Directory scammers Online Business Index caught out

A company that sent misleading letters to UK businesses promising exposure through an online directory has been wound up following a government investigation.

Online Business Index Limited (OBI) operated mainly from Germany but targeted businesses in London and Manchester. It sent out letters - some 50,000 in its London campaign - offering a listing in an internet-based directory.

OBI then presented bills for £845 plus VAT per year with a two-year minimum period for the listing, something that wasn’t made clear in the original mailshot, according to the Advertising Standards Agency.

When OBI continued undeterred, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) stepped in, eventually presenting a petition to the High Court on 21 November 2003 for OBI to be wound up.

The court heard that OBI and its director, Herbert Kerler, did run a web-based directory but it was never promoted beyond its target customer base.

The Official Receiver has now been appointed as liquidator and will investigate the conduct of the company's officers.

Kerler or someone else who could speak for OBI could not be contacted for comment.