They entered micro-enterprises in their databases that had not requested it and then asked, indeed demanded, the payment of large sums of money as consideration. These are the reasons behind the fine of 5 million euros fined by the Antitrust to nine companies for aggressive and deceptive commercial practices.
These are Mulpor Company, Ibcm – International Business Convention Management, Seo Marketing, Inversiones Dgsm, CL Business Conflict Solutions Management, Credit Intelligence Kft, Wipot doo, Servizi Imprese di Palma Roberto and Medianet One.
The Authority speaks of widespread practices throughout the country, carried out above all by foreign companies and which, over time, are becoming increasingly insidious to the point of "unduly influencing the decision-making process of micro-enterprises". These practices, explains the Antitrust “are followed by an intense unjustly vaunted credit recovery activities, through reminders, formal notices and sometimes with the threat of taking international legal action for compulsory recovery which can be particularly costly”.
As for individual companies, Mulpor Company Srl and Ibcm – International Business Convention Management Ltd were fined for having sent deceptive communications to hundreds of micro-enterprises "as if they came from the organizer of one or more trade fairs in which they had recently participated, in order to obtain subscription to an expensive advertising service" . Ibcm, in particular, allegedly continued to send these deceived companies reminders, formal notices and threats to proceed with the enforced collection of the amount unjustly demanded through international legal action.
The misleading communications of SEO Marketing instead they aimed to induce micro-enterprises to subscribe to an advertising service, in order to then demand payment for a service they never knowingly requested.
Inversiones Dgsm, CL Business Conflict Solutions Management and Credit Intelligence Kft have unknowingly induced them to subscribe to a three-year subscription to a database, only to then request payment “through harassing reminders, intimidating expressions and threats of costly and reckless international lawsuits. In this case, the precautionary suspension of the activities connected to "Expo Guide" was ordered in December 2020, due to the involvement of numerous Italian micro-enterprises and the aggressiveness of the practice", the Antitrust said.
Wipot doo, taking advantage of the similarity of the name and logo with those of other institutional organizations, requested the payment of over 900 euros for a fulfillment deceptively presented as mandatory and coming from an international institution. In reality, the sum requested was to remunerate the unwitting subscription to an advertising service offered by the company.
Finally, Palma Roberto Business Services and Medianet One they sent deceptive communications to newborn micro-enterprises, which contained a postal slip pre-filled with the company data of the recipient company. They also demanded the payment of amounts between approximately 268 and 315 euros, erroneously suggesting that these were mandatory obligations connected with registration with the Chamber of Commerce.
