The directory scam
It looks so harmless. "In order to have your company inserted in the EU Business Register for 2018/2019, please print, complete and submit the attached form (PDF file) ... Updating is free of charge!". When you do, you're agreeing to the following, printed in a way that is all but unreadable
"THE SIGNING OF THIS DOCUMENT REPRESENTS THE ACCEPTANCE OF THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS AND THE CONDITIONS STATED IN "THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR INSERTION" ON THE WEB PAGE: WWW.EUBUSINESSREGISTER.COM. THE SIGNING IS LEGALLY BINDING AND GIVES YOU THE RIGHT OF AN INSERTION IN THE ONLINE DATABASE OF THE EU BUSINESS REGISTER, WHICH CAN BE ACCESSED VIA THE INTERNET, AND A CD-ROM WITH EUROPEAN BUSINESSES IS GRANTED, ALL IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONTRACT CONDITIONS STATED ON "THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR INSERTION" ON WEB PAGE: WWW.EUBUSINESSREGISTER.COM.
THE VALIDATION TIME OF THE CONTRACT IS THREE YEARS AND STARTS ON THE EIGHTH DAY AFTER SIGNING THE CONTRACT. THE INSERTION IS GRANTED AFTER SIGNING AND RECEIVING THIS DOCUMENT BY THE SERVICE PROVIDER. I HEREBY ORDER A SUBSCRIPTION WITH THE SERVICE PROVIDER EU BUSINESS SERVICES LTD. "EU BUSINESS REGISTER". I WILL HAVE AN INSERTION INTO ITS DATABASE FOR THREE YEARS. THE PRICE PER YEAR IS EURO 995. THE SUBSCRIPTION WILL BE AUTOMATICALLY EXTENDED EVERY YEAR FOR ANOTHER YEAR, UNLESS SPECIFIC WRITTEN NOTICE IS RECEIVED BY THE SERVICE PROVIDER OR THE SUBSCRIBER TWO MONTHS BEFORE THE EXPIRATION OF THE SUBSCRIPTION.
YOUR DATA WILL BE RECORDED. THE PLACE OF JURISDICTION IN ANY DISPUTE ARISING IS THE SERVICE PROVIDER'S ADDRESS. THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE SERVICE PROVIDER AND THE SUBSCRIBER IS GOVERNED BY THE CONDITIONS STATED IN "THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR INSERTION" ON THE WEB PAGE: WWW.EUBUSINESSREGISTER.COM..". [para breaks and emphasis mine]
May 2019 delivers a similar request. This time the form is attached as a jpg image so I couldn't copy and paste the text from it, and the resolution isn't good enough to OCR. But the terms haven't changed.
This scam has been around for years in one form or another. Don't fall for it - many have, and if you sign and refuse to pay, expect a solicitor's letter - see the Mail on Sunday website. Hopefully Wragge & Co, Solicitors have been shamed out of this line of work.