in the process of responding to all BBB enquiries.” Is there ANYthing that can be done about these con artists.
I think I have come up some ideas about how to go about giving these Yellowpage B.V. guys a run for their money.
First off, I noticed something very odd about the listings they put up for our businesses. They all list the account numbers as well where it says: "IDENT-Nr.:" above the listing, it matches the account number they are billing us with. So this makes things a little more interesting, because I can look up someone else's account number, call, and dispute their account without them knowing. Now I'm not exactly suggesting that, but it is a pretty fatal flaw that no legitimate business I know of would do.
I was thinking somewhere along the lines of getting a list of e-mail addresses that are 'advertised' on their site together and mass e-mailing them to try to organize a fight against Yellowpage B.V.
Also, I looked up information on the internet domain that hosts their sites. It is hosted by ns1.hans.hosteurope.de and the back up server is ns2.hans.hosteurope.de. Those servers are located in Germany. I sent an e-mail to info@denic.de to find out where to direct complaints since dealing with the website owner did not provide any help. As soon as I find out better contact information, I'll post it.
I'd like to encourage everyone to flood that box with complaints to try to shut that website down!
yep, we got caught the same as all others,in country Victoria and all info on this blog proved correct,their address is now WA.their freephone proved good....1800 216 601, i called them for weeks, up to 5 times per day for 2 weeks and they got sick of it...I also sent abusive emails, demanding action within 14 days or a complait would be sent to ACCC and the office of fair trading......
today i recieved their letter after weeks of chasing and it confirmed.....account cancelled and stated that NO CHARGE IS OUTSTANDING FOR THEIR BOGUS INVOICE EITHER...stated in their email.DONT PAY A CENT , chase them daily with demands like remove my listing and send a confirmation of the same within 14 days or else all paperwork and a complaint will be instigated by you .....it worked for me, in 13 days.....with 2 emails from them telling me sorry .....sorry....then the off the hook email arrived.
Demand them just like they started to do with me, after sending me an invoice, and 2nd letter of demand....and once you are off the hook......just to please them....ring the tollfree number they are advertizing, and waste their time some more, and yep tomorrow and the rest of the week i'll continue to call the tollfree number, over and over again...
After a few calls THE DOG @ THE GATE SAID.....(so why are you calling me????? )i explained cause i can and cause it costs me nothing and cause it is a waste of their time and cause i thought she'd like to know.....what i think of the company she works for and that she needs to be told to {get F#+@%^D} and she stated she will not be listening to THAT.....
i explained to her she is a silly shit cause she just did....listen to that. and to get a REAL JOB.
PAY NOTHING EXCEPT YOUR DISRESPECT TO THE DOG @ the GATE.....and send emails of demand aim at them.
GOOD LUCK TO ALL HERE, and thanks for the TOP BLOG...well done.David M. a fortunite aussie.
Yellow page scam
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Like Yellow Page BV - there are several hundred different companies using the phrase "yellow pages" or "yellow page" as part of their trademarks.
‘Yellow Pages’ or ‘Yellow Page’ is synonymous with ‘Business to Business’ marketing - commonly called ‘B2B’ - but (at least in the USA) they cannot prevent each other from using the words "yellow pages" in other combinations (e.g., "Bumpkinville Yellow Pages" could be a new trademark).
To even be considered for a federal registration of a trademark including "yellow pages", you would be required to "disclaim" any proprietary right to those words, apart from your specific combination (i.e., with other words, with a distinctive logo, etc.).
A descriptive and non-distinctive brand is not a very valuable marketing tool, and it only takes a bit of imagination to come up with something much more catchy.
In the United States, the predominant yellow pages are the Dex One Corporation's DEX, the AT&T Real Yellow Pages, Yellowbook, and the Verizon Superpages.
In the United States AT&T, Verizon, and Qwest, the three largest phone companies (in the U.S)., dominated the U.S. yellow pages industry; however, the term "yellow pages" and the Walking Fingers logo was heavily marketed by AT&T (pre the break up of the company) However, AT&T never filed a trademark registration application for the current and most recognised version of the Walking Fingers logo, so it is in the public domain. AT&T allowed the "independent yellow pages" industry to use the logo freely. The "independents" are unrelated to the incumbent phone company and are either pure advertising operations with no phone infrastructure or telephone companies who provide local telephone service elsewhere. Such independents include operators who typically focus on industry or business segments, or local market directories.
In France, for example, Yellow Pages are referred to as Pages Jaunes. They are distributed free by Pagesjaunes.fr, a company affiliated with France Télécom. pagesjaunes.com, the .com version of Pages Jaunes, was the issue of a major court case at WIPO; the original registrant, an individual from Los Angeles, won against France Télécom. This court decision defended by the Parisian Lawyer, Andre Bertrand, was path-setting for the whole European Yellow Pages industry, as it decided that the phrase "Yellow Pages" cannot be considered the property of a single company. Previously, many former state monopoly telecom companies outside the US had tried to ban competition by claiming the term "yellow pages", or the translation of "yellow pages" into the vernacular, as their exclusive trademark.
#
Like Yellow Page BV - there are several hundred different companies using the phrase "yellow pages" or "yellow page" as part of their trademarks.
‘Yellow Pages’ or ‘Yellow Page’ is synonymous with ‘Business to Business’ marketing - commonly called ‘B2B’ - but (at least in the USA) they cannot prevent each other from using the words "yellow pages" in other combinations (e.g., "Bumpkinville Yellow Pages" could be a new trademark).
To even be considered for a federal registration of a trademark including "yellow pages", you would be required to "disclaim" any proprietary right to those words, apart from your specific combination (i.e., with other words, with a distinctive logo, etc.).
A descriptive and non-distinctive brand is not a very valuable marketing tool, and it only takes a bit of imagination to come up with something much more catchy.
In the United States, the predominant yellow pages are the Dex One Corporation's DEX, the AT&T Real Yellow Pages, Yellowbook, and the Verizon Superpages.
In the United States AT&T, Verizon, and Qwest, the three largest phone companies (in the U.S)., dominated the U.S. yellow pages industry; however, the term "yellow pages" and the Walking Fingers logo was heavily marketed by AT&T (pre the break up of the company) However, AT&T never filed a trademark registration application for the current and most recognised version of the Walking Fingers logo, so it is in the public domain. AT&T allowed the "independent yellow pages" industry to use the logo freely. The "independents" are unrelated to the incumbent phone company and are either pure advertising operations with no phone infrastructure or telephone companies who provide local telephone service elsewhere. Such independents include operators who typically focus on industry or business segments, or local market directories.
In France, for example, Yellow Pages are referred to as Pages Jaunes. They are distributed free by Pagesjaunes.fr, a company affiliated with France Télécom. pagesjaunes.com, the .com version of Pages Jaunes, was the issue of a major court case at WIPO; the original registrant, an individual from Los Angeles, won against France Télécom. This court decision defended by the Parisian Lawyer, Andre Bertrand, was path-setting for the whole European Yellow Pages industry, as it decided that the phrase "Yellow Pages" cannot be considered the property of a single company. Previously, many former state monopoly telecom companies outside the US had tried to ban competition by claiming the term "yellow pages", or the translation of "yellow pages" into the vernacular, as their exclusive trademark.
The name and concept of "Yellow Pages" came about in 1883, when a printer in Cheyenne, Wyoming working on a regular telephone directory ran out of white paper and used yellow paper instead. In 1886 Reuben H. Donnelley created the first official yellow pages directory, inventing an industry.
Yellow Pages refers to a telephone directory of businesses, categorised according to the product or service provided. As the name suggests, such directories were originally printed on yellow paper, as opposed to white pages for non-commercial listings. The traditional term Yellow Pages is now also applied to online directories of businesses.
Today, the expression Yellow Pages is used globally, in both English-speaking and non-English speaking countries. In the United States, it refers to the category, while in some other countries it is a registered name and therefore a proper noun. The term Yellow Pages is not a registered name within the United States and is freely used by many companies.
(with grateful thanks to Wikipedia)
http://www.competitionbureau.gc.ca/eic/site/cb-bc.nsf/eng/03226.html
Got nabbed myself. See attached link to Canadian Competition Bureau. Do not pay and file a complaint online accordingly. Spoke to an officer at their office today and he mentioned a press release in May 2010 (attahced link). Scammo-supremo
Don't pay. It is a bad scam hoax. They have no legal right to collect since they falsely represented themselves to begin with. I sent them a bill just to feel better about it. They will go away eventually after threatening you with legal action if you don't pay. They try to bully you into paying but don't. I kinda miss them now, as it was fun mailing insults back and forth!!!
Been interested in this issue for a while. Isn't a scam where someone rents a room, collects the money and then disappears for absolutely no product or service? As far as I can see these guys do offer a service. What's the problem?
Guys checks this blog out http://sbus.blogspot.com/2009/10/yellowpage-fax-scam.html
this has been happening for a long time in Sydney and other parts of Australia.
Make sure you do some research before you sign any contracts. Lot of SME's gonna hate the online yp services for this. Including me :(
Guys checks this blog out http://sbus.blogspot.com/2009/10/yellowpage-fax-scam.html
this has been happening for a long time in Sydney and other parts of Australia.
Make sure you do some research before you sign any contracts. Lot of SME's gonna hate the online yp services for this. Including me :(
Dom, there are many different kinds of scams. Any rose by any other name is still a rose, yeah? If you have an e-mail account, then some of the spam you get are scams too. Even something as simple as confirming your identity is linked to a phone number or an e-mail account can be used against you in identity theft.
As for yp b.v., I filed a complaint against them with the FTC and called the FTC the next day. The gentleman on the phone asked for my complaint number and pulled it up. After looking at it he proceeded to tell me not to pay them and to keep an eye on my credit report incase they do try to report it.
There's a reason why there are so many complaints against them and why they have an "F" rating according to the BBB. Reputable businesses (not scams) usually have a decent rating on the BBB.
And there's probably a good reason why Jim Slaughter stopped posting... because largely, he probably considers that he has invested enough of his time on this scam. I'm grateful that he's left this blog up for the others that get snagged.
Also, you don't find it funny that if you type in Yellowpage B.V. on google, you get these scam stories as your first search results? And what happened to our free google ads that yp b.v. was going to give us?
It is a scam because you are tricked into paying a ridiculous amount for a totally useless "service". You think you are getting a listing on the on line Yellow Pages but instead you get listed on a site that NO ONE will ever visit
I was duped as well and have no intention of paying them a dime. My next move is to report them to whoever I can and fax them copies and wait and see. Can't imagine their collection department can have any teeth with their obviously deceptive format. The fact that the cancellation period is up before the bill arrives alone should be grounds for dismissal.
Well, it does seem a rather odd question but of course everybody should read the contract before signing it. The fact that your signature appears underneath the ‘Authorised Signature’ box gives a presumption, a legal undertaking, that you have read the contents, understood them and agree to them. It is true that many people do not read the contracts before signing or that they have read them, but have not understood them. If you don’t understand the contract - do not sign it.
The best legal firms in the World would struggle to prove that you had no idea what you were signing. It is very important to read any contract thoroughly, especially when the contract involves regular monthly payments for a service that you may not be able to afford or think that you do not require.
Well, it does seem a rather odd question but of course everybody should read the contract before signing it. The fact that your signature appears underneath the ‘Authorised Signature’ box gives a presumption, a legal undertaking, that you have read the contents, understood them and agree to them. It is true that many people do not read the contracts before signing or that they have read them, but have not understood them. If you don’t understand the contract - do not sign it.
The best legal firms in the World would struggle to prove that you had no idea what you were signing. It is very important to read any contract thoroughly, especially when the contract involves regular monthly payments for a service that you may not be able to afford or think that you do not require.
‘Small’ or ‘fine’ print is defined as the part of a contract that contains reservations and qualifications that are often printed in small type. There is a very good reason why the saying goes "don't sign a contract without reading the small print".
If you have signed a contract, the legally binding assumption that is made, is that you have actually read the contract & of course, that all important small print.
If you have signed a contract then, legally, you will usually have to see it out, unless there are some very extenuating circumstances affecting your case.
‘Small’ or ‘fine’ print is defined as the part of a contract that contains reservations and qualifications that are often printed in small type. There is a very good reason why the saying goes "don't sign a contract without reading the small print".
If you have signed a contract, the legally binding assumption that is made, is that you have actually read the contract & of course, that all important small print.
If you have signed a contract then, legally, you will usually have to see it out, unless there are some very extenuating circumstances affecting your case.
That Paul guy is most likely from Yellow Page B.V. He's polluting this blog with his comments which are pretty much cut and pasted from the Yellow Page B.V.'s website. I hate to go to the site and increase their visit count, but I'm also a victim of this scam. They have changed the look of their site this month (September 2010) to make it look even more similar to the real Yellow Pages. On this site, they have a forum area that tries to justify their fraudulent business practice, defend their use of a name similar to the Yellow Pages, and to discredit the BBB (since the BBB has given them a F-rating).
The website they are billing me for is down:
http://yellowpage-queensland.com/en/site/index.xml
And they want people to pay in advance for this "service".
Not to mentioned they changed the whole name and look of the website after Sensis Australia took legal action against them. So they are billing me for something I didn't even "sign" for on their misleading form.
So Paul, "anyone" can use Yellow Pages name hey?? So how come Sensis took sucessful action against you? To you tell lies for a living?
Have a look at this (what I believe is a government) website:
http://www.commerce.wa.gov.au/ConsumerProtection/scamnet/Scams/Yellow_Pages_scam.html
It reads:
Yellow Page scheme
Overseas directory listings and registry scheme - by fax
A misleading fax has been turning up at business premises across WA. It’s for a $129 per month scheme run under the website www.yellowpage-westernaustralia.com
The unsolicited fax, which has an inverted version of the “Walking Fingers” logo, implies that by signing up you are agreeing to renew your business name listing with a well-known directory service.
In fact you will receive a tax invoice for $1548 for a 12 month listing with an internet directory scheme, which is not the primary business phone listing directory - the fee information is contained within the terms and conditions.
WA ScamNet understands it is part of a wider scheme involving location-based variations of the same name, including:
www.yellowpage-victoria.com
www.yellowpage-nsw.com
www.yellowpage-southaustralia.com
www.yellowpage-queensland.com
www.yellowpage-tasmania.com
Although the faxes suggest that the business is in the UK, the group is headed by Yellow Page Marketing BV based in the Netherlands.
We contacted Sensis who own the “Walking Fingers” registered trademark and they took steps to have the logo removed from www.yellowpage-westernaustralia.com which has since been rebranded as Western Australia Directory, although the URL remains the same.
Sensis wants to hear from businesses who receive faxes from anyone claiming to represent Yellow Pages. Their number is 13 23 78.
Directory listing and registry schemes which mislead consumers are all too common. In February we issued this media release about a similar misrepresentation: "WA business could sign away thousands of dollars". The advice to businesses remains the same:
read all documents carefully before signing;
try to restrict the number of employees who are authorised to sign invoices and important documents;
avoid giving out information about your business to a third party until you clarify the purpose of their enquiry; and
deal with people you know and trust wherever possible.
Scams of a similar type include:
Domain Names Australia
Employment Protection Australia
For more scams of this type and others, visit the full list of scams by type page.
Seems like Paul from BV Marketing will need to take legal action against the Western Australian government for defamation (if Paul is speaking the truth that is)
Who you going to trust - the Western Australian Government; or some nobody on the net called "Paul"?
Do NOT pay these scammers a cent.
All Aussie people see:
http://www.commerce.wa.gov.au/ConsumerProtection/scamnet/Scams/Yellow_Pages_scam.html
Paul has a fight on his hands with the WA government it seems...
Looks like these criminals have moved on to a different scam: http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/yellow-warns-about-invoice-scam-129466
I’m certain no court in the world would side with this fraudulent company.
Paul makes a point for legitimate contracts regarding legitimate services. This contract is misleading and hides itself by associating the information with Google and Yellow Pages. I was working with the actual Yellow Pages associate when the fax came and sadly with the timing I fell for it. I did read the small print but they worded it so that it appeared the charge wouldn't would apply if you were contracted with the yellow pages.
The real issue for me was the 14 day payment terms, making it impossible to cancel since they send the bill a month after you send in the fax. I got my complaint ID from New York's BBB today, and have no intention of paying a dime.
Has Anyone read the Yellow Page Response Forum. What a joke and an insult:
http://yellowpageforum.com/?page_id=8
The scam is back and better than ever, another small business has been duped. Thanks for the encouraging words.. we are not planning on paying a cent to these people.
I am yet another victim of this ridiculous scam. i have been fighting with them since June and refuse to pay. They sent me a letter saying they would send my account to collections unless payment was received Sept 24, but received the letter on Oct 12!I hope someone takes these thieves down.
They have come to Australia. I just read throught previous comments, it is exactly what is happening here. I haven't found anyone being to the court for this matter. No one shuold pay.
They have come to Australia. I have read through previous comments and haven't found anyone being to the court for this matter. Don't Pay!!!
Our company has also had correspondance from these germs.Today we have received a bank Transfer Order to fill in and Fax back to allow them to direct debit from our account.This came with yet another final notice
Just received my latest threatening letter to cough up in Australia. They've changed the amount I owe 3 times!!! Sometimes higher, somtimes lower!!! LOL I can really see a court enforcing that "debt". Hey Paul, how's your fight with teh WA gov't going. If you are telling the truth they are defaming you :)
Paul's letter comes with a direct debit authority that he wants me to sign and hand over. Good Luck. I'll happily see you in court buddy!!!! In the mean time Paul, I suggest you go read Section 52 of the Trade Practices Act.
All Aussie people see this article by the Brisbane Times:
Seems Paul has another defamation fight to get underway.....
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/katter-ansett-scammed-by-yellow-pages-pretender-20101003-16299.html
i have been caught up in this scam and have been fighting it, i have a bill for $1068 also and have been firm about not paying it. I keep sending letters back and finally i have not heard anything back yet, maybe it went into collections but i will dispute it even further if i have to and i have already contacted my lawyers about the issue. dont let them get you.
let me know if you can help me,
i have been caught up in this scam and have been fighting it, i have a bill for $1068 also and have been firm about not paying it. I keep sending letters back and finally i have not heard anything back yet, maybe it went into collections but i will dispute it even further if i have to and i have already contacted my lawyers about the issue. dont let them get you.
We too were duped by these scamsters here in New York. And oddly, it happened right around the time our real Yellow Pages Directory contract was up for renewal. I have received their 3rd letter demanding $1428 in payment. I have reported them to the NY BBB today and received an ID. I have no intention of paying them a dime.
Also, I contacted ACL Collections to preemptively stall them from sending any notices. They informed me that they do not handle the Yellow Pages B.V. account anymore. I will also call ACS Recovery and any other collections services I know of preemptively.
Maybe they are already reading this blog and will know who I am! LOL.
I am totally rejecting all YellowPaged BV explanations as misleading and knowingly untruthful. This scam is conducted widely across the country, there is a huge number of complaints on them. All one needs to do is searching by Google "YellowPages BV scam" and receive pages and pages of complaints all over the country and globally. The complaints are not old as the company claims at their letter, they are current, the most recent one is of 10/25/2010. YellowPages BV continues to conduct their scam as we speak and write and it is a shame that the authorities do not close this operation that contaminates the marketplace so badly.
The YellowPages BV scam works like this:
1. The scammers send mass unsolicited faxes to companies (which is illegal according to Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991, 47 U.S.C. § 227) 2. The fax is asking for an updated information for the YellowPages update 3. Company employees (mainly administrators) are receiving the faxes believing it's from the YellowPages (YellowPages BV uses a logo that resembles the original YellowPages logo.) 4. Some employees are filling out the fax form believing it's a free update form for the Yellowpages listing (as it was always with the original
YellowPages.)
5. The employees usually miss the very very very fine print at the bottom of the form on signing a 2-year contract at thousands of dollars for some useless advertizing.
6. After 5-6 weeks the company will receive a bill to pay from Yellowpages BV and warnings will soon follow.
7. The administrator who signed the form will call the company in panic asking to cancel this so-called service.
8. The company will now claim that the 30-day cancellation deadline has already passed (obviously that's the reason the invoice was sent to the "signee" only after 30 days from the receiving their fax.
If YellowPages BV was a legitimate company it would have made sure the signee is interested in their product and that he/she has an authorization to sign multi-thousand dollar contracts on behalf of the company. They would also explain their product and "sell" it to the company owner or manager.
But no, not when the intention is to deceive and mislead the company as in this scam. Let me explain: YelloPages BV is totally useless for advertizing our business in the internet market place. Everybody with internet and Google can find us easily, and this is almost free. We would have never paid a penny for such nonsense. The only way to get anyone to sign for such a service is using a scam as described above.
There are 226 complaints on the BBB.org website alone, not to mention the numerous complaints with the NY Attorney General’s Office and other state officials. The BBB has rated this company an F for NO GOOD. Further investing in this matter it has been suggested to me to file a complaint with the Federal Trades Commission. As I still look into this matter, I see the Yellow Pages BV has now moved to Australia, scamming business all over the globe, along with the entire United States there are so many pages to read through, it a shame they can do this with this upside down logo. I also noticed "the FTC Sues to Halt YellowPages Business Directory Scams", is this you too?? I believe it is.
Even at this point with the BBB and other authorities involved, the internet is full of information on this scam. I am amazed that this company is having the nerve to write back a letter, which is full of lies, trying to justify this conduct, and request a $534.00 settlement. What a nerve.
I am going to post this letter several relevant blogs to warn innocent people from this poison.
Our Lawyer encouraged my company to disregard all further invoices. No legitimate company would procure business by hiding a contract in the fine print.
I always read the fine print and also being a DIY SEOer I knew from the get go (Free Google Submission) they were not legit. I'm sending you some link love to get you site up in the SERPs. We need to protect people from these guys. Thank you for creating this blog.
Just got burned and feel it! Not sure what to do. Feel like I should just pay the $356 cancellation fee and be rid of it. However, I contacted a Consumer Affairs DA who said she'll send me a complaint form and not to pay?? I'm sad and confused.
Okay, this is DEFINATELY a scam artist that is going to try to hit you at any point to get money from you. I tried to use my paypal today and ended up on the phone with them for 30 minutes because my transactions weren't going through. The guy from paypal told me that "someone in europe" tried to access my account a few months back.
Yeah, that's right, about the time I sent yellow page B.V. an e-mail they tried to get into my paypal account. I suggest those of you who tried to deal with them through e-mail check your paypal accounts if you have them.
I really hope that these people get caught and thrown in jail for a long time.
I had Yellow Page BV call me at work and chat with me about advertizing. I told them I was not authorized and referred them to who was. He said, before he got off the phone, "Can I send you a quick fax, we just want to ensure your current free listing is accurate" I obliged. I recieved the fax no less than 5 minutes later. I noticed the postal code was wrong on the listing, corrected it and sent it back. Stupid me I signed it. The postal code was purposefully incorrect to get you to respond. On the fax the small print was not even legiable. Bottom line is don't pay it and when I spoke with the BBB they told me that not one person has been sued for the money. For my Canadian friends...I was told by the BBB that the best place to complain about this is the Canadian anti-fraud centre 1-888-495-8501. I hope this helps!
We too, fell for this. We are small business, just opened and this is the last thing we needed, unfortunately. We are in California. Can somebody advice me what to do (links, phone numbers to report this etc). We do not want our credit affected, of course. I tried to call consumer affairs in California, not helpful, essentially told me-you should read before signing. How do I report this to BBB, since this guys are not local?
DON'T PAY! The FTC and the Better Business Bureau are a good start if you want to report these scam artists. If you receive collection notices (which is doubtful) report the collection agency also. These crooks are counting on your fears of a bad credit scores to intimidate you into paying.
No court in the world would award anything to these lowlifes. In fact they are in the midst of litigation in Australia.
I am in the same boat as Mimi. Our business received a fax, unknowlingly, I thought it was the Yellow Pages AT&T (who we have an acct with), and now they sent a letter saying we owe them $1068.00 with a late payment of $20.00. What do we do? I caleld them and told them they're a scam company, they of course denied, how do we get rid of these people?
michael said: i've been getting solicitations from this company for several years and threw them away. a few months ago, they called my dental office. they spoke to a fairly new employee and asked for info on my ph no, fax, etc. Shortly afterwards i got a bill for $1128. from yellow page marketing B.V. i'm glad this blog is here and i'm not alone. i ignored the statement and just recieved the 3rd one which says: last reminder-debt collection pending. this would be a good scam for chris mathews/dateline nbc to expose. lotta victims and extortion tactics preying on struggling small businesses. i'll follow some of the suggestions posted. thanx
I have been flim flamed as well, and do not intend to send them a penney. my story is the same as yours.
Jim
Grande Prairie, AB Canada- Also been scammed by these people. The fax they sent us was also very close to when we were contacted by the actual yellow pages, so when we sent the fax back we thought it was them. After reading this Blog we will not be paying them! Thank you to everyone who left comments. This is awefull, and yellow pages need to do something about this as well.
Hello, my story follows everyone else, except the Address/phone numbers maybe different, see below.
They want the same exact $1068.
Somehow they high-jacked the Yellowpage-California.com website, The legitimate site now has an information statement at the bottom of their page stating they would never ask for a Contract via Email.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, with my other half disabled, I cannot afford this payment and NEVER intended to setup a contract. I believe the Contract I signed had the signature above the wording that talked about the amounts they were charging, which I am embarrassed to say I never read, print was so small and I thought I was contacting my At&t yellow pages persons..
The addresses they gave me are:
USA
250 Park Avenue Suite 700
New York, NY 10177
pHONE: 866 277 0200
Fax: 646 839 2851
Europe
Postbox 20535
1001 Amsterdam, NM
Netherlands
Traderegister #05064685
Vat# NL8085.96.974 B.01.
accounting@yellowpage-california.com
Happy New Year to all...
Cindy
Also scammed in Calgary - beware the amount that goes through the bank account is actually more than the cheque - if you have paid and see something like this immediately put a stop payment on the cheque. DO NOT EVER PAY THESE
FRAUDUlENT PEOPLE. Everyone invoice them for your time!!
Calgary, Alberta - we were scammed too - paid - beware anything going through the bank account for more money that you do not recognize - put a stop payment on it - better yet never pay this company a dime!!! Everyone send them an invoice or try debiting their bank account.
DO NOT PAY!!! They can't do anything to you!
DO NOT PAY,
THERE IS NO INVOICE.
THERE IS NO INVOICE BECAUSE IT IS ILLEGAL FOR THEM TO INVOICE WITHOUT PROPER BUSINESS AND TAX (GST) REGISTRATION.
REPEAT: DO NOT PAY
THERE IS NO INVOICE
THERE IS ONLY A "REMINDER" STATEMENT SAYING THERE IS AN OUTSTANDING INVOICE. FAX THEM AND ASK THEM FOR THE INVOICE WITH THEIR BUSINESS NUMBER AND TAX NUMBER ON IT. ANY LEGITIMATE COMPANY THAT YOU REALLY OWE MONEY TO WILL GLADLY SEND YOU A COPY OF ANY INVOICE. THEY WILL NOT SEND IT, THEY WILL ONLY SEND A STATEMENT SAYING THERE IS AN OUTSTANDING INVOICE.
I sent them a letter of cancellation and they said there is no cancellation period for the current contract - -
It is ALSO ILLEGAL to not have a cancellation clause on this type of contract.
I just faxed them this morning asking for a copy of the invoice, I'm quite sure it will not come.
Signed,
Stung but not burned.
Here is their fax # in Canada 1-877-700-7981.
Everybody fax them and ask for a copy of your invoice. Tie up their fax# so they can't fax out any more of these contracts. Are there any laws regarding sending a fax of 100 BLACK sheets of paper at 3:00 am?
Me again, from the last 2 posts.
Anybody in Canada can verify this themselves.
I discovered their fatal flaw by closely examining what everybody believes to be an "invoice" and looking for their GST number which must be on any invoice produced in Canada. What I was going to do is contact the Canada Revenue Agency and inquire if it was a legit number or not.
Well, I did not find a GST number, and not only that, I did not find an invoice.
They are definitely not, as they like to say, "a legally operating company".
This whole scam is based on the victims believing something that is not true, that you actually have an invoice. These scams used to all say "This is not an invoice" but now they just say "Statement" which is NOT an invoice.
Here is their fax # in Canada 1-877-700-7981.
Fax them and ask them to fax a copy of your invoice.
In Ontario-
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! I feel so much better after reading this post! I to have been duped, thinking that it was yellow pages. I contacted the company numerous times to try to rectify this matter, and they kept passing me around to different departments (all of which were extremely rude and unhelpful). My favourite part was when I spoke to Jay (the legal department) she told me she was an impartial party who mediates between the "board" (who conveniently are unreachable) and the customer (us). I later called the Toronto office again, (really overseas) and the lady on the other end told me that she could patch me through to someone in Toronto office. I asked if it was Jay and she said "Yes, Jay is the manager of accounts there." Hmmm. This Jay seems to be a very multi-talented person!
I have since contacted the local police department and the local BBB, both of which said they have received numerous complaits about YellowPage B.V. The police told me not to pay, and the BBB told me to file a formal complaint which I am in the process of doing.
I WILL NOT PAY! I will also fight this company and have fun doing it! So thanks so much for this blog, I feel so much better knowing I'm not the only one and that I don't need to worry about it as much as I have already!
This is the letter we Faxed and sent in Registered mail on our letterhead:
January 13, 2011
Yellow Page Marketing B.V
One Dundas Street West
Suite 2500
Toronto, Ontario M5G 1Z3
DEAR YELLOW PUBLISHING LTD. A.K.A. YellowPage-Alberta.com A.K.A. Yellow Page Marketing B.V,
PLEASE REMOVE OUR INFORMATION LISTING FROM YOUR DIRECTORY SITE IMMEDIATELY. We recently sent a fax request for a copy of your invoice. We did not receive the invoice so we will assume that an invoice does not exist and therefore will not be submitting a payment. Your contract does not outline a specific time period for cancellation which makes the contract null and void. We will now consider the matter closed.
Best regards,
The Management
I couldn't believe it yesterday when they faxed me a contract I had signed. I am not authorized to fill out things like-I must have thought it was a free listing for Yellow Pages/Google. Now I am terrified that my company is going to have to pay for a huge error that I made. I have not told my boss yet because I am completely freaked out and terrified. Can anyone give me advice what to do?
I spend a great deal of my time trying diligently to save my employer money on expenses so when this phony bill came in the mail, I was absolutely sick. Then I did some research and found this blog and other info and feel there is nothing to be concerned with.
We should all send them a box of our pets 'scoopings' so that they can feel the way we did when we got the fake invoices.
I woman from "yellow page" physically came into my office and lied to me... Saying she wanted just basic info to be faxed to get some more information about my company. Now, I'm screwed. My boss is pissed, and I have to meet with some guy to explain my situation.
Just received a letter demanding payment. This is a scam. I have a phone number and email for you to try. mikemarsch.legal@yellowpage-group.com. Fax number 1-646-839-2851 Office 1-866-277-0200. They are not registered to do business in NYS nor can they sue you in NYS. Please pass this information on to your local Dealers Associations so they may warn other Dealers of this scam.
January 20, 2011 - just received a collection call from Brendan March with Yellow Page...he said the account was going to be sent to collections next week if we didn't pay...funny thing is we don't even own the company they are trying to bill...not sure how they would go about collecting anything...
Does anyone know the registered agent in New York, Missouri, or any other state in which the Yellow Publishing, LTD company has registered to do business?
These junk faxers are overdue for a small claims lawsuit.
Scammed here in Quebec, Canada
Contacted the Anti Fraud Agency. Same story as everyone. They have a template letter all ready for you to send them. Call them for a complaint they are very helpful
I wont be paying a penny but i want to be prepared in case it goes any further.
Anyone had an actual collection problem with these guys?
Thanks for the blog, made me feel better in some way.
an anybody tel me if you found a lawyer ready to take these crooks to court? Maybe we can all pull our resources together and basically destroy these scammers! Everybody from California, please report these thieves to the BBB in NEw York, The Federal trade Comission, as well as to the Attorney General's Office. If they receive enogh complaints, they may be compelled to do something.
Any lawyer ready to take the bait and help us sue these crooks? Just post your info, you'll get lots of us, ready to go for the kill of these despicable company
I sent them a letter saying I would not be paying with copies of the complaints I made with RECOL and the RCMP in october and didnt hear anything back. I thought perhaps they decided to give up on trying to collect after months of no response. But looks like they are trying the "final demand" route again. I am not paying these rats a penny.
Was just on the "web site" they listed my info on. Found this notice that they posted
"We have been advised that there are persons engaged in fraudulent phishing activities and that they may have "spoofed" our web sites and may have been making demands for money. Please note that any request for payment will not be made through an e-mail where you are asked to click on a link. Yellow Page Marketing B.V. or its associates would not send a request for payment in this manner. If there is any doubt please don't hesitate to contact your regional office. The contact details can be found on your invoice. Many thanks for your cooperation, Yellow Page Marketing B.V."
Fell into the same predicament signing a fax that read it was my local yellow pages. I almost submitted to finance when my co-worker said to do some research. Stumbled on this and another article from the BBB about this scam. The 866 number routes you to Europe where you will speak to some guy named Blair who claims if you dont pay the $1068 you will be sent to legal. We will not be paying them a dime! Must be stopped!
I received a call from their legal department today. When I explained why i would not be paying them, she was very insistent that it is other companies perpetrating this scam. She even said the Yellow Pages logo is not trade marked allowing them to use it. She said she was going to send my account to collections. Can't wait to see what happens next.
From Kitchener, ON, Canada-
I am currently in negotiations with this company via the BBB in our area here. They have sent a reminder for payment, and have also given us the option to cancel our contract with them less the costs of registration which is $714! I keep requesting info about their registration as a business and their HST number, but they have yet to provide it. So far, no collection agency has called, and I am resolute that I will not pay.
Thank you for this blog. Very helpful!
Had this company invoice our company yesterday. When handed the invoice- I remarked it was a scam- I donot have a fax number- therefore I could not have signed a fax and sent it back. I called the company this morning- had a lady with an Aussie accent answer the phone, and was transferred to a lady with an Aussie accent. When I explained- I was the only signing authority- and I had no fax number- she promptly ( within 30 seconds ) sent me a copy of a fax signed by the receptionist at the company office- at which point- I sent her a copy ( our receptionist )- and asked her- she signed an update- as far as she was concerned. I called the company back and said- the person that signed that acknowledgement- regardless of what you might believe- has no signing authority- I am not now or ever paying that invoice- so cut the crap- send it to collections right now- and give me their number so we can expedite the bs process. She hung up!
Yellow Page BV threatened my company with collections and even legal action after an employee signed what they thought was a directory update. I simply ignored all correspondence from Yellow Page BV and eventually they stopped contacting me.
They called our office 4 times today! In a row ....I expect they'll be sending us to legal now...but standing firm that this was misleading advertising with no proof of how they "helped" our business in the whole year. If they were marketing my business online why doesnt their web address show up on our analytics report? hmmm
We are continuing our fight with these blood suckers. We sent all correspondence to the BBB in NY city. They replied with a very professionally writen letter to the BBB, I can waste a lot of time fighting this. They offered to settle the whole mix up if we agree to pay $580.00 discounted from the original $2,800 or so, or they will send us to collections, BS. They can have at it! I’m not paying for a fax and free posting to Google that I had already established. They say the posting on Google is free along with a listing in their Yellow Book! Where is this listing
they are charging for if the Google listing is free?
I’m holding my stand. I will post again should I hear from a collection company.
Check out their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Yellow-page-marketing-bvNOT-A-SCAM/108569092547199
What a complete joke. Everyone who uses facebook should report this page as a scam/spam.
WOW WHAT A SCAM:We are another one caught up in this scam. We unfortunately signed the contract and now they want us to pay to settle. I keep talking and emailing them, asking them to show us where the so called advertising can be seen. No response yet. I have contacted the real Yellow Pages and they say not to sign or pay anything.
Their Facebook page is a joke. 8 friends and very little activity. I guess they cannot find enough people to say good things about them
Yellow Page B.V. have been harassing me since the spring of 2010. I have filed a complaint with the RCMP, BBB, and the Competition Bureau. The Competition Bureau contacted me last week to get more information from me verbally. They are gathering information for the purpose of litigation. They asked me if I would sign a written statement and maybe testify in court against Yellow Page B.V. when time comes. Of course I agree. Here is the Competition Bureau's webpage. All those affected in Canada should file a complaint with them so that they can compose a strong case to stop this once and for all.
http://www.competitionbureau.gc.ca/eic/site/cb-bc.nsf/eng/00157.html
Telephone: 819-997-4282
Toll-free: 1-800-348-5358 (Canada)
Toll-free TTY: 1-800-642-3844 (for hearing-impaired only)
Fax: 819-997-0324
Mailing Address:
50 Victoria Street
Gatineau, Quebec
K1A 0C9
Business Hours*: Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to: 4:30 p.m. (Eastern Time)
HERE IS THE KEY FOR GETTING YELLOW PAGES DIRECTORIES OFF OF YOUR BACK!!!!!!
CALL THEM 888 311 1020 AND TELL THEM THAT YOU ARE FILLING OUT THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS COMPLAINT REPORT. URL: https://www.oag.state.tx.us/consumer/release_view.php?id=2499
BE POLITE. THE LADY I TALKED TO SAID, COULD YOU WAIT A MINUTE SIR. I SAID, YES I CAN. SHE CAME BACK IN A MINUTE AND ASKED ME IF I WANTED TO CANCEL MY ACCOUNT. I SAID THAT I WOULD LIKE TO CANCEL MY ACCOUNT IF SHE SENT ME A LETTER TO CONFIRMING THE CANCELLATION AND THAT I WOULD THEN DROP THE COMPLAINT LETTER TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS. THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS HAS LITIGATED WITH YELLOW PAGES DIRECTORIES IN 2008 AND WON A SETTLEMENT. I RECEIVED THE LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE COMPANY IN ABOUT 20 MINUTES. JOB DONE!!!!!!!!!!! I CAN SLEEP AGAIN WHILE THOSE KNUCKLEHEADS TRY AND SCAM MORE PEOPLE. I ALSO USED SOME OF THE LANGUAGE IN THIS BLOG. PHRASES LIKE....I am not going to pay for an ad I didn't want or a "contract" I inadvertently entered into under false pretenses.
IT WORKED!!!!!!!!!!!
I WISH YOU ALL THE BEST.
DO NOT PLAY THESE SCUMBAGS A DIME!!!!!
FOLLOW THE ABOVE DIRECTIONS AND I THINK YOU WILL BE HOME FREE.
In Kitchener (again)!
Just thought I would let you know that I had been in discussions with YPBV through the BBB in my area, and they have neglected to respond to my last rebuttal by the time required. The case is now closed due to time restraints. However, I have just recieved a letter in the mail stating that my account is now going to collections and will be even more exepensive as I now incur those costs. We had until Feb. 18 to respond (we received it Feb. 22). I will be in touch with the Competition Bureau, as I have already been with the RCMP. I will gladly testify in court against these scammers! They need to pay and feel some of the shame they made us feel!
I don't know about the BBB in the U.S., but in Canada, these weasels aren't members of the BBB (big surprise), so filing a report on them with the BBB is useless. HOWEVER, the LEGITIMATE YellowPages Group and the Royal Canadian Mounted POLICE are totally onto this scam: the Canadian Anti-Fraud Center is a division of the RCMP, and THAT is where you can file a claim against these thieves. Toll-free telephone no.: (888) 495-8501; toll-free fax: (888) 654-9426. Web site; http://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/english/common_contactus.html. NOTE: The e-mail address listed on the site is for people who work in LAW ENFORCEMENT only -- if you're not from a law enforcement agency, don't use that e-mail address; your message will just be deleted. I've filed my claim, and now I'm just snickering at how retarded these con artists are. I can't BELIEVE they haven't been shut down and bankrupted yet, they're the target of so many lawsuits. If you've signed their "contract," don't panic -- and DON'T PAY. Report them, send them a registered letter stating that you will NOT be paying them, include your REPORT NUMBER in the letter, and direct them never to contact you again. Then forget about them; they can't touch you.
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