I appreciate all of the constructive conversation here. Thank you all for taking the time to chime in! I have personally learned a great deal about foreign regulations and customer expectations in this discussion, and am looking to apply more changes.
[quote=435559:@scott boss]most US government agencies use a PO Box for all their mail (aka physical address). When dealing on government contracts, that was shocking to me. every address they used excluding the delivery address (of physical items) was a PO Box. and if we referenced any other address for those addresses they government wouldnt go forward with the contract.
I know lots of businesses that use PO Boxes for their addresses even if they have hundreds of buildings they are in. buildings come and go, but the PO Box address remains the same.[/quote]
Very true, I work as a contractor for the Air Force and although we have building all over the base we are required under our contract to only use the P.O. box assigned to us at the post office on base.
at least your PO Box was on the same base/installation. most of the time when dealing with various 3-4 letter agencies in DC (area), most of the time the PO Box was no where near where the actual work was being done, or software/hardware being installed, etc. As an example I supported the Federal Reserve, and we used a single PO Box for everything but I worked in Dallas TX, Richamond VA, Atlanta GA, and NJ (cant remember the city but fairly close to Newark).
Since 2010, it’s a bit different in Germany (maybe even for the whole EU space?).
Before we are allowed to offer ANY kind of service or contract, we NEED to make clear who we are. We NEED to tell First- and Last Name, an Adress at which we are really available in person and a phone number and an email address or fax number. And in many cases we NEED to offer MUCH more information than this.
Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer.
Thanks, Sascha. It looks like, according to the information on that page (and relevant citations to case law), that a P.O. Box is sufficient for a business/entity/provider in lieu of a physical address as a means of contact as long as there are additional means of contact provided, such as a phone number or electronic mail.
I’m not sure of the legal definition of “quickly” and “directly” in this context as a plane ride from Germany would seem to be neither, but it appears that the code intentionally leaves this grey area.
One of the citations also points to a ruling on the initial code that phone numbers are not required.
So, for those following this discussion, it seems to basically boil down to this:
You need two pages for your contact information. One for contact, and another for the business imprint. On the contact page you should provide a means of contact via email and, optionally, a phone number. On the imprint page you must provide a mailing address (not necessarily your physical address), any regulatory governing bodies/insurers, your VAT number when applicable, and your personal information (first name, last name). Both pages must be accessible from your home page (there appears to be no legal differentiation about placement, so footer links are acceptable as seen on many sites).
One thing I will mention is that I could find no instance of this ever having been tested against a foreign individual/entity that is not physically performing a service in the country(ies) governed by this requirement. If I’m missing that, please post it up as I’d love to read through it. I’d imagine if this did progress through one of those legal systems that it would likely result in an unenforceable injunction barring that entity/individual from doing business in that country or a legal fine which would probably be largely unenforceable in the US without the country of origin filing a civil suit.
If I’m missing anything, please let me know, but that’s my interpretation after reading everything I have over the last 16 hours or so, and reviewing the information in the citations of the Wikipedia article.
Details of bureaucracy aside, to anyone reading…
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Cheers
James
Thank you all for chiming in. I am very proud of the work I’ve done, and the notes many of you have left here or emailed to me directly since this discussion started are greatly appreciated. You folks make it all possible, without you I’m just singing in the shower.