An online telephone directory service based in the US Virgin Islands has slapped Bermuda Yellow Pages with a cease and desist letter accusing the company of causing ?actionable and tortuous interference? with its business relationships.

For more than a year, Island Super Pages or Caribbean Yellow Pages representatives have been contacting local businesses in an effort to get them to place ads on the online website www.islandsuperpages.com

Locally the company?s solicitation and subsequent billing tactics have caused some concern and even made headlines last year after Gary Taylor, general manager for the Bermuda Yellow Pages contacted local media and also mailed a letters to customers to inform them that his companies, Yellow Pages and Bermuda Telephone Directory, were in no way affiliated with the US Virgin Island?s company.

In December The Bermuda Sun ran a story claiming that local companies were being warned to ?be wary of calls claiming to upgrade their yellow page ads?.

The newspaper quoted Mr. Taylor as well as several local business people who complained that Island Super Pages staff were hounding them to pay for advertising they did not agree to.

In a later article published in , the Bermuda Police fraud unit urged those who had been contacted by C-YP to have no further dealings with the company and ignore all invoices. A fraud squad officer said then that the company was ?deliberately misleading businesses and behaving unlawfully?.

David Phillips, owner of Island Super Pages and Caribbean Yellow Pages, insists however that his firm is a legitimate business operation with 812 Bermuda businesses advertising on his website this week.

His lawyers, the Tampa-based firm of Thompson and Linton, has now sent letters to both Bermuda Yellow Pages and the Bermuda Sun accusing both of causing damage to his company.

Mr. Phillips said that as far as Mr. Taylor was concerned: ?We just want them to leave us alone, to leave our customers alone. There is certainly plenty of room for more than one directory that covers the Island.?

Mr. Phillips? lawyer has threatened to pursue all legal remedies in order to recover damages for what it termed a ?defamatory and malicious article? unless the Bermuda Sun prints a retraction and apology.

Editor Tony McWilliam told that the Bermuda Sun has handed the letter to the newspaper?s lawyers.

Ken Martin, Director of Publishing for Caribbean Publishing Company ? a sister company to the The Bermuda Sun ? added that neither Bermuda Sun?s parent company, Island Press (Holdings) Limited, nor Caribbean Publishing Company and its regional business-to-business directory Caribbean Yellow Pages? have any affiliation with David Phillips, David Phillips Jr. or Island Super Pages LLC.

?We are aware that Island Super Pages LLC is engaged in business practices in regards to a website with the URL www.caribbean-yellowpages.com that have come into question, and have caused great confusion between the two products,? he said.

?Caribbean Yellow Pages? is a registered trademark of Caribbean Publishing Company and is published in both print and online editions at www.caribbeanyellowpages.com. Caribbean Publishing Company has engaged its attorneys in regards to this matter. Caribbean Publishing Company encourages all business owners to scrutinise carefully any solicitation for directory products, especially those of an online-only, or telephone-only nature.?

The letter the lawyers sent to Mr. Taylor takes issue with a letter he sent to local businesses about the situation..

The firm of Thompson & Linton wrote: ?These communications constitute actionable and tortuous interference by BYP with potential and existing business relationships of my client and have resulted in substantial and irreparable damage to same. Accordingly, demand is made for BYP to immediately cease and desist from any such further activity.?

The law firm went onto warn that if BYP continues to interfere with the company?s business relationships, Mr. Philips will pursue all available legal remedies for damages suffered by him as well as injunctive relief.?

After months without any complaints about the US Virgin Islands company, the Department of Consumer Affairs heard from three concerned businesses on Wednesday this week who had been contacted by the company. The Department continues to tell direct callers to the Fraud Squad which is handling this issue. understands that its officers continue to tell callers to have no further dealings with Island Super Pages and ignore all invoices although it was unable to get an official comment from the Bermuda Police Service on its exact stance on this company?s practices.

While some local businesses have complained about the way Mr. Phillip?s company signs up customers ? they record an oral telephone contract onto a third party system ? Mr. Phillips says the practice known as voice stamping is legal in all of the islands.

?We run a very legitimate directory, we have over 18,000 listings for businesses in the islands and we have numerous accounts in Bermuda that prior to this article coming out were advertising with us and are very happy. It seems to me there is an attempt to create a monopoly to be able to charge the higher prices for the yellow page advertising,? he said.