Advertising Partners

send to: mvl@jcir.com

Dear Sirs,

I am writing to you as a member of the Anarchy Online gaming community, which you support through your advertising revenue. As you may or may not be aware, the parent company of Anarchy Online, Funcom, has maintained a consistently poor level of customer service. There have been repeated complaints by the user community to the support organization which have gone unheeded.

The lack of customer service has led to Funcom receiving a "unsatisfactory record" from the Better Business Bureau. The BBB's definition of "unsatisfactory record" is as follows:

A company has an "unsatisfactory business performance record" with the Bureau is based on the experiences reflected in BBB files. This file condition results when the company has failed to resolve or respond to complaints, repeatedly failed to respond or resolve issues in a timely manner, failed to resolve the underlying issues for a pattern of complaints, failed to honour their commitment to mediate or arbitrate disputes or honour mediated agreements or arbitrated decisions, failed to substantiate, modify or discontinue false advertising claims that are challenged by the BBB, or failed to discontinue unauthorized use of the BBB name and logo, a Federally protected trademark.

This unsatisfactory rating has been maintained by Funcom for years, with no attempts to answer complaints. (Full details can be found at: http://www.bbbenc.org/commonreport.html?bid=3001204)

As a result of the lack of progressive laws in the United States, we the customers are unable to directly prosecute Funcom for what we see as repeated breach of contract. Our only way to exert influence on them is through cancelling our accounts, which many people have done over the past months, and which has accelerated lately, or through putting financial pressure on their other source of revenue, which is their advertisers.

By sending this e-mail, I am committing that so long as your company continues to support Funcom's lack of customer service with your advertising revenue, I will not buy "The Ultimate Avengers II", which you are currently advertising in the game, nor any other product produced by Marvel. A company should be very careful of it's image and reputation. It's clear that you have been, since Marvel has a AAA rating from the BBB. By aligning yourselves with a company the BBB has rated as unsatisfactory, your company's reputation is also sullied.

Sincerely,