ACS Law Letter of Claim

[Greenpop]

I have received from ACS Law a letter of claim, saying that in October 2009 I downloaded a song. This is an infringement of Copyright Law and on behalf of the Rights Owners they are seeking compensation and want £295.

They threaten that if this goes to court I will be responsible for court costs and the eventual costs will be much higher.

They quote my IP Address, date and time of download and the P2P IP Address. (My present IP Address is different).

I know I did not download the song but other people have access and I have an unsecure Wireless Router.

No doubt I am one of many thousands who have received a similar letter and this is a letter aimed to panic people and pay up, no doubt working on a percentage basis that out of so many letters sent, some will pay.

But what are the legalities if I do not respond?

I think I should write a short letter denying the download and say I can prove I was elsewhere at the time they allege it was downloaded.

If anyone has any advice I would be pleased to hear from you.

[louise22001]

My partner and I received the very same letter, telling us that we had to pay £295 within 21 days or else we will be taken to court...

It included all of the details you have mentioned below, i would be really interested in what someone else has to say about this!!

We're not too sure where to go from here....

[CARROLL P]

I have also received a very similar letter from ACS law which I've sent to a lawyer friend to have a look at. I have read on the internet that the computer ID address is not enough to identify and individual, and no one has yet to be have taken to court from such a letter; but this is not to say they couldn't start.

At the moment I still quite shocked by the letter, and I am not sure if I should ignore it or respond. Hopefully my lawyer friend will advise. Lets stick together on this one and find out as much as we can - at least so we can all sleep at night! Stop press - a colleague informs me that a BBC Watchdog programme was on this issue, so check out the website.

[Greenpop]

Thank you Louise 22001 and Carroll D for your responses.

I too think it's important to stick together on this because I have to say it smells immoral and tacky what this firm do. I am sure they are upsetting many innocent people and causing suffering for their own greed.

It will be more than interesting to see what a Lawyer makes of the legalities of going to Court.

[louise22001]

I have passed on these details over to citizens advice so I will let you know how i get on with that. Also when i came into work this morning I have heard that someone down the road has also received the same letter. It looks like they're targetting certain areas!!

[Nikki-ball]

Hi i recieved the same letter on 5th june 2010

 

I am so worried as i have never had one of these before and i havce heard so many people continue to still get letters even if they pay up

 

HELP!!!

[nosymoose]

Slyck.com • View topic - The official ACS:LAW/Davenport-Lyons lawsuit discussion

 

Hi Guys

 

Please see the above link for an enourmous thread and huge amounts of advice on how to deal with this

 

cheers!!

[jstaffo8]

hi,

i too have received the letter regarding the song "evacuate the dancefloor" if any body does have any advice on what to do next it would be greatly appreciated. i have been trying to get in touch with citizens advice but with no success yet. i have searched my computer and my childrens laptops but cannot find the song anywhere or any of the other 39 i APPARENTLY downloaded with it.

[louise22001]

I have passed on my details to citizens advise, the first step they've told me to do was get in touch with internet provider and ask them as to whether they've been asked by ACS:Law to give them any information about us and secondly if they did do that, due to the data protection act WHY did they give out your information...I'm still waiting for an email back off them and I'm hoping to find out a bit more info off citizens advise tonight...will keep you informed. And if anyone else has any luck please please let me know.

[lucieocool]

Hi, i too recieved this letter dated the 3rd June and am currently searching through loads of websites and forums for advice of what to do this one has some interesting information on it:

ACS Law UK Accused of Sending Wrongful ISP Piracy Threat Letters − ISPreview UK

as does this one:

Everything You Need To Refute a File-Sharing Legal Threat | TorrentFreak

and have a good read of this :

http://torrentfreak.com/static/The-Speculative-Invoicing-Handbook.pdf

[roguekiller23231]

i bring reasurance of kinds. (only joind to!)

 

READ THIS IF YOU HAVE HAD ONE OF THESE LETTERS!!! READ IT ALL!!

 

this law firm has been doing this kind of thing for a long time.

 

the letter you recieve is not one of a kind. and is a [problem]. to set your mings at ease (because i've just had a follow up letter) i'll give you some information on how they did it, what to do, and what will happen in the next few months.

 

first they start with maybe it's a genuine thing, or something they have created and copyrighted, or the thing doesnt even exist.

 

this company has a judge (that is well know for autorizing these letters, and has been talked about in parliment) they take tens of thousands of IP adresses to the judge, dont know how they aquire them, but they take them to this same judge who orders the ISP to divulge your details. this part is genuine, this all does happen. there is a court order on it and it is genuine.

 

they then proceed to send out a very well written, and intimmidateing letter. from hear it's simple. you can do what ever you want with the letter, but make sure you do not reply to the letter!! dont phone them, dont write to them, dont email them, just ignore it!

 

this will then be followed by another letter demanding a settlement fee that is much lower then a court cost. ignore this one too.

 

then you will get another strongly worded one, insisting you pay or they will take you to court, or send it to a collection agency.

 

they will persist for some time, but ignore them, it has been advised by a member of parliment (if you google acs law, go to video's it's right there, it's called 'Lords Debate How to STOP ACS LAWS ''legal Blackmail').

 

I know it can be intimidateing, and scary, but it's best to ignore, no matter how genuin and scary the letters might sound, that is how they work, these things never end up in court, and there are so many people in high places that you can quote on your side should they actually take you to court (which they wont) and there are a lot of people who will be able to dismiss this as a [problem], i am one of those people who can do just that if you need the help.

 

Hope i have given some of you some peice of mind (well befor you get that next letter and think 'what if it's real!')

[kinjo]

Dear all,

 

I must be one of the thousands who have received the letter from ACS. I have been told to pay up GBP$295 for allegedly downloading 'Evacuate the Dance Floor'. I'm not really sure what to do now.

 

I'll be grateful if anyone can give me a professional opinion on what to do as I do not want to end up going bankcrupt or anything like that! Like most of us, I work, I pay my taxes and enjoy music.

 

Professional advice from the forum will be much appreciated. What are others facing a similar situation going to do?

 

Many thanks!

Edited July 9, 2010 by kinjo

[kinjo]

Just read a few interesting articles online with regards to ACS's (and similar firms) blatant method of work as well as our reminder of our rights.

 

The following is a worthwhile read:

 

http://interactive.bis.gov.uk/digitalbritain/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Bridget%20Prentice%20MP%20letter-%208%20Feb%202010.pdf

 

Received a letter from ACS LAW?

 

YouTube - Davenport Lyons - threatening letters.

[ashash23]

Ho let me know what your friend says as I to have revived a letter and would be intrested in what he they say

[josephbloggs]

can i just say that the citizens advice bureau are generally a waste of time. they generally know very little about a lot - you would be best seeking advice from someone who knows what they are on about about the particular subject in question.

[Unsubstantiated]

I've received a letter from ACS Law acting on behalf of the 'Rights Owners' of work entitled 'Evacuate The Dancefloor'.

It's dated July 7th and refers to a copyright violation that took place on 16/10/09.

Now I know they must be trying their luck cause I hate pop music and have never downloaded such a thing, but I shared a house with 4 other people so I cannot speak for them, but the account was in my name at the time.

 

Having read all the links i've found just by googling this 1st line I can guess it's a [problem] of sorts, my question is, do I just ignore the letter? I've since moved address and only got this letter when I went round to see if I had mail sent to my old address.

Also

[TheGift73]

I received one today 13th July which was dated 9th July. They state that they have already tried to contact me with regard the alleged infringement. The are accusing me of downloading a track called "Infinity by Guru Josh". I had to Google this to figure out that it was an acid hose track from the 90's?! Why the hell would I want to listen to that let alone download it?

I have forwarded a copy of the letter to my MP Norman Baker and also have made a complaint to the SRA.

I will be sending a letter back to ACS:Law categorically denying the infringement as advised by BeingThreatened I would advise that anyone else that receives a letter from these people also contacts their MP and also makes sure that they respond to the letter politely and calmly.

This company is a disgrace to UK Law and will eventually be put out of business, but in order for your voice to be heard, you first need to shout. You can do this by emailing your local MP. To find out whom your MP is you can simply go to this website and just enter your postcode.

Remember. Don't panic. This is a [problem] plain and simple. Treat it as you would a spam email except contact your MP and more importantly reply to the letter from ACS:Law politely denying it.

[baron210]

Please see this link to get my opinion of ACS LAW.

http://yourfreedom.hmg.gov.uk/repealing-unnecessary-laws/digital-economy-act-unscrupilous-lawyers

my simple advice, Hold your nerve, and don't let this 1/2 legal court order, but 1/2 going nowhere fiasco cash demand letter ruin your day to day life.

Make sure you reply with a straight denial letter, but dont give too much away because they will use this in follow ups, dont pay these upstarts anything, You dont owe then diddly squat, and they will have an impossible legal battle to prove you do.

I have taken legal advice, and it was suggested that even if I did pay the £295.00 demanded for this so called Evacuate song (which I know I don't have, because I did not download it), just to get them off of my back, my lawyer stated that I should only offer to pay maximum £30.00 (this action would still apply to offer what a court would consider a "Reasonable amount", if you know / feel you have downloaded the said "Work").

But they are not getting anything from me, short of denial replies, and I sincerely hope you guys / gals do the same.

We will fight them on the land / beaches, bank accounts, and they will i'm sure fall soon due to malpractise.

I had no hesitation to report these to their regulating body (the Solicitors Regulatory Authority), and am going to get my MP involved, and have also had a relative involved (who is a practicing barrister handy for me) in Hertfordshire, and he also reviewed the letter, and advised me that it is heavily weighted towards legal malpractice, and the Guilty as charged assumption is totally the reverse of English law.

Keep your chins up.

:)

Edited July 14, 2010 by baron210
Mis-spelt

[Toffee2010]

I also received a letter from them. Seemed same letter as TheGift73, dated of the 9th July, mentioning previous correspondance (which i never received) and accusing me of downloading a track called "Infinity by Guru Josh"! (which i did not ! )

Steps so far taken: 1) Citizen advice bureau: Not much help from them. Pointed me to Which website and Consumer Direct.

2) Consumer Direct: Confirmed not to pay as no details on when , how etc. Put a complaint in about ACS:Law threatening letter

3) Contacted my internet provider: Unable to confirm if my details have been passed onto ACS:Law. Not really helpfull, seem very cautious in their answers.

Next steps: will write a short denial letter to ASC:Law and see what happens next.

Any other suggestions? even if we know we did not do it, this letter has made me feel very uneasy and wonder what will happen next...

[baron210]

Toffee2010 - do not over worry, these people feed on that worry, in the hope you'll pay!

Stay strong, these can only threaten with words, you are Innocent until proven Guilty in a court of law, and short of waiting outside your home with "Sci-Fi Spy Hardware" in a parked transit for example, they can't touch you - granted its not nice to have this hanging over your head, but at least reply politely at first, but giving as little away (personal details) as possible, then step up the reply severety in subsequent replies, threatening court action for harrasement if they dont leave you alone.

You certainly are not alone, and they will desist eventually, I'll be suprised if they trade for 6 months (come on SRA, and Government, act upon this [problem])!

Anyone with a wireless network can be hacked and / or piggybacked by someone with WEP / WPA hacking know how, and some people don't know how to secure their network either, so this can and does happen.

Make sure you use Special delivery too for all correspondance. Recorded delivery isn't all that, I know posties who admit to not getting a signature, whereas Special Delivery is electronically signed so you can obtain evidence that the letter has been recieved.

All the best, Baron210

[kinjo]

Dear members of the public,

 

I have written my letter to the Solicitors regulation authority (SRA) as below. I strongly urge all those who have been unfairly victimised by this unjust and unethical method practiced by a handful of law firms to write to the appropriate authorities, members of parliament, etc.

 

We have rights to justice and not the shotgun methods (victimisation, infringement of privacy, etc) that is practiced by unscrupulous 'law' firms.

 

We need strength in numbers to put a stop to greedy, unethical solicitors!

 

Kind regards,

K

 

 

Dear Sir/ Madam (Solicitors Regulation Authority),

 

ACS:Law & speculative invoicing

 

I am a member of the public in receipt of a letter from the above company claiming I have infringed upon copyright.

 

I believe this problem is rampant and this law firm has sent tens of thousands of claims to members of the public based on claims of copyright infringement. Their basis of their claim is the supposed use of an identical IP address of the individual that had been used to download copyrighted material. There are a variety of ethical and legal issues of concern with the methods currently used by a firm that represents solicitors in the UK:

 

Firstly, the use of an internet protocol (IP) address is weak evidence in claiming an individual has committed the infringement. It is quite common knowledge that an IP address can be faked, stolen, hijacked or even used by other individuals other than the individual in question.

 

Secondly, it is said a large minority of individuals end up paying the excessive amount of the claim (which supposedly incorporates the infringement and fees incurred to put the supposed infringement to rest. The amount of monetary gain obtained by firms practicing this method of speculative invoicing is obscene and unjustly preying upon members of the public.

 

Thirdly, the basis of the recently passed Digital Economic Bill at the parliament has caused significant repercussions in the information technology world. A proper basis needs to be formed if individuals are to be approached and charged with specified claims. i.e. a minimum amount of evidence must be available in order to identify the individual and bring forward a claim.

 

In conclusion, I wish to highlight the current methods of practice by ACS:Law (and likely many other law firms that have jumped on this bandwagon) is equivalent to victimisation and the use of legal loopholes to perform this is disappointing.

 

I am confident the SRA will bring about swift action to discipline this firm (and other firms) that may use this method that degrades the moral fiber of the legal and judiciary system which states an individual is innocent until proven guilty.

 

Yours sincerely,

[baron210]

Latest news from me, The SRA have sent me a proforma to fill out, and i'll be doing this the weekend.

Not worried about this issue, just a bit miffed as to so many cases where if something screws up like this, the innocents have to do all of the chasing.

Sooner these (ACS) are acted upon, the better - just a reminder too, tonight (Friday 16th July) the One Show BBC @ 7.00PM are covering this issue, a "must see" maybe.

:)

[tp123]

- just a reminder too, tonight (Friday 16th July) the One Show BBC @ 7.00PM are covering this issue, a "must see" maybe.

:)

 

It says in the main thread to his subject that the BBC One show program about ACS Law is now being aired on Thursday 22 July @ 7.00pm.

[Mysti1969]

I have also received a letter from ACS in connection to "Evacuate the dancefloor" download. I have had this letter checked by reputable source, and I have been told to watch The One Show on Thursday 22/07/10 as apparently it is featured in this programme.

[melraf]

Hi does anyone have a copy of a letter of denail. I am not sure what to write. Also has this been on the one show. Thanks