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04/07/2009, 16:25 LisaJ Joined on 17/10/2004 Posts 155 Re: I seem to be in an annuaire that I don't know about! We had one of these too - just before Christmas, an official looking "invoice" and then a phone call saying we owed them 400 odd euros. I told them to send a copy of a signed contract and of course we never heard anything more, but it gave me a nasty few moments. These things seem to arrive on a fairly regular basis; definitely one of the downsides of running a business here. regards L    Report

04/07/2009, 16:56 Chancer Joined on 16/07/2006 Picardie, Sussex Posts 4,081 Re: I seem to be in an annuaire that I don't know about! Ironically Auto-entrepeneur has made it easier for these kinds of business to flourish, there are no longer the administrative and social charge barriers to entry, and if as I suspect the details of each new business set up is available in the public domain then now is the time for them to reap the harvest of a lot of new and green start up business proprietors. I used to get these kind of things all the time in the UK, they can be a bit worrying when one first starts in business but eventually they dont even register on the radar. Bin it and just keep them hanging on hold when they next phone.    Report

18/11/2009, 9:41 jsb Joined on 12/11/2004 Posts 13 Re: I seem to be in an annuaire that I don't know about! I help people with their admin and one of my clients has had the same request for money after setting up as an auto-entrepreneur. In France, you, almost always, have to sign to say you agree to pay. Without a signature there is nothing they can do. Eg. if you have had your car fixed and then the bill is higher than your original quote. Unless you have signed to say that you will pay the higher amount, you are only eligible to pay for the amount you signed for. Just ignore it and ask them to send a copy of the signed paperwork by registered post.    Report

18/11/2009, 13:09 lacote0_0 Joined on 13/03/2007 Posts 172 Re: I seem to be in an annuaire that I don't know about! There used to be a variant on this whereby you were offered a free entry in a telex directory, but the form was set out in such a way that when accepting what you thought was the free entry you in fact signed up for a small ad at an inflated price. You then received chasing letters from the company and their tame German lawyer for the full amount.    Report

04/01/2010, 11:18 londoneye Joined on 15/11/2005 Posts 945 Re: I seem to be in an annuaire that I don't know about! Hi Just seen this thread as I rarely have time to peek in these days - I also received the 118 bill for 263 (or something similar).   Followed by several telephone calls during which a VERY persistent woman told me that it was obligatory to pay.   I asked her to write to me, registered post, outlining the exact law which stated it was obligatory to pay for something which I did not want and had not asked for.   Needless to say, no such letter ever arrived.   However a short time after I mentioned it to a completely fluent friend who has lived in France over 20 years and she decided to telephone 118.    Even before she had finished her explanation for the call, the woman she was speaking to said 'was it for xxx euros' (ie the 263 or whatever) and after my friend said it was, she said bin it - it's a con.   Slightly unbelievable that they know about it and are not warning people, but there you go - as everyone else has said, feel free to bin it and hang up on the pushy people that then follow up by phone!    Report

28/01/2010, 19:40 Rob Roy Joined on 11/03/2006 19 - Correze Posts 770 Re: I seem to be in an annuaire that I don't know about!  Callie wrote: We suddenly found ourselves in the France Telecom annuaire, under our listing with a mobile phone number and Mr Callie as being an estate agent !!!! Heaven knows where or who made that one up. Must get on to Orange and make sure it's deleted next year..... Kas33 - you could always ask them to send you a copy of the 'signed contract' by registered post ! We have just received our new annuaire and the delivery person insisted there was one for each of us. When I looked up our name and private address my name was down with our home number, which is fine as I'm the registered person with France Telecom, but my husband was also down with a '0962' number listed. We have no idea where this has come from and have never been asked for any payment for it. However after registering as an auto-entrepreneur in 2009 he received a bill for over 200 euros (can't remember exactly) for a Pages Jeunes listing, which we had never asked for. From previous experience in the UK when I worked for small companies that also used to get bills for Yellow Pages without signing contracts with them I was not too worried about this, and have just ignored it. Should I try and find out where the 0962 number comes from? I tried ringing it and suprise, suprise it went to answerphone! I think perhaps I should ask France Telecom where they got the number from, what do you think?    Report

29/01/2010, 16:10 AnOther Joined on 05/12/2006 W of Cahors (46) Posts 6,747 Re: I seem to be in an annuaire that I don't know about!  andrew wrote: This is clearly a con, and the people trying to con me are lucky I don't live in Paris, as I would have gone to their premises and administered some good old British Justice. And I really can be very nasty indeed, so the lucky ones are them for now, as next time im in Paris I might very well go down there for a word. BE WARNED TELECOM 118 your card is marked, you will piss the wrong person off one day. I can see the Le Parisiene headline now....... PO Box savaged by angry Brit Counting down to retirement update: A bright light now beckons    Report

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