Wednesday, October 31, 2007
SECO issues new warning about Intercable Verlag AG
In a very brief message posted to their website (English / French / Italian) on 26th October the Swiss state secretariat (seco) advises companies to beware of forms mailed by intercable Verlag AG
The attached PDF states
The Central European Trade Register advertised by Intercable AG is not in any way associated with the cohesion fund contribution provided by the Swiss Confederation for the ten states that joined the EU on 1 May 2004.
Of the Cohesion fund they say
The form and the website http://www.cetregister.com/ refer to the cohesion fund contribution that Swiss Confederation pledged for projects in the nine new EU member countries for a commitment period of five years (for further information see: http://www.erweiterungsbeitrag.admin.ch/index.html?lang=en). With the enlargement contribution, Switzerland aims to participate in the reduction of the economic and social disparities within the EU.
They go on to warn that signing the Intercable contract involves a commercial liability and that those who sign will not benefit from the Cohesion fund
The Intercable form they refer appears to have been mailed since July 2007.
Intercable Verlag AG has been using forms that result in complaints for decades and is currently under criminal investigation by the Swiss government. It is part of the Ludenbach stable of guides, many of which have been fined, closed or reprimanded for deceptive advertising.
As always with StopECG blog postings we would welcome a response from Intercable Boss Adrian Wittmer.
The attached PDF states
The Central European Trade Register advertised by Intercable AG is not in any way associated with the cohesion fund contribution provided by the Swiss Confederation for the ten states that joined the EU on 1 May 2004.
Of the Cohesion fund they say
The form and the website http://www.cetregister.com/ refer to the cohesion fund contribution that Swiss Confederation pledged for projects in the nine new EU member countries for a commitment period of five years (for further information see: http://www.erweiterungsbeitrag.admin.ch/index.html?lang=en). With the enlargement contribution, Switzerland aims to participate in the reduction of the economic and social disparities within the EU.
They go on to warn that signing the Intercable contract involves a commercial liability and that those who sign will not benefit from the Cohesion fund
The Intercable form they refer appears to have been mailed since July 2007.
Intercable Verlag AG has been using forms that result in complaints for decades and is currently under criminal investigation by the Swiss government. It is part of the Ludenbach stable of guides, many of which have been fined, closed or reprimanded for deceptive advertising.
As always with StopECG blog postings we would welcome a response from Intercable Boss Adrian Wittmer.
Labels: Adrian Wittmer, Cohesion fund, criminal investigation, deceptive, intercable, intercable Verlag AG
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Data Protection Scams (Again)
This Blog Message is taken from an email sent to the Constoppers email list. Constoppers is an entirely free service from http://www.stopecg.org/. While it is not comprehensive we believe it does assist many readers in avoiding the commonest scams affecting small businesses. Please forward this message to associates you think may benefit from its content. To subscribe send a blank email to: constoppers-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
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DATA PROTECTION SCAMS
This is a recurring issue for UK firms, just when you think it is dead and buried the scam operators return, quite cunning really, there are a lot of new companies that have begun trading since this issue gained widespread publicity, they are now vulnerable to the tried and tested tricks of yesteryear.
The Trick is very simple, you get a letter that looks like an official notification of your requirement to register with the Information Commissioner, however it is in fact a misleading advert from a company that will charge you several times the actual fee and in some cases will not actually do the necessary paperwork!
The latest misleading adverts come a company in Blackpool, requesting a fee of over £100. Ignore such mailshots, (better still take them to your local trading standards who can decide if they are legal or not)
Companies holding personal data should notify the Information Commissioner, this Costs £35, letters demanding fees in excess of £35 are almost certainly bogus.
Need to know if you should notify, see
http://www.ico.gov.uk/what_we_cover/data_protection/notification/do_i_need_to_notify.aspx
More on data Protection scams
http://stopecg.org/dataprotection.htm
Yours,
Jules
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DATA PROTECTION SCAMS
This is a recurring issue for UK firms, just when you think it is dead and buried the scam operators return, quite cunning really, there are a lot of new companies that have begun trading since this issue gained widespread publicity, they are now vulnerable to the tried and tested tricks of yesteryear.
The Trick is very simple, you get a letter that looks like an official notification of your requirement to register with the Information Commissioner, however it is in fact a misleading advert from a company that will charge you several times the actual fee and in some cases will not actually do the necessary paperwork!
The latest misleading adverts come a company in Blackpool, requesting a fee of over £100. Ignore such mailshots, (better still take them to your local trading standards who can decide if they are legal or not)
Companies holding personal data should notify the Information Commissioner, this Costs £35, letters demanding fees in excess of £35 are almost certainly bogus.
Need to know if you should notify, see
http://www.ico.gov.uk/what_we_cover/data_protection/notification/do_i_need_to_notify.aspx
More on data Protection scams
http://stopecg.org/dataprotection.htm
Yours,
Jules
Labels: Data Protection, Dataprotection, DPA, scam
