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

[Scooby Doo69]

Hi Everyone!

 

This company is being investigated through the Solicitors Regulation Authority. You need to contact them and complete the form. All you need to do is give the name of the company. This sort of [problem] is wrecking peoples lives!!! The more of us that have been scamed and that report this to the SRA the quicker they will get closed down!

 

 

Solicitors Regulation Authority - For consumers

 

Tel - 0870 606 2555

 

Just give them a call - like I said, you don't have to give them any details just the company name and they will explain that they are being investigated.

 

Let's all be clear here. This is NOT a [problem]. It's a perfectly legal process within current English civil law and Solicitor regulations. It may be unethical and sailing close to the wind with said law and regulations, but it is not a [problem].

[moore1984]

Received a letter this morning fining me £295 for apparently downloading a 'Top 40' album back in autumn.

 

I am a newbie to this forum so I would really appreciate it if someone could spell out in simple terms how this could happen and what steps that I should take.

 

The letter that I received provided my IP address and a date and time when the file was downloaded.

 

Do i write them a letter denying it?

 

Can someone please help me.

[qwerty12345678910]

hi

 

thanks for the additional info on this most distressing matter.

 

i am sure some of you do not agree with me but i am still considering paying this to make it go away.

 

does anyone know if anyone who has paid up has been hit with other similar demands again in the future?

 

like i say we have no idea if we have shared this file - we doubt it - but dont know how to prove that we have not done it. for example is there a way of checking what my ip address was at that time?

 

for those people who are challenging this matter, how long have your cases been going on for? we are really concerned about this matter lasting a long long time.

 

we find the letters very threatening and frieghtening.

 

best wishes

[mackaz]

Received a letter this morning fining me £295 for apparently downloading a 'Top 40' album back in autumn.

 

I am a newbie to this forum so I would really appreciate it if someone could spell out in simple terms how this could happen and what steps that I should take.

 

The letter that I received provided my IP address and a date and time when the file was downloaded.

 

Do i write them a letter denying it?

 

Can someone please help me.

 

hi moore1984

 

im a newbie too.

 

just read the threads above. i have also registered a complaint with the SRA as advised in some threads. your fine is the same as mine. it states i downloaded this on 28 Aug. (no i didnt!!) dont share either.

 

SRA stated i would still have to answer the letter. they however have receive high volume of calls today regarding this. im goingto look at watchdog soon. there are some superb tips on this site.

 

i am going to get a consultation with a solicitor before sending a reply to this letter.

 

hope this helps you in starting to unravel the mess.

[narkedoff]

hi

 

thanks for the additional info on this most distressing matter.

 

i am sure some of you do not agree with me but i am still considering paying this to make it go away.

 

does anyone know if anyone who has paid up has been hit with other similar demands again in the future?

 

like i say we have no idea if we have shared this file - we doubt it - but dont know how to prove that we have not done it. for example is there a way of checking what my ip address was at that time?

 

for those people who are challenging this matter, how long have your cases been going on for? we are really concerned about this matter lasting a long long time.

 

we find the letters very threatening and frieghtening.

 

best wishes

 

hmmmmmmmmmm when this was posted it ended

 

Best Wishes

AC

 

............... I thought could this be a certain person whose initials are AC so off i trotted to an earlier post to check that for the same initials (not there), then when coming back i find the AC edited out .......... am i paranoid or is something smelling fishy

[qwerty12345678910]

narkedoff - quite the opposite i wanted to remove the letters which i put on in error.

[qwerty12345678910]

mackaz - please could you post some guidance as to what your solicitor says after you have met him / her.

[narkedoff]

well you do have to be careful, its not beyond some people with a vested interest to "encourage people to pay to make it go away" ......... when actually paying up admints the "offence" and all but destroys any further defence if and when they come back for more .... hard to deny it was you when you have previously admited the same

[danw82]

Good point about them committing the same crime

I'm aware of bit torrent clients showing the IP address of people you are downloading from or uploading too but if previous post are right and the address are obtained from a company in Switzerland then how can they guarantee these are accurate? Are they willing to reveal how they obtained these IP address? are they willing to disclose there methods for examination or will they act like the Swiss banks? I’m not saying this company is anything but genuine as I know nothing about them, but unless ACS can open up there collection methods to cross examination how can they be relied upon in court? Surely they’re can’t just accept the work of a third party company from another country, epically as there is no regulatory body or code of conduct governing how these companies collecting the address must operate.

 

I mean I could create a random list of IP address and pass them on or 'sell' them to a law company claiming that they had 'infringed upon copyright laws'. Obviously not all the random IP address will be real IP address but there are plenty of IP databases out there (the kind amazon and ebay use to automatically direct you to your countries version of there site) that could be used to filter this list so that it only contained IP address from the UK, then remove private address such as 10.X.X.X and 192.168.X.X, then only include address that fall within given ISP ranges, these databases are not 100% accurate from my experience of them but a few simple filters and you will end up with a list of address that most of which are likely to be used by the general public for home Internet use, the type of users that these letters target.

“ACS:Law estimates that for every 1,000 IP addresses it requests court orders for it will get around 400 actual addresses.” BBC Site BBC News - O2 condemns lawyers targeting alleged file-sharers.

Whats the deal with the other 600 addresses and why did they not get details for them? Maybe they don’t exist, are not registered to home owners, registered to government/cooperate addresses etc, the ISP refused etc. But from a list of 1000 i’d expect them to get more than 400.

[moore1984]

Won't it cost the earth to see a solicitor regarding this matter?

[qwerty12345678910]

narkedoff - fair point.

 

but i dont really know how to prove i have not done this.

 

i really want to know if anyone has any experience of this firm coming back for more after someone has paid it up for it to go away. we have very little motivation for a long correspondance based argumant with people who i am sure have a lot better ways of proving evidence than we do.

 

we also want to know if we do fight this via the letters which seems to be the advice on here - how long can we expect this to go on for? a year, 2 years, 4 years? how long have peoples disputes been going on for so far?

 

if the amount of money that they ask for goes up - we cant afford to pay any more so we fear that too.

 

perhaps i am looking at this the wrong way.

 

there seems to be a lot of advise about writing to them but not a lot about what is likely to happen after that, timescales etc etc.

 

to be frank we are scared by this!

[danw82]

Received a letter this morning fining me £295 for apparently downloading a 'Top 40' album back in autumn.

 

I am a newbie to this forum so I would really appreciate it if someone could spell out in simple terms how this could happen and what steps that I should take.

 

The letter that I received provided my IP address and a date and time when the file was downloaded.

 

Do i write them a letter denying it?

 

Can someone please help me.

 

Hi Moore,

Just read what mac said, plus you should be able to find out what you IP address was at the time from your ISP be it Sky, BT etc.

When you ring your ISP you could be on the phone some time and they may have an expensive 0870 number, or and 0845 which is not included in mobile price plan free minutes.

 

So google "say no to 0870" and you should be able to find a free phone number or local number for your ISP, might save you a few £ on the phone call

[shawon007]

Qwerty, as I, and alot of others users of this forum have said DO NOT PAY. It is unlikely you will stop receiving these letters and when you do receive the next letter, what will you do? How many multiples of £295 are you willing to pay?

[narkedoff]

narkedoff - fair point.

 

but i dont really know how to prove i have not done this.

 

i really want to know if anyone has any experience of this firm coming back for more after someone has paid it up for it to go away. we have very little motivation for a long correspondance based argumant with people who i am sure have a lot better ways of proving evidence than we do.

 

we also want to know if we do fight this via the letters which seems to be the advice on here - how long can we expect this to go on for? a year, 2 years, 4 years? how long have peoples disputes been going on for so far?

 

if the amount of money that they ask for goes up - we cant afford to pay any more so we fear that too.

 

perhaps i am looking at this the wrong way.

 

there seems to be a lot of advise about writing to them but not a lot about what is likely to happen after that, timescales etc etc.

 

to be frank we are scared by this!

 

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)

[PanchoVilla]

narkedoff - fair point.

 

but i dont really know how to prove i have not done this.....

 

 

My friend, you don't have to prove anything, the onus is on the claimant to prove you have damaged them by your actions.

Until we see a case actually defended in court, we won't know how this will all pan out, but remember, whether civil or criminal court, in the UK your innocent until proven guilty

[Scooby Doo69]

Won't it cost the earth to see a solicitor regarding this matter?

 

Only if you engage them to write to ACS on your behalf to practically ensure no come back. Most offer a free surgery to give legal advice in a hope to engaging their services (e.g letter writing). There are other options though. Citizens Advice Bureau is free and most House and Car Insurance policies come now with access to telephone legal advice from a Solicitor.

[Scooby Doo69]

My friend, you don't have to prove anything, the onus is on the claimant to prove you have damaged them by your actions.

Until we see a case actually defended in court, we won't know how this will all pan out, but remember, whether civil or criminal court, in the UK your innocent until proven guilty

 

True and ACS are accusing you of the offence under civil law where it's based upon the balance of probability.

[mackaz]

hmmmmmmmmmm when this was posted it ended

 

Best Wishes

AC

 

............... I thought could this be a certain person whose initials are AC so off i trotted to an earlier post to check that for the same initials (not there), then when coming back i find the AC edited out .......... am i paranoid or is something smelling fishy

 

 

narkedoff has raised a good point.

 

the threads are intersting arent they???;-)

[narkedoff]

Im glad it isn't just me then .....................

[mexican2]

I got my first letter, but after reading comments on here feel much better

 

'WE ARE STRENGH IN NUMBERS'

[KJH1984]

My girlfriend received a letter this morning for 'apparently' downloading the song 'Evacuate the Dancefloor'. Girlfriend is obviously worried regarding the fine they are asking for (£295.00). In the past she has used bittorrent to download music but is unaware (at present) of whether this song had been downloaded. This programme was deleted some time ago and now purchases music through itunes. Assuming she did download and file share this song, what should her next step be? Should she still send an LOD on the basis that nothing has ever gone to court?

[qwerty12345678910]

narked off - thank you for your reply, that has helped me a fair bit.

 

i guess the simple thing is to refuse this and then let it play out from there continuing to refuse it after every letter and presume it never comes to court.

 

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?

 

best wishes

[mackaz]

Won't it cost the earth to see a solicitor regarding this matter?

 

its my intention to produce my own letter and take this with me to the solicitor. that way they can ok it for me. should save a bit.

 

i will find one that provides a free consultation.

 

i have no problem in paying for an hour or so with any reputable solicitor.

 

i will be denying it though. just want to make sure i cover all bases.

 

i have to be honest. i think i am wasting my money paying though. i would just rather waste some now and not later if you take my meaning.

[narkedoff]

it is always advisable to take legal advice, many solicitors have these 30 min free conultations on offer. So if you have one near you then use it, bottom line is though if you havent commited the offence then it is a letter of denial and put the onus back to them. They will either continue harrasing you with further letters (almost guaranteed) take you to court (nobody taken yet) or drop it (if you provide them with nothing more than a denial then this is likley eventually)

[PanchoVilla]

My girlfriend received a letter this morning for 'apparently' downloading the song 'Evacuate the Dancefloor'. Girlfriend is obviously worried regarding the fine they are asking for (£295.00). In the past she has used bittorrent to download music but is unaware (at present) of whether this song had been downloaded. This programme was deleted some time ago and now purchases music through itunes. Assuming she did download and file share this song, what should her next step be? Should she still send an LOD on the basis that nothing has ever gone to court?

 

Whether she downloaded the file or not (and actually, I think the claim is for uploading the files in question) the claimant will have to prove that she did. IMO this a scattergun duck shoot, and justice, the rights and wrongs of filesharing etc. are not an issue. As you say, she is unaware of her personally sharing this file, so she could proceed with an LOD with a clear consicence. And even if she is telling porkies, she would ot be commiting a crime, there is no oath involved.