The year of dubious registers
Fair Trading: The Fair Trading Commission's 2005 Activity Report shows an increase in questionable administrative offers.
Fairness Commission under the sign of a new trend: over a quarter of
of all 234 complaints concerned offers for so-called registers and
Directories.
They come across as serious administrative offers. Often also with
an official-looking Swiss cross. And they arrive by e-mail, post
or fax. With a simple signature you can register your company in
register, which is intended to help make the company better known and
to make them more successful. So far so good.
The application forms are all designed in a similar way, whether they are for commercial
and business, tourism or gastronomy. In particular, they are
written and presented in such a way that something essential is easily
overlooked: The entry in the register is associated with steep costs of around 800
francs, an amount that is only disclosed in the small print.
is mentioned.
Time and again, people fall for these so-called offers and
sign in the belief that it is a free entry. About a
A quarter of all complaints submitted to the
The complaints received by the Fair Trading Commission concern such complaints. Whereby
Focus on around ten different shipping companies from Germany and abroad
of the legal claim. The question was not answered,
whether they are reputable registers or not: The
The Fairness Commission only had to assess whether the commercial
communication contradicts its principles or other standards.
What is sexist?
Of particular interest in the new activity report is the
Section on sexist advertising. This topic concerns the
Commission on Fair Trading on a regular basis and has led to him receiving a
is the subject of a separate and illustrated section in the activity report:
On the basis of various complaints that were approved or rejected
the Commission's judgment practice is explained.
Piero Schäfer
