Infotel

Recently, Justene at Calblog was threatened by the lawyers from Infotel over some things that the commenters on her blog wrote. She believes that she has a solid defense, but she ended up taking down the comments for that post (mainly because she was heading out of town). xlrq has posted his take on the situation and also copies of all the comments from Calblog.

Two of the charges the lawyer sending the letter brought up were misrepresentation and interference with economic relations. For some reason, I don't think that the company has any kind of leg to stand on (from the Buffalo Better Business Bureau website):

The Bureau has received numerous complaints concerning this company's selling practices. Most complaints claim their business was billed for a directory listing which was never ordered, or that Infotel sales personnel claimed to be asking for a renewal of a listing when none existed....

This company has an unsatisfactory business performance record with the Bureau due to a pattern of complaints claiming deceptive selling practices, a pattern of complaints concerning credit and billing procedures, and for failure to eliminate the cause of those complaints....

Number of complaints processed by the BBB in last 36 Months: 495 ...

I've read the comments. I don't really see how they are a misrepresentation of the company's business practices. The company uses shady sales and collection techniques, as the commenters claimed and as the BBB site verifies. The truth is not a misrepresentation, even if it is painful to have exposed.

By the same token, when a company is using deceptive and possibly even illegal sales and collection tactics, I fail to see how it is an interference in the economic relationship to warn someone about a potential deception or a deception in progress. There is no economic relationship when one party is deceiving the other. And again, the BBB report appears to back up the claim that there is deception taking place on the part of Infotel.

Taking these common sense measures recommended by the BBB should help to stop the sleaze and Infotels of the world:

How to Protect Your Business

* The best protection is knowledge and vigilance. Your company's accounting department, or the individuals responsible for paying bills, should carefully review all invoices, particularly those from unfamiliar companies.

* Never place an order over the telephone, unless there is no doubt that the firm you are dealing with is reputable. Obtain the organization's name, address, and telephone number, as well as its representative's full name and position. Then check on the company's reliability with your local Better Business Bureau.

* Establish effective internal controls for the payment of invoices.

* Channel all bills through one department.

* Insist that employees fill out pre-numbered purchase orders for every order placed.

* Check all invoices against purchase orders and against goods or services received. Make certain that order numbers correspond with the invoices.

* Verify all invoices with the person who gave written or verbal authorization.

* Clear all invoices with the appropriate executives.

* If the invoicing company claims to have tape recordings of the order and verification calls, insist on hearing them.

Consumers who wish to file a complaint can contact the Federal Trade Commission at 877-382-4357 and Phonebusters for Canadian companies, by calling 888-495-8501. (Phonebusters is the national deceptive telemarketing call center operated by the
Ontario, Canada, Provincial Police.)

(Found via Dean Esmay)