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[RC] Federal trade e-mail - JonniSo, for those who do feel the urge to send a letter, maybe to tell the Federal Trade Commission that these ideas submitted by Mr. Ferrand are not ones you agree with, I just made it easier. Here is the e-mail contact: Agency Contact: Neil Blickman, Attorney, Federal Trade Commission, Division of Enforcement, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Washington, DC 20580 Phone: 202 326-3038 Email: nblickman@xxxxxxx nblickman at ftc dot gov You might want to include the original text of Ferrands letter: U.S. EQUESTRIANS REQUESTED TO CALL THE U.S. FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION Woodside, CA, October 5, 2005: The United States Federal Trade Commission has been made aware of Deceptive Trade Practices in the Saddle Industry, which is referenced in the attached letter from the Consumer Protection Division. However, now the Federal Trade Commission needs to hear from you, the equestrians of the United States, so that the FTC can determine the scope of the saddle fitting problem and determine the appropriate action. Over the past two hundred years, the U.S. Saddle Industry has failed to establish any saddle standards, so there is no quality control on the shape of saddle trees, or accurate method to relate the shape of the saddle to the shape of the horse, which is why equestrians cannot find saddles that FIT. This is despite the fact that a draft United States Saddle Standard was written in 1999 for the U.S. Dept of Commerce, National Institutes of Standards and Technology, however, the U.S. Saddle Industry has failed to do anything to implement such a VOLUNTARY PRODUCT STANDARD for saddles. As an equestrian, if you want to find a solution to the saddle fitting problem and establish a common VOLUNTARY PRODUCT STANDARD for saddles that can be understood by all equestrians, saddle tree makers, saddlemakers, saddle retailers, and saddle fitters, it will require Governmental Agencies to enforce existing Consumer Protection Law, requiring the saddle industry to comply with that Law. This initiative will require that the U.S. Equestrians take personal responsibility to permit the appropriate Governmental agencies to be able understand the scope of the saddle fitting problem so that Agency can determine the appropriate course of action. As is explained in the attached FTC letter: SUBMISSIONS FROM THE PUBLIC PROVIDE VALUABLE INFORMATION THAT IS FREQUENTLY USED TO DEVELOP OR SUPPORT COMMISSION ENFORCEMENT INITIATIVES. Please read the attached letter from Mr. Neil Blickman, an attorney in the Enforcement Division of the Consumer Protection Division of the Federal Trade Commission in Washington, D.C.. Then call Mr. Blickman, personally, at 202-326-3038 and let him know your experience fitting a saddle to your horse. Leave him a message explaining the following so that the FTC can tabulate this information to determine an appropriate course of action, 1. How long have you been riding horses? 2. How many horses have you owned or ridden? 3. How many saddles have you purchased? 4. How many of those saddles actually fit the horse? 5. How did you determine if the saddle did or did not fit? 6. Did the saddle maker or saddle retailer refund your money for the saddle that did not FIT? 7. How many pads have you purchased to correct for saddle poor fit? 8. Tell him anything else that you think is important! (i.e. who sold you the saddles? What did they say to sell the saddle?) 9. Then REQUEST THAT THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION TO PUBLISHED A POSITION PAPER to define how existing Consumer Protection Law relates to the purchase of saddles and saddle pads. This FTC SADDLE AND SADDLE PAD SALES POSITION PAPER will permit you, the U.S. Equestrian, to know what your LEGAL RIGHTS actually are and more importantly it will permit the saddle industry to know exactly their LEGAL RESPONSIBILITIES. This Position Paper will permit you, the equestrian that actually has to pay for the saddle or saddle pad, to make saddle makers, saddle retailers, saddle fitters and saddle pad manufacturers accountable not to sell you, defective products or to misrepresent the qualities of their saddles or saddle pads. This will permit you to find a SADDLE THAT FITS YOUR HORSE, without having to spend a fortune on saddles and saddle pads. This phone call to the Federal Trade Commission is in the best interest of your horse as well as yourself and the 9,000,000 horses in the United States and will force the saddle industry to provide better quality saddles that actually FIT the animals properly. Please forward this e-mail to fellow concerned equestrians so that they can make their voices heard in Washington, D.C. and throughout the Saddle Industry. Robert Ferrand Inventor CEO Saddletech.com inventor@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx 650-631-8400 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION WASHINGTON, DC Bureau of Consumer Protection June 7, 2005 Mr. Robert Ferrand Saddletech Chief Executive Officer 2995 Woodside Rd., Suite 400 Woodside, CA 94062 Dear Mr. Ferrand This acknowledges receipt of your recent communication, and accompanying materials, relating to your concern that current methods of labeling saddle sizes, and claims of saddle fit by industry members are unfair and misleading. You attribute these practices to the absence of standards in the saddle industry for accurately measuring and defining saddle fit. You assert that due to the lack of a uniform standard of saddle measurement, consumers are unable to accurately determine saddle fit prior to purchase or make value comparisons among saddles, which likely results in consumer injury. The communications that the Commission staff has received already are more than ample to allow us to evaluate the substance of your complaint. As you know, the Commission has been directed by Congress to act in the interest of all consumers to prevent deceptive or unfair acts or practices, pursuant to the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U,S.C. §§ 41-58. In determining whether to take enforcement or other action in any particular situation, the Commission may consider a number of factors, including the type of violation alleged; the nature and amount of consumer injury at issue and the number of consumers affected; and the likelihood of preventing future unlawful conduct and securing redress or other relief. Submissions from the public provide valuable information that is frequently used to develop or support Commission enforcement initiatives. I can assure you that the information you have provided will be carefully considered, and that the Commission staff will take such further action as is warranted by the circumstances. If you have any additional questions, or would like to provide any additional information, please contact me at (202) 326-3038. Sincerely, Neil Blickman Attorney Division of Enforcement =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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