Monday, September 22, 2008
Report from Brussels: Lopez Paleaz defends the ECG
As time permits I will write up in more detail the proceedings of the Public workshop of the Petitions Committee in the European Parliament which was held on 11th September 2008.
For now I will concentrate on the presentation and answers of Francisco Lopez Palaez, who, flanked by his lawyer, spoke on behalf of the European City Guide (ECG). Mr Lopez Paleaz has fronted the ECG pretty much from the outset, and has steered the company though it’s unsuccessful legal defence in Barcelona and subsequent move to Valencia. He came to Brussels to speak at his own request. While I utterly oppose the business practices of Mr Lopez Paleaz, credit where it’s due for coming into the lions den to defend himself.
When asked to speak he immediately set about criticising StopECG, me, and Michael Plümpe (Who has to managed a German language website critical of the guides).
I had signed his form but never paid, and am apparently an anti-system activist pedalling defamation and insults, the website ties his company in with unconnected companies and even separate scams, while Plumpe associated with a known Paedophile. (These are all claims made on the German defamation site used by Ludenbach guides to attack those who criticize them.)
His clients are professionals, he gets requests to sign up and satisfied return customers. At one stage he held aloft the disputed form, pointing out that it required a signature, that the terms are on the back and that the price is in black. He stated that the form complies with the law (If not he would be punished) and that the client defence was free to the customer.
He stated that the ECG mails 6 and a half million forms per annum, 32 million in the last 6 years (This figure is far higher than I had estimated). He stated (To some mirth) that he complies with the law and has never been found guilty. He also caused amusement with his claim that he could not speak for the other guides (Common ownership of many of these guides being a proven fact)
Simon Busuttil MEP, who will soon author a report on the Petition asked
1) Why the form never mentions that it is an advertisement but the first letter sent to people who signed it does use the word?
2) Why the ECG had moved to Valencia?
3) Was the ECG found Guilty in Belgium?
Lopez Paleaz Replied
1) The form has the word ORDER in bold
2) Moved to Valencia because it was an up and coming town, (Admiral's Cup, Formula One, business friendly), No mention of his company’s conviction for misleading advertising in Barcelona!
3) The Rulings against the ECG are not firm rulings (Because the Brussles conviction is under Appeal) Later Mr. Lopez Paleaz’s own Lawyer would have to qualify this point because the Barcelona conviction is now confirmed with all appeal processes exhausted.
When asked why the ECG has such a poor relationship with its customers
Lopez Paleaz replied that the complaints were fuelled by the websites rather than genuine grievance.
Later the ECG’s lawyer would state that his client was not a crook, had traded in Spain (Barcelona and Valencia both being under Spanish Law) for over 10 years and had 46 employees. He said that the use of high pressure collection tactics and claims of imminent legal action did not constitute threats as the courts exist to resolve disputes.
Then came perhaps the most remarkable claim of the session, that the Majority of the ECG’s clients were satisfied.
In response I did not see it necessary to answer the personal attacks; however I did state one thing and I will repeat it here. I did indeed sign the ECG’s form and then refuse to pay, and if Mr. Lopez Paleaz believes I am in the wrong he should take me to court and sue me for breach of contract. In fact I want him to do this because I firmly believe that I could prove to the judge that the form I signed was misleading, was contrived with the intent to deceive me (Fraud) and is not a legally binding contract.
Regarding the claim that the Majority of the ECG’s customers are satisfied I have decided to institute the Lopez Paleaz Challenge, help me to find this silent majority! If you would like to assist in this please email me
For now I will concentrate on the presentation and answers of Francisco Lopez Palaez, who, flanked by his lawyer, spoke on behalf of the European City Guide (ECG). Mr Lopez Paleaz has fronted the ECG pretty much from the outset, and has steered the company though it’s unsuccessful legal defence in Barcelona and subsequent move to Valencia. He came to Brussels to speak at his own request. While I utterly oppose the business practices of Mr Lopez Paleaz, credit where it’s due for coming into the lions den to defend himself.
When asked to speak he immediately set about criticising StopECG, me, and Michael Plümpe (Who has to managed a German language website critical of the guides).
I had signed his form but never paid, and am apparently an anti-system activist pedalling defamation and insults, the website ties his company in with unconnected companies and even separate scams, while Plumpe associated with a known Paedophile. (These are all claims made on the German defamation site used by Ludenbach guides to attack those who criticize them.)
His clients are professionals, he gets requests to sign up and satisfied return customers. At one stage he held aloft the disputed form, pointing out that it required a signature, that the terms are on the back and that the price is in black. He stated that the form complies with the law (If not he would be punished) and that the client defence was free to the customer.
He stated that the ECG mails 6 and a half million forms per annum, 32 million in the last 6 years (This figure is far higher than I had estimated). He stated (To some mirth) that he complies with the law and has never been found guilty. He also caused amusement with his claim that he could not speak for the other guides (Common ownership of many of these guides being a proven fact)
Simon Busuttil MEP, who will soon author a report on the Petition asked
1) Why the form never mentions that it is an advertisement but the first letter sent to people who signed it does use the word?
2) Why the ECG had moved to Valencia?
3) Was the ECG found Guilty in Belgium?
Lopez Paleaz Replied
1) The form has the word ORDER in bold
2) Moved to Valencia because it was an up and coming town, (Admiral's Cup, Formula One, business friendly), No mention of his company’s conviction for misleading advertising in Barcelona!
3) The Rulings against the ECG are not firm rulings (Because the Brussles conviction is under Appeal) Later Mr. Lopez Paleaz’s own Lawyer would have to qualify this point because the Barcelona conviction is now confirmed with all appeal processes exhausted.
When asked why the ECG has such a poor relationship with its customers
Lopez Paleaz replied that the complaints were fuelled by the websites rather than genuine grievance.
Later the ECG’s lawyer would state that his client was not a crook, had traded in Spain (Barcelona and Valencia both being under Spanish Law) for over 10 years and had 46 employees. He said that the use of high pressure collection tactics and claims of imminent legal action did not constitute threats as the courts exist to resolve disputes.
Then came perhaps the most remarkable claim of the session, that the Majority of the ECG’s clients were satisfied.
In response I did not see it necessary to answer the personal attacks; however I did state one thing and I will repeat it here. I did indeed sign the ECG’s form and then refuse to pay, and if Mr. Lopez Paleaz believes I am in the wrong he should take me to court and sue me for breach of contract. In fact I want him to do this because I firmly believe that I could prove to the judge that the form I signed was misleading, was contrived with the intent to deceive me (Fraud) and is not a legally binding contract.
Regarding the claim that the Majority of the ECG’s customers are satisfied I have decided to institute the Lopez Paleaz Challenge, help me to find this silent majority! If you would like to assist in this please email me
Labels: ECG, Francisco Lopez Palaez, misleading advertising, professionals, Scam European city Guide, StopECG
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
A trip to Brussels.
Many of you reading this blog will have signed the petition to the European Parliament, many more of you made your own petitions or submissions using the website of the parliament. The petition is important because the scam guides have for decades escaped justice by operating across borders. Rarely does a guide target the host country, and when they do the result is often swift action under national laws.
What the ECG does would almost certainly be illegal within most of the countries affected, in Belgium it has been classed as fraud, but the affected countries can do little other than to appeal to the Spanish. The EU offers a chance to transcend national borders, making life impossible for the scams within any member state.
The European Parliament receives thousands of petitions each year, most are not accepted simply because there is not the time, the committee has to select those that appear most worthy, then invite petitioners to make a more detailed submission. Simply to get to the point where I was invited to Brussels on your behalf is a major achievement.
As my train wound its way across the unusually sunny Welsh countryside I considered that my 5 minutes before the Petitions Committee might be as valuable as all the work I have done for StopECG up to now. It was also sobering to know that I would be speaking for all who had signed the petition as Vincenzo, from Italy who initiated it was unable to attend. At least the journey by train allowed me time to prepare the speech and go over it repeatedly.
And so to the morning of the 2nd May, I was due to speak at 10.30 am. The process of accreditation left little time and I was rushed to the chamber to take a seat at the back and await my turn. The chamber used was not the main parliamentary room, it was still a good size, capable of seating 200-300 people. Around the back were 14 smaller rooms fronted with smoked glass, in each stood or sat the translators. Near the front sat the MEPs, behind them the petitioners and at the back guests and press. Facing us all, on a raised platform, the committee. I donned the headphones and listened to the conversation, translated into English form several languages.
In front of the chairman was stacked a huge pile of papers, I looked at them and thought, “Oh my god, this is just TODAY’S business, surely our little petition will get lost in all this!”
Then I was called, the chairman reached over and slid the huge pile of papers forward, it was not the days business, but our petition against scam guides! I pressed the red button on the microphone in front of me and suddenly my amplified voice was being translated into every major European tongue.
Five minutes is not long to explain a subject as extensive as the campaign to stop these guides, and although the speech went well I missed a couple of points I had wanted to make. At least my main point was delivered clearly, that an extension of EU wide consumer protection laws to small businesses and sole traders would offer immediate relief from the worst excesses of these guides.
Next to speak was a representative of the commission, he was not helpful, the commission had no plans to extend consumer protection to businesses, they had made representations to the Spanish government who reported that the Valencian Authorities had negotiated with the ECG to get modifications to the contract. It was very frustrating!
Fortunately my frustration was shared by the MEPs who followed him, they managed to pick up on the main points I had missed and made it clear that the current status-quo in Valencia is not sufficient; many thanks to Richard Corbett MEP for an excellent speech.
It was decided to investigate the matter further and to send it to two more committees, dealing with Legal affairs and the Internal Market, this process will take time, but at least the matter is now firmly on the Brussels agenda.
For those of you who missed the petition, all is not lost, you should still contact your MEP, send them full dossiers of your correspondence with the scam guide you are fighting, and ask that they take an interest in the ongoing efforts of the European Parliament to tackle this problem. The Petition is in the name of the European City Guide, but will examine all the guides, As I understand it MEPs can follow its progress and attend committees where it is discussed. I will try to keep you informed as to the progress in Brussels so that you can update your MEPs on a regular basis.
What the ECG does would almost certainly be illegal within most of the countries affected, in Belgium it has been classed as fraud, but the affected countries can do little other than to appeal to the Spanish. The EU offers a chance to transcend national borders, making life impossible for the scams within any member state.
The European Parliament receives thousands of petitions each year, most are not accepted simply because there is not the time, the committee has to select those that appear most worthy, then invite petitioners to make a more detailed submission. Simply to get to the point where I was invited to Brussels on your behalf is a major achievement.
As my train wound its way across the unusually sunny Welsh countryside I considered that my 5 minutes before the Petitions Committee might be as valuable as all the work I have done for StopECG up to now. It was also sobering to know that I would be speaking for all who had signed the petition as Vincenzo, from Italy who initiated it was unable to attend. At least the journey by train allowed me time to prepare the speech and go over it repeatedly.
And so to the morning of the 2nd May, I was due to speak at 10.30 am. The process of accreditation left little time and I was rushed to the chamber to take a seat at the back and await my turn. The chamber used was not the main parliamentary room, it was still a good size, capable of seating 200-300 people. Around the back were 14 smaller rooms fronted with smoked glass, in each stood or sat the translators. Near the front sat the MEPs, behind them the petitioners and at the back guests and press. Facing us all, on a raised platform, the committee. I donned the headphones and listened to the conversation, translated into English form several languages.
In front of the chairman was stacked a huge pile of papers, I looked at them and thought, “Oh my god, this is just TODAY’S business, surely our little petition will get lost in all this!”
Then I was called, the chairman reached over and slid the huge pile of papers forward, it was not the days business, but our petition against scam guides! I pressed the red button on the microphone in front of me and suddenly my amplified voice was being translated into every major European tongue.
Five minutes is not long to explain a subject as extensive as the campaign to stop these guides, and although the speech went well I missed a couple of points I had wanted to make. At least my main point was delivered clearly, that an extension of EU wide consumer protection laws to small businesses and sole traders would offer immediate relief from the worst excesses of these guides.
Next to speak was a representative of the commission, he was not helpful, the commission had no plans to extend consumer protection to businesses, they had made representations to the Spanish government who reported that the Valencian Authorities had negotiated with the ECG to get modifications to the contract. It was very frustrating!
Fortunately my frustration was shared by the MEPs who followed him, they managed to pick up on the main points I had missed and made it clear that the current status-quo in Valencia is not sufficient; many thanks to Richard Corbett MEP for an excellent speech.
It was decided to investigate the matter further and to send it to two more committees, dealing with Legal affairs and the Internal Market, this process will take time, but at least the matter is now firmly on the Brussels agenda.
For those of you who missed the petition, all is not lost, you should still contact your MEP, send them full dossiers of your correspondence with the scam guide you are fighting, and ask that they take an interest in the ongoing efforts of the European Parliament to tackle this problem. The Petition is in the name of the European City Guide, but will examine all the guides, As I understand it MEPs can follow its progress and attend committees where it is discussed. I will try to keep you informed as to the progress in Brussels so that you can update your MEPs on a regular basis.
Labels: City Guide, ECG, European, Parliament, Petition
