Cortix - Read before you buy

One Shot Sales

This is the « Cortix » selling method. It’s called a “one shot” sale. It might be slightly different in the UK or Ireland as your laws are not the same.

They contact you and offer a free website. They only want you to fulfil certain conditions and give them a list of 10 others likely customers in your area. The salesman will arrive, coming from some distance (even if that is not true). He will stay with you for at least three hours and explain that the cost of a website is normally 4000€ but that will be free.

He will show you several templates from which to choose. There will be a small administration or set up fee of about 300€ and then a small monthly payment to cover the hosting, maintenance and referencing of the site.

He will of course promise you first place with Google and show you a site they have done that will come up 1st with Google. (Type BMW and a town where they are and up they come first – a good trick. It will of course be a site they have done) He will then sort-out a domain name with you, check with the office and order it.

He will then probably make a phone call to his “next appointment” to say he will be delayed. He might do that twice and probably have to leave a message. The call is probably a dummy. Then he will start to say he has got to get “home” or “to the next appointment” and get out 3 forms. The order form, the contract and the delivery form. He will insert a monthly amount and probably 48 months for the term. The admin fee will also be entered. You will sign all three forms and give him your business details and bank details. You will not read all the small print on four pages as he is in a hurry to leave and you feel guilty.

In France there is no cooling off period for professionals but Cortix have since February 2009 allowed a seven day cooling off period. They will be reluctant to allow it and will if pressed only keep the 300€.

If, as me, you have been unlucky enough to have a firm contract, you will see the bank payment very quickly. You signed the delivery form (for the domain name and hosting). You will then realise that 48 x 160€ =7680€ (no comments please!!) The website is usually up very quickly but with no text and odd pictures. If you do not send them the text and pics it will stay like that – for ever! Of course they will never bother to reference the site. After all how can you prove that they haven’t done that?

The (French contract) is virtually unbreakable. They “sell on” your contract to a finance company that you cannot hold responsible (it’s in the contract) and if you stop payments the Finance company will demand the total due plus a 10% fine.

The website is mediocre but they have delivered one. The website is done in Tunisia with Tunisians who speak bad French and probably little English.

Here is an Irish website by Cortix. Note that a lot of text on the other pages is “under construction” http://www.eurospray-ireland.com

You will notice that they have a “Cortix” gif on every page but it has no link facility. Why? Because it would then be easy to find sites made by them and to contact the victims. However a bit of Reverse IP look up and it's easy.

They target small companies such as the one above or say hairdressers or florists or restaurants (one unit only!) or any one who would not have the time to do their own website and is unlikely to realise what the salesman is up to..

I have thought about suing them for breach of contract but I think I would loose. As an alternative I am going to f*** them as they f***ed me. I will be sending this article to every trade magazine I can think of and some Internet magazines as well. Libel is only libel when you tell a lie. The truth is not libellous.

Please tell any of your friends to avoid this trap. I thought I was reasonably astute but their salesmen are good.