This was posted on their forum. It's a bit long though. I am posting this because I believe in freedom of speech.
Firstly let me introduce myself and who I represent. My name is Fraser Cropper.
I am the Business Development Director for Totally Wicked; I am also Jason’s brother. I hold this position either through justified competence acquired from my 27 years as a military officer and a short period working in business development for a FTSE 100 company, or due to patronage. It is for others to decide rather than for me to assert.
I felt compelled to write this note due to recent activity on this and other forums which seem to have rapidly brought to a head an unfortunate long running malevolent undercurrent to our young industry, that of blogs and forums being allowed and in certain cases encouraged to undertaken vicious and libellous attacks on Totally Wicked. Some facts first. The UK Vapours’ Forum chose to stop its operation unilaterally.
It did so after we had made it aware that there was significant evidence of libellous activity against our company. We made it clear its owners and employed moderators were, at best tacitly endorsing, at worst actively encouraging such posts. There was also a clear conflict of interest in moderation of this forum. We asked that no more posts, good or bad, were allowed on this forum that related to Totally Wicked, as we believed that this was the only way to prevent these on-going vicious and illegal attacks on our company. We also made the forum aware that we would be seeking legal advice to seek redress for the effects of this on-going slander and bullying supported by this forum.
To some this may appear excessive and disproportionate, to others the arrogant action of a company that wishes to prevent freedom of speech and employ anti-competitive tactics. I can assure you this is not the case. Indeed, that we allowed these vicious attacks on our company, and that Jason tolerates the level of personal vitriol is I believe testament to our resilience and self-awareness as a company that we did not take such actions sooner, but enough was enough.
I will never work for a company, nor moreover take the formal and legally accountable responsibilities as a company director for a business that engages in protectionist tactics. We are a small hard working company that employs a team of staff that we are very proud of. We strive not to be the largest or most assertive company in our young sector, but simply a company that represent the basic virtues of what we believe business and personal integrity demands. I never look at other company web-sites; I had never read the UK Vapours Forum or any other except our own
Why, because it does not matter to our company how successful or otherwise other companies are in our sector. As the company’s Business Development Director, I spend most of my time looking inwards to our company and our customer to find the direction I then apply to our business, not at others in our sector. We try to be very open, which sometimes begets criticism and subjective personal opinions which may be negatively inclined, but we recognise that this must be an understandable and accepted effect of our ‘open’ approach. Which other company in the UK electronic cigarette industry actively encourages customer to see the inner workings of its company, allows customers to visit its company HQ, communicate directly with its owner, visits its shops and see our employees first hand, or indeed have a company forum that holds us to account to our customers. The only voice we listen to is that of those who trust Totally Wicked to use us for their electronic cigarette needs – our customers.
We will not cow or succumb to the narrow personal and business agendas of self-anointed industry bodies that seek to further their own personal and business agendas, whilst acting in ways to adversely affect the customers such bodies should be supporting.
We will self-define our regulations until we are able to provide our support to the correct regulatory body that will assist in maturing our industry, and we will commit 100% to such a body when we are content that the agenda of the user is at the forefront not the need of the select cabal that wishes to be seen as representative.
Unfortunately our sector is often an unsavoury primordial soup of seminal ‘companies’ wishing to exploit the opportunity that these wonderful products provide, often for short-term personal financial benefit. I believe we attempt to swim clear of this part of our sector and do things in our own way, this makes some uncomfortable, so be it. Jason and I have made a commitment; we have reinvested and continue to reinvest the benefits that our customers have entrusted us with. This reinvestment is in product development, facilities and importantly our loyal 70 and growing members of staff. There is no satisfaction in personal wealth if it has been achieved by exploiting others or using practices and morals that the majority would consider unacceptable.
With the above in mind, perhaps what has transpired in the last few days can be at least considered with a balance of Totally Wicked’s thoughts in mind.
Fraser
Firstly let me introduce myself and who I represent. My name is Fraser Cropper.
I am the Business Development Director for Totally Wicked; I am also Jason’s brother. I hold this position either through justified competence acquired from my 27 years as a military officer and a short period working in business development for a FTSE 100 company, or due to patronage. It is for others to decide rather than for me to assert.
I felt compelled to write this note due to recent activity on this and other forums which seem to have rapidly brought to a head an unfortunate long running malevolent undercurrent to our young industry, that of blogs and forums being allowed and in certain cases encouraged to undertaken vicious and libellous attacks on Totally Wicked. Some facts first. The UK Vapours’ Forum chose to stop its operation unilaterally.
It did so after we had made it aware that there was significant evidence of libellous activity against our company. We made it clear its owners and employed moderators were, at best tacitly endorsing, at worst actively encouraging such posts. There was also a clear conflict of interest in moderation of this forum. We asked that no more posts, good or bad, were allowed on this forum that related to Totally Wicked, as we believed that this was the only way to prevent these on-going vicious and illegal attacks on our company. We also made the forum aware that we would be seeking legal advice to seek redress for the effects of this on-going slander and bullying supported by this forum.
To some this may appear excessive and disproportionate, to others the arrogant action of a company that wishes to prevent freedom of speech and employ anti-competitive tactics. I can assure you this is not the case. Indeed, that we allowed these vicious attacks on our company, and that Jason tolerates the level of personal vitriol is I believe testament to our resilience and self-awareness as a company that we did not take such actions sooner, but enough was enough.
I will never work for a company, nor moreover take the formal and legally accountable responsibilities as a company director for a business that engages in protectionist tactics. We are a small hard working company that employs a team of staff that we are very proud of. We strive not to be the largest or most assertive company in our young sector, but simply a company that represent the basic virtues of what we believe business and personal integrity demands. I never look at other company web-sites; I had never read the UK Vapours Forum or any other except our own
Why, because it does not matter to our company how successful or otherwise other companies are in our sector. As the company’s Business Development Director, I spend most of my time looking inwards to our company and our customer to find the direction I then apply to our business, not at others in our sector. We try to be very open, which sometimes begets criticism and subjective personal opinions which may be negatively inclined, but we recognise that this must be an understandable and accepted effect of our ‘open’ approach. Which other company in the UK electronic cigarette industry actively encourages customer to see the inner workings of its company, allows customers to visit its company HQ, communicate directly with its owner, visits its shops and see our employees first hand, or indeed have a company forum that holds us to account to our customers. The only voice we listen to is that of those who trust Totally Wicked to use us for their electronic cigarette needs – our customers.
We will not cow or succumb to the narrow personal and business agendas of self-anointed industry bodies that seek to further their own personal and business agendas, whilst acting in ways to adversely affect the customers such bodies should be supporting.
We will self-define our regulations until we are able to provide our support to the correct regulatory body that will assist in maturing our industry, and we will commit 100% to such a body when we are content that the agenda of the user is at the forefront not the need of the select cabal that wishes to be seen as representative.
Unfortunately our sector is often an unsavoury primordial soup of seminal ‘companies’ wishing to exploit the opportunity that these wonderful products provide, often for short-term personal financial benefit. I believe we attempt to swim clear of this part of our sector and do things in our own way, this makes some uncomfortable, so be it. Jason and I have made a commitment; we have reinvested and continue to reinvest the benefits that our customers have entrusted us with. This reinvestment is in product development, facilities and importantly our loyal 70 and growing members of staff. There is no satisfaction in personal wealth if it has been achieved by exploiting others or using practices and morals that the majority would consider unacceptable.
With the above in mind, perhaps what has transpired in the last few days can be at least considered with a balance of Totally Wicked’s thoughts in mind.
Fraser
Last edited:
