I received this mailer through the post this morning, address to the company for which I work for. It states that our details will be included into the European City Guide, and that “Filling in this form would give you the opportunity to be published in our inter-professional Guide on the CD-Rom and Internet”.
There are the standard spaces to change and modify your details, and a box at the bottom to date and sign. What they only tell you in the small print is that by signing it you are entering into a legal contract to pay Euro 997 per year for the privilege. All the terms and conditions are laid out on the reverse, but they are printed so faintly I struggled to read them.
A quick look on the Internet would suggest that far to many people simply fill this out, sign it and send it back! My apologies if you have already done this, but it’s amazing that scams like this are still so wide-spread and successful! This particular one come from an address in Portugal.
So – please be aware!
Update 7th September 2010
I have have today received several emails from ECG asking for this page, and the comments to be removed as they consider them ‘defamatory’. I have duly refused to do that. I believe that they are valid feedback and that the ECG should take note of their ‘customer’ feedback. We shall see what happens.
Update 24th November 2010
It’s worth noting that following the requests that I got from the ECG to remove this page, I have not had any further communication with them. They did not reply to my response; which, I think goes some way to understanding these people. It’s all about the threats. The threats to pay, the threats of further action and even further costs.
I think that the overwhelming advise from all the people that have had some involvement with these people is to ignore them. Hopefully most people will see this for what it is; but for those that have been caught out my advice is to stand your ground and refuse to pay. At worst seek legal advice if you feel that the form was filled out in error and they are pursuing you for payment.
Update 19th January 2011
I thought that I would attach a letter that was received by one of my readers, from their MEP. I attach it with their permission and in full. I have highlighted some areas that I feel are of importance.
Dear Mike,
Thank you for contacting me about the European City Guide scam. I was sorry to hear that you have been targeted by this organisation. A number of attempts to halt these scams are underway at national and European level.
In my view, you are quite correct not to have paid any money to the ECG. The ‘contract’ that you were tricked into signing has been judged as deceptive by several national authorities across the European Union, including the UK’s Office of Fair Trading. For this reason, although the ECG and its sister debt collection companies will continue to bully and threaten their victims, they have never been known to take anyone to court in the UK. Another strategy of theirs is to offer a discount as a ‘gesture of goodwill’; many victims have been tricked into paying this reduced amount, but have subsequently found that even this is not enough to end the harassment.
There has been progress on this issue in the Parliament. The Petitions Committee in the parliament has drafted a Report (Maltese MEP Simon Busuttil is the rapporteur) on the ECG which was approved in December by a massive majority. Meanwhile, the Internal Market and Consumer Protection committee has also conducted a study into the issue and an Opinion to the Busuttil report. The Commission have acknowledged the extent of the problem and have promised to urge Member States to enforce the Misleading Advertising Directive more rigorously and, perhaps, propose amendments to the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive to specifically tackle ECG-style business to business scams.
However, there are still problems. Firstly, the Commission regards the ECG’s way of working as business-to-business transactions, which means victims are not protected by consumer protection laws. Secondly, there is EU legislation which can and has been used to prosecute the ECG and its sister groups but there has been no real consistent consensus throughout Europe. Whereas Belgium and Austria have found against the ECG, and the Catalan High Court has closed their office down, the authorities in Valencia have tolerated their behaviour. Austria currently has the strongest position against the scams and both the Busuttil report and my colleague Catherine Stihler MEP, Member of the Internal Market Committee, recommend that all EU countries agree the Austrian model should be a common position in Europe.
In October 2009 my Labour colleague Catherine Stihler MEP asked the Competition Commissioner, Meglena Kuneva, to keep pursuing this issue until a way to resolve it is found. Commissioner Kuneva has reassured my colleague that the ECG scam is something which she will not give up on, and she continues to hold meetings to bring about an end to the practice.
Along with my Labour colleagues, I will continue to make representations on this issue at a European level. In the meantime, my advice is as follows:
- Do not pay.
- Contact the Consumer Protection Directorate in Valencia, Spain, where ECG is based, and ask for your contract to be cancelled. Contact details are at http://www.stopecg.org/.
- If the ECG or their debt collection companies continue to harass you, tell them that you are considering legal action against them under European directives on misleading advertising.
Please keep me informed of any further developments.
Best wishes
Glenis Willmott MEP
Update 28th February 2011
There’s also a UK Action Fraud helpline which has been setup, which has been getting some airtime recently which I thought that I would include in this article. For more information take a look at http://www.actionfraud.org.uk/report_fraud
Update 2nd March 2011
Joselyne Reid very kindly contacted me, after contacting her MEP about this scam, and has very kindly offered the letter that she received for posting. You can this here. Thanks Jo!
Hi,
I have just received a quite polite letter from ECG saying they have now taken into account that I am a sole trader and are offering me a 30% discount down to 698 euros, which when paid will result in the cancellation of my contract with them!!?? Any advice.
Many thanks
I would just ignore them, they won’t take you to court, they know they are selling this advertising illegally. They have never taken it to court but they have been taken to court and lost every time!
Hi All,
I have also been a victim of these criminals. I was worried and thought about getting my lawyer involved. The truth is they have been caught before, fined and banned from trading. But re-started their operation in Valencia, which is a different jurisdiction.
So I doubt they would ever be successful in any court and my advice is to ignore and don’t even bother with them, they rely on good people being scared and paying up.
If a bailiff does call or visit, they need to have a CCJ or court order, if they dont, tell them where to go and call the police and your lawyer on that collection agency. The agency will soon back down, they are also just criminals.
All the best
Martin
I too have been scammed by these people I sent there form back saying I wished to cancel and did not agree to any ofrm or advertising with them, I got an email back from l.summer@ecg-sl.com an L Summer stating that I was legally bound, I sent a reply email refusubg to pay and that I had not signed or agreed to any part of advertising. Looks like Im at the begining of a long Road and am glad that I am not alone in this. I’ll keep you informed.
Hi all,
just received my 1st demand for this listing,so angry at these lowlife..honest,hard working people driven to distraction. thanks for all your helpful comments.
thank god when my daughter said lets google and this site was found! I did the same as most people, felt sick this week when I got the bill, they wont get a penny out of me, in the meantime i have sent two registerd letters as was recommended. I have a small two chair salon and also sick to think I live in this world of scams and crooks, feel better to know people out there for support, i will be returning future letters.I am 56 years old hate this world of tricksters. thanks again for being there thanks to my daughter who uses a computer more than me.
Hey did you know that Trading Standards in the UK advices not to pay, they have noted that they have hundreds of complaints with regards to ECG. As a lawyer most of your reasons seem valid in a court of a law. Trading Standards states if taken to a Court of Law, you are able to fight you case fairly. I am disgusted that a company has profited so much over these years, they must have made millions. Please forward all your cases to the relative departments in your country in order to destroy these Evil people. Is their no Justice anymore.
Hi All,
I too have been scammed with ECG.Not only did they inform me that I had signed a contract for one single issue but that I had signed for three issues of this ridiculas and quite frankly useless guide. I have contacted them on several occasions to stop any further publication in regards to my company and still I receive letters stateing that I owe them money. I have sine handed the matter over to my legal department and even they are telling me that the pure ignorance of this outfit is mind boggling. The only advice that I can give is to STRONGLY reccomend NOT to pay over any money, which is exactly what I am doing.
Tim
Hi all
Well, after numerous letters, ECG have now passed my ‘case’ to their debt collection Company from whom I am now awaiting a letter or call. In light of the ‘STOP ECG’ website coverage of ECG’s debt collectors,commenting lastyear on Swiss authority raids on the offices of one of the debt collecting companies, it will be interesting to see who ECG are now using. The most recent letters have had a Zurich post mark but with the letter-head still stating Valencia, Spain which is clearly just a ‘front’ for a far more extensive network.
What is profoundly worrying and frustrating is the impotence of cross-border legislation to address this scam in an effective way despite the European parliament publishing 2 years ago a damning paper on European Directory scams such as the ECG. Furthermore, the UK Office of Fair Trading (OFT),despite publishing two press reelases on the ECG several years ago, seem equally impotent to initiate any cross-border legislation – they advise that they do not have the legislative authority to do so. The office of Simon Busittil, the Maltese author of the European Parliament Report was very helpful when I phoned them; their advice was not to pay and to ‘watch this space’ regarding ‘next steps’ regarding hopeful strenghthening of cross-border legislation. I am still awaiting in eager anticipation some pan-European announcment regarding definitive legislative action. In the interval, I shall be ignoring any approaches from ECG’s debt collection Company, passing on to the police any threatening or abusive language or behaviour from the Debt collection company and certainly not parting with any money. Hope this helps! Best wishes to fellow scammed colleagues. Stuart.
We are a small business and have also mistakenly signed one of these `scam` ECG forms. We are at the Legal Department stage, after 3 reminders. It has been of great comfort to hear other people`s stories. We have no intention of paying!
Hi All
Journey started in Feb 2010. Of course I too have beaten myself up and wondered how an intelligent guy like me could make this error? I have indeed followed the stop ECG site recommendations and now choose to ignore all further correspondence from ECG. I am very grateful for sites such as this and wish in some way to contribute.
This scam is based on probability and misleading our human observational skills. All of us delete, distort and generalise and if enough of these forms are sent out we all have a chance of falling in the net. Then of course most of us are honest, honorable and intimidated by officialdom so many pay up at some stage of the proceedings hoping to be left alone but on the contrary this only fuels their requests for further payments.
Now on the first letter from the ECG Legal Department and by the look of other peoples experiences can expect ever increasing levels of uncomfortable communications for many years. Support only honorable businesses, to comply with ECG demands is only an endorsement and an encouragement to this type of extortion.
Good luck to us all and lets all have the intention of attracting great future success in compensation for this minor inconvenience.
My wife who runs a small shop has been nearly out of her mind with the letters coming from ECG having signed for a free ad.
Although I wrote to them once saying we would not pay they sent their reasonable letter saying we had to as their was a contract.
It was obvious to me that this was a scam and wrote back to them stating the fact that we would not be paying and would answer no more demands. In the last two weeks we have had the “sweet letter offering a 10% discount for payment within six weeks followed the following day by a “nasty” letter saying our file was being past to their legal department and demanding immidiate payment.
I then looked up ECG on the internet and found Stop ECG and your excellent site which has colmed my wifes nerves at the moment.
One comment which is worth making for those of you who have taken legal advice and been told to pay and have done so should now make a formal complaint to your solicitor and ask for the monies you have paid to ECG to be refuned to you by your Law firm. The Law society should also be informed that this bad advice is being made. You should have a case!
ive just recieved my first reminder, looks like they are hotting up for there bill to be seatled. its now the 14th of sept,
& now its gone from 997.00 (eur) to 1176.46 (eur)
keep up the posts guys!!!
Do absolutely nothing. Not fair on others if we pay. Nothing will happen. Nothing
hi i was also conned in 2008 when received form with old copany details was in a huury and did not have my glasses so quickly filled in correct details and sent back i was abroad for 4 months when i returned had demands for money the same, emailed them told them it was a mistake and could not find the form, they sent me a copy but no small print on the back i informed them that i was only self employed they asked me to send proof of this i did . cut long story short i have not paid them any money wrote letter to them 6 months ago saying that if i had any more corrispodance from them i would go to my local mp and take legal action against them for harrisment thought it had done the trick herd nothing from them for 8 months then had cd rom come in the post 2 weeks ago sent it back unopend now have just had invoice for 3 years and first reminder , will not pay them please nobody pay them and if they try to take anybody to court let.s all get together and fight them
Let me add our office to the list of unfortunate victims. We’re at the stage where they send a “legal department” letter out. We have no intention of paying.
Many thanks for the page.
Well, I felt really stupid for having got caught by this scam but am reassured that I am not alone and that it is indeed a scam. I did send a letter of cancellation at the beginning of the year but despite that have received an invoice for next years’ inclusion in their directory. Unbelievable.And the pressure continues for payment of the first invoice. Like previous victims I also thought it was just a verification of my details for inclusion in their directory. When I got the first invoice I called them straight away and explained that we were only a very small local company and being advertised in ECG was totally irrelevant. I also explained that my husband had just died 4 weeks earlier and could they please waive their ‘policy’ but was only met by cold, arrogant responses. Ugly…
Hi David,
I too have been caught up in this scam – never thought I could be so stupid!! I have today received my 3rd reminder, saying if I don’t pay immediately ECG will pass my file over to their legal department. I have followed all the advise on the STOPECG site, including writing to MEPs and European Authorities, and keep getting the same advice – DON’T PAY!!! I’m sure there is more aggravation to come but I am really heartened by the comments from similar victims on your blog.
Thanks very much indeed – it is always reassuring to know that you are not facing these outrages alone!!
Hi, Just to let you know I received this letter this morning. I suspected a scam as Ive seen this type of thing before, they didnt even have the correct phone number for my business. Just posting to let you know they are still sending letters out.
Connor, I think that the idea was that you corrected the seemingly incorrect number and posted it back. It seems that having at least one item of incorrect information increases the chances of you filling it in.
Hi Guys, it was suggested that it could be useful to send a cancellation notice to prevent the “contract” (yeah right) going over the 3 years. This I did (Jul 29th)but have had no reply. Also just had a reply from Richard Ashworth MEP( along with all the other 12 MEP I contacted) that the advice is, very firmly- DO NOT PAY. Also you might note that the transfer bank address on my first reminder changed to a different bank on the second reminder. so they are now moving their account, or have done from the end of July to the end of august. slippery suckers.
Yes and thanks to David for setting up the site and for all the help people have given.
Yes, same story here.. Thought I was just confirming information they already had published on our business. They had our business classified as a different profession, I corrected this and returned the form. Sure I should have read the small print, never thought I was entering an agreement or contract. The ECG was very rude to me when I initially telephoned them to clarify the situation. We are plagued with reminders of the outstanding fee. We were only saved a very distressing setback when we googled this website and others giving us the back up and understanding of what we are dealing with. Thanks to you David and all the other people who have come forward here we will not be paying and will have to see it through to the end!!
HI, in the same boat as you all. From day one said I wasn’t going paying these guys and have been ignoring the letters largely. I just got billed for year 2 there recently and i’m just curious as to whether it is worth my while sending in the written notice for cancelation for subsequent years. As per their condiditons you need to cancel 3 months before end of calendar year. Just wondering did anyone do this and have they accepted the cancelation ?
After finding in July 2010, Richard Corbett MEP’s site. We wrote to ECG and said, 1. Signature box not signed, 2. no search section under Florist 3. Their mail outs are unsolicited and highly misleading. That we do not want or ever wanted inclution in their guide or to ever hear from ECG again, sending copy to Direccion General de Comercio (Regional Government of Valencia) Spain. ECG wrote back to say (ignoring the fact that it wasn’t signed) the contract is for 3 years and 3434.76 Euro owed. Found this site this morning. Best advice, keep your paperwork somewhere and make no contact with them, it is a discusting sick making scam.
Fell for the same scam last October.Got quite angry when first letter received and just scrawled a quick message to say it was a mistake. then the letters started to come in earnest. Got v. worried until checked on google. Thank you so much to all involved with posting comments.
Sent a v. involved letter back, most of quotes coming from Stop ECG site telling them that I never had a contract with them. they then sent a letter threatening legal action etc. Had the usual reminders coming every three weeks, and, hurray, the last one came on 6th June. Am hopeful that this is the last that will be heard from these scumbags! If not, am prepared for war!
Questions: surely you could prosecute a solicitor that gave advice to pay these people?
Why doesn’t the European Parliament prosecute them?
Good luck to everyone: hang on in there.
THis site is such a source of comfort. I have the misfortune to be involved with 2 sites, the City Guide and the European Medical Directory. Their covering letter told me it was time to update my existing free basic data, much further down the paragraph the word chargeable appears. The letter and form are both clearly designed to deceive; that must surely invalidate the notion of a contract. It surprises me how solicitors take such a narrow view and see the signature as so binding. I have not and do not intend paying a cent and am noting with interest how both scams operate in such identical ways. The Medical directory one is based in Portugal, maybe spain is getting too hot.
Luckily and thanks to this site and others listed on Google I haven’t sent them any money, against the advise of my solicitor. In between getting the demand and my wife having the presence of mind to google Euro City Guide I suffered a period of torment, beating myself up on how I could have possibly agreed to such a thing. I was looking at what was clearly my signiture on the form agreeing to pay 997 euros for a listing in some obscure directory and repeatedly questioning my sanity. This came at a time when I was struggling with many other issues, so the timing was especially cruel. As with other crimes what gets me is the pure selfishness. I wonder if anyone has been tipped over the edge with this. Of course we will never know and would they care?
Hi, I write from Bosnia.
My employer also signed up such an contract. He didn’t understand english very well and simply filled it out, singed and send back.
We beame like you guys a bill of 997 €. I am so glad i found this site. I will also not loose any more sleep. Thank you all. I will do absolutely nothing. And i will warn my emoployer.
Thank you guys, thank you very much.
i also have been duped, i can’t believe in 30 years of trading that ive been tricked into filling in this form.
i only filled the form in because the address
was wrong, not only on the form they sent.
but on the internet as well, & also my post sometimes had the wrong address.
keep up the greet work guys!!!
& thanks to every one for there posts. it really helps to now others have been taken for a ride as well
Hi, I just recieved a first reminder from ECG, soooooo glad i found this website, as i was considering paying them, i will not loose any more sleep now, thank u ;0)
Just found theses details, It is comforting to know i’m not the only one court up in this scam, i have now received my third invoice and have not paid them a cent, I originally wrote to them stating I didn’t enter a contract and that i was totally misled beleiving it was a free update service to their guide, I also said in every contract their is a cooling off period, which they replied yes 15 days, Bull S…. considering it takes 30/45 days to reply, DONT PAY, IGNORE THE LETTERS
I also fell for the same scam. In addition to all the points made,I would also advise writing to the ECG highlighting the misleading and confusing nature of the form but also copying and pasting sections of ECG’s own terms and conditions of service from their website. They state that they are customer focused along with other clauses of their terms and conditions to which they are clearly not adhering. I have also highlighted to ECG the European Parliament’s adopted report on misleading directories, authored by MEP Simon Busittil whose office I have copied on all my correspondence; he is effectively taking the lead on this issue for the European parliament. Their informal advice is not to pay and confirm that of the 1000′s of small businesses scammed,they are only aware of a handful where court action is being seriously threatened. I received similar informal but not legally binding advice from the Office of Fair Trading. Having collated a very detailed response to the ECG, copying in the authorities in Catalunia, where Barcelona courts fined the ECG in 2002 forcing them to stop trading for one year), the Valencian geovernment and Spanish Dept of Trade and Industry in Madrid as well as the UK office of fair trading who have 2 press releases on their website about the ECG. I have also copied Mr. Simon Busittil’s office – the European Maltese MEP who authored the Eur. parliament Report on misleading Directories. The Eur. Parliament is pursuing this scam, as indeed are the Australian Authorities. The BArcelona courts have already ruled against the ECG. Therefore, I shall now ignore all future requests for payment. if harassed or frankly threatened, as was an Irish Barber, I shall refer the issue to the UK and Spanish police. Stand firm on this issue and, eventually, cross border legislation will be passed and this scam will be deemed illegal with appropriate action taken. Hope this helps. Best wishes to all affected by this distressing pan-European and evdn global scam.
Thanks for the information Stuart. Hopefully this scam will be locked down and dealt with. Until then the comments from you and others continue to provide some support for those that have been pulled into this scam.
Thanks Dave. I echo Donal’s sentiments in thanking you for your great work and commitment in facilitating these comments.
Another supportive point – the stop ECG website (fantastic work also by Jules Wuddell in taking the lead on the stop ECG site – well done Jules!)stated that the Swiss authorities have raided the offices of debt collectors apparently hired or in partnership with the ECG to harass people like us. Indeed, I understand from the stop ECG website that one of these debt collecting companies has gone into liquidation so
- DON’t PAY THE ECG OR THEIR DEBT COLLECTION COMPANIES ANY MONEY
- DON’T INCUR LEGAL FEES IN GETTING LEGAL ADVICE – THE EXPERIENCE OF COLLEAGUES ON THIS AND OTHER SITES INCLUDING FACEBOOK, AND ADVICE FROM THE EUROPEAN MEP’S SHOULD BE SUFFICIENT
- STICK TOGETHER: SMALL COMPANIES IN BELGIUM ALL PULLED TOGETHER TO OBTAIN A SUCCESSFUL COURT RULING IN BELGIUM AGAINST THE ECG.
Best wishes. Stuart.
Hi there, i also am recieving letters from these gangsters. i filled out the form almost 2 years ago thinking it was just an up date for the eu on your business details and i was sure it was a free service but alas like most people who have posted on this site, i dident read the small print. so 3 months after filling it in i recieved my first invoice in the post for 997 euro. i was gob smacked so i decided to google ECG and low and behold what came up only scam after scam. i read alot of the posts on various sites and i ignored the letters completely. i tried calling the numbers on the first 2 letters but the were invalid numbers but however i got another letter this morning which was a third reminder to pay 2 years sub and admin for 9.00 euro and 13% vat slaped on it for good measure .what a laugh if organised crime are going to pay their taxes!!!!!!!
any how i called the number on the last invoice and i got through to an answering machine ( as today is saturday no one in ).
the first voice i heard on the machine was in english and it had a very irish accent as i myself am irish so its not hard to miss it….. i will call them monday morning and i will f### them out of it as anyone who is working for these parasites knows exactly what they are doing. I have never paid them a dime and luckily as soon as i recieved the first invoice i smelt a rat. my advise to anybody who is in the same delima is to laugh it off and just IGNORE any threats from these low lifes and for gods sake DO NOT PAY THEM A CENT as they will try and scare you to pay but thats all they will do.
p.s Dave thanks for the great work you have done on this site and for putting so many peoples minds at ease. well done mate.
It gets worse. They have actually forged a signature on the form, claiming someone form our company signed. Plenty of lettes etc, ignore them all.
Gesh, that is a bit extreme …
Hi all, while I feel sorry for anybody involved with this vicious scam, I really can’t understand why would anyone think that it was for a free listing. It is not said anywhere that it is free and furthermore at the bottom of the cover page the cost for edition is clearly stated in bold ‘Euro 997.00′.
I own a barbershop and must have received the same offer some seven times over the past five years the last one being this morning!
It never crossed my mind that it was free and realised that was a scam from offer one. On reading it carefully, it really bears all the features of a scam.
I have come across many other scams over the years (especially from utility companies) but never signed anything that I didn’t understand fully.
Suppose we all live and learn.
Regards,
Marco
I too have been duped. It is also clear that no matter what you say to them they dont listen. The advice from the stopecg site, all the MEPs and many others is to ignore their harassment. No court action has ever been brought in this country. I still think it of value to inform as many people as you can including your MP so that it is brought to others attention so I have have got onto them all!
yes I sent back the form correcting the mistakes then send a bill for over 1000 euros.
Rang the number and they said it was legally binding and I would have to pay the money.
Sent e mails and tried to phone again but now giving a no such number tone tried to fax but cant.
Maybe this scam company has moved the address was in Valencia.
I was so worried but now I know its a scam will ignore them I have just send an email saying I will go to the police so lets see what happens.
Rellieved Sue Harrison
I received the form in April and like others I corrected the info and posted it back to them and have subsequently received letter confirming £997 +vat for advert (I hadn’t read the small print nor the terms & conditions as they were very small & faint). I wrote to them on 8th June stating that the form was not completed by myself therefore I had not given the go ahead. On 16th July I received an email stating that we couldn’t cancel as our reason was not sufficient and the fact it had been sent to our company and then returned they took this a authorised, a cd-rom has been received also (which I haven’t installed/run). Today I have received our 1st Reminder for the sum of £961.99. Do I just sit on it and ignore or should I seek legal advice form CAB or a solicitor?
Based on previous comments I would suggest leave it as no-one seems to suggest that they follow up on the threats, as it holds no substance.
As noted earlier I fell for this. They are quite clever with their letters, debt agency (? owned by them) and then they call. Even if you did pay they will still ask for more. They have not contacted me (or indeed another local similiar business for 2 + years). Paying this in my opinion is not right. In fact it encourages them to ensnare others. One of the local medical practices, who they seem to target, was sent one and the receptionist filled it in. So as not to be shamed she paid the bill. 2 months of her wages until she told the manager. Kept her awake at night and lots of guilt. That really does upset me. Poor lady. They really did lean on the practice for more moneys seeing as they had been successful once.
Do the honourable thing and bin the letters. John
Hi I mistakenly signed for the correction of info and got embroiled with these criminals. After my second reminder I found a solicitor in Guildford, Surrey, who specialises in dealing with them for a small ish sum. He told me not to worry about it and to only contact him if i felt that the pressure they exerted was too much, and after that I just ignore them, they want me to pay for the second entry now, well, guess what? they can bloody well sing for it because i’m not going to pay them a penny! check out the facebook page which is also very helpful,
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=118990614787626
I also have signed and returned the form sent out by ECG, the company had just moved so I filled in the new address details without reading the small print. I have lost many nights sleep worrying about the invoice they have sent in despite trying to cancel it on numerous occassions and sneding all their correspondence back, they don’t give up they just keep coming at you. Until I read this website I felt like leaving my job, thanks for all your comments and advice.
My girlfriend has fallen into this trap too. After a lot of research (http://stopecg.org is a great place to start) it soon became apparent that we SHOULD NOT PAY THEM!
I contacted my MEP (Mr Malcolm Harbour) and spoke to his sectary Rebecca. As soon as I mentioned ECG she said “throw it in the bin”, not only are they getting many calls at the moment from people in the same situation but they even received on of the letters themselves!! The cheek.
The upshot is that in 2006 Directive 2006-114-EC was passed (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2006:376:0021:0027:EN:PDF) making their practices illegal.
My next course of action, as advised by the lovely Rebecca is to first contact my local MP and ask why the aforementioned directive isn’t being enforced on our behalf. Then I will be contacting Edward Davey MP, Minister for Employment Relations, Consumer and Postal Affairs (http://www.bis.gov.uk/ministers) and asking the same questions. The fact that these people are allowed to steal money from small businesses in this way is downright disgusting and I would ask anyone affected by this to contact there MP and Edward Davey MP and ask why nothing is being done about this issue by our government.
Rant over,
Chris.
Great advice – thanks Chris.
Anything to stop people falling into there trap!! And thank you for the original post David.
On a side note Edward Davey MP is on twitter
@eddaveykands ask what he’s doing about directive 2006-114-EC NOW and ECG!!
I too fell for this scam in January this year 2010 and when i got the invoice i rang the number on it and got talking to a fella and told him i would not be paying as it was a scam and he said ow you will be paying so i just hung up was worried i said what did i do and then i said i would google it to see what came up thank god for google and all the people who have posted messages about this scam on the internet thanks again everybody please nobody pay these thanks Craig.
Dave – thank you. I just completed the form, then read the small print and thought I’d check it out on line… luckily your site is top of the list on Google!
I can’t believe the cheek.
Thanks again
I too returned this mailing in January 2010, I signed it in error .Upon getting their invoice I immediately tried telephone calls and faxes neither could be completed due to misleading numbers ? for their telephone and fax .I emailed and posted letters , in return I was told via mail I was in a binding contract and to pay up with interest incurred . I contacted a lawyer and he said ” ignore their high pressure tactics – DO NOT PAY ” Then tonight I found this information that further set me at ease with regards to this matter . I’m sure they will continue to harass me but I am going to ignore their correspondence . I nver thought I’d get taken like this but never say never .
I too have been stupid enough to correct the errors in the address and think I was getting a free listing in something I wasnt really bothered about anyway, thankyou to all who have made me feel a whole lot calmer. I have just received my first reminder and have been so annoyed since I got the original bill, so a big thankyou to all who have bothered to write. I will certainly be putting all future reminders in the bin where they belong!
I too was scammed in 2008 wrote back to them several times stating the document was signed in error as I thought it was a free publication, received several demands finally paid the first year at 997 euros, Cancelled the contract with the payment but have since received year 2 invoice which I never paid and recently received year 3 invoice and statement including year 2 unpaid. Solicitors vary the first one I contacted advised me to pay the second I contacted knew of the scam I advised me to ignore all letters or return them unopened. DO NOT PAY THIS COMPANY A CENT!!!!!
Yep,
Our office fell for it too last year, we contested for ages. With loads of threatening letters, coming in our solicitor said pay it. We did and lo and behold got a bill for this year’s entry! They have started chasing for money again but I’ve found this site when I googled and have sent back a suitably worded email. Why didn’t my solicitor use google too????
sorry to bother you, but would it be cheeky of me to ask what that particular site might be, i am at a stage of ill health cos of worrying about these letters.
Kind regards
Brenda
I have been receiving letter from these guys for the last 6 months and now I have 1 form what they say is their legal department. I have not paid them a cent because none of it made sense to me. Even the phone numbers are incomplete to be able to call form overseas. I hope they eventually stop but it does concern me when they are still sending letters. Would love to hear advise any ones on what to do.
I am general counsel to a car retailing group and have had a number of dealings with these crooks over the last few years as a result of employees innocently returning their forms.
When they first send you the form they deliberately mis-spell some part of your details – either the company name or the address – so as to trick you into completing and returning the form without reading the small print. Once you have returned the form you will probably receive first, second and third reminders, and then a letter from the “Legal Department” threatening legal action. Sometimes they even refer the matter to a third party debt collection agency who will write similarly threatening letters. I understand that they also ring people up, although I personally have never experienced this (possibly because they are frightened of lawyers).
My advice would be – do absolutely nothing. The operation is clearly a scam and should be treated as such. If you do write to them it will not put them off, but rather it will simply reassure them that there is someone at the other end that they can continue to chase and threaten. If you ignore them they will eventually give up (until they send you another form to complete!).
As people have said in the other comments, there is no record of ECG ever taking anyone to court (crooks tend not to, on the whole). Indeed, even if they did I think it is highly unlikely that any court would allow them to succeed.
Great advice – thanks for your input James! I am sure that other readers of this will find it useful!
They gave up on me 2 years ago… nil since. Not one penny / cent did I give them. This is simply a con. Period.
i hope they ring me. i will waste so much of their time they’ll wish they hadnt.
Was duped by these people last year and paid out €1006 euros in total would ahve originally been €997 but with intrest it went up. Sent the form off in Auust never recieved a bill till october and againthe it was to late to cancel got a solicitor to write to them and in the end solicitor said it was a legal binding document and was up to me to pay it. If I had only checked it up on the internet before hand myself I certainly won’t pay anymore and they keep sending more invoices this time for over €2000. They have some cheek!
Just ignore this scam. I received one this morning plus we also have one regarding their “World Directory” scam that was inadvertently signed in our office in the belief it was a free directory.
Have had several calls from Spain regarding this issue and have told them where to stick it. Just ignore their emails, calls and letters. If push came to shove there are enough people caught up with this scam to fight them off in a Court.
I thought I was the only person faling for the scam! just received a bil from them for over 900 pounds! I thought it was only a register. I have looked through the stop ECG, of course it is a disgrace that they can carry on like that. So I just ignoring their letters?
guess what i was scamed 2 years ago i got in touch saying i didnt sign up for any thing other than a free listing they are now demanding their 3 payment and i have only just found out on the net it is a scam im gutted but they are adding intrest on daily i have no intension of paying any more i will go 2 stop cite
Hi
DO NOTHING I received one of these letters in 2008. I have received many, many letters/threats from them. I have heard nothing from them now for 5 months. DO NOT pay them a penny. Even if you do you will not have heard the last of them. They will still invoice you each year. They have never taken anyone to court over this. Best of luck
Yup – I was caqught in the scam aswell -= sent off thinking was for further info – very scarey – 2 chase letter received already – makes me feel really sick and worried. Stop ECG gives good info – arghhhh!!!!
Hi Dave
I have filled one of these out in error!! Do you have any information on how I can contest this and what I should do?
Thanks
Sue
Sue, take a look at http://www.stopecg.org/premium_recovery_ag.htm – as there seems to be more information up here about what to do if you have been involved with them.
Dear David,
Unfortunately I have signed one contract with this ECG, but I could not read the small part down. Now they are threarting me in letters that they will cite me to the court. I tried to pay for them, but their SWIFT name is not good.
I read the site stop ECG, I also read this forum. Is it true that untill now no one was taken to the court? What is happening with the listed sum + allways-growing administrative fee?
Ursula
My advice is not to pay, and follow the instruction on the stop ECG site. Seems like the best route forward
OMG! I really thought i was the only one here caught out! I spoke to a really rude Scots guy in Spain, trying to cancel this mess.They have sent another letter asking for the money, thank god i found out about you. Is it a good idea to get a Lawyer to write a letter? This has really upset me.I too thought it was a one liner ad and did not see the Euro bit a sit was too faint.Any ideas?
Sue
You seek advise. I too have fallen prey to these people and have not paid on the advise of my local MEP.
These peole are well known to the European Parliament and they are currently being investigated by them.
I suggest you contact your local MEP who I am sure will confirm wto you what they confirmed to me i.e.
1. Cancel your instruction
2. Ignore any further correspondence they send. Nobody has been taken to Court to this date according to my MEP.
Hi, I also have filled in this form, I couldn’t believe it when I received the bill for doing so, I e-mailed them and simply but SCAM ! They replied saying it was unfounded and I would have to pay. I replied with all the you tube clips I have luckily found. I have also returned the second demand letter without opening it: stating wrong address and I won’t be paying a penny! .Let them pay the postage they are nothing but scum worrying hard working class people. I am hoping I don’t receive another correspondence from them as it still leaves me feeling sick, I’m just so relieved I goggled and found out I was not the only one! Jen
I have had one more letter and an email as follows
Dear Madam,
While we are aware of the information on the internet slandering us, we must point that which they fail to do, which is that all of the information necessary to make an informed decision about our service was available at the outset, nothing has ever been hidden.
We must also inform you that any action which may have previously been taken against the EUROPEAN CITY GUIDE referred to order contracts entered into prior to appropriate amendments having been made to the order form, and applies to older contracts entered into long before your company’s order contract was prepared.
Although you feel that you are being “harassed”, we remind you that you have contracted our services by signing the form, and conseuqently we now have the legal right to invoice you for monies owing.
We suggest that rather than laying the blame on our company, you accept responsibility for the order which you placed as a business professional, and settle the invoice for a service which you have duly ordered.
They may need to change this now it’s public knowledge!