Tuesday, June 17, 2008
An Open Letter to the owners of Expo-Guide
Dear Sir/Madam,
Having studied the forms currently being mailed by expo-guide and done comparisons with the forms formerly mailed by Construct Data Verlag (CDV) I have come to the conclusion that it is almost impossible that your forms were contrived without reference to Construct Data’s mailings
I fully accept that you may have accepted the design in complete innocence, that they it have been presented to you by a third party, and that as such this letter may represent your first warning of the problems these forms can cause.
A little history
CDVs forms were widely criticised, for over a decade the company profited from the fact that people would sign the forms in error, mistaking them for a communication from an exhibition organiser. CDV suffered numerous adverse rulings, both legal and from self regulatory organisations. When faced with such rulings they would amend the form slightly, but the aspects of the form which mislead were always maintained.
In early 2007 after a prolonged legal tussle with the Schutzverband gegen unlauteren Wettbewerb CDV found it necessary to modify their forms once again and the latest layout, (the layout to which expo-guides forms correspond) was conceived. I was in no doubt that the new form would mislead and I published an open letter to Wolfgang Valvoda, CEO of CDV telling him of my concerns and offering to assist in the design of a form that would not mislead
The letter went unanswered and the forms were indeed signed in error, in very large numbers. In November 2007 I was forced to publish a second open letter in which I concluded that Mr Valvoda was either remarkably inept or had set out with the intent to decieve, again he chose not to respond. Eventually the Schutzverband gegen unlauteren Wettbewerb forced deeper concessions from CDV who are now barred from mailing new forms from Austria.
Because CDV made concessions out of court the forms were never subjected to detailed scrutiny by a judge, which does not mean that they are legal!
The Forms you are mailing
So there you have it, expo-guide are in the position CDV found themselves in back in April 2007, you are mailing a form that I predict will be signed in error, you can fully expect that many who sign the new form will refuse to pay you.
You have clearly invested considerable money in this new project, with phone lines in six countries and a substantial website at http://www.expo-guide.com but your business model could be fatally flawed if you persist with the forms you are mailing at present.
Another Free offer
So once again I am willing to offer my time and experience to help your company design a form that cannot mislead, this offer comes with two provisos:
Jules Woodell - 16th June 2008
See StopECGs Advice page regarding expo-guide
Having studied the forms currently being mailed by expo-guide and done comparisons with the forms formerly mailed by Construct Data Verlag (CDV) I have come to the conclusion that it is almost impossible that your forms were contrived without reference to Construct Data’s mailings
I fully accept that you may have accepted the design in complete innocence, that they it have been presented to you by a third party, and that as such this letter may represent your first warning of the problems these forms can cause.
A little history
CDVs forms were widely criticised, for over a decade the company profited from the fact that people would sign the forms in error, mistaking them for a communication from an exhibition organiser. CDV suffered numerous adverse rulings, both legal and from self regulatory organisations. When faced with such rulings they would amend the form slightly, but the aspects of the form which mislead were always maintained.
In early 2007 after a prolonged legal tussle with the Schutzverband gegen unlauteren Wettbewerb CDV found it necessary to modify their forms once again and the latest layout, (the layout to which expo-guides forms correspond) was conceived. I was in no doubt that the new form would mislead and I published an open letter to Wolfgang Valvoda, CEO of CDV telling him of my concerns and offering to assist in the design of a form that would not mislead
The letter went unanswered and the forms were indeed signed in error, in very large numbers. In November 2007 I was forced to publish a second open letter in which I concluded that Mr Valvoda was either remarkably inept or had set out with the intent to decieve, again he chose not to respond. Eventually the Schutzverband gegen unlauteren Wettbewerb forced deeper concessions from CDV who are now barred from mailing new forms from Austria.
Because CDV made concessions out of court the forms were never subjected to detailed scrutiny by a judge, which does not mean that they are legal!
The Forms you are mailing
So there you have it, expo-guide are in the position CDV found themselves in back in April 2007, you are mailing a form that I predict will be signed in error, you can fully expect that many who sign the new form will refuse to pay you.
You have clearly invested considerable money in this new project, with phone lines in six countries and a substantial website at http://www.expo-guide.com but your business model could be fatally flawed if you persist with the forms you are mailing at present.
Another Free offer
So once again I am willing to offer my time and experience to help your company design a form that cannot mislead, this offer comes with two provisos:
- I would expect you to accept that your initial mailshots were a mistake, and where people state that they signed in error you should offer them the opportunity to rescind the contract.
- That in accepting a new design you take it in its entirety and do not modify it or alter the meaning when translating into other languages
Should Expo-guide continue to mail the misleading forms and/or demand money from those who have signed in error it will be hard not to conclude that it is your intent to mislead people. In that instance stopECG will campaign against you with the same zeal CDV experienced.
Should you wish to reply to any part of this letter, please let me know, your reply will be published here for all readers to see.
Jules Woodell - 16th June 2008
See StopECGs Advice page regarding expo-guide
Labels: Construct Data Verlag, contract, Expo-guide, misleading, Open Letter, StopECG, www.expo-guide.com
Monday, June 05, 2006
An Open Letter to Meinolf Lüdenbach
Dear Mr Lüdenbach,
I hope you enjoy your retirement, a time that may lead you away from the publicity you clearly do not enjoy. I honestly do not wish you ill, I only wish for a complete and final end to the trick of mailing misleading contracts, a trick with which your name has become synonymous.
I do not know how far you have disengaged from these companies but feel sure that if you wanted to you could dissolve them. That Mr. Ludenbach is what I would like to see you do, morally you should also repay all the money gained from these practices, but I guess that is probably unrealistic as much will have been spent.
So will you dissolve the guide and debt collection companies? Dismantle them completely and destroy their databases?
Alas there are those who appear keen to emulate your business model, such copycat operations will surely keep your name in the public eye along with the suspicion of involvement, so while repaying the money made from the guides may be an impossibility, you could surely set up a foundation that would assist the many lawmakers who wish to ensure that these sorts of contract can never be mailed again without serious consequences for the sender. Think about it Mr. Ludenbach, this is your golden opportunity to leave a positive legacy.
I understand that the greatest resistance to my suggestions may come from your own emotions, most particularly the feeling that to do what I ask would be a sign of weakness, even defeat. I cannot soften that for you, except to say it is a far greater person who can admit to past mistakes than the one who fights proudly on while secretly knowing they are wrong. If you do these things I will assist you with the same energy I have shown over the last five years and will make that support clear in public if you desire.
You say you believe in God, which is interesting. You may decide not to answer my questions, but as a believer you surely accept that one day you will have to answer to your maker, and the questions may be difficult ones; those questions await you whatever happens, but at least in retirement you now have the time and the financial means to bring good to the world, you have an opportunity available to very few men.
I will respond in more detail to the personal comments in your message in the next few days, rest assured my response will not be angry, while you clearly misunderstand me as an individual you show none of the childishness and malice that certain company directors have displayed on the same forum.
Yours,
Jules Woodell
Labels: Ludenbach, Lüdenbach, Meinolf, Open Letter
