Ethically Speaking - February 2010

Last month, non-Tradeloop member company, TBF Computing, was banned from Tradeloop (case #5055) in a case where the complainant alleged that the defendant had short-shipped an order, shipped poor quality product, and failed to process a refund. Both parties involved made extensive use of our Ethics blog format to discuss and attempt to resolve the complaint.

We also issued one Fast Track Fraud Alert (case #5059) last month after a Tradeloop member alerted us that a third party was using his name and company name. The Ethics Committee also investigated another cause of identity theft (case #5058) and sent an alert to the community.

Two identity theft cases in a single month is unusual and we urge members to be alert to warning signs when negotiating deals. Visit the company's CompanyProfile page to verify information before agreeing to a contract.

• Email Address & Company Web site address: In one case, the company had a ".com" domain, but the identity thief was using an email address with the same company name, but with the ".net" domain extension.
  
• Company Address: In the second case, the identity thief asked that shipments be sent to a different address than the company address.
• Payment Options: Many members use wire transfers for payment, but check to make sure you're being asked to transfer funds to a verifiable bank account - not an untraceable store front wire transfer service.
• Tradeloop Membership: Member companies have to pass our rigorous new member screening process and existing members are subject to routine verification of their account information.

Also in January, one new Ethics Complaint was filed regarding a dispute between two Tradeloop members. The Ethics Committee is gathering information and reviewing the facts of the case.

Learn more about Fast Track Fraud Alerts and how the Ethics Process works at the Ethics area of the Tradeloop Web site.