yellow pages - is yours working - what is it?

Another thing that I forgot to ask is does anybody do multiple large ads in the y.p.? I'm listed in 6 different categories, but I'll have the 1/8 page ad in just one section. Does anybody run large ads in more than 1?

John
 
Here is one of my fav saying:

Fighting on the internet is like being in the special olimpics,
Even if you win your still retarted :)
 
I had a 1/8 page color yellow page ad last year. I only got about 1 call a month from it. I was charged about $500 a month. The thing is that I was told I would get about 5-10 calls a day form my ad. The salesman lied to me big time. I will never place another ad with them again. I still have not payed for my ad though. After realizing that I was rooked I refused to pay anything. I owe over $6,500 for that year. I still get billed from them every month. Has anyone else refused to pay? If so did anything happen. I am not sure what action they might take. send me to collections, or take me to small claims court. Any info would be great
 
RockoT:

Nope, note been in that situation, since I pay my bills. You say you were "rooked"...I fail to see how. You say the salesman promised you 5-10 calls per day. Did you get that in writing? Did you really believe at that time that a salesman could guarantee how many calls you'd get? If so, how? Was he going to contact homeowners and suggest they call you for pressure washing services? Anyone with any sense at all would have to realize that there are no guarantees. So, either you're extremely stupid for believing what the salesman supposedly told you about guaranteed calls, or you're trying to get out of paying a bill you legally and ethically owe by claiming that the company you placed the ad with failed to do what they promised. Or both.

It is people like you who make it harder for honest and ethical companies. If Bellsouth (or Verizon or whoever your yellow pages was with) loses enough money to people like you who accept their services and then refuse to pay, they will eventually require payment in full up front. That will make it very hard on smaller companies and start-ups to get their ad in the book.

What can they do? They may but you about it but never follow through, or they may turn it over for collections. Unless you have this supposed "guarantee" in writing, you'd lose in court. Then you'll pay what you owe plus legal fees.

My advice, begin paying them like you should have in the first place....You say you owe them $6500.00, which means you never paid a dime, even before it became evident you would not get the calls you expected.
 
RockoT, Sorry you were dooped by a good salesman. Maybe what he said and what you heard were two different things. Its in the cost of doing business. You are receiving service from your listing, so you need to pay up.
As an example. If you bid a job and the customer agrees, and you provide the service, and then he desides he can get it done for less by someone else. And he only pays you what he could get it done for. Wouldnt you want your money?
You have a simular situation here. You have made a poor business decision here and it is time to pay up.

Let your conscience be your guide. You have already let us know about your ethics.
 
RockoT,

I believe you were naive to think anyone can guarantee how many calls a business can generate from any ad. The problem could be in your ad, where your ad was placed, economics, weather, etc., etc.. (There are too many variables in order to be able to guarantee any results).

Lets take a couple of other perspectives:
- If you receive 5 calls a month and you only turn 1 (per month) into a $250 job would that make this type of advertising successful?
- If you received 1 call and were awarded a $50K job, would your perspective be different today?


I'm not a lawyer so don't take this as legal advice, but depending on how aggressive the YP business is, you could potentially end up with:
- At least a bad credit rating, which can cause you to pay higher rates for loans or not be able to get loans until this is cleared up.
- A lawsuit by YP is not out of the question although highly unlikely for $6500. But even a small claim court engagement would most likely not go in your favor since you have not made any effort toward payment.
- A lean could be placed against your business for non-payment of a bill.
- Depending on your state laws, there could be other remedies taken by YP.

If you have a disagreement, it is always best to try to work thru it, and at worse case take the business to court if you feel you have been mis-lead. In most cases, a fee-free (or for a minimal fee) consultation with an attorney could determine your legal options. In a dispute, non-payment is hardly ever favorable or legal (unless the money is held in escrow or another legal method is used).
 
Hello RockoT,

If your advertising in the book that your telephone company supports (in my case it is SBC) for non payment I would expect them to disconect your telephone!

My $.02

Dave Olson
 
David,

Shutting down phone service for non-payment of advertising doesn't happen anymore. They used to do it when the phone company was Ma Bell in the 60's. Today the baby Bells just sell "bad" accounts to collection agencies that hound and harass till they make you bleed.

A plumber buddy of mine is in the same boat and they told him they won't shut down service but will kill his credit and sell his account to collections. He told them he was joining up with another company and didn't want the ad anymore, they told him tough luck. Until the $7800 bill + interest is paid no more ads for anything he's connected with. They do a dun & bradstreet and several other credit checks to follow up.

The way they catch people too is with signatures, if you sign the contract you are liable for the amount due, it's a legally binding contract. If you don't sign it they have you on tape agreeing to the ads, binding you. Ever listen to those on-hold phone messages when you call, "this conversation may be recorded for training purposes." Yeah, to train the dogs. The small ads like name and numbers often get automatically renewed by sending the paperwork to you. Read the back, if you don't come right out and tell them you don't want it, it's automatic you got it, with a hefty increase in price, I might add.

Here's another kicker, if your ad is wrong - they will apologize profusely while telling you to pay up. NEXT YEAR, they give you the free ads, you hope with corrections. They project profits and want that pound of flesh now.

The real phone companies, SBC, VERIZON, SPRINT, MCI don't screw around, trust me, I have felt their wrath and done the research. The up-starts like YELLOW BOOK, etc. are less vindictive because they are trying to woo the big guys customers.

Bottom line, don't wash into the wind and don't screw with the phone company.
 
guarantees and nonpayments

Rocko,

I too was guaranteed a number of calls per month. 10 to be exact and this is something that is relatively easy for the yp to predict based on the number of publications they put out. My guarantee is in writing and a special tracking number was supposed to forward to my office so that the number of calls could be counted. They failed to place that tracking number in the ad and used my normal office line, so now, there is no way to tell how many calls I am receiving from that ad (no way for them to know and no way for them to honor their guarantee of pro-rating my bill based on the guarantee).

Now, I expect that some of you may jump on my case next for nonpayment, but I have consistently worked for the past three months (since the day I received my new yp) to have my rep call me back, to have any customer service person pull my file or take some action. I have since left messages with my rep, his supervisor, and the general customer service department stating that I will not send any payments in until someone calls me back. I don't find this unreasonable.

Supposedly, the procedure should be that I would call in with my problem, my rep would file a claim for me and then an adjuster would call back within a couple of weeks to either shoot down the claim or make an adjustment offer (whether lower the monthly bill or offer free ads for next year). I know I'll pay this bill, but I feel that I'm getting jerked around and this is the only weight I carry.

So, I do agree that all should honor their bills, make their payments and do business honestly, but the companies we deal with should have the same respect and the same approach to the business relationships.

I'll let you guys know when they get back in touch with me and tell you how it all pans out.
 
John,

Do as you please. But here is a suggestion we've used with limited success. Send a CERTIFIED letter with Receipt return Requested. In the letter, state that due to their screw up - and at the advice of your lawyer - you have elected to not pay the monthly phone bill until this matter is handled to your satisfaction.
That you have set aside the monies due, in a separate account and will make them available when satisfied. Point out that you have tried a number of times to have the matter handled by the local sales office without receiving the courtesy of a response.

Their reply will probably be that they are sorry however, your sales rep did not have authority to guarantee the number of calls your ad would generate. What do you want them to do to make the situation right?

Try that, and send it to the main phonebook sales office, CC a copy to your sales rep, his boss and anyone else you can think of, with a copy of your bill.

Good luck
 
Thanks for the replys so far. I guess I did not explain all the details though. I placed a 1/8 page add and they put it under pottery (which is 13 catagories away) before the pressure cleaning services page. It is because of this that I did not get any calls. I got only about 2 calls ALL YEAR LONG. I did call the first day I that I got the new phone book. They said that because there was no room under the pressure cleaning section that the ad shows up on the page before it. BUT THEY told me that it is still "Flagged" under the pressure cleaning service section. Which is BS. It is under pottery. They said they would not even reduce the price of my ad. That is why I refuse to pay. It doesn't matter to me if it hurts my companies credit because I don't use or plan to establish any credit under my companies name. And I don't think that they are going to sue me for such a small amount because it would cost them more money in their lawer fees than the price of my ad. But I feel that if they did sue me that I have a stong chance of winning because what I signed said that my ad would appear under pressure cleaners and it didn't so that is breach of contract. Also nothing I own is in the companies name so reposession is also not a possability. They only thing they have done is send me a letter saying I can not take out another ad until my account is current. But then 2 weeks later they send me a letter asking me to renew my ad! Pretty funny huh.
If they owed up to THEIR mistake though and reduced the price of the ad I would have already paid for it.
They have never called me though.
 
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Indiana,

Good post and the certified letter is a great suggestion. The only thing I differ with you on is the guarantee of the number of calls. I'm not so naive as to take everything a salesmen says at face value and I wouldn't trust the reps guess at the number of calls an ad should receive, however, I do have a signed document stating the number of calls to be guaranteed and it lays out the process of pro-rating the bill when that number is not met. It is part of, if I remember correctly, their Guaranteed Response Program.

John
 
John and Rocko:

I agree that if the yellow pages company screwed up, and didn't do something they promised you in writing, then you have a right to at least withhold payment until it can be resolved. As far as putting it is the wrong category, I wouldn't pay either. That won't stop the company from turning you over for collection, but at least you have a good arguement if it comes to that.

Thanks for clarifying your situation. Makes more sense now.
 
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