Internet Registratie Dienst: true service or fraudster? Considering the letter we received for one of my domains, I'd say Fraudster!

I am extremely curious how many people have received similar "offers". And yes, offer is between quotation marks since it is an offer made to look like an invoice, including a very aggressive due notice (14 days).

The Internet Registratie Dienst kindly requests small businesses who have a web-presence to pay a small fee for having their URL, email address etc. added to a database. According to themselves the "fastest and most complete email-guide of the Netherlands".

Having worked at Marktplaats for quite a while I have heard of all kind of guides, such as Telefoongids and Goudengids, who actually provide a service and try to make your business findable on the internet. They too claim to be fairly complete. The IRD however I have never heard off, other than in posts on the web complaining about their extremely aggressive way of acquiring new customers, see the "invoice" below.

They have been around already for a while though, curious that no one has shut them down yet. Emerce already wrote (negatively) about them in 2001: http://www.emerce.nl/artikel.jsp?id=46787&rubriek=728471
Consumentenweb wrote a huge complaint about them back in 2004: http://www.consumentenweb.nl/consument/klacht:+%27internet+registratie+dienst%27/40.html

Another Google link sent me off to Test-Aankoop, giving a similar story (unfortunately undated) http://www.test-aankoop.be/internet/internet-registratie-dienst-bedrijvengidsen-tot-vervelens-toe-s456203.htm

If you happen to receive an invoice like this from the IRD or "Web Registratie Dienst" (WRD) or "E-mail Registratie Dienst" (ERD), please do not pay this invoice. Instead, please go to Fraude Meldpunt or to the KVK and complain about these practices.