ACS:Law copyright file sharing claims, Gallant Macmillan - and probably some others along the way...

[Time on my hands]

 

how do you know when a case has been dropped though? would acs:law have to write to us to confirm it has been dropped?

 

 

To date ACS Law has made some token gestures at dropping cases. However the majority of us have not. My last letter of claim was around 9 months ago and I've heard nothing since.

 

Crossley is very fond of keeping a Damocles sword hanging over us, and admitting defeat would give our cause far too much ammunition, particularly when there is so little to differentiate each case.

[qwerty12345678910]

Time - thanks for that. it is helpful to know the timescales involved a little. how many letters did you exchange before this nine month gap?

 

i am thinking that i will go down this route now, rather than paying it and as such would like an idea as to what to expect.

 

thanks very much for your assistance

[ledge2007]

The Law Society - Find a solicitor check out this site, this is the info on ACS from the SRA, 1 principal, 1 solicitor...not alot of staff considering how many letters are going out......

[Valuev]

I got a letter a couple of months ago for something apparently dowloaded/uploaded in November.

 

I was very unsure about the look of the court order and thought it was some sort of [problem], so rang the High Court Chancery division, and spoke to the guy that issued it, and he told me it was legit.

 

I just ignored the first letter, I might reply to the second (if it comes) with a LOD as I was in Germany for the David Haye v Valuev fight at the time of the 'alledged' offence, so they can whistle for it as far as Im concerned:)

[paranoid_fish]

Ok lets get a few things straight here.

 

For you lot that have received a letter from ACS then you need to just calm down. We are all here because of this. If we work together we can end it all.

 

I was in the same boat for a few days before i found out about this weird and wonderful scheme of his.

 

Let me clear some things up first:

1) This Andrew guy is playing the field a bit. He employed someone (who is known to be a bit of a [causing problems] artist) to join his little money making scheme. This friend of his then posted a request on a website for a freelancer to write some software to catch IP addresses in the UK. By the way this is the "forensic computer analysts" that he mentions. This was done at a cost of £750. So this will not stand up in court as being 100% acurate.

 

2) He has been doing this for a while now and all the faults that have been pointed out gets corrected. He watches these forums obviously.

 

3) The court order thing. Well this is a tricky one. It has been mentioned before on here. It is legit. Mine too had pen all over it and was too a photocopy. Someone even called the high court up and asked if ACS law had even been there that day (17th) and they replied no. But unfortunately it is legit.

 

People have been all over this with a comb.

 

All i can say people is respond with a LOD. He will write back to you about 3-4 weeks later. You then respond again saying nothing more other than this is my 2nd letter of denial.

 

He has not got any evidence against you other than and IP. Which has been said by IT experts "this is not evidence".

 

Believe me people, I work IT for a living. Your IP address can be hacked all the time. Doesn't mean your machine is not safe. It means someone can clone your IP even for 30 - 40 seconds. They can do damage pretending to be you. So what does your router do? Hang up and grab a new one.

 

Why do you think he has never took anyone to court? He knows he would loose.

 

So for those people saying "i think i will pay to get him off my back" please don't. As mentioned before this will prove you did something wrong.

 

Sorry for going on. I want this to end like the rest of you. I too hate the post man now

 

But i would like to know one thing. Are we entitled to the proof of owner ship from him for such media? If this was to go to court why was we not issued with such information. & why can i not find anything on Media C.A.T.

 

Why is the website suspended? Too many questions.

[randomuser]

QWERTY

 

This is the whole point of the way this "litigation" operates is to scare you.

 

Now if you havent "uploaded" the material in question then the best advise anybody will give is to reply to their letter denying this. Do not give any more info than a denial.

 

to date nobody has been taken to court .......... that in itself should speak volumes.

 

in the unlikley event you were taken to court then ACS law would have to show on the balance of probablities that you did it. If all you have given them is a letter of denial they have very little to go on.

 

Their evidence would consist of

 

your ip address (which may or may not be accurate as ISPs have admitted to giving out wrong info in the past)

 

a statement from "THEIR TRACKING" company saying when and at what time the offence was committed. .... Bear in mind this tracking software has not been open for testing to see if it is accurate and is illegal and non admissiblr rin court in some EU states

 

They would not know if you had WIFI or not, how many people had access to your connection or even if your connection had been hijacked.

 

In civil law they have to "reasonably" prove that YOU did it. if somebody else did it then they have to sue them

 

I do not see how this can be done given the variables above (as long as you make no admission or pay)

Very well said!

[cokeybendy]

We got one of these today too, same M.O as everyone else, wife was freaking out, had to calm her down. Date we/she was supposedly downloading this movie/song /whatever we were both at work...either they are talking crap or we got a very clever dog !!!

[el paulo]

To anyone who has received a letter from ACS Law don't waste a single second worrying about it. All you have to do is:

 

1 - read the letter.

2- go to Beingthreatened.com and copy and paste their LOD (letter of denial) to what ever word processor program you use.

3- edit it with all the correct dates and names and addresses etc (as written on the letter ACS sent).

3 - sign it (very important).

4 - Wait a 2-3 weeks before sending it signed for delivery.

5 - wait for a reply - you will get a letter to say they don't accept templates - there is no law againt this and its just their company policy which is irrelevant.

6 - write the second denial letter and edit it ect, but don't forget to sign it.

7 - wait again - if in point 5 you receive a second copy of the letter you first received, wait a month. If you haven't received it then wait until you do then wait a further month before sending your second letter.

8 - enjoy the reset of your life - don't respond to anymore letter unless its from the court or the tooth fairy or father christmas. The latter two are more likley.

 

The longer you delay writing back to them the slower they will become. Hopefully their clients will get fed up and leave them:D

 

xxxxxVERY IMPORTANTxxxxxx The only info ACS Law have on you is your IP address, the name of your internet provider, your name and postal address. Thats it! TELL THEM NOTHING MORE:!:

 

If you have the time write a letter to SRA (Solicitors Regulation Authority). They are investigating these people and the more complaints they have the quicker they will "pull their finger out". Google - acs law investigation to read all about it.

 

Don't forget to tell the world about your experience. The more people that know about it, the fewer people that will be scared into paying. Fear is what keeps these people in business.

[mackaz]

To anyone who has received a letter from ACS Law don't waste a single second worrying about it. All you have to do is:

 

1 - read the letter.

2- go to Beingthreatened.com and copy and paste their LOD (letter of denial) to what ever word processor program you use.

3- edit it with all the correct dates and names and addresses etc (as written on the letter ACS sent).

3 - sign it (very important).

4 - Wait a 2-3 weeks before sending it signed for delivery.

5 - wait for a reply - you will get a letter to say they don't accept templates - there is no law againt this and its just their company policy which is irrelevant.

6 - write the second denial letter and edit it ect, but don't forget to sign it.

7 - wait again - if in point 5 you receive a second copy of the letter you first received, wait a month. If you haven't received it then wait until you do then wait a further month before sending your second letter.

8 - enjoy the reset of your life - don't respond to anymore letter unless its from the court or the tooth fairy or father christmas. The latter two are more likley.

 

The longer you delay writing back to them the slower they will become. Hopefully their clients will get fed up and leave them:D

 

xxxxxVERY IMPORTANTxxxxxx The only info ACS Law have on you is your IP address, the name of your internet provider, your name and postal address. Thats it! TELL THEM NOTHING MORE:!:

 

If you have the time write a letter to SRA (Solicitors Regulation Authority). They are investigating these people and the more complaints they have the quicker they will "pull their finger out". Google - acs law investigation to read all about it.

 

Don't forget to tell the world about your experience. The more people that know about it, the fewer people that will be scared into paying. Fear is what keeps these people in business.

 

F.E.A.R

 

False

Evidence

Appearing Real

 

not that im suggesting anything ACS do is false. its just a great Acronym

[el paulo]

remember people - it's not up to you to prove that you are innocent. It's up to them to prove that you are guilty. If you didn'y do it then you have nothing to worry about and even if you did it's going to be hard to prove unless they examine your computer. This will be hard to do though as hard drives break down and have to be replaced and the originals sent to land fill and laptops get stolen all the time;) Thats a joke by the way. dont break the law!

 

maths - lets say there are 10,000 letter he sent out. 4 court cases a day. Thats 20 per week. It will take 9 years 226 days to take us all to court and thats assuming that there are only 10,000 people involved. I think its more around 50,000 people (46 years 4 days). Old age would have taken him long before he has finished.

Edited June 7, 2010 by el paulo
edited to add the sums

[erraticmemory]

Just got this today! Stupidly didnt look into it and housemates signed letter and sent back as well as making the payment. Cancelled the payment with their bank though but theyve sent the letter of admission off... court thing looks like a [problem] as well - photocopied [problem] and scribble in top right hand corner? Not too professional. Anyone know anything that can be done now that the letters been sent, obviously too late to get it back, even though we can recover the payment. Going to see citizens advice next week though.

[Flyboye]

Thanks for this forum/thread There is no need to feel alone in this

I also recieved a letter from ACS Law clearly you can see the high court letter is a fake with all the crossing outs with different handwriting and dodgy fading stamp marks . Clear 17 Feb stamp, Draft crossed out and a scribble date 21 (unreadable month) 2010

Their letter of claim sayimg that i downloaded British underwear party in Nov 2009 what a load of crap It seems they are targeting the younger generation now and breaking up and causing family rows. One way to stop them is to expose their bogus Titles warn everyone so it will cost them

Also got to sort out a LOD and seeking legal advice

Here is what WATCHDOG has to say about it

BBC - Watchdog: Davenport Lyons - threatening letters

 

 

Let you all know how i got on...woo hoo

 

.

Edited June 7, 2010 by Flyboye

[Roswell]

Ok lets get a few things straight here.

 

For you lot that have received a letter from ACS then you need to just calm down. We are all here because of this. If we work together we can end it all.

 

I was in the same boat for a few days before i found out about this weird and wonderful scheme of his.

 

Let me clear some things up first:

1) This Andrew guy is playing the field a bit. He employed someone (who is known to be a bit of a [causing problems] artist) to join his little money making scheme. This friend of his then posted a request on a website for a freelancer to write some software to catch IP addresses in the UK. By the way this is the "forensic computer analysts" that he mentions. This was done at a cost of £750. So this will not stand up in court as being 100% acurate.

 

2) He has been doing this for a while now and all the faults that have been pointed out gets corrected. He watches these forums obviously.

 

3) The court order thing. Well this is a tricky one. It has been mentioned before on here. It is legit. Mine too had pen all over it and was too a photocopy. Someone even called the high court up and asked if ACS law had even been there that day (17th) and they replied no. But unfortunately it is legit.

 

People have been all over this with a comb.

 

All i can say people is respond with a LOD. He will write back to you about 3-4 weeks later. You then respond again saying nothing more other than this is my 2nd letter of denial.

 

He has not got any evidence against you other than and IP. Which has been said by IT experts "this is not evidence".

 

Believe me people, I work IT for a living. Your IP address can be hacked all the time. Doesn't mean your machine is not safe. It means someone can clone your IP even for 30 - 40 seconds. They can do damage pretending to be you. So what does your router do? Hang up and grab a new one.

 

Why do you think he has never took anyone to court? He knows he would loose.

 

So for those people saying "i think i will pay to get him off my back" please don't. As mentioned before this will prove you did something wrong.

 

Sorry for going on. I want this to end like the rest of you. I too hate the post man now

 

But i would like to know one thing. Are we entitled to the proof of owner ship from him for such media? If this was to go to court why was we not issued with such information. & why can i not find anything on Media C.A.T.

 

Why is the website suspended? Too many questions.

 

Thanks for the info paranoid.

I'm just wondering where you got all the info above regarding ACS and how true it is about the £750 "forensic computer analysts".

 

Thanks.

Edited June 8, 2010 by Roswell

[zero_flight]

Ok lets get a few things straight here.

 

For you lot that have received a letter from ACS then you need to just calm down. We are all here because of this. If we work together we can end it all.

 

I was in the same boat for a few days before i found out about this weird and wonderful scheme of his.

 

Let me clear some things up first:

1) This Andrew guy is playing the field a bit. He employed someone (who is known to be a bit of a [causing problems] artist) to join his little money making scheme. This friend of his then posted a request on a website for a freelancer to write some software to catch IP addresses in the UK. By the way this is the "forensic computer analysts" that he mentions. This was done at a cost of £750. So this will not stand up in court as being 100% acurate.

 

2) He has been doing this for a while now and all the faults that have been pointed out gets corrected. He watches these forums obviously.

 

3) The court order thing. Well this is a tricky one. It has been mentioned before on here. It is legit. Mine too had pen all over it and was too a photocopy. Someone even called the high court up and asked if ACS law had even been there that day (17th) and they replied no. But unfortunately it is legit.

 

People have been all over this with a comb.

 

All i can say people is respond with a LOD. He will write back to you about 3-4 weeks later. You then respond again saying nothing more other than this is my 2nd letter of denial.

 

He has not got any evidence against you other than and IP. Which has been said by IT experts "this is not evidence".

 

Believe me people, I work IT for a living. Your IP address can be hacked all the time. Doesn't mean your machine is not safe. It means someone can clone your IP even for 30 - 40 seconds. They can do damage pretending to be you. So what does your router do? Hang up and grab a new one.

 

Why do you think he has never took anyone to court? He knows he would loose.

 

So for those people saying "i think i will pay to get him off my back" please don't. As mentioned before this will prove you did something wrong.

 

Sorry for going on. I want this to end like the rest of you. I too hate the post man now

 

But i would like to know one thing. Are we entitled to the proof of owner ship from him for such media? If this was to go to court why was we not issued with such information. & why can i not find anything on Media C.A.T.

 

Why is the website suspended? Too many questions.

 

On the court order I have it has page numbers which relates to a book it has been photocopied out of . So if the court order legit why has it got about 20 mistakes on it. YES I DID SAY 20

[gutted69]

tp123, could you please help me too and send me a copy of the LOD too as well please because I just received the letter from ACS:LAW too for the exact same issue.

[blingbling_princess]

Hi there,

 

I too received this letter today from ACS Law regarding 'Evacuate the Dancefloor'. The 'offence' dated back from 20th Sept 2009, with the court papers dated 17th Feb 2010.

 

I was absolutely terrified by the letter and I immediately called the company and explained that I had no knowledge of this incident.

 

However, I was advised that because the IP address was registered to myself (as I am the account holder) I was liable to pay the £295 damages to Allan Kopie, Manuel Reuter and Yann Peifer.

 

I explained that I could not pay the amount and was told that I had to sign the undertakings sheet, leave the payment form at the back blank and they would sent out a form to pay in monthly installments of £50.

 

Due to worry and panic, I have sent the undertakings letter back, however I have not made any payments or supplied bank details.

 

Having read through all the posts, I now know that I have been accused by mistake (having calmed down I realised I was actually working on the day the offence was committed!) However, I dont know what to do next as I have sent the undertakings letter back to ACS.

 

Can I still send a LOD or is it too late meaning I will have to pay?????

 

Totally confused

[randomuser]

Just a quick reminder to people, if you are going to sign up to the forums it's a good idea NOT to use a user name you use on other forums or websites, so anyone from ACS snooping around can't go and find lots of information that you might have posted on other forums etc. Just a word of warning, as discussed in The Speculative Invoicing Handbook.

[stanwixman]

i received one of the letters on saturday. I panicked as I have in the past downloaded material but have no recolection of having downloaded it in the past. I phoned (as i hadnt heard of any other letters etc until today) left a message on the answer phone saying that i couldnt afford to pay and could i pay in instalments. At no time did i admit guilt direct. now reading all these posts i want to send a letter of denial. I have been on to the acs website today and he has posted a reply to all these acusations saying he has dropped some of the cases as goodwill but will proceed in taking people to court if neccessary. He has also said he is aware of all these bad press etc and says he is within the law and that he has enough evidence with the isp etc and that saying he doesnt is not true in law? who do i beleive as i am crapping myself as 1 i phoned and left a message on his ansaphone and 2 i have in past downloaded files (not now thought) Can i claim that the answer phone message was left in panic before i realised what was happening ? I cant afford the £295 let alone any fines costs if it ever did get to court etc. A lot of the letters issued are for people who have never downloaded stuff but what about past offenders like me who have but dont now? however i have downloaded stuff in the past but dont remember any thing re the cascada track . I am also cacking myself now as where will their pursuits end will they come back in say a years time saying i downloaded another track or film? who do i believe as they say that iSP info is sufficent evidence and that i cant claim it was someone else etc as it was up to me to secure my routher. also a publican was fined 8 grand as somenone else was downloading music using free wifI SO THIS must of gone to court - this is on acs:law web site please help as i cant sleep with worry.

[captain-123]

i received one of the letters on saturday. I panicked as I have in the past downloaded material but have no recolection of having downloaded it in the past. I phoned (as i hadnt heard of any other letters etc until today) left a message on the answer phone saying that i couldnt afford to pay and could i pay in instalments. At no time did i admit guilt direct. now reading all these posts i want to send a letter of denial. I have been on to the acs website today and he has posted a reply to all these acusations saying he has dropped some of the cases as goodwill but will proceed in taking people to court if neccessary. He has also said he is aware of all these bad press etc and says he is within the law and that he has enough evidence with the isp etc and that saying he doesnt is not true in law? who do i beleive as i am crapping myself as 1 i phoned and left a message on his ansaphone and 2 i have in past downloaded files (not now thought) Can i claim that the answer phone message was left in panic before i realised what was happening ? I cant afford the £295 let alone any fines costs if it ever did get to court etc. A lot of the letters issued are for people who have never downloaded stuff but what about past offenders like me who have but dont now? however i have downloaded stuff in the past but dont remember any thing re the cascada track . I am also cacking myself now as where will their pursuits end will they come back in say a years time saying i downloaded another track or film? who do i believe as they say that iSP info is sufficent evidence and that i cant claim it was someone else etc as it was up to me to secure my routher. also a publican was fined 8 grand as somenone else was downloading music using free wifI SO THIS must of gone to court - this is on acs:law web site please help as i cant sleep with worry.

 

I'm not sure about the phone message etc. but is this the same track as everyone else relating to a UK top 40 or trance album? If so is it dated around September / October. This isn't too long ago so if you are sure that you haven't downloaded the track then you have done nothing wrong. Is your wireless secure using wpa2 or is it open or only secured using wep?.

 

Wireless can be hacked with wpa2 I think being almost impossible to crack (I think). It depends really how they get their info as they could just hoover up the info from torrent trackers with little other checks in place. If that is the case torrent admins polute these trackers with fake IP addresses. It is difficult to guess really.

 

Just out of curiosity has anyone here had a letter while having wpa2 encryption with strong passwords etc and is sure they or anyone with access did nothing wrong? If so this might indicate they are just collecting ip addresses rather than actually checking the info.

 

Please remember to post using a new username on these forums.

 

While it is good practice to secure your router it is not required to do so by law despite what ACS say. If you have not downloaded the file and haven't authorised anyone else to do so then you have done nothing wrong.

 

Not sure if you can post a link here but people who are contacting their MPs might want to ask them to support this early day motion for a review of the DEB the link is below or can be found on the Slyck forum

 

http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetai ... DMID=40931

Edited June 8, 2010 by captain-123

[stanwixman]

Has anyone who received these letters like i have, checked Mr Crossley's comments on his web site. He seems to think that isp info is enough evidence and that all this bad press etc has been sorted out by him. Check out his web site. Its frightening me as his comments seem say opposite of what people on here is saying. He says people are paying up and that he will take offenders to court ? Please help as im cacking it here - i cant afford £295 let alone the thousands he says could be awarded if it goes to court? check out the web site?

[captain-123]

Has anyone who received these letters like i have, checked Mr Crossley's comments on his web site. He seems to think that isp info is enough evidence and that all this bad press etc has been sorted out by him. Check out his web site. Its frightening me as his comments seem say opposite of what people on here is saying. He says people are paying up and that he will take offenders to court ? Please help as im cacking it here - i cant afford £295 let alone the thousands he says could be awarded if it goes to court? check out the web site?

 

 

Rather than just checking one source and taking it as true, why not check out several like beingthreatened, Which, and Slyck. This way you will be able to get a balanced view of the situation.

 

Or is there a reason you like Mr Crossley's website so much?

 

If you haven't done anything wrong follow the instructions on the being threatened website and talk to the people there in the chatroom who will help and offer advice, Simples

[zero_flight]

Has anyone who received these letters like i have, checked Mr Crossley's comments on his web site. He seems to think that isp info is enough evidence and that all this bad press etc has been sorted out by him. Check out his web site. Its frightening me as his comments seem say opposite of what people on here is saying. He says people are paying up and that he will take offenders to court ? Please help as im cacking it here - i cant afford £295 let alone the thousands he says could be awarded if it goes to court? check out the web site?

 

Have you not noticed that any information he relates to in his letters is always on his website and not posted on anyother law website (info on part 36.10).

 

Do you think he will post any truth on the info he has?

 

How can he get a court order for 1000 ip addresses and only get 400 hits ?

 

If you have a list of 1000 you should get 1000 back unless the ip addresses are generated randomly.

 

If you are still in doubt check the lawdit website.

 

" Copyright Infringement - File sharing - peer 2 peer networks: update and advice - Copyright Law Articles and News - Lawdit Reading Room "

[randomuser]

Very good read:

 

"Straightforward legal blackmail": a tale of P2P lawyering

[tomtom700]

I too got a letter from ACS:LAW accusing me of an infringement of copyright for downloading 'Evacuate the Dancefloor'(the work). It would seem I am not alone in this matter. I as everyone else strongly denie any such offence has taken place of my knowledge which leads me to assume that I am a victim of foul play due to being on a wirlesss network. There is not sufficient evidence other than an IP address which does not match my current one,but as we now know changes all the time and can be easily copied or fake.What's with the photocopy of the court order,it hardly looks official unlike the letter.This all seems like a scare mongering game that clearly makes a lot of money out of the vulnerable who will pay up as to not incurr any more costs.I remain firm that I have no knowledge of this offence but as many others do worry of the long term possible out come and what it will cost me furhter if I dont pay. I am going to seek the advice of the CAB and will post further information.Anymore help with this problem is much appreciated.

[stanwixman]

File sharing litigation results

 

saw this on their website and now im panicing . Aparantly acs have successfully received over 80% of payments from letters sent out. Other sites on the net say five people have been prosicuted as they didnt turn up in court so awards were made against them on default. However if they didnt turn up how many people have turned up in court in these cases?