Correspondance to Expect from the European City Guide (ECG)

Over the last few years we have got to know the pattern of letters that the ECG and associated guides send out. We have followed many people on the rollercoaster ride of warnings and threats and not one of them has ever been taken to court.

If you are planning not to pay, you must be prepared for the sequence of events below. If you propose to pay the ECG, please be aware that the contract is for 3 years in total. There is more advice for both scenarios on our main page

  1. Initial mailshot which you returned
  2. After some delay a proof arrives, At this point many people ask for a cancellation
  3. Refusal to accept cancellation, this usually takes the form of a letter stating that you have signed a "legally binding contract"
  4. Various reminders, this stage can be very protracted if you are writing and challenging them. Some prople also recieve the actual guide around this time, usually on a CD-Rom
  5. Threat to pass it over to the "legal department" More recently the letters have stated "Legal Action in your country":
  6. "legal department" Letter, at this stage they may add interest and/or "Dunning Fees"
  7. The "legal department" may send several letters, these lead to a threat of debt recovery action by a debt collection agency
  8. Enter Gravis Inkasso Gmbh or Premium Recovery AG, Debt Collection Agencies Based in Austria and Switzerland Respectively, they use mail, faxes and direct phone calls and state that they will take you to court if you do not pay them. they even name courts. All these threats have proven hollow, but this is the most testing stage. They may offer reduced one-off payments, short deadlines Etc.
  9. Letter from the ECG noting that you failed to reach agreement with Gravis Inkasso Gmbh or Premium Recovery AG, offering a much reduced settlement.
  10. Generally that is it, though some people have then had the process start again, demanding a second or third years installment.




Legal Department
We do not know if the Legal department is a separate operation of not, it uses the same address as the ECG, and a very high percentage of the ECGs customers get these letters





Dunning Fees
These are a bit of a mystery, they appear to be almost unique to the ECG, they are not explained, however they are hefty, usually weighing in at £200. In letters after 2004 we have noticed s shift from Dunning fees to the charging of interest this can be very intimidating as you can see the bill rising almost daily.





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