{"id":2272,"date":"2022-12-04T00:00:03","date_gmt":"2022-12-04T08:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vpnwiki.com\/en\/?p=2272"},"modified":"2024-01-20T13:41:05","modified_gmt":"2024-01-20T21:41:05","slug":"eu-business-register-spam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vpnwiki.com\/en\/eu-business-register-spam","title":{"rendered":"“EU Business Register” spam: what happens if you do not pay"},"content":{"rendered":"

Maybe you got that spam too. The subject line may vary, but usually includes a variation on EU Business Register<\/strong>. Attached is a PDF form most often titled “Company Data Control”, sometimes accompanied by the current year. At first glance, it looks like an official letter from one of the EU offices, using blue font and gold stars arranged in a circle.<\/p>\n

The letter is not from any office, it is sent by evil people. Behind the apparently official correspondence is an advertising order worth thousands of euros.<\/p>\n

I have been working on this article for over a year. What happens if you do not pay for the advertisement? What happened after the penalty fee increased and the debt was handed over to a debt collection agency? And who is the secret operator of the EU Business Register?<\/p>\n

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    By submitting to the EU Business Register, you order advertising for \u20ac2,985<\/h2>\n

    Let’s go back to the beginning. The form invites the recipient to send the completed questionnaire to Eu Business Register, P.O.BOX 34, 3700 AA – Zeist, The Netherlands. This is not official writing, as it is in small print on the side of the form.<\/p>\n

    Behind the form is an order for advertising on the meaningless EU Business Register<\/strong> website (www.EUBusinessRegister.eu). There is a fee for publishing a company’s profile, but subsequent updates are free, as the form mentions a little underhandedly. The subscription is for three years with an annual automatic renewal of one year, the cost of advertising is $1,061\u20ac995<\/span><\/span> per year.<\/p>\n

    To terminate the subscription; the catalogue operator must receive at least two months\u2019 notice. (The term \u201creceive\u201d is worth mentioning in itself, as it may happen that “the post office does not deliver the notice”.)\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/li>\n

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    What to do if you receive a form from the EU Business Register<\/h2>\n

    Delete the email with the form or mark the message as spam. Then, you have nothing to worry about. However, in the worst case, you will receive the email again. <\/p>\n

    If you have returned the completed EU Business Register form to P.O.BOX 34, 3700 AA – Zeist, The Netherlands and paid, you will never see your money back.\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/li>\n

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    What to do if you have submitted a completed EU Business Register<\/h2>\n

    Input for lawyers: The information below is not a how-to guide, but the experience of the person who submitted the completed EU Business Register form. Always consult your legal department for further advice.<\/em><\/p>\n

    The directory operator does not verify the form has been submitted by a person authorised to act on behalf of the company. In theory, this could lead to a situation where one company fills in the form for another company in the context of competition. The aggrieved company is then repeatedly asked to pay the fee.<\/p>\n

    This may be the case for a reader for whom someone submitted a completed form in mid-August 2021. We obtained access to all communications. As we have verified, the information in the form does not belong to any business entity. Furthermore, the telephone number length does not correspond to the format used in the Czech Republic.<\/p>\n

    \"“EU\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n

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    Letter 1: Invoice for services (September 2021)<\/h2>\n

    The first response from the EU Business Register catalogue operator was an email in mid-September 2021. “Ms. Andreea, Account Manager” from andreea@accountingebr.eu<\/strong> sent a document marked as an invoice.<\/p>\n

    The same document arrived a few days later by conventional mail. Both the email and the letter arrived after the so-called invoice due date.<\/p>\n

    The invoice states in small print that “Neither EU Business Services Limited nor EU Business Register are in any way associated with organisations or institutions of the European Union or the European Commission”.<\/p>\n

    \"“EU<\/p>\n

    The catalogue operator does not verify who filled in the form and whether it was a person authorised to act on behalf of the company. All indications are that the persons behind the EU Business Register do not even verify that it is a real company.<\/p>\n

    Our reader replied at this stage that he was unaware of any form or order. Either it was a person without authority to act on behalf of the company or the form was sent in error.\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/li>\n

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    Letter 2: Reminder and late payment penalty (October 2021)<\/h2>\n

    Arguments about sending the form by a stranger did not work. The catalogue operator continues to communicate with andreea@accountingebr.eu under the name Andreea and requests payment of the invoice. Otherwise, it will “involve the legal department” to resolve the situation.<\/p>\n

    The IP address of the sender of the email indeed corresponds to Amsterdam, the Netherlands.<\/p>\n

    A second letter will arrive in mid-October 2021. The reminder threatens a fine of $106\u20ac99<\/span><\/span> for late payment and an administration fee of $37\u20ac35<\/span><\/span> if you do not pay within twenty-eight days of the date stated in the letter.<\/p>\n

    Arguments about sending the form by a stranger did not work. <\/p>\n

    \"“EU<\/p>\n

    The payment is to be made to \u201cSEO DIGITAL MARKETING BV \/ EU Business Register\u201d from Nieuwegein in the Netherlands. Furthermore, they will discuss this later. The account NL04ABNA0101884826 is with the Dutch bank ABN AMRO Bank N.V. However, catalogue operators can use more than one bank account.<\/p>\n

    The mailing address of the sender is P.O. Box 2021, GA Utrecht, The Netherlands.\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/li>\n

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    Letter 3: Second reminder and fine (November 2021)<\/h2>\n

    The argument that the form was completed and sent by an unknown person does not work. Ms. Andreea ends the email communication, stating that she will involve the legal department in the case and asking for our reader’s attorney’s contact information.<\/p>\n

    The mention of involving the legal department is apparently to pressure the business involved to pay the invoice. This is even if it is not known whether the order was sent by a person authorised to act on behalf of the company.<\/p>\n

    The reader soon received a second written reminder. SEO Digital Marketing BV demands payment of a one-year subscription fee of $1,061\u20ac995<\/span><\/span>, a late payment fee of $106\u20ac99<\/span><\/span> and an administration fee of $37\u20ac35<\/span><\/span>. Total $1,204\u20ac1129<\/span><\/span> excluding VAT, which is passed on to the entrepreneur.<\/p>\n

    \"“EU<\/p>\n

    Payment is to be made within five days of the date on the reminder. The letter appeared in the mailbox twenty-one days after the date on the reminder.<\/p>\n

    Email communication in November brings nothing new; it is spinning like the wind in a box. From andreea@accountingebr.eu<\/strong>, Andreea informs of the alleged late payment, the alleged debt, and the penalty for non-payment.<\/p>\n

    She still needs to prove that the EU Business Register form was completed and sent by a person authorised to act on behalf of the company. However, developments will soon gather pace. They will initiate legal proceedings, a new character, debt collectors, will enter the communication, and the letters sent will have a new colour. Read on!\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/li>\n

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    Description 5: Last call for payment (February 2022)<\/h2>\n

    In February 2022, another letter from the operator of the EU Business Register appeared in my mailbox. The last call for a payment of $1,204\u20ac1129<\/span><\/span> arrived fifteen days after the due date for payment. After the deadline, they will transfer the debt to a debt management and recovery company. <\/p>\n

    \"“EU<\/p>\n

    Waldberg & Hirsch Global Collections Ltd., whose only contact is the email address info@whgcollections.com<\/strong>. Along with this, the letter mentions an additional court fee of $320\u20ac300<\/span><\/span>, which will increase to $533\u20ac500<\/span><\/span> after four weeks.<\/p>\n

    The content of the letter more or less replicates the email communication. Interestingly, the “legal notices” for payment are sent by Dana from the email address credit@accountingebr.eu<\/strong>. No Waldberg & Hirsch electronically responded.<\/p>\n

    It strikes me that the opposing party has resigned to playing the dual identity game at this stage.\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/li>\n

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    Description 5: Waldberg & Hirsch Global Collections Ltd. (February 2022)<\/h2>\n

    Email communications with Ms. Andrea continue to spin in a vicious circle until February 2022:<\/p>\n