GDF Looses Court Case

[Quillan]

GDF have lost their court case in which they were sued by BNB France for stopping them from also grading establishments and their clients being banned from putting up their panels and advertising if the were already signed up to GDF.

GDF have to pay 10,000€ and costs to BNB France and the court has also stated that GDF must remove these restricted clauses from their members contract over the coming 4 months starting from 17th March 2006. The court also found Clévacances guilty of the same offence which is basically restrictive practices. I have the whole document in French in a PDF file if anyone wants it but you have to PM me and you need Acrobat to read it.

This of course opens the gates in as much as you can now join as many organisations as you like and you don't have to take panels down when GDF comes to visit.

[Ron Avery]

Perhaps you should make it clear that the GDF you are referring to here is not Gaz de France and is actually known as Gites de France, don't want one of the mods getting LF into trouble do we.[:)]

[Miki]

Never took any notice of that pathetic G de Fr ruling and anyone who

can read or speak French and preferably be able to write French (so as

to ask questions or join in but one can of course use a translator) then joined one of the French chambre d'hôte

forums, where you would have been able to follow this case in Brussels

and in Paris for the last 6 years or more. This has been taking up a lot more

time in government quarters recently, every week for some folks, while we were

updated with the news and it was getting obvious some time ago, that G de Fr were not

going to carry the case on retaining the sole rights to ratings being

able to be used by any B&B house in their membership.

The tiny fine will tell you just how much this case really rated in the

realm of things and as far as G de Fr are concerned, I hope the fools

that tried to defend their ridiculous label as the only one that should

be allowed to stand as correctly inspected (and at times,  they

actually had a

point on that score as well) but tried to bully the smaller

organisation of  BnB France out of their huge market place but

who themselves, are just as bad to be honest. They can treat their

members without too much care on occasions. They made excuses on paying

up clients reservations last year, so much so, they didn't pay

outstanding

reservations made through central bookings, until

weeks and in some instances, months after the bookings had actually

taken place.

All in all, a complete waste of time and there was only ever going to

be one result. That was why we carried both labels for 6 years and in

fact, our regional director never asked me to take, either the panneau

or adverts off and away from the BnB France organisation. The crazy thing is,

there was only BnB France that really who raised any objection, gawd knows what

other organisations would be worth joining, certainly not Clévacances

and no others spring to mind that have any relevance in France, so the

ruling was simply in favour of BnB France who will now for sure, get

their skates on to try and grab some of the G de Fr peeps but the truth

is, they will always be a second rate outfit in comparison anyway.

G de Fr have said nowt but BnB have already done a mass mail out to

their clients a couple of days ago, shame they never kept their clients

in touch throughout the last few years, inc the time in Strasbourg and Brussels and we mostly had to rely on French

forums to see what was going on.

[Tresco]

"Perhaps you should make it clear that the GDF you are rreferring to here is not Gaz de France and is actually known as Gites de France..."

I think you've done quite a good job of making it clear for him Ron

[Quillan]

I rather suspect it's the cost of the case that has cost them plus loss of pride in as much as they lost. It does level the playing field but I agree there are very few alternative contenders if any but that also depends on which part of the country you are in. I think also BNB France did it under the Thomas Cook name as well but I am not sure on this. I have had 4 brits (couples) turn up with the Thomas Cook book so far this year and it's only been out a while but that might be just beginers luck, probably won't get anymore.