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Decision Bars Group from Misrepresenting Toshiba Supplies
August
2007 In a significant legal victory protecting the business interests
of authorized Toshiba dealers and their customers against
misrepresentations and fraudulent business practices, Toshiba America
Business Solutions Inc. (TABS) announced that the United States
District Court ordered a permanent injunction against IDC SERVCO, Mytel
International Inc., and parent company, G.M.N. Financial Services Inc.,
barring the group from misleading customers by representing the company
as an authorized dealer of Toshiba office product supplies.The
permanent injunction further prohibits the companies from falsely
designating any of their products as Toshiba’s or infringing on any
Toshiba-held copyright. This precedent is the first legal success in
TABS’ aggressive initiative to protect the Toshiba brand, Toshiba
dealers and their end customers from office supply telemarketing
scams.Following the U.S. District Court’s order, TABS unveiled its new
Office Supply Telemarketing Fraud Protection Program, an educational
section on the TABS Web site that empowers customers with tools and
information to protect businesses from telemarketing schemes.“Toshiba
values our customers and dealer partners too highly to allow companies
such as IDC SERVCO to misrepresent themselves and make customers
believe that they are part of the Toshiba Corporation,” said Tom
Walter, director of Aftermarket Sales, Marketing & Operations,
TABS. “TABS will continue to devote the resources necessary to
aggressively protect our valued customers from opportunists that
attempt similar misrepresentations.”TABS credits the success of
the litigation to working closely with the Federal Trade Commission,
the Imaging Supply Coalition, TBS subsidiaries and Toshiba’s authorized
independent dealers. With known cases stemming back as far as 1987,
office supply telemarketing scams have resulted in businesses reporting
an estimated $200 million a year in operation losses in North America.
A typical scenario involves a telemarketer identifying themselves as an
authorized dealer of copier supplies, requesting information on office
copier fleets or confirming a fictitious prior purchase. The
telemarketing company then proceeds to ship unordered supplies with
invoices demanding payment, sometimes at 10 times over the MSRP. The
fraud preys on uninformed employees or unsuspecting customers through
the use of trusted company brands, such as Toshiba.TABS’
aggressive pursuit of legal action against IDC SERVCO stems from a 1998
consent decree signed by the company’s subsidiary, Mytel International
Inc., agreeing not to make any misrepresentations in the sale of
photocopier or office supplies, including statements that Mytel, or any
sales company contracted by Mytel, are affiliated with the end
customers’ regular supplier, servicer or equipment manufacturer. In
mid-2005, TABS began to receive reports that the Culver City-based
company had resumed contacting end customers, posing as an authorized
Toshiba supplies dealer.TABS filed suit against Mytel International
Inc., IDC SERVCO, and parent company G.M.N. Financial Services, Inc.,
which resulted in the August 2, 2007 U.S. District Court order granting
a permanent injunction against the defendants.
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