N5NTG | 
12 1st, 2008| 
I recently received an unsolicited official looking manila envelope in the mail (not e-mail) from the Amateur Radio Service, telling me “Amateur Radio License Expiration Alert – It’s time to Renew!, Renewal Notice Enclosed” It has a warning block saying “failure to renew will void your operating authority and could result in the necessity for you to be re-examined and the loss of your station call sign”
Today is December 1, 2008, and my license (N5NTG) doesn’t expire until March 24, 2009. I’m not within the 90 day time window prior to my expiration date, so I can’t renew this early.
This friendly reminder service was a courtesy service of The W5YI VEC, Inc., one of two major VEC (ham testing) services in the USA. This is a legit company, don’t get me wrong. The other major VEC group is of course, the ARRL. There is no clear intent to deceive in this letter, it simply doesn’t mention that you can do it direct for free.
