Online retailer Deadgoodundies says Jockey International is forcing the business to lose its Facebook page in a wrangle that has already cost the men’s underwear business thousands of pounds and dented its worldwide reputation.
“Jockey are pants – and I don’t mean in a good way,” says Jane Garner, one of two partners who founded the specialist men’s underwear and swimwear website Deadgoodundies.com 20 years ago.
Last Autumn a company called Red Points, based in the US and working on behalf of Jockey, filed a series of complaints of breach of copyright over the brand’s images. These were later withdrawn but now Deadgoodundies is days away from losing its Facebook page permanently.
Deadgoodundies has been blocked by Facebook from appealing the erroneous allegations – despite Red Points claiming copyright on several images that were actually taken by DGU’s photographer on their own model in their own studio – and bearing Deadgoodundies’ branding.
The international men’s underwear e-tail specialists, Adam Davies and Jane Garner, who have been battling Jockey and Red Points for months, are livid. Jane explains:
Jockey are total pants. We were loyal and successful retailers of the brand until they suddenly pulled out of third party retail two years ago. They sent a letter saying ‘we’re all in this together’ during the pandemic, then three months later stopped supplying us and many other loyal UK customers, both online and bricks and mortar, overnight.
Like other British retailers who had helped build the Jockey International business, its brand and reputation for decades, we were shocked. Then in 2023 Jockey employed Red Points, who protect corporations’ intellectual property and report breaches of copyright to the likes of Facebook, eBay etc.
What Jockey and Red Points failed to check was that we had been, and as far as we are concerned continue to be, legitimate stockists of Jockey products. We were selling the remaining stock we originally held, which was moving very slowly because it was dribs and drabs of a broad offer of Jockey boxers, briefs and Y-fronts originally sold on Deadgoodundies.com.
When Jockey withdrew supplies, there was no request nor deadline for stopping use of their imagery while we still had original stock. If there had been a stop date on pictures we would have complied. If they had just ASKED us to take down their images we would have complied, apart from the shots of original products we still had on sale. And of course we could use images where WE held the copyright!”
To add insult to injury, Adam Davies’ personal Facebook page has already been deleted because of Jockey’s complaints as it shared the same admin as the DGU page.
Jane continues: “Jockey and Red Points have cost us a small fortune – but also damaged our business reputation. We have lost thousands in sales, we had to remove all remaining Jockey stock from our website where we used their images – and have no way of selling on the remainder – and we are days away from the DGU Facebook page being deleted. Facebook indicates this can be appealed and reviewed but there is no route to request a review.
We are in constant contact with Jockey’s legal counsel who, latterly, has tried but failed to redeem the situation. Red Points have, we are told, withdrawn all allegations. But Red Points didn’t just submit one complaint of breach of copyright, they put in sequential complaints so as far as Facebook is concerned we are repeat offenders. We can find no way to get a fair hearing, nor regain our Deadgoodundies Facebook page with the original admin email addresses. We are stuck in a vicious circle that is none of our making,” Jane adds.
“A bit of due diligence or an email discussion could have resolved this last year. Neither Jockey nor Facebook, both of whose behaviour is high handed bullying as far as I am concerned, have not acted fairly. They do not care a jot about small business like ours nor the damage they inflict.
“And it may seem a small matter that Adam has lost his personal Facebook page, but that contained many contacts, memories, pictures and messages that cannot be replaced.”
Asked for their response to this story Jockey International said they had no further comment.
Does the Facebook countdown end in five days or 10 days?
Today, March 27th, there is more confusion…
When Deadgoodundies try to log into their Facebook page they are advised to check their admin emails for updates or requests for more information about their appeal – but no messages have ever been received.
According to Facebook in five or 10 days the DGU men’s underwear business page will be permanently disabled, Jane says without a fair hearing and entirely because of totally inaccurate corporate bullying.
Jane explains:
We have two admin emails for the Deadgoodundies.com Facebook page and the Facebook warnings have different deadlines. They have never acknowledged our direct appeals, which we have tried to submit via several routes, nor provided any way to communicate with them. Facebook still indicates our account is to be disabled if we don’t appeal successfully. Jockey and Red Points created the problem and should be responsible for resolving it.”
