BUSINESS MO
WARNING:
AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE FOR PROFESSIONALS
WORKING IN THE COMMODITIES INDUSTRY
There are new measures now in effect with respect to buyers and sellers involved in commodities transactions.
From this point on, in an Irrevocable Corporate Purchase Offer (ICPO), Letter of Intent (LOI), Ready, Willing & Able (RWA) or Bank Comfort Letter (BCL) is issued and it is found that the document is not real, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and INTERPOL will immediately be informed about the perpetrator.
In addition, after a FCO is sent to a buyer, there should be a formal answer given to the seller from the buyer in a timely manner. If there is no response from the buyer in such timely manner, the buyer will be reported to the FBI, ICC and INTERPOL.
If this action is also repeated by sellers, they will also be reported for abuse of the Non-Circumvention Non-Disclosure Agreement (NCNDA), ICPO, LOI, RWA, and/or BCL. THIS IS A FEDERAL OFFENSE.
It is important that all clients working with providers that are members of ICC, FBI and international organizations have this information transmitted to them. From this point forward, the international codes will be strictly enforced to identify, exclude and/or prosecute entities knowingly submitting false information. Those knowingly and willingly submitting false NCNDA/MFPAs, ICPOs, LOIs, RWAs, BCLs and/or FCOs, as well as false proof of product (POP) can be charged with committing criminal offenses, with possible penalties/sentences resulting in imprisonment of up to 25 years.
These new measures took effect on November 15, 2008 after a meeting between the U.S. Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, INTERPOL, Federal Bureau of Investigation and Central Intelligence Agency. The reason for the creation of these measures is to provide protections for the commodities industry, a fundamental part of the world’s economy.
It is extremely important that the severity of this warning and the serious impact it carries as it pertains to all commodities transactions is fully understood.
FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
J. EDGAR HOOVER BUILDING
935 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, NW
WASHINGTON, DC 20535-0001
USA
Quick Tips - Safeguard your Business Interest
(1) Never send money by Western Union: It is tempting as it is very simple and you can send quickly. But it is illegal for business use in most countries and it is non-recoverable and non-traceable. So the chances of getting duped are very high if you pay by Western Union. I have yet to come across any serious business insisting on money by Western Union.
(2) Never remit money by Bank Transfer to a personal name: Always send to a company name. Many use this trick and I am surprised how many keep falling for this. No matter what the other guy says, if you send a bank transfer to a person, chances are high that it will be the last you will hear from him.
(3) Avoid being a victim of the ADVANCE FEE SCAM: Never try to sell anything to anyone who insists on some payment from you before placing an order for your goods. They usually promise a very large order to tempt you. Various tricks used are fee for foreign exchange transfer, registration of your company with authorities, etc. Basically stop dealings with anyone who places an order with you and then wants you to send some money first for some reason or the other.
Quick Tips – General
(1) Use a personalized paid email address: In case you are using a free email address like yahoo, rediff, hotmail, msn or any other free email, please stop using it immediately as you are harming your business by doing so. Free email address look very unprofessional and create a poor impression about you. So start using an email address which is like yourname@yourcompany.com as soon as possible
NOTE; Then why are we using perfors.gm@gmail.com ? simply because we are making use of the gmail POP SERVER facility and not the gmail mailing system, which is too unprofessional and insecure for our liking and is intended for public use not business use. Google generously provide this service for the use of professional paid mailers.
(2) Build your company website: If you are in business and you do not have a website you are losing business. No matter what your argument may be, a website is becoming a qualifying criterion for buyers to select people they want to talk to. Not having a website reduces the number of people who would be interested in talking to you. Do you really want to do that?
(3) Make it easy for people to contact you: The below three points are a basic minimum:
(a) Having voice mail on all your phone lines: Basically, you must have a system where a person can leave a message if your phone is busy or no one is there to attend it so that you do not miss anyone trying to contact you.
(b) Having a dedicated fax line: Faxes nowadays are mostly being sent by some fax software. So if you have a system where a fax tone is given on request, chances are you will not receive the fax.
(c) Always including complete contact details in all emails you send. A simple way is to use signature files.
(4) Review your website critically: If you have a website, look at it critically from a buyer's viewpoint and see if your website does the following:
(a) Make the visitor believe you know your business well
(b) Provide more information than competitors
(c) Enhance your credibility
(d) Make the visitor feel like contacting you
(e) Is your contact information easily accessible?
(5) Understand the mindset of your buyer: Learn to listen and understand the pulse of the potential buyer. Find out what drives him. Although I know all of you will jump and say 'price', you know that there is zillions of dollars of business being done at a price much higher than the 'best possible price' even when buyers know that. It is being done because of timely delivery, quality assurance, excellent communication, comfort level or special customization, etc. Each buyer has some factors he holds as key. Once you know that, you should be able to reassure him on that front.
PRINCIPALS AND BROKERS
It is our business model to bring together genuine buyers and genuine sellers. Our function is to interface and mediate using our experience and expertise as facilitator so that a transaction can be consummated.
PRINCIPALS are those entities, companies or persons, who are capable and have the authority to sign and seal a FULL RESOURSE COMMERCIAL CONTRACT as defined by ICC. They may be operating through the services of a Mandate. In this case we expect to see and authenticate the mandate’s letter of appointment.
All others involved in the transaction who are not PRINCIPALS but receiving benefit from it are by our definition BROKERS of one sort or another and that includes ourselves unless we are mandated.
Those involved as brokers but who have no actual active role are INTERMEDIARIES and it is understood that theirs is a financial function only .
Since the internet is an open society there are many mountebanks, fraudsters, identity thieves and other dishonest people which we have to look out for and avoid. Therefore it is a general rule that all of those wanting to do business with us [including intermediaries] should provide their company registration or show their passport copy so that where necessary due diligence can be observed.