Office of Fair Trading probe online listings

The OFT say they have no evidence as yet to show that Online Business Index are breaking any laws in the manner in which they are approaching the trade, but have confirmed that they have launched an investigation in the wake of several complaints.

Examples of the mailshots sent to the Antiques Trade Gazette by the trade show similarities to others sent out by firms in other countries to UK dealers. Initially, those mailshots seem only to be asking the addressee to confirm their details for a free listing in a forthcoming guide. It is only when reading the small print that they discover that by signing they are agreeing a contract to pay hundreds – and in some cases thousands – of pounds for unwanted advertising.

Online Business Index’s form seems clearer and is headed up with the word Quote. To the left of a panel giving basic listings details of the addressee are printed four options with tick boxes, ranging from Basic entry to Bold entry with corporate logo for a surcharge of £199 a year.

However, in the small print at the bottom of the form, it is explained that a contract, at a net price of £845 a year, will have been entered into simply by signing the form – this is further confirmed by the attached terms and conditions. If this is so, anyone ignoring the tick boxes altogether could still find themselves with a bill even if they think they are signing only to confirm details.

As with other companies complained of, Online Business Index’s conditions also stipulate that unless the subscriber cancels in writing by a deadline, the initial two-year contract will be extended by one-year periods. On top of the £845 plus VAT for each year, the firm stipulate that they will charge a further £30 for every reminder sent out for payment. The form further advises addressees to familiarise themselves with the services of Online Business Index at www.online-business-index.co.uk before signing, but the site is still being constructed.

Without being able to gain any further information from the Website – and because the company do not give a phone number – at least one of the dealers approached emailed Online Business Index to ask what they would get for their £845 plus VAT – from the quote form it would appear to be a brief online listing including their name, address and telephone number under the heading Art Galleries & Dealers. They have yet to receive a reply.

• In the meantime, the long running saga of dubious marketing firms misleading the trade into signing up for expensive and unwanted advertising continues – but with some success for dealers.

The Gazette has heard from at least two members of the trade who have turned the tables on Construct Data Verlag GmbH, the Vienna-based firm who have spent years pursuing some dealers for payment for unwanted Internet listings in their Exhibitors Fair Guide. As we have reported on several occasions, dealers signing the unsolicited order document for advertising thought they were merely updating their details for a free listing. However, the small print tells them they are actually signing a contract for advertising that will be renewed – incurring additional charges – if they do not cancel by an early deadline.

The firm have been the subject of complaints and investigation at the OFT, who say that because Construct Data are based in Vienna, they have no powers to act against them under English law, and the Viennese authorities say they are not in breach of local laws.

However, at least two London dealers have now threatened Construct Data with legal action for breach of copyright after the Internet listings firm used their company logos alongside their entries without their consent. One of the dealers even received a letter from Construct Data saying they would pay them for using the logo – although no payment ever arrived. But both dealers no longer receive demands for payment.

For those still being pursued for payment, they should note that Construct Data’s own terms and conditions stipulate that the “sole legal venue and place of performance is Vienna”. How this squares with their threats to try to recover funds, via debt collection agencies, through the English courts, remains to be seen.