King of Fictitious Florists Files Bankruptcy

An article today from the Star-Ledger details Tom Meola's Chapter 7 filings in Newark NJ. His two companies, TTP, Inc. (the retailer operation under the name Flowers With Gifted Elegance) and Preferred Florist Network (the wire service operation) have long been a source of complaints from both local florists and consumers.

Through a third company, Lower Forty Gardens, Meola purchased local phone numbers and used local city names in the listings of his fictional 'flower shops' across the US. Calls to the numbers were forwarded to his Randolph NJ-based call center.

Reporter Greg Saitz of the Star-Ledger sums up the issue well:

..some florists and consumers complained Meola's business model amounted to deception because people who called his numbers likely believed they were dealing with a local business. In response, 19 states, including New Jersey, passed laws that prohibit misrepresenting one's geographic location, according to the Society of American Florists, a trade group.

In addition, several state attorneys general have investigated or are investigating Meola's practices. He agreed to pay Virginia officials $10,000 in 2005 to settle and $50,000 to Delaware authorities in 2002. He also agreed not to publish phone listings creating the false impression it was for a Delaware business.

Among creditors are hundreds of local florists owed for Spring and Mother's Day orders they filled and delivered through the Preferred Florist Network.

It's unclear as to the status of Lower Forty Gardens and the future for Meola's phony local listings.

Unfortunately, Flowers With Gifted Elegance isn't the only call center operation to use remote call forwarding and local-sounding florist names, but they were the first and largest.

As more states enact legislation (North Carolina just passed a bill and California awaits a final reading and vote in the Senate) real local florists hope this business model will become a thing of the past.