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Halbert's, Inc., of Bath, Ohio, a mail order firm that markets
surname products, has agreed to the provisions of a cease and
desist order issued by the United States Postal Service (USPS)
in November 1995. "Halbert's " "Family Book Offer," and "Historic
Book Offer" are trade names used by Numa Corporation of Akron,
Ohio.
On 23 March 1995, the
National Genealogical Society (NGS), with the
support of the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS),
submitted to the United States Postal Service's Chief Counsel,
Consumer Protection, a 120-page report on Halbert's marketing
practices with the request that these practices be investigated.
NGS and FGS also launched a "grass roots" campaign to
encourage the participation and cooperation of genealogists
nationwide. A brochure and companion flyer entitled "PSSST!
Wanna Buy Your Name?" were mailed to genealogical societies
and libraries. Societies were asked to reprint the cartoon and
brochure text in their newsletters. Librarians were asked to post
the flyer on their bulletin boards. As a result, many people wrote
to NGS and its Ethics Committee about the solicitation materials
they had received from Halbert's, and others wrote directly to the
U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
On 21 November 1995, the Postal Service issued a supplemental
cease and desist order prohibiting Halbert's from further use of
certain misleading marketing practices, which included a consent
agreement signed by Halbert's. Previous cease and desist orders
issued against Halbert's in 1985 and 1988 remain in effect.
The supplemental order issued in November 1995 includes the
following provisions:
- Halbert's was ordered to desist from falsely representing ". .
.that (1) a solicitation for a surname-related product was sent
by a relative of the solicitee; (2) a relative of a solicitee was
involved in preparing a surname-related publication; or that (3)
a relative of a solicitee endorses a surname-related product."
The Postal Service contended that the company's
solicitations, which advertised books such as The World Book
of [surname] and The [surname] Since the Civil War, violated
the 1988 consent agreement, because they appeared to be
letters from relatives of the addressees urging them to
purchase a recently completed book on their family.
- Halbert's was ordered to begin displaying prominently the
following disclaimer on any advertising for sumame related
publications: "No direct genealogical connection to your family
or ancestry is implied or intended."
- Halbert's was ordered to cease and desist from "...representing,
directly or indirectly, that advertising has been approved by the
United States Postal Service."
The consent agreement entered into by Halbert's in November 1995
contains several other provisions. Halbert's may submit proposed
advertising to the USPS General Counsel not more than three times
per calendar year to obtain an opinion on whether the advertising violates cease and desist orders. Halbert's must pay $2,000 for each
submission to defray investigative, administrative, and legal costs
incurred by the Postal Service.
For a period of one year from the date of execution of the consent
agreement, Halbert's must, ". . . within ten (10) days after written
request therefor, pay full and unconditional double cash refunds,
including postage, handling, and deposits, to all consumers who have
previously requested in writing to [Halbert's], and not received within
thirty (30) days after the receipt of the written request therefor, refunds
in connection with any and all surname-related solicitations in use prior
to the date of [the consent agreement]." Halbert's must also accept and
honor refund requests from the Better Business Bureau, the Postal
Inspection Service, the Ohio Attorney General's Office, and any other
duly constituted governmental entity which has received complaints
from consumers about its promotions.
Under the 1988 cease and desist order, the following conduct by
Halbert's is prohibited:
- Representing that a book is principally about a particular family name and the history of this family name
- Representing that a book contains information about someone's forebears and their emigration from Europe
- Representing that a book contains information about the heraldry and family crest of a particular family
- Representing that a book explains how a particular family got its surname
- Representing that a book explains why someone's forebears immigrated to the New World (the United States, Canada, and Australia)
- Representing that a book explains why persons with a particular surname immigrated to the New World
- Representing that a book is the result of research through numerous sources by themselves, or someone acting in their behalf, to compile information on persons with the addressee's surname who immigrated to the New World
The Postal Service has advised NGS that Halbert's is a member of the
Direct Marketing Association and participates in the Mail Preference
Service. Anyone who does not wish to receive future mailings from
Halbert's can have their name deleted from the company's mailing lists
by writing to: Direct Marketing Association, Mail Preference Service,
PO. Box 9008, Farmingdale, NY 11735-9008.
The NGS Consumer Protection Committee (formerly the Ethics
Committee) is chaired by John P. Shockey.
[This article from the March/April 1996 issue of the NGS Newsletter may be reprinted in other publications.]
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