From: Plaques&Letters
[admin@plaquesandletters.com]
Sent: Monday, October 26, 2009 5:18
PM
To: 'info@castplaque.com'
Subject: RE:
http://castplaque.com/: Non-Response Follow-Up: FTC False Advertising
Complaint
As you have ignored this, I called today for a
follow-up. I spoke with an accented (Middle Eastern?) male approx. 20-30
y/o. The conversation proceeded contentiously because he kept requiring me to
repeat myself. I pointed out the images of ours that you've stolen, as conveyed
below. I also pointed out there are other's you likely took from P&L but
can't be proven because the actual manufacturer--Matthews Bronze, in most
instances-- also posts them. I also pointed out that you post images of
cast plaques which are someone else's work. His reply: "We have permission to
use them." There would be zero need to ask permission to post others' cast
plaques--out of the scores you post, there's one Gemini, several Trigard on your
"Colors page" but all the rest are Matthews'--if you cast your own
plaques...which you clearly dont.
I also offered on the phone: "You are not a
manufacturer..." Before I could complete the sentence with: "...of cast metal
plaques", he interrupted with: "We sure are! Would you like to come see our
facility??" My reply: "I don't care if you make widgets or hot air balloons; you
don't make cast plaques. Yet that's the misleading name of your website: castplaque.com." He was speechless. End of
conversation.
You set the stage on your homepage that you are
manufacturers: "Using fully computerized,
state of the art techniques and equipment, our devoted production team will
furnish you with a sign system which is not only visually appealing but durable,
cost effective, and versatile....With three high-tech CAD/CAM manufacturing facilities,
Cast Plaque, Inc. has the resources to handle large, elaborate signage projects
with the same accuracy and ease with which we would produce a single, simple
plaque." The fundamental problems with that are, 1) you
don't cast ANY plaques, but with that stage set, 2)wherever else visitors on
your 'site travel, they'll think--the vast majority would think, it's 100% safe
to say--that you made those product lines as well. The clear implication is that
customers will be receiving cast plaque manufacturer-direct pricing, knowledge
& service...FOR SOMETHING YOU DON'T EVEN MAKE.
You're clearly
going to continue to ignore this. You've had ample time to start fixing the many
problematic aspects of your website. By this coming Monday I will have sent a
False Advertising Complaint about you to the Federal Trade
Commission. NY & LA State Atty's. General will be copied. All will be
posted here: http://www.plaquesandletters.com/ftc_false_adv_complaints.htm You
will soon also be contacted by my attorney soon, for stealing and even
distorting some of our images, none of which are to be found elsewhere
online.
It's clear you didn't
make the cast plaques that you post online, and it's clear to me which
manufacturers actually did. I know this industry quite well, and easily
recognize a foundry's work; Matthews',
Trigard's & Gemini's (even their border & texture diagrams: http://castplaque.com/finishes.html)
in this case (perhaps Scott Sign Systems as well). I recommend
you cease saying you make cast plaques.
You didn't make the plaques
which you post images of,
despite your claims of "Cast Plaque Inc.
Is the leader in fabricated interior and exterior signs. Having gained a
worldwide appeal, our innovative and precision crafted signs can be seen
throughout the United States, Europe and the Far East. With a staff of highly
trained and dedicated craftsmen, Cast Plaque, Inc. has set and maintained an
unsurpassed industry standard of excellence and quality assurance. Using fully
computerized, state of the art techniques and equipment, our devoted production
team will furnish you with a sign system which is not only visually appealing
but durable, cost effective, and versatile. ." as seen on http://castplaque.com/ Fabricated
interior and exterior signs perhaps; cast plaques,
no.
I'd
recommend:
- Coming up with an
entirely different URL. Failing that,
- Tell the truth about
what you do--and don't--actually make,
- Pull ALL of the images
you stole from our website which you have posted on http://castplaque.com/cast.html#Seals (Other's
you likely took from P&L but can't be proven because the manufacturer also
posts them, making them fair game.)
- See this image you
creeps? http://castplaque.com/images/portrait/p13.jpg PULL
IT. It's taken from P&L and exists nowhere else. Our customer
sent that to us--before you horribly distorted it--and it's NOT "fair
game".
