Business owner warns of aggressive advertising scheme
Nicole Veerman
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, June 15, 2011
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A Yellowknife business owner is warning Northerners of an Edmonton-based magazine he says aggressively pursued him in attempt to collect ad revenue.
Alan Cunningham, owner of ATM retailer Alanco Holdings Ltd., has advertised with Cedar Publishing's Missing Kids Newsmagazine for two years. He said since first agreeing to advertise with the company, he has been receiving phone calls every few months aggressively requesting more money, despite the fact that he didn't sign a contract.
Last year, Cunningham decided he would stop advertising with southern companies, so when he received a proof of his ad, he faxed it back, saying he was no longer interested. Shortly after, he received a phone call from the company.
"When I spoke to the fellow on the phone, he was really abusive and abrupt and basically just said you owe me this money and you have to pay. I've never ever dealt with that before," he said.
The cost of the ad, the size of a business card, was $259.88. Cunningham refused to pay, but the ad still appeared in the Spring 2011 Territories edition of the magazine. He said he hasn't heard from the company since.
Cedar Publishing is not associated with Child Find Canada, the not-for-profit group that Adam's Dental Clinic reported to the RCMP for incessant phone calls in 2006.
Child Find Manitoba actually spoke out last year, saying its reputation was being hurt by Missing Kids Newsmagazine because businesses thought the publications were the same.
Calls to Child Find Canada were not returned by press time.
On its website, Cedar Publishing says it was established in 1999 and describes itself as an independent publishing agency that produces print-media publications for non-profit organizations and professional associations.
There are 95 ads, from all three territories, in the Spring 2011 Territories edition of Missing Kids Newsmagazine.
Moe Najmeddine, the president and CEO of Cedar Publishing, said the magazine is sent to "every business in the three territories" for free. There are four editions each year, spring, summer, fall and winter.
When asked what kind of agreement a business needs to make with Cedar before invoices are sent for an ad, he said, "I don't share my business practises with my competitors, so I'm not going to tell you that."
Najmeddine did say a contract isn't always a requirement, though. "It all depends on the customer," he said. "We treat each customer differently."
He also said that if someone is disputing the purchase of an ad, they should speak to them directly and he will give them "all the evidence they need that they did purchase the ad."
He wouldn't say what that evidence would be.
Cunningham, who said he didn't sign a contract with the company, isn't the first person to complain about the publishing company.
In February, the Edmonton Food Bank posted a notice on its website saying the organization had no affiliation with the publishing company.
"Any solicitations by Cedar Publishing are not in support of Edmonton's Food Bank," it states. "In other words, Edmonton's Food Bank does not receive any financial support nor is it affiliated with Cedar Publishing or its publications."
The Edmonton and Northern Alberta branch of Crime Stoppers also spoke out. On March 31, the organization posted an alert on its website, stating, "These publications (Crimestopper Newsmagazine and CSI News) are NOT affiliated with Crime Stoppers. Advertising in these magazines or with Cedar Publishing Corporation does NOT support Crime Stoppers."
On Ripoff Report, a website where consumers can document complaints, scams, frauds or lawsuits against businesses, there are eight entries about Cedar Publishing - all of which include similar to those of Cunningham's.
Najmeddine said it's unfortunate that there are complaints, but he has no reaction to them.
"You get a lot of people, if they don't get their own way here, then they make a complaint online, the better business bureau, blah, blah, blah. None of it's worth the paper it's written on. All of those people that have complained there have all paid for their advertisements," he said.
"If there was any concern, believe me, I would have addressed it in my publication many times, long ago, but, you know, there's no concern."
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