To: Jeffrey S. Mitchell who wrote (1858 ) 6/8/1999 10:38:00 PM From: Q. Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 7056
Jeff, it seems to me that HITT makes one of the two major violations of US law that are listed in the FTC complaint you posted, regarding Dorian Reed's Internet Business Broadcasting (IBB)company. Recall that just like HITT, the business of IBB included selling sponsorships of banners. One of the violations was making specific profit promises to prospective customers, and these promises were unrealistic. I've examined HITT's website, and it does not make this violation in my opinion. However, HITT continues to make the second violation. To be specific, HITT violates the "Franchise Rule". What IBB did, and what HITT continues to do, is run a franchise operation that does not provide the required disclosure to prospective franchisees. The key element of running a franchise is that HITT promises to help you run your business after you buy it from them. In this case, your business is selling banner sponsorships. HITT's website says that they will do the work for you. That is exactly what IBB did, and the FTC said that qualified it as a frachising operation. The FTC says that a franchise must obey the "Franchise Rule", which among other things requires that HITT provide a detailed disclosure listing 20 points, including the terms of the franchise and the names and addresses of other franchisees. IBB didn't do that, and HITT doesn't do that either. When I went to the HITT website, I found that I was solicited to buy a sponsorship (a franchise in FTC lingo) and that I was asked for my credit card number without being provided an exact description of what I was getting into and without being provided a list of other franchisees, or any sort of disclosure at all, really. So, it seems that Dorian Reed has stopped doing only one of the two illegal things that got him in trouble with the FTC. He continues to violate the Franchise Rule, and according to the FTC, this constitutes unfair and deceptive acts, in violation of U.S. law. Here's the link to the FTC complaint against IBB:ftc.gov