No protection from FAIRGuide charges under English law

The Office of Fair Trading, who have received several complaints, have passed them onto the Austrian justice ministry.

Lawyers from the Consumers’ Association and officers of both the Advertising Standards Authority and the OFT advised that it was likely that forms sent out by the FAIRGuide followed regulations. Dealers simply not reading the forms carefully before signing and returning was no argument for not paying the fees, they explained.

The news will come as a disappointment to many who have already received threatening letters from the company, demanding that they pay the submitted invoices – within an hour of last week’s report hitting the doormat, the Gazette received three phone calls from dealers who had had letters. One shred of hope is that we have not had any reports of the threats being followed up with legal action, although that is not to say that they have not been.

The various authorities who gave advice to the Gazette on the problem agreed on two points:
• Because the booking forms are being sent by a business to another business, the Unfair Contract Terms Regulations do not apply. They only apply to a contract between a business and consumer.
• As the forms stipulate that the “sole legal venue and place of performance shall be Vienna”, and those signing the forms automatically agree to this jurisdiction, English law is unlikely to hold any authority in disputes.
The OFT are waiting for a reply from the Austrian justice ministry on what, if anything, can be done about the problem. They have promised to pass on any developments to the Gazette. In the meantime we repeat our advice to anyone receiving a form, asking them to confirm details, and that they should check the small print before signing or applying their business stamp to it. Those who have already signed and are faced with unexpected bills should seek professional legal advice and check that the listing has actually been published as promised before parting with any payment.
We are still interested in hearing from anyone in the trade who has had similar difficulties and especially from anyone who has resolved them satisfactorily.