Tourist directory targets licensees
A tourist directory which has been targeting firms across the world from Bolivia to Belgium has stepped up its pursuit of UK licensees.
Pubs across the country are being sent application forms to join a tourist directory by Swiss firm NovaChannel AG.
Licensees say the form asks them to confirm their pub details for the directory.
However, they claim it is only in the small print that it mentions the payment of a fee and they have, unknown to themselves, signed up to a paid-for guide.
Many claim they are suffering from threats of court action if they fail to pay.
Marlene Oliver, licensee of the Foresters Arms, near Billingshurst, West Sussex received a form from NovaChannel AG, which she thought was a free entry into a tourist guide. She filled in the details of the form which mentions a listing "free of charge" and sent the information back. "It asked me if my details were right for this guide then I got an invoice for E989," she said. "I tried to argue it but they kept writing to me and I just paid up." But Ms Oliver has since received another bill demanding further payments of E1,087. She is refusing to pay.
Gareth Williams, licensee of the Duke in Oxford, contacted The Publican after receiving the form. He was wary after reading about similar companies in The Publican.
He said: "It was not until I looked at the small print that I noticed the charge. It doesn't make it obvious."
Complaints from all over the world about the Lucerne-based company, and other similar websites, are being lodged at www.stopecg.org. A spokesman for the Swiss Embassy said Swiss Trading Standards was looking into the company.
The Office of Fair Trading has received numerous complaints about misleading advertising of industry entry guides and advises licensees not to pay money to any international directories.
A statement from NovaChannel AG said: "The terms and conditions spell out all aspects pertaining to the legal issues of the order. Customers are not threatened with courts if they fail to forward payment.
"Though legally it is our right to pursue the customer through other legal means, these options are only considered once all resources on our side have been exhausted."
