That'll be it i expect. I see no reason why you can't try to negotiate a lower claim amount without signing anything that states you admit liability. The whole purpose of pre-action protocol is for both parties to come to an agreement and avoid costly court fee's. I wouldn't sign anything amitting liabilty and i guess a Judge would take a dim view on any solicitor that pushed a claim through the court process just because someone wouldnt sign it:confused:

For those new recipients of claims who are still deciding what to do… here is snippets of advice from the Lawdit Solicitors reading room.

Lawdit Solicitors advice for those that admit to file sharing: If, and only if, you have downloaded or uploaded the work you will have committed an infringement of copyright. In this instance it is advisable to pay up and get rid of the matter as soon as possible. However, if you have decided to settle the matter and pay up you may want to consider negotiating the settlement figure down. Also, when settling it is important not to sign any undertaking.

Hi, You need to get the interrogation chair out and a large spotlight. Lol just kidding J Not unless YOU done it or YOU authorized it. No. It can only identify an IP Address. To identify a PC/Laptop they would need to gain your through your router. Not possible unless they break the law? (Pls correct me if I am wrong Tech guys). Yes of course! Just send a letter off stating that you have not shared the file nor authorized anyone in your house to do so. Simple as that. You may like to add a nice note wishing them luck tracking down the infringer! You cannot determine who the infringer was nor is it your duty to do so – this is for THEM to determine.

As far as I am aware there is nothing in the Data protection act that requires a data holder to oppose or contest a court order by law. Please do complain to the ISP and ask them why they have not contested the evidence presented in court as it is clearly flawed and identifies innocent people. Ask them if they are going to refuse to co-operate with further court orders (like Talk Talk do) and ask them why not? Another point you should ask your ISP is, have they charged ACS law for the data they provided? It has recently come to light that ACS Law may have tried to reclaim costs incurred to them from the ISP, where in fact they have never been charged for the release of data. Check your paperwork to see if the money being ‘claimed’ includes this fee. It’s about time the ISP’s started defending their subscribers. If we complain enough….they may listen!

Just to clarify..and this is to the best of my knowledge. It is believed (from leaked documents) that the original rights holder signs over the distribution rights of the file to the monitoring company. Thus….when/if they seed the file on the torrent site they are themselves legally allowed to, but…when the alleged infringer connects to ‘download’ the file he/she ‘uploads’ at the same time and thus infringes copyright.

You could try this, but i would think that you are probably under some sort of obligation to keep them informed of your new address anyway. I would check this with Citizens Advice or a Solicitor. Also, i have tried asking ACS:Law to provide further details/evidence for my claim within a certain time frame, which they completely ignored so it's unlikely you will get anywhere by requesting it, but don't let this put you off i would still do it.

1) The passing of the new laws under the Digital Economy Bill have made no difference to ACS Law’s stance. Everything they do is outside of the process agreed within the Digital Bill. ACS Law think otherwise though, but ask yourself this If the scheme is so good why isn’t Walt Disney and Warner Bros using ACS Law? 2) If the SRA do take action against ACS:Law it is totally possible for your case to be transferred to another solicitor. I was sent a letter from Davenport Lyons and they passed the case onto ACS Law. At the moment there is nothing stopping other solicitors starting up the same scheme. This is why you should write to complain to so many organizations. Make them aware that innocent people are being caught up in it. Please note: This is a civil case, not a criminal one. You won’t go to jail or gain a criminal record. The first part of the civil proceedings is for both parties to attempt to conclude the issue out of court to prevent costs escalating. ACS Law will do everything they can to prevent a costly court process as it eats into their profits. Remember, this is a revenue generating process for ACS Law and it’s clients. If you are innocent then please, please complain! I know it’s an effort and time, but it will help us to try and put an end to this scheme which is stressful for so many. Some of you are very worried right now and maybe wondering if you can defend yourself by just using the advice given by the people here after all we are not legal representatives and I completely understand your concerns. If you want to see advice elsewhere then do so. If you don’t have the money for a solicitor but wish to seek help then visit your local Citizens Advice Bureau For those that wish to seek legal advice and have the funds to do so I recommend the superb Lawdit Solicitors who would be happy to help (google Lawdit + ACS for some useful links) They have worked on many of these cases and you don’t have to live locally to them as it can all be done electronically for you.

Hi All, I’m new to this forum, but have been watching it for a while. I’m a poster on the similar thread at Slyck and have decided to post today to pass some reassurance to those newly accused people that have found their way here. I was accused of sharing a file back in November 2008. Back then it was Davenport Lyons who issued the forms, but they passed my paperwork over to ACS:Law. I couldn’t afford a solicitor to help me defend myself so I’ve written back denying these claims myself and have done so many times so be prepared for a long letter writing campaign! One of the biggest things that played on my mind at the beginning was I worried that if I didn’t provide them enough information I thought it would put me in breach of the Pre-Action Protocol and that if it went to court I would be seen in a bad light. Because of that worry (coupled with a threat of court action) I continued to write back to every letter they sent. I told them that I shared my connection with friends and family and that I had taken every measure I could (within my limited experience) to protect my connection. I also pointed out that I couldn’t find out if my connection was used for this infringement. This made no difference at all to ACS. They were not interested, they don’t care, they just kept writing to me asking me the same questions and at one point they threatened me stating that I was at real risk of proceedings being issued against me if I did not pay up. That was back in September and they have not taken me to court. I’d like my experience to help new comers to this. It is clear to me that ACS:Law is not interested in any form of declaration of innocence. You can tell them until you’re blue in the face that you are innocent, but they will not go away. They want your money and they will keep telling you that YOU are responsible as you are the account holder. They firmly believe that because you own the account then you are responsible for any infringements that occur on it. It’s tempting to pay up and make it all go away (if you could afford to) but if you are innocent then why let ACS bully you into paying? Keep calm and try not to worry (I know it’s not easy). ACS:Law have not taken a contested case to court. If you did not share this file and you did not authorize anyone to do so on your connection then you have nothing to fear. I’m one of those people that worry over missing one payment and I keep everything up to date. I’ve never had a legal letter or been in any situation like this before so I have found it particularly hard to cope with. I fear the letters that arrive in the post and it’s not nice. I know others will be reading this and I hope my post helps you in some way. I refuse to be bullied for something I have not done, please stand firm with us.