Marie Lauchstädt was struggling with herself, you could see it in her face. The young entrepreneur from Neubrandenburg had bravely refused for almost two years to throw money at what she considered to be a dubious company. And now she was sitting here as a defendant in the Neubrandenburg District Court, Room 5, and had to listen to Judge Petra Hoeveler advising her and the opposing side to reach a settlement. This would still cost her well over 1,000 euros.
Torment and growling in court
Attorney Eric Gleu could sense his client’s pain and asked for a moment’s time to think about it. Both left the courtroom. It took about five minutes before Gleu and his client came back in. The attorney made it clear that they were willing to agree on a settlement. A maximum of 1,500 euros, a little less than half the value of the dispute, would be the upper limit.
Now it was the opposing side’s lawyer who looked a little unhappy. The legal representative of the company Drive Marketing had not even come to the court in Neubrandenburg, but had joined the courtroom via video. But the company he represented had actually set a higher settlement limit for him, he grumbled. When Judge Hoeveler asked him to consult briefly, he made a phone call outside of the video stream. And came back with the message: the plaintiff’s side had also accepted a settlement of 1,500 euros to end the ongoing dispute.
A questionable business model
This spared Judge Hoeveler a difficult decision. The case revolved around a contractual agreement that had not been kept. But it also revolved around morality, the possible misrepresentation of facts and a business method that those affected describe on the Internet with terms such as “unreliable”, “rip-off” and “fraud”. Of the reviews on the Trustpilot portal, for example, half are as negative as possible, the descriptions of the business model and the associated problems are similar.
Marie Lauchstädt also had a sales representative show up at some point and offer her the opportunity to do something good, simply and uncomplicated, for a social organization right on her doorstep. The man had a lot of advertising material from a Neubrandenburg-based organization with him and made it seem as though he was from this organization and wanted to get a vehicle “for children with disabilities.”
3000 euros for disabled children? No way…
When asked by the judge, Lauchstädt once again asserted that she had believed she was paying a sum of around 3,000 euros for an electric van that would benefit disabled people. “In passing,” there had also been talk of the logos of the supporters, i.e. regional companies, being placed on the vehicle. The businesswoman believed that she was paying her share for the advertising by paying a small sum of around 200 euros.
It was only when the first installment was debited in the summer of 2022 that she took another closer look at the contract and searched the Internet for the company Drive Marketing. She read many negative reviews and calculated what she and other companies in the region were apparently paying for. Marie Lauchstädt and 18 other companies paid between 2,500 and 3,000 euros each for their social commitment, which totaled around 50,000 euros.
Defendant: “I call that usury”
The electric car, which was ultimately made available to a Neubrandenburg organization much later than contractually agreed, was found on the Internet for around 15,000 euros. The model purchased was not suitable for transporting disabled people; it was just a small van. And it was not transferred to the social organization, but was only made available for five years.
“I call that usury and misrepresentation,” Marie Lauchstädt said again in court. She also pointed out that she had withdrawn from the contract immediately after the first instalment was debited and had never provided her company logo. The other party had apparently stolen it from her homepage and simply put it on the car. Drive Marketing had not accepted the withdrawal, so now they were in court.
Advertising company feels wrongly attacked
When asked by Nordkurier, the company Drive Marketing had already rejected all accusations months ago. The business model is to sell advertising, emphasized an “assistant to the management” who preferred to remain anonymous. To be able to present your logo on the streets of the region for just under 500 euros a year for five years of use of the car – that’s almost a bargain. The car is provided and maintained, the company logos of the sponsors have to be processed and stuck on foil, and a small profit must also be made.
The employee countered the clear criticism of the company’s business practices that can be read on the Internet with a number of positive reviews and referred to “regular customers who have remained loyal to us for many years.” What was also made clear was that the man who so skillfully convinced Marie Lauchstädt of the good cause was a freelance sales representative. Of course, he should not have claimed that he came directly from the social organization.
Representative summoned as witness
Whether that was the case no longer needed to be discussed now, a good two years after that sales meeting. The representative from that time was called as a witness, but thanks to the settlement he was spared having to give evidence. And Judge Petra Hoeveler did not have to evaluate the company’s business practices, although she did make a critical comment in a subordinate clause.
After the settlement was sealed and announced, Marie Lauchstädt left the courtroom with her lawyer. Joy looks different. But the smile quickly returned, as did the relief that this legal dispute had now come to an end. She will get over the inevitable money flowing in. “It is important to me that everyone knows what the scam is that the company Drive Marketing is using. The more people know about it, the fewer will fall for it,” she continued, showing a fighting spirit.
The electric vehicle from the manufacturer Ari, which is being used to advertise the Diakonie, has a basic price of just over 15,000 euros, according to information on the manufacturer’s website. (Photo: ZVG)
