Albert E. Voaden

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IN THE l\fATrER OF ALBERT E. VOADEN COMPLAINT, FINDINGS, AND ORDER I:N REGARD TO Tile ALLEGED VIOLATION OF SEC. 1i OF AN ACT OF CONGRESS APPROVED SEJ'T. 26,_1914 Docket 493.'i. Complaint, Mar. 29, 1943-Decision, July 21, 1943 Where an individual, engaged in Interstate sale and distribution of circulars with reply cards attached, for use by creditors and collection agencies In obtaining information concerning debtors, which informed tlie recipient that "Cigarette Smoker's Survey" was conducting a national survey to determine the preferred American-made cigarettes, and that if he would answer the questions on the business reply card, including reason for his preference, his name, address and place of employment, his favorite cigarette radio program, and name, .address, and place of employment of a friend who smoked the same brand, he would receive free a package of his favorite cigarettes; · Making use ot a scheme under which he placed upon his reply cards code numbers identifying his customer-purchasers, latter a<ldressed cards anti circulars to last known addresses of persons about whom information was sought, attached postage and caused the same to be delivered to said individual, who deposited them in the mail and, upon receipt of filled-in reply cards, forwarued them to his customers, and to persons returning them sent packages of their preferred cigarettes; Through use of name Cigarette Smoker's Survey and said circular and card, falsely represented, and placed in the hands of his customers means of 'falsely representing, directly and by implication, that he was engaged in completing a national survey to determine which of a number of brands of American-made cigarettes was preferred by the average man so that classification might be made to show preference of different types of wo1·kers; 'With effect of misleading and deceiving many persons to whom said circulars and cards were sent Into the mistaken belief that said representations were true, thereby causing said persons to give Information which they would not have otherwise supplled:

lield, That such acts and practices, under the circumstances set forth, were all to the prejudice and injury of the public, and constituted unfair and deceptive acts and practices in commerce.

Mr. Randolph lV. Branch for the Commission~ Complaint Purs~ant to the provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act, . :tnd by virtue of the authority vested in it by said act, the Federal 'trade Commission, having reason to believe that Albert E. Voaden, an individual, . hereinafter referred to as respondent, has violated the provisions of said act, and it appearing to the Commission that ll proceeding by it in respect thereof would be in the public interest, hereby issues its complaint, stating its charges in that respect as follows:

Complaint 37 F. T. C. PARAGRAPH 1. Respondent, Albert E. Voaden, i~ an individual, with an office and principal place of business at Room No. 211, Charlevois Building, Detroit, Mich. He formerly maintained an office and prin· cipal place of business at 2016 John R. Street, Detroit, Mich. In conducting his business respondent has traded under the names Credit Advisory Service, Cigarette Smoker's Survey, Bankers and Merchants len Co., and Alvin's (No-Lose) Key Chains.

PAR. 2. Respondent is now, and has been for more than 1 year last past, engaged in the business of selling and distributing printed mail· ing cards and forms designed and intended to be used by creditors and collection agencies in obtaining information concerning debtors. Respondent causes said cards and forms to be tr~nsported from his aforesaid place of business in the St.ate of Michigan, to purchasers thereof in various States of the United States and in the District of Co~umbia. Respondent maintains, and at all times mentioned herein has maintained, a course of trade in said forms and cards in commerce between and among the various States of the United States and in the District of Columbia.

PAR. 3. The said cards and forms sold and distributed by respond· ent when using the name Cigarette Smoker's Survey are substantially in the form exemplified by a photostatic copy of the said card, marked Exhibit A; when tising the name Bankers and Merchants Fountain Pen Co. the cards were in the form exemplfied by a photostatic copy thereof marked Exhibit B; when using the name Alvin's (No-Lose) Key Chains the cards were in the form exemplified by a photostatic copy thereof marked Exhibit C.

The said exhibits A, B, and C, are attached hereto and by this reference incorporated herein and made a part hereof. Upon the said cards and circulars, when they were delivered to purchasers thereof, respondent placed numbers, which were his code numbers and identified his customers to him. Respondent's purchasers addressed the cards and circulars to the persons concerning whom information was sought at their last known addresses, attached the postage necessary for their delivery to such persons and caused them to be delivered to respondent in Detroit, Mich. Respondent then deposited the individual cards and circulars in the United States mail.

Such of the returned cards or returned portions of the circulars as were filled out and mailed were received by respondent, the cus· tomers identified by the code numbers, and sent by him to the various purchasers. Respondent sent to each person who returned the Cigar· ette Smoker's Survey card, a package of ,cigarettes as indicated by . ALBERT E. VOADEN 301 299 Complaint the sender; to each person who returned the Bankers and Merchants Fountain Pen Co. card, he sent a cheap fountain pen, and to each person Who returned the Alvin's (No-Lose) Key Chains card, he sent a key chain of the sort depicted on the post card. PAn. 4. By means of the Cigarette Smoker's Survey card, respondent has falsely represented, and placed in the hands of his customers llleans of falsely representing, directly and by implication, to those to whom the said cards were sent, that respondel\t was engaged in completing a national survey for the purpose of determining which of a number of brands of American made cigarettes were preferred by the average man and that this survey was made so that a classification might be made to show the preference of different types of Workers. • PAn. 5. The said representations were false and misleading. In truth and in fact, respondent was not engaged in making a survey for the purpose. of determining the public preference for various brands of American made cigarettes or for the purpose of classifying the cigarette preference of workers in different lines of endeavor. The actual purpose of the card was to obtain information concerning the recipient for the purpose of facilitating the collection of an alleged <lelinquent account and the whole scheme was merely an attempt to obtain this information by deceit and subterfuge. PAn. 6. Dy means of the Bankers and :Merchants Fountain Pen Co. card, respondent has falsely represented, and has placed in the hands of his customers means of falsely representing, directly and by impli- . cation, to persons to whom the said cards were sent, that the said card Was sent and the offer of a free fountain pen made to the recipient in order that the pen might be demonstrated by the recipient to his friends and fellow-workers; that the said pen was given free as a means of bringing its merits to the attention of prospective purchasers, and that respondent was engaged in the business of selling and distributing such Pens.

PAn. 7. Said representations were false and misleading. In truth a?d in fact respondent was not engaged in the business of selling and dlstributing pens, and the offer of a free pen was not made as a means of bringing its merits to the attention of prospective purchasers. The ~ard was sent only for the purpose of obtaining information concernlng the recipient for the purpose of facilitating the collection of an alleged delinquent account and the whole scheme was merely an attempt to obtain this information by deceit and subterfuge. PAn. 8. By means of the Alvin's (No-Lose) Key Chains card, respondent falsely represented, ami placed in the hands of his customers means of falsely representing, directly and by implication, to Complaint 87F.T.O.

recipients thereof that the offer of a free rabbit foot key chain was made because the recipient was so fortunate as to have had his name selected from a large number of names; that it was being sent the recipient in order that he might exhibit the same to all of his friends; and that the respondent was engaged in the business of selling said key chains.

PAR. 9. The said representations were false and misleading. In truth and in fact, respondent was not engaged in the business of sell· ing the said key chains, the name of the recipient had not been se· lected out of a large number of names and the chain was not sent to the recipient in order that it might be exhibited by him to his friends.· The card was sent 'solely for the purpose of obtaining information concerning the recipient for the purpose of facilitating the collection of an alleged delinquent account and the whole scheme was merely an attempt to obtain the information by deceit and subterfuge. . PAR. 10. Through the use of the name, Cigarette Smoker's Survey, respondent has represented, directly and by implication,· that he was engaged in the business of ascertaining by means of a survey, the preferences of a large number of individuals as to particular brands of cigarettes, and through the use' of the name Bankers and Merchants Pen Co., respondent has represented, directly and by implication, that he was in the business of selling and distributing pens. Both of the said representations were false and misleading since in truth and in fact respondent was not making such a survey nor was he in the business of selling and distributing pens.

PAR. 11. Th~ use by respondent, as hereinabove set forth, of the foregoing false and misleading statements and representations has · had the tendency and capacity to, and has, misled and deceived many persons to whom the said cards and circulars were sent, into the er· roneous and mistaken belief that said statements and representations were true and by reason thereof has caused them to give information which they would not have otherwise supplied. PAR. 12. The aforesaid acts and practices of respondent, as herein alleged, are all to the prejudice and injury of the public, and constitute unfair and deceptive acts and practices in commerce within the intent and meaning of the Federal Trade Commission Act. ALBERT E. VOADEN 303 2!l!) Complaint Exhibit A (Front) uefi!•.P!W 'l!P21:0 5U!PJ!"8 X!OAepe~' llt .<aAJns ,sJa~ows auaJe5!::> 'H:)IW 'J.IOau.G .... ., '4 '0&. •::ta8 ..... 'ON .UIIIIIIMatf ••..,:t .&.•MI.. a~nt:> A,d:EIH ss:aNJsna ------------------- CIGARETTE SMOKERS' SURVEY ••c. Ha. "· L. • 11. &1 I CHAitLIIVOIX 8UILDINO DIITROIT, MICHIGAN 01'"·--- ~ Jv~,.,. ,.. .....~""""' -..t·~l'.w_.~ ~ . P08TMA8TI .. 1 II' ADDIIIIIIKI MAl IIIOVID AND NEW ADDIIIIII II .NOWN, NOTII''I' IINDUI ON "'OitN 3!J.7, fiOIT .. OIE 1'0111 WHICH:IIf II 0UAIIIAfif'reco ~ '' Cigar,tta Smokers~ Siner ~ 211 Ch.loweix lldg. • • Detroit, Mich. We Want To Know .. Yoa may ocad me a FREE PACKAGE of my FAVORITE CIGARETTES wbida 1 have t:= cbeclced loelow. IB} CHECK YOUR CHOICII 0 1.'1l'%j Camels 0 Chesterfield& 0 ::: fY t;j t"l Old Luclty ... Golds 0 Strikes 0 1 ·; ::0> Pell Mau Phitop Morris :e.,. 0 0 t< 1 WHY I PREFER THEM _____ _ .,~ ;rl ~ ~ ~ I ~ t"l3 MY Name __________ _ ~ 0 ~ ~ 80 8 Addre•.._ __________ _ ,.. i:::: 1'0 ~4 Employed al•---------- ~ ~ ~ .... Addrer>L._________ _ I S" Ul b;j :z -~ "" Ul....5 What CISiareHe Radio PrograA'I do you like 0 0 ~ !Z be~----------------- Have you a lriend who smokes the same brant! t;j of CigareHes? - t"l n....6 Narr.e'------------ Ul....

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Respondent causes said circulars and cards, when sold, to be trans- Ported from his aforesaid place of business in the State of Michigan, , to purchasers thereof in various States. of the United States and in the District of Columbia. Respondent maintains, and at all times lnentioned herein has IllJlintained, a course of trade in said circulars and cards in commerce between arid among the various States of the tinited States and in the District of Columbia. . Findings 37 F. T. C. PAR. 3. The printed matter sold, and distributed by the respondent when using the name Cigarette Smoker's Survey is in the form of a circular with a business reply card attached, addressed to Cigarette Smoker's Survey. The circular informs the recipient that the Cigarette Smoker's Survey is conducting a national survey to determine which are the preferred American-made cigarettes, and that if the recipient will answer the questions on the business reply card he will receive a free package of his favorite cigarettes. The business reply card is in the form of a request for a free package of cigarettes of the brand selected, which is indicated by checking choice. In filling out this card the following information is given: reason for preference of the particular brand, name, address, and place of employment, what cigarette radio program is liked best, and name, address, and place. of employment of a friend who smokes the same brand of cigarettes. When these cards and circulars were delivered to the purchasers thereof, respondent placed certain code numbers upon the reply cards which identified his customers to him.

Respondent's purchasers addressed the cards and circulars to the persons concerning whom information was sought at their last known addresses, attached the postage necessary for their delivery to such persons, and caused them to oe delivered to respondent in Detroit, Mich. Respondent then deposited the individual cards and circulars in the United States mail.

"When the reply card was returned with the information filled out by the person concerning whom information was sought, the respondent forwarded such cards to his customer as identified by the code numbers, and fo~warded to each person who returned such reply card a package of cigarettes as indicated by the sender . .par. 4. By means of the Cigarette Smoker's Survey circular and card, respondent has falsely represented, and placed in the hands of his customers means of falsely representing, directly and by implication, to those to whom the said card~ were sent, that respondent was engaged in completing a national survey for the purpose of determining which of a number of brands of American-made cigarettes were preferred by the average man and that this survey was made so that a classification miglit be made to show the preference of different types of workers. PAR. 5. The said representations were false and misleading. In truth and in fact, respondent was not engaged in making a survey for the purpose of determining the public preference for various brands of American-made cigarettes or for the purpose of classifying the cigarette preference of workers in different lines of endeavor. The actual purpose of the circular and card was to obtain information con· ALBERT E. VOADEN 309 299 Order I cerning the recipient for the purpose of facilitating the collection of an alleged delinquent account and the whole scheme was merely an attempt to obtain this information by deceit and subterfuge. PAR. 6. Through the use of the name. "Cigarette Smoker's Survey,'' respondent has represented, directly and by implication, that he was engaged in the business of ascertaining by means of a survey, the preferences of a large number of individuals as to particular brands of cigarettes. The said representation was false and misleading, since in truth and in fact respondent was not making such a survey. PAR. 7. The use by respondent, as hereinabove set forth, of the foregoing false and misleading statements and representations has had the tendency and capacity to, and has, misled and deceived many Persons to whom the said circulars and cards were sent, into the erroneous and mistaken belief that said statements and representations Were true and by reason thereof has caused them to give information Which they would not have otherwise supplied. CONCLUSION The aforesaid acts and practices of respondent, as herein found, are all to the prejudice and injury of the public, and constitute unfair and deceptive acts and practices in commerce within the intent and lneaning of t~e Federal Trade Commission Act. ORDER TO CEASE AND DESIST This proceeding having been heard by the Federal Trade Commission upon the complaint of the Commission and the answer of respondent, in which answer respondent admits all the material allega- . tions of fact set forth in the complaint except insofar as the said allegations relate to certain cards dP-scribed in the said complaint as the l3ankers and Merchants Fountain Pen Co. cards and Alvin's (No- Lose) Key Chains cards, and states that he waives all intervening procedure and further hearing as to the facts so admitted, and the Uomltl.ission having made its findings as to the facts and conclusion that respondent has violated the provisions of the Federal Trade Comlnission Act.

It is ordered, That the respondent, Albert E. Voaden, individually, and trading as Credit Advisory Service, and as Cigarette Smoker's Survey, or trading under any other name, and his agents, representatives, and employees, directly or through any corporate or other de- Vice in connection with the offering for'sale, sale, and distribution in COJnmerce as "commerce" is defined in the Federal Trade Commission .A.ct, of respondent's printed matter, consisting of circulars with re- Order 37 F. T.C.

ply cards attached, or any other printed or written material of substantially similar nature, do forthwith cease and desist from: . 1. Using the word "Survey" or any .other word or words of similar import to designate, describe, or refer to respondent's business; or · otherwise representing; directly or by implication, that respondent's business bears any relation to obtaining information concerning the habits, preferences, or opinions of numbers of people. 2. Selling or distributing circulars and cards or other printed or written material designed to be used for obtaining information to be used in the collection of debts, which represent, directly or by implication, that respondent's business is other than that of selling and distributing such circulars and cards or other printed material; or which represent, directly or by implication, that the information sought through such circulars and cards or other printed material is for any purpose other than for use in the collection of debts. 3. Using, or supplying to others for use, circulars and cards or other material which represents directly or by implication that they are for the purpose of conducting a survey or of obtaining informa· tion to determine the preference of members of.the public, OJ,' the use by them of any brand of cigarettes or other commodities when the information sought is for use in the collection of debts. It i8 further ordered, That. the respondent shall, within 60 days after service upon him of this order, file with the Commission a report in writing, setting forth in detail the manner and form in which he has complied with this order.

AMOGEN CO. 311 Complaint