Questions asked about 'Buzz' website

The website, claiming to offer entertainment services in Londonderry boasted of having secured the appearance of boyband JLS for this year's Christmas lights switch on and threatened to charge young people 10 penalties for failing to follow its arcane terms and conditions.

The self-styled "The Buzz Network Club" - which is not related to the Yorkshire based Buzz Network - said it had secured the services of the former X Factor finalists for the switch on but upon checking with Derry City Council it soon transpired that no act had yet been booked by the local authority for the gig on November 17.

The Sentinel was alerted to the website by local community worker Feargal Mellon who expressed concern of its use of Bebo to target young people in Londonderry. He also noticed a number of inaccuracies on the site and asked the paper to investigate.

Mr Mellon was concerned the post code for the firm's supposed Belfast Head Office was located at George Best Airport whilst the post code for the Londonderry office was given as Eglinton BT48 3GY, which doesn't exist.

"The Buzz Network Club" also refused to list an address for its centre in Newcastle for security reasons.

The Sentinel also found "The Buzz Network Club" was only contactable via email or via a text only telephone number.

And the site's terms and conditions targeting the young Bebo users who may have been texting the company threatened to penalise "customers" by up to 10 for using text speak.

Under a misspelt Texting section "The Buzz Network Club" warned: "Again if you are due an Reward from Buzz. We will reduce this reward from 5 per time you send messages with short text." Examples of short text given by "The Buzz Network Club" included the commonplace "ppl" for "people" as well as "en" for "then."

Equally alarmingly it warns young users: "If an customer does not issue an name on their messages to us via text, email, bebo, all other formats to get in contact with us, we will take of 5 per time they send us messages without names.

"We will also take of 10 per message they send that contains 'short text' this includes the following: Full Word: And; Short Text: An; Full Word: Then; Short Text: En. Any formatts of short, we will remove 10."

An email communicant signed as "Dean Coyle, Assistant Manager, The Buzz Network, Derry/Londonderry" defended this.

Mr Coyle told the paper in an email that contained spelling mistakes: "The Buzz Network UK and Ireland does not take money off customers as its an free service. Customers play games and much more and win rewards from us as explained from our old website. www.thebuzznetwork.club.officelive.com is our new website and is currently under review.

"So this is not an money scam. Customers when they join our service agree to all our terms and conditions. We don't accept short text and there text must be directed either to customer services or their own personal agent."

"For example if I was an customers agent, at the end of their messages they would have 'Dean Coyle'' at the end and if it not for one person, they would put either ''Team or Customer Services'' at the end.

"All our customers do this so those terms and conditions are being followed. In relation to seeking further information from The Buzz Network, you are advised to use the information from the website. our www.bebo.com/buzzfun and www.bebo.com/thebuzznetwork is currently out of service as we make some changes.

"Our Chairperson of the centre Declan Doherty will only provide further information if he contacts the 'public press.' And update for the public press has been put on our website under the News and Information Link at http://thebuzznetwork.club.officelive com/NewsandInformation.aspx so for further information in relation to TBN, please see our website."

Despite repeated requests for a mobile contact for Mr Doherty or Mr Coyle none were forthcoming. The paper was promised a telephone call from Mr Doherty at 3.40pm yesterday but received none.

The Sentinel's enquiries coincided with an announcement by "The Buzz Network Club" on Monday that from September 17, 2010 it will be stopping all its "services in Derry/Londonderry, Belfast, Dublin."

It stated: "This comes as we are making an massive change to our services and how we can improve it for everyone."

The Sentinel contacted Trading Services - a division of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETINI) - and a spokesman said no complaints were registered against the "company/website."

The Buzz Network Club bears no relation to Yorkshire-based business network "The Buzz Network."