Peiser, Gladys Ii

Text (OCR of the scan at left; may contain errors)

I IN THE ~l$.Tn;R OF GLADYS H. :PEISER C9MPLAINT, FINPINGS, AND ORDER IN REGARD TO THEl ALLEGED VIOLATION OF SEC. 5 -OF AN ACT OF CONGRESS APPJ.tOVED SEPT.;!6, 1914 • Docket 60:/2. Complaint, July ~0, 1948-Decision, Sept. 21, 1943 Where an individual, engaged .l,n interstate sallil and distribution of form Jetters and envelopes for use of creditors and collecti{)n agencies in obtaining information conceming debtors, and which, calling for such infon;nation as the address and employer of the person concerning whom Information was desired, and employer's address, set ·forth under name "Globe Inherit· ance Bureau" such matter -as "Searchers for Title Companies," "Unknown and Missing Heirs Located," "Estate Counsellors," "Representatives In Principal Cities," and such statements as "We have been requested to contact the above party and our files indicate that you may be able to assist us"; "Can you supply us with any Information, or refer us to some relative or friend who can assist us?"; "The matter about which we are Inquiring is of utmost Importance to this party and your early reply will be appreciated"; "Please fill In the questl{)nS below and return same to us In the enclosed envelope"; ' Making use of a r scheme under which purchaser-customers Inserted In said form letters names and last known addresses of persons concerning whom Information was sought, placed them in stamped envelopes addressed to persons believed w have desired information, together with reply envelopes addressed to said "Globe Inheritance Bureau," at 401 Land Title Building, Philadelphia, Pa., and deposited them in the malls or returned them to sa:id lnidvidual, who received and sent to customers, identified by means of code numbers, such form letters as wet·e filled out and returned bY recipients- ' (a) Falsely represented, and placed In the hands of her customers means of falsely representing, directly and by implication, to those from 'whom Information was sought, that "Globe Inheritance Bureau" had representa· tlves In principal cities, acted as counsellor to those in charge of estates, was engaged In the business of locating heirs to estates or to Interests therein, and of acting as an examiner or searcher for title insurance companies, and that the persons concerning whom lnfot·matlon was sought had or might have Interests in estates or lands which would be of financial benefit to them; and (b) Falsely rept·esented, through use of name "Globe Inheritance Bureau," that her said business bore some relation to estates and to the rights and interests of heirs. thereto; when in fact said name was merely a disguise. for the true nature of said business, and the sole purpose of the letters and envelopes was to facilitate collection of alleged delinquent accounts by her customers ;

With effect of misleading and deceiving many persons to whom said letters were sent into the mistaken belief that said statements were true, then•bY Inducing them to give information which they would not otht!rwlse have supplied, and In many Instances to incur expense for postage In connection therewith:

GLADYS H. PEISER 441 440 Complaint Held, 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 W. Branch for the Commission.

Mr. Leroy Oomanor, of Philadelphia, Pa., for respondent. Complaint Pursuant to the provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act, and by virtue of the authority vested in it by said act, the Federal Trade Commission, ]1aving reason to believe .that Gladys H. Peiser, an individual, hereinafter referred to as respondent, has violated the provisions of said act, and it appearing to the Commission that a proceeding by it in respect thereof would be in the public interest, hereby issues its complaint, stating its charges in that resped as follows:

PARAGRAPH 1. Respondent, Gladys H. Peiser, is an individual, trading under the name Globe Inheritance Bureau, with an office and principal place of business at Room 401, Land Title Building, Droad and Chestnut Streets, Philadelphia, Pa. PAR. 2. Respondent is now, and has been for more than 2 years last ' Past, engaged in the business of selling form letters and envelopes ~esigned and intended to be used by creditors and collection agencies In obtaining information concerning debtors. Respondent causes the said envelopes and letters to be transported from her aforesaid place of business in the State of Pennsylvania to Purchasers thereof in various States of th~ United States. Said respondent maintains, and at all times mentioned herein has maintained, a course of trade in said articles in commerce between and .. among the various States of the United States. PAR. 3. The said letters sold and distributed by respondent are in the form exemplified by a copy thereof, marked "Exhibit A," attached hereto, and by this reference incorporated herein and made · a Part hereo£.1 'd PAR. 4. Each customer of respondent is given a code number which 1 entifies the customer of her.

t hSaid'dcustomers insert in the space opposite the word "Subject" in e sa1 form letters the names and last known addresses of the persons concerning whom information js sought, and address the~ to Persons who are believed to have the desired information. The letters are then placed in stamped envelopes, purchased from respondent, Exhibit published In the findings at p 446. - G6!l637-44-31 Complaint 37 F. T. C. together with ret)ly envelopes, also purchased from respondent, addressed. to:

Globe Inheritance Bureau · 401 Land Title Building File No. Philartelphia, Pa. The customer's code number is . placed both upon the reply envelopes and upon the form letters.

Said customers thereafter either place the filled envelopes, which are addressed to the persons of whom the inquiry is made, in the United States mails, or return them to respondent who mails them. Such of the form letters as are filled out and mailed by the recipients thereof are received by respondent, the customers identified by means of the code numbers, and the form letters sent to the customers so identified. · PAR. 5. By means of the aforesaid letters and envelopes, respondent has falsely represented. and placed. in the hands of her customers means of falsely representing, directly and by implication, to those from whom information is sought, that Globe Inheritance Bureau has representatives in principal cities, acts as counsellor to those in ' charge of estates, is engaged in the business of locating heirs to estates, or to interests therein, and of acting as an examiner or searcher for title insurance companies, aml that the persons concerning whom information is sought have or may have interests in estates or lands which will be of financial benefit to them. The said representations are false and. misleading. In' truth and in fact respondent in conducting the business called Globe Inheritance Bureau d.oes not have representatives in cities other than Philadelphia, Pa. She does not act as counsellor to those in charge of estates and is not engaged in the business of locating heirs to estates or to interests therein. She does not make examinations or searches for title insurance companies. She has no knowledge of any interests in estates or land to which the persons concerning whom information is sought may be entitled.

PAR. G. Through tile use of the name "Globe Inheritance Bureau" respondent has represented, directly and by implication, that her said business bears some relation to estates and to the rights and interests of heirs thereto.

Said 'representation is false and misleading. · In truth and in fad respondent's said business has nothing whatever to do with estates or the rights or interests 6f persons therein, and the said name 'is' merely a disguise for the true nature. of the business. ·' ' ' \' I r 1.! GLADYS H. PEISER 443 440 Findings PAR. 7. The sole purpose of the said letters and envelopes is to secure information in order to facilitate the collection of alleged delinquent accounts by respondent's customers. PAR. 8. The use as hereinabove set forth of the foregoing false and lnisleading statements, representations and designation has had the capacity to mislead, and has misled, many persons to whom said letters were sent into the erroneous and mistaken belief that said statements, representations and designation were true, and by reason thereof to give information which they would not otherwise have supplied, and in many instances to incur expense for postage in connection therewith. ' PAR. 9. 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. REPORT, FINDINGS AS TO THE FACTS, AND ORDER Pursuant to the provisions of the F~:>deral Trade Commission Act the Federal Trade Commission on July 20, 1943, issued and subr,;equently served its complaint in this proceeding upon the respondent, Qladys H. Peiser, an individual, charging her with the use of unfair and deceptive acts and practices in commerce in violation of the provisions of said act. After the issuance of said complaint and the filing of respondent's answer, the Commission by order entered herein granted respondent's request for permission to withdraw said answer and to substitute therefor an answer admitting all the material allegations of fact set forth in said complaint, and waiving all intervening procedure and further hearing as to said facts, which substitute answer was duly filed in the office of the Commission. Thereafter this proceeaing regularly came on for final hearing before the commission on the said complaint a~d substitute answer, and the Colnmission, having duly considered the matter and being now fully advised in the premises, finds that this proceeding is in the interest of the public and makes this its findings as to the facts and its conclusion drawn therefrom.

FINDINGS AS TO THE FACTS PARAGRAPH 1. Respondent, Gl~dys H. Peiser, is an individual, who traded under the name Globe Inheritance Bureau, with an office and Principal place of business at Room 401, Land Title Building, Broad and Chestnut Streets, Philadelphia, Pa.

PAR. 2. Respondent was for more than 2 years prior to August 1943 engaged in the business of selling form letters and envelopes Findings 87F. T. 0.

designed and intended to be uted by creditors and collection agencies in obtaining information concerning debtors. Respondent caused tlie said envelopes and letters to be transporfed from her aforesaid place of business in the State of Pennsylvania to purchasers thereof in various States of the United States. Said respondent maintained a course of trade in said articles in commerce between and among the various States of the United States. PAR. 3. The said letters sold and distributed by respondent were in the form exemplified by a copy thereof, marked "Exhibit A," attached hereto, and by this reference incorporated herein and made a part hereof.

PAn. 4. Each customer of respondent was given a code number which identified the customers to her.

Said customers inserted in the space opposite the word "Subject" in the said form letters the names and last known addresses of the persons concerning whom information was sought and addressed them to persons who were believed to have the desired information .• The letters were then placed in stamped envelopes, purchased from respondent, together with reply envelopes, also purchased from respondent, addressed to :

Globe Inheritance Dureau 401 Land Title Building ' Phlladelphia, Pa.

File No.

The customer's code number was placed both upon the reply envelopes and upon the form letters.

Said customers thereafter either placed the filled envelopes, which were addressed to the persons of whom the inquiry was made, in the United States mails or returned them to respondent, who mailed them. Such of the form letters as were filled out and mailed by the recipients thereof were received by respondent, the customers identified by nieans of the code numbers and the form letters sent fo the customers so identified.

PAn. 5. By means of the aforesaid letters and envelopes, respondent falsely represented and placed in the hands of her customers means of falsely representing, directly and by implication, to those from whom information was sought that Globe Inheritance Bureau had I'representatives in principal cities, acted as counsellor to those in charge of estates, was engaged in the business of locating heirs to· estates, or to interests therein, and of acting as an examiner or searcher for title insurance companies, and that the persons concerning whom informa- 'tion was sought had or might have interests in estates or lands which -would be of financial benefit to them.

GLADYS H. PEISER 445 ·conclusion The said representations were false and misleading. .In truth and in . fact respondent in conducting the business called Globe Inheritance Bureau did not have representatives in cities other than Philadelphia, Pa. She did not act as counsellor to those in charge of estates and was not engaged in the business of locating heirs to estates or to interests therein. She did not make examinations or searches for title insurance companies. She had no knowledge of any interests in estates or land to which the persons cqncerning whom information was sought might be entitled.

PAR. 6. Through the use of the name "Globe Inheritance Bureau" respondent represented, directly and by implication, that her said business bore some relation to estates and to the rights and interests of heirs thereto. · Said representation was false and misleading. In truth and in fact respondent's said business had nothing whatever to do with estates or the rights or interests of persons therein, and the said name was merely a disguise for the true nature of the business. PAR. 7. The sole purpose of the said letters and envelopes was to secure information in order to facilitate the collection of alleged delinquent accounts by respondent's customers. P .AR. 8. The use as hereinabove set forth of the foregoing false and misleading statements, repre?entations and designation had the capacity to mislead, and misled, many persons to whom said letters were sent into the erroneous and mistaken belief that said statements, representations and designation were true, and by reason thereof to give information which they would not otherwise have supplied, and in many instances to incur expense for postage in connection therewith. CONCLUSION The acts and practices of respondent, as herein found, were all to the prejudice and injury of the public; and constituted unfair and deceptive acts and practices in commerce within the intent and meaning of the Federal Trade Commission Act.

Order 37F.T.O.

EXHIBIT A .Searches for Title Companies Estate Counsellors Unknown & l\Ilsslng , Heirs Located GLOBE INHETIITANCE BUREAU Land Title Building, Philadelphia Representatives. in Pl'inclpal Cities File No.

TO: SUBJECT:

. ·we have been requested to contact the above party and our files indicate that you may be able to assist us.

Can you 'supply us with any·Information, or refer us to some relative or friend who can assist us? The matter about which we are inquiring Is of utmost importance to this party and your early ~reply will be appreciated.' Please fill in the question below and return same to ~se In the enclosed envelope.

Yours very truly, GLOllE INHERITANCE BUREAU.

By:

FULL NAME OF SUBJECT Age Date of Birth Height Occupation Present Address One Former Address Name of Employer Address of Employer KINDLY FILL IN AS MANY ANSWERS AS POSSinLE I II ORDER TO CEASE AND DESIST I This proceeding having been heard by the Federal Trade Com~ mission upon the complaint of the Commission and the ans,.ver of respondent, in which answer respondel}t admits all the material allegations of fact set forth in the complaint and states that she waives all intervening procedure and further hearing as to the facts, and the Commission having made its findings as to the facts and conclllsion that the respondent has violated the provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act.

It is· ordered, That the 'respondent, Gladys H. Peiser, individually, and trading as Globe Inheritance Bureau, or trading under any other name, and her agents, representatives, and employees, directly or through any corporate or other device, in connection with the GLADYS. H. _PEISER 447 440 Order '-. offering for sale, sale and distribution of respondent's form letters and envelopes in commerce, as ~'commerce" is defined in the Federal Trade Commission Act, do forthwith cease and desist from: 1.. Using- tlie words- "Globe Inheritance Bureau,": or any other word or words of similar import, to designate, describe or refer to _respondent's business; or ,otherwise representing, di~ectly, _or by im- ' plication, that respondent's business bears any· rela_tion' to estate~, or to the rights or interests of heirs therein. ' 2. Representing, directly or by implication, that· respondent has representatives in principal cities. · , 3. Representing; ~directly or by. implication·,· that- respon_dimt acts as counsellor to those in charge of estates, or that respondent is engaged in the business of locating heirs to ~states or il)terests therein. , 4. Representing,· directly or by implication,· that. respondent• acts as examiner or searcher for title insurance companies. 5. Representing; directly or by implication, that persons 'concerning whom information is sought through respondent's form letters have ' or may have any interest in estates or any other property. 6. Selling or distributing form ·letters or envelopes which represent,. directly or by implication, that respondent's business is other than that of obtaining information to be used· in the collection of debts; or which Tepresent, directly or by implication, .that the information sought through such letters is for any purpose other than :for use in the collection of debts.

It is further ordered, That the respondent shall, within 60 days after service upon her of this order, file with the Commission a report in writing, setting forth in detail the manner m_ld form m which she has complied with this order ..

Syllabus 37F.T.O.