State Settles Fraudulent ‘Yellow Pages’ Case

By J. Gelband, 7-17-07

Some businesses that let their fingers do the walking were inadvertently also letting the “Internet Yellow Pages” walk off with their hard earned cash. 

Attorney General Lawrence Wasden said this week that ten Idaho businesses that received bills for listings on the directory web site – for a service that each believed they did not order or approve – will benefit under terms of a legal settlement with Thompson Hill Publishing of Montreal, Quebec.

Thompson Hill agreed to cancel the businesses’ outstanding accounts without admitting any liability or wrongdoing.

The company must also refund any money that the business owners paid toward an invoice or collection notice. And, if the company continues to operate in Idaho, it must register to telemarket, register to do business with the Secretary of State and include its address and a toll-free customer service telephone number on all invoices and ads it sends to Idaho consumers.

Additionally, Thompson Hill also agreed to pay the Attorney General $2,685.91 in civil penalties and attorney fees.

“You are not required to pay for a listing that you did not order,” Wasden said in a statement. “If you receive a bill for such a service, you should contact the company and explain that you did not approve a directory listing. If the company cannot demonstrate that you ordered the listing, you should file a complaint with the Consumer Protection Division.”

According to the Attorney General’s Office, the businesses that filed complaints with the state reported the company, which falsely indicated it was based in Auburn, ME, had made phone solicitations and implied a prior business relationship with the consumers and misrepresented itself as the local “yellow page directory.”

Thompson Hill then sent the businesses invoices for up to $480.

“We’ve been involved in several cases concerning deceptive billing or selling practices by companies calling themselves ‘the yellow pages,’” Wasden said. “Consumers often assume that a business calling itself ‘the yellow pages’ is connected with a regional telephone company or a local directory service. That is often not the case. The term ‘yellow pages’ is not a trademark. Anyone can use it, and scammers often do. Business owners can protect themselves by checking into yellow pages solicitations before they sign up. If you want to advertise in your local directory, call the local directory to verify that you are listing with them.”

Call the AG’s Office if you think you might be a victim of this directory scam or another invoice scam. Thanks to the Idaho Consumer Protection Act, a seller can’t send a solicitation to consumers that deceptively resembles a bill or invoice.