MERCHANTS COMPLAIN MAILED SOLICITATICNS LOOK LIKE BILLS 3 - Sunday, December £7, 1989 - North Shore News Firms warned of sales tactic NORTH SHORE businesses are being warned by Dominion Directory and the Better Business Bureau to watch out for solicitations mailed recently which, if not read closely, ap- pear to be invoices for Yellow Pages advertising. Directory listing forms sent out to local businesses by Ontario- based Classified Directory Publishers Inc. include a yellow-colored open book logo and a section listing specific advertising classifications. The solicitation asks the reci- pient to verify classifications re- quired for a national directory. Prices per classification are listed and totalled beside a heading which reads, ‘‘Pay This Amount. °’ The sclicitation is qualified near the bottom of the form with the By MICHAEL BECKER News Reporter statement, ‘‘This is a solicitation for the order of services and not a bill, invoice or statement of ac- count due.’’ But said Alpine Appliance In- stallations Ltd. owner Bruce Johnstone: “‘If you don’t look close enough, if you’ve got a large enough company with people just filing these things, then it looks exactly like a bill. We get this kind of stuff all the time.” W. Vancouver mayor gives mid-term report PREVENTING THE construction of houses ‘incompatible with the neighborhood’”’ and dealing with the controversial rezoning of a parcel of land on the corner of Marine Drive and Taylor Way were two of the most pressing problems West Vancouver District Council was forced to deal with during the last year, Mayor Don Lanskail said in his recent mid-term inaugural address. Lanskail delivered his speech one year into council’s two-year term, which runs until next November. Lanskail said he thought the most important decision council took during the last year was ‘‘to protect the neighborhoods against the further intrusion of houses which were of a bulk shape and size, such as to make them incom- patible with the neighborhood.”’ He added that ‘‘phase two of this program’’ will get under way next year with a focus on subdivi- sion design, rock blasting, tree cut- ting and building height controls. WEST Vancouver Mayor Don Lanskail “All of these measures are designed to maintain the quality of the residential environment and correct what many have seen as excessive building during the past few years,’’ said Lanskail. While he admitted a good deal of council’s time during the last year was taken up with the 320 Taylor Way issue. in which council recently agreed to enter into a 99- year lease agreement for the site with Newcorp Properties for a twin tower townhouse and apart- ment complex, Lanskail said the work has ‘led to a much better design.”* “There is no doubt in my mind that the original decision of (former) mayor Humphreys and the 1981 council to zone that parcel for highrise development was correct,’’ said Lanskail. **] am SURJ RATTAN Writer sure the vast majority of the com- munity will come to agree with that decision as the development unfolds.”” Lanskail also said there were two items ‘‘which took important steps forward”? during 1989 in which all three North Shore municipalities were involved. The first was the creation of the North Shore Arts Commission, which Lanskail said has the poten- tial to provide important recom- mendations for the future of the North Shore’s arts and culture communities. The second was the ‘‘absolutely vital” North Shore recycling pro- gram, for which the three municipalities are still working out an agreement. “These few highlights will serve as a reminder that this council has a very substantial and credible re- cord of accomplishment during the first year of its term,’’ said Lan- skail. “I believe that a similar re- cord can be achieved during the year ahead.’’ Three major issues Lanskail said his council will be addressing in the coming year include land use above the Upper Levels Highway, a tree cutting policy, and traffic, transit and transportation con- cerns. “There is no magic solutions , but I believe substantial progress can be made toward a_ better community understanding,’’ said Lanskail. He added that West Vancouver can offer ‘‘some opportunities for local action’’ in helping to curb the traffic congestion from the North Shore to Vancouver. Lanskail said he wants to convince more motorists to feave their cars at home and start using public tran- sit. ‘As chairman of the Vancouver Regional Transit Commission and one of the directors of B.C. Tran- sit, | sense an entirely new mood and philosophy regarding public transit and I believe it is a pro- pitious time for a major effort in our community to further enhance the service provided by our Blue Bus system,** said Lanskail. Johnstone’s North Vancouver company received two forms, one listing classifications worth 3585 and a second listing $234 worth of classified advertising. “It’s a direct copy of the Domi- nion Yellow Pages categories | advertise under, and they've put their own prices on it,"’ he said. The Better Business Bureau and Dominion Directory have been fielding numerous complaints re- garding the sales tactic. ‘“‘The company operates by mailing look-alike invoices to tele- phone subscribers in the hope they will pass through the accounting procedure,’’ said Kaye Baker, Bet- ter Business Bureau assistant gen- eral manager. “This company first came to our attention in 1974 and we get people sending in these mail-outs to us all the time. ['m going to be able to wallpaper my walls with these soon. (But) some firms must be sending in the money because this has been gcing on for years,’ she said. According to Dominion Direc- tory marketing director Richard Sharman, Yellow Pages doesn’t generally send separate invoices to its customers. Said Sharman: ‘‘Custemers are billed monthly on their company phone bill — and only after the di- rectory has been published.”’ B.C. Tel spokesperson Kathryn Aberle said similar solicitations are being sent to local businesses from European companies. ‘*They look like invoices and look like they could be something to do with the Yellow pages. **We get concerned people wondering why they're billed on their telephone bills, and then get invoices as well. If you do get an invoice like that, check it to determine «-hether it’s a service you contracted for or a service you’ve actually used. Because of the misconception put forward, we want people to be sure to look at their bills.” When contacted by the News, a Classified Directory Publishers manager in Ontario refused to an- swer questions. NEWS photo Cindy Goodman A MOTORIST is stopped at a North Vancouver road check as part of the annual Christmas CounterAttack blitz. More than 400,000 vehicles will be stopped throughout B.C. until January 3. Police say the message is clear: don’t drink and ¢rive. Bowen incorporation pondered From page 7 of directors acts as a de facto council for the island’s residenis, and the GVRD provides the island with such services as garbage co!- lection, building inspection and water, But Bowen also comes under the authority of the Islands Trust, which administers tand use on 13 major Trust islands. The Trust is made up of 26 trustees from those islands. Incorporation was not ullowed under the original Islands Trust Act, but a change in that act, scheduled to come into effect in April 1990, would permit incor- poration. The Islands Trust would still have some authority over Bowen Gary Bannerman. Business . Classified Ads Cocktails & Caviar Editorial Page.......... 6 development if the island was in- corporated, but that authority would be much reduced. In addition to the GVRD and the Islands Trust, the provincial government’s Ministry of Municipal Affairs also oversees certain services to the island. David Morgan, one of two Islands Trust trustees on Bowen, said, in his o, inion, SO per cent of the island’s estimated 1,500 resi- dents would be opposed to incor- poration at this time because the total costs of making such a move have yet to be determined. The largest single cost, he said, would be the upgrading of existing roads on the island, which is under ever-increasing development pressure. Fashion .............. Bob Hunter...... Lifestyles...... Maithox........ Sports ................29 Travel ................ 57 What's Going On........42 Second Class Registration Number 3885 A preliminary study examining the restructuring of Bowen Island, its cost and the type of government it should have was recently com- pleted by the Bowen Island Restructure Committee. Carter, the committee chairman, said no study recommensti‘ions have been made as yet to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs because the committee is awaiting word from the provincial highways department on what capital fund- ing grants would be available to the island for road construction. The options available to Bowen {sland outlined in the study include leaving the island administration as it is, incorporating it as a municipality, or instituting a more junior type of local government. WEATHER g Cl Sunday, sunny. Monday, cloudy with sunny periods. Ceol both days. Tuesday, cloudy with showers. High near 8°C.