http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sub/news/story/0,4574,396564,00.html?
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Published July 26, 2010
Global Yellow Pages comes under fire
Businesses up in arms over payment demand - for a service they never asked for
By CONRAD TAN
(SINGAPORE) Global Yellow Pages, formerly known as Yellow Pages (Singapore), has come under fire from businesses that have received 'tax invoices' from a subsidiary of the firm, asking for payment for a directory-listing service that they never asked for.
One business owner has gone so far as to lodge a police report against the firm.
The letters sent out by Singapore Information Services Pte Ltd (Insis) - which Global Yellow Pages bought for $6 million in March 2009 - to many businesses on July 8 asked the recipients to contact the directory-listings provider to opt out of the service offered, if they do not want to be charged $390.55.
Last Wednesday, however, Insis changed tack and took out colour advertisements in The Business Times and The Straits Times that asked recipients to ignore the letters if they did not want the service.
Five lawyers BT spoke to said that they were not aware of any law here that made it illegal to send out such letters, though one said the practice was 'morally reprehensible'.
When contacted by BT, a spokesman for Insis and Global Yellow Pages said in a statement that Insis had sent two notices to businesses, on June 3 and July 8, but that the notices were merely to 'inform subscribers of the availability' of a service to list their businesses in various directories and websites.
'We wish to emphasise that subscribers who do not respond to the notices will automatically not be included in the service. This means, if the subscriber does nothing, he will have opted out of the service.'
That contradicts the July 8 letter that many businesses here received. A copy of the letter obtained by BT reads: 'Dear phone subscriber: Following our June 3 notice to you, as we have yet to hear from you, we will proceed to list your company in the applicable directories and websites so that your business does not miss out in further listings.
'Kindly pay the invoice enclosed for your subscription of this service for one year, which will be automatically renewed annually unless your cancellation is received at least one month before expiry.
'Should you not want to be listed and wish to decline this service, please call, email or fax us by July 31, 2010.'
The attached 'tax invoice', dated July 1, is for $390.55.
Insis does not have its own management and is wholly owned by its public-listed parent, the former Yellow Pages (Singapore), which changed its name to Global Yellow Pages in July last year.
Small-business owners that BT spoke to, and others posting on online forums, were outraged by the tactics used by Insis and Global Yellow Pages. That could cause some awkward questions at Global Yellow Pages' annual general meeting tomorrow.
Chiang Kar Heng, who owns Multinet Business Solutions Pte Ltd, a small company that offers website-hosting services and also operates a cafe, told BT that he felt 'threatened' when he received the July 8 letter from Insis demanding payment for a service he had not asked for. 'I've never had any transactions with Insis,' he added.
So far, he's written three emails and sent two letters to Insis, but has yet to get a reply, he said. On July 13, he decided to file a complaint with the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case).
But Case said it could not help him, because Case only takes up complaints on behalf of individuals, while this involved a dispute between businesses. Frustrated, Mr Chiang walked next door to the Ulu Pandan neighbourhood police post at Ghim Moh Road and filed a complaint against Insis.
When contacted last night, a police spokesman confirmed that Mr Chiang had filed a complaint against Insis, but added that the police were not taking any further action at the moment, as there appeared to be no offence committed.
Case executive director Seah Seng Choon said that the association had received 23 complaints against Insis from businesses this year so far. But Case could do no more than offer advice to them because it doesn't handle disputes between businesses, Mr Seah pointed out. 'What a business can do is to challenge the contract,' he added.
Unknown to many, the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act protects only individuals, not businesses. The Act defines a consumer as an individual, so its rules on unsolicited goods or services do not cover goods or services targeted at businesses.
But lawyers BT spoke to said that there is no contract that Insis could use to demand payment unless both parties had agreed to it. 'You cannot use silence as acceptance,' said Amolat Singh of law firm Amolat & Partners. 'Here, there's no contract to start with.'
While the law allows 'all sorts of indulgences' in the commercial world, such as creative advertising, for Insis to ask for payment in this manner is 'morally wrong', he said.
'It's not illegal, but it is void,' said Kertar Singh of law firm Kertar & Co. 'You cannot push it down somebody's throat. There must be a proper offer and proper acceptance.'
Their advice to businesses is simply to ignore such mailers. But some business owners, like Mr Chiang, aren't satisfied. In a letter published in The Straits Times online forum on July 17, Bryan Tan said: 'Such unsolicited services and charges should not have a place in our modern economy.'
Top Print Edition Stories
Published July 26, 2010
Global Yellow Pages comes under fire
Businesses up in arms over payment demand - for a service they never asked for
By CONRAD TAN
(SINGAPORE) Global Yellow Pages, formerly known as Yellow Pages (Singapore), has come under fire from businesses that have received 'tax invoices' from a subsidiary of the firm, asking for payment for a directory-listing service that they never asked for.
One business owner has gone so far as to lodge a police report against the firm.
The letters sent out by Singapore Information Services Pte Ltd (Insis) - which Global Yellow Pages bought for $6 million in March 2009 - to many businesses on July 8 asked the recipients to contact the directory-listings provider to opt out of the service offered, if they do not want to be charged $390.55.
Last Wednesday, however, Insis changed tack and took out colour advertisements in The Business Times and The Straits Times that asked recipients to ignore the letters if they did not want the service.
Five lawyers BT spoke to said that they were not aware of any law here that made it illegal to send out such letters, though one said the practice was 'morally reprehensible'.
When contacted by BT, a spokesman for Insis and Global Yellow Pages said in a statement that Insis had sent two notices to businesses, on June 3 and July 8, but that the notices were merely to 'inform subscribers of the availability' of a service to list their businesses in various directories and websites.
'We wish to emphasise that subscribers who do not respond to the notices will automatically not be included in the service. This means, if the subscriber does nothing, he will have opted out of the service.'
That contradicts the July 8 letter that many businesses here received. A copy of the letter obtained by BT reads: 'Dear phone subscriber: Following our June 3 notice to you, as we have yet to hear from you, we will proceed to list your company in the applicable directories and websites so that your business does not miss out in further listings.
'Kindly pay the invoice enclosed for your subscription of this service for one year, which will be automatically renewed annually unless your cancellation is received at least one month before expiry.
'Should you not want to be listed and wish to decline this service, please call, email or fax us by July 31, 2010.'
The attached 'tax invoice', dated July 1, is for $390.55.
Insis does not have its own management and is wholly owned by its public-listed parent, the former Yellow Pages (Singapore), which changed its name to Global Yellow Pages in July last year.
Small-business owners that BT spoke to, and others posting on online forums, were outraged by the tactics used by Insis and Global Yellow Pages. That could cause some awkward questions at Global Yellow Pages' annual general meeting tomorrow.
Chiang Kar Heng, who owns Multinet Business Solutions Pte Ltd, a small company that offers website-hosting services and also operates a cafe, told BT that he felt 'threatened' when he received the July 8 letter from Insis demanding payment for a service he had not asked for. 'I've never had any transactions with Insis,' he added.
So far, he's written three emails and sent two letters to Insis, but has yet to get a reply, he said. On July 13, he decided to file a complaint with the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case).
But Case said it could not help him, because Case only takes up complaints on behalf of individuals, while this involved a dispute between businesses. Frustrated, Mr Chiang walked next door to the Ulu Pandan neighbourhood police post at Ghim Moh Road and filed a complaint against Insis.
When contacted last night, a police spokesman confirmed that Mr Chiang had filed a complaint against Insis, but added that the police were not taking any further action at the moment, as there appeared to be no offence committed.
Case executive director Seah Seng Choon said that the association had received 23 complaints against Insis from businesses this year so far. But Case could do no more than offer advice to them because it doesn't handle disputes between businesses, Mr Seah pointed out. 'What a business can do is to challenge the contract,' he added.
Unknown to many, the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act protects only individuals, not businesses. The Act defines a consumer as an individual, so its rules on unsolicited goods or services do not cover goods or services targeted at businesses.
But lawyers BT spoke to said that there is no contract that Insis could use to demand payment unless both parties had agreed to it. 'You cannot use silence as acceptance,' said Amolat Singh of law firm Amolat & Partners. 'Here, there's no contract to start with.'
While the law allows 'all sorts of indulgences' in the commercial world, such as creative advertising, for Insis to ask for payment in this manner is 'morally wrong', he said.
'It's not illegal, but it is void,' said Kertar Singh of law firm Kertar & Co. 'You cannot push it down somebody's throat. There must be a proper offer and proper acceptance.'
Their advice to businesses is simply to ignore such mailers. But some business owners, like Mr Chiang, aren't satisfied. In a letter published in The Straits Times online forum on July 17, Bryan Tan said: 'Such unsolicited services and charges should not have a place in our modern economy.'
