- Original Poster
- #1
Hi Guys,
We launched our discount card business eleven months ago and have been subject to anti-competitive behaviour from our rival company.
We work with businesses offering discounts to the general public, who buy our discount cards in order to use them over a twelve month period.
From the start we have had letters sent out to companies which we deal with or hope to deal with, badmouthing us as individuals and asking the companies not to work with us.
We have letters and emails to prove this.
More recently, we have been contacted by a business which we promote informing us that the rival company is telling businesses that we work with, that they are the same company and would like to re-sign their agreement with the businesses and that the have changed the look of our card!
So basically trying to steal our clients using our identity, telling companies not to work with us and attacking our character personally.
This has been highly embarassing and frustrating over the past eleven months and we feel that it is now time to take action! The only problem is that all revenue is used to further expand the company so that we may reep the future benefits.
We cannot afford to take this company to court as we do not have the funds and really do not know what steps to take.
After calling trading standards, we were advised that the actions they were taking did seem to be illegal. He then continued to state that he would pass the matter on to a more local trading standards agency who may or may not call me and maybe follow up my complaint!
This is unacceptable! There seems to be no help for new businesses when it comes to legal matters, leaving larger companies with the freedom to bully smaller companies out of the market unfairly!
We really are out of ideas, so any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
We launched our discount card business eleven months ago and have been subject to anti-competitive behaviour from our rival company.
We work with businesses offering discounts to the general public, who buy our discount cards in order to use them over a twelve month period.
From the start we have had letters sent out to companies which we deal with or hope to deal with, badmouthing us as individuals and asking the companies not to work with us.
We have letters and emails to prove this.
More recently, we have been contacted by a business which we promote informing us that the rival company is telling businesses that we work with, that they are the same company and would like to re-sign their agreement with the businesses and that the have changed the look of our card!
So basically trying to steal our clients using our identity, telling companies not to work with us and attacking our character personally.
This has been highly embarassing and frustrating over the past eleven months and we feel that it is now time to take action! The only problem is that all revenue is used to further expand the company so that we may reep the future benefits.
We cannot afford to take this company to court as we do not have the funds and really do not know what steps to take.
After calling trading standards, we were advised that the actions they were taking did seem to be illegal. He then continued to state that he would pass the matter on to a more local trading standards agency who may or may not call me and maybe follow up my complaint!
This is unacceptable! There seems to be no help for new businesses when it comes to legal matters, leaving larger companies with the freedom to bully smaller companies out of the market unfairly!
We really are out of ideas, so any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
