A warning to other companies who are considering taking part in any strategy/ networking meetings organised by IBDG:

Our firm signed up for IBDG’s IT Directors Strategy Meeting, scheduled for February 2010, under the impression that we were dealing with a well respected and professional company and thus wanted to take advantage of the networking opportunity that the meetings on offer would provide. We were dismayed however with the immediate bombardment by the sales team once we had shown initial signs of interest in the proposed meeting. After constant pressure and unscrupulous sales tactics we were forcefully encouraged to sign a contract and provided with a very small timeframe in which to do so. When our firm decided a full seven months prior to the proposed meeting that we were unable to attend due to financial constraints, IBDG used the very same aggressive approach in order to ensure we paid for that which we were in no position to attend.

IBDG demanded to be paid an extortionate ‘cancellation fee’ knowing full well that not only could our firm ill-afford them as a ‘special payment schedule’ had been initially implemented by IBDG on our behalf, but also that IBDG had over seven months to fill any places that may have been vacant as a result of our firm’s withdrawal from the meeting.

This is bad business practice at its very worst.

I would be extremely wary in conducting any business with the firm after such a dreadful experience with them.