The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is taking action in the Federal Court against a company alleged to have demanded payment from companies for advertisements printed without those businesses’ consent.
The corporate watchdog calls the practice “blowing” and is part of a group of scams known as false billing.
A report from the ACCC earlier this year claimed these types of scams grew by 60% during 2009 and are among the most prominent scams facing SMEs.
The ACCC is taking action against Adepto Publications, and alleges that between 2007 and 2010 Adepto demanded payment from businesses for unsolicited advertisements. These publications included the National Emergency Relief Guide, the Underprivileged Children’s Guide, and the Volunteer Organisations Guide.
The ACCC states that Adepto representatives made unsolicited phone calls to Australian businesses about advertising in these publications.
“After the call, even if the business did not agree to take out an advertisement, Adepto posted a copy of the advertisement as published in the publication and an invoice seeking payment,” the ACCC states.
“If the business did not pay the amount demanded in the invoice, it is alleged that representatives of Adepto made follow-up phone calls to the business demanding payment for the unwanted and unordered advertisement.”
A discussion regarding Adepto can be found online, where some users have reported dealing with the company before. Many of these posts are dated during 2008, when the ACCC alleges the company was operating.
The watchdog is seeking injunctions restraining Adepto from requesting payment for advertisements unless it has written confirmation the consumer wanted that advertising published.
It also seeks injunctions stopping Adepto from pursuing payment from businesses that have been previously sent an invoice in connection with the publication of an advertisement in Adepto’s publications.
The case is set to be heard before the Federal Court on October 15, 2010.
James was the editor and publisher of SmartCompany and LeadingCompany for five years. He is now the Australian Financial Review‘s companies & markets editor, and a former BRW editor.
