Here reports from other sites will be added to newly reported incidents so we may see the full perspective of these cases.
You are very welcome to add to the tally by reporting experiences (good as well as bad) and relevant comments about this company in particular. Comments not regarding the title company will be moved to an appropriate section of this place, with a notice of the movement visible for a minimum of 7 days.
When you add a case please include as much relevant information as possible, so as to allow us to compile and analyze the information about the company.
Read this before you post!
Take note; this is a publicly accessible forum so please do not post personal data such as bank account, full address, phone or fax numbers, as these might be used by scammers alike to those who we are already hunting. Should you forget this I will remove your comment and post it later without the personal data, but please do double-check your comment before you post as this procedure will be quite time-consuming for me.
However, do please leave your e-mail address just below the heading of your comment so that you can be contacted if your testament is needed later for investigation or trial of the perpetrators. Placing a false "me" just before the @ in your e-mail address should fool eventual spam-bots (my e-mail would become soedtume@hotmail.com instead of soedtu@hotmail.com) and I'll easily be able to remove the "me" and reach you should it be needed. I'll not take action against e-mails posted without "me", as spam is much less serious than personal data open to the public.
Rest assured that I will not misuse your e-mail or any other information. That I would never do so should be immediately apparent by the existence of this website ;-)
Best regards,
Søren Ekelund
Monday, June 2, 2008
Thursday, March 20, 2008
To DVD Or Not To DVD .com
Here reports from other sites will be added to newly reported incidents so we may see the full perspective of these cases.
You are very welcome to add to the tally by reporting experiences (good as well as bad) and relevant comments about this company in particular. Comments not regarding the title company will be moved to an appropriate section of this place, with a notice of the movement visible for a minimum of 7 days.
When you add a case please include as much relevant information as possible, so as to allow us to compile and analyze the information about the company.
Read this before you post!
Take note; this is a publicly accessible forum so please do not post personal data such as bank account, full address, phone or fax numbers, as these might be used by scammers alike to those who we are already hunting. Should you forget this I will remove your comment and post it later without the personal data, but please do double-check your comment before you post as this procedure will be quite time-consuming for me.
However, do please leave your e-mail address just below the heading of your comment so that you can be contacted if your testament is needed later for investigation or trial of the perpetrators. Placing a false "me" just before the @ in your e-mail address should fool eventual spam-bots (my e-mail would become soedtume@hotmail.com instead of soedtu@hotmail.com) and I'll easily be able to remove the "me" and reach you should it be needed. I'll not take action against e-mails posted without "me", as spam is much less serious than personal data open to the public.
Rest assured that I will not misuse your e-mail or any other information. That I would never do so should be immediately apparent by the existence of this website ;-)
Best regards,
Søren Ekelund
You are very welcome to add to the tally by reporting experiences (good as well as bad) and relevant comments about this company in particular. Comments not regarding the title company will be moved to an appropriate section of this place, with a notice of the movement visible for a minimum of 7 days.
When you add a case please include as much relevant information as possible, so as to allow us to compile and analyze the information about the company.
Read this before you post!
Take note; this is a publicly accessible forum so please do not post personal data such as bank account, full address, phone or fax numbers, as these might be used by scammers alike to those who we are already hunting. Should you forget this I will remove your comment and post it later without the personal data, but please do double-check your comment before you post as this procedure will be quite time-consuming for me.
However, do please leave your e-mail address just below the heading of your comment so that you can be contacted if your testament is needed later for investigation or trial of the perpetrators. Placing a false "me" just before the @ in your e-mail address should fool eventual spam-bots (my e-mail would become soedtume@hotmail.com instead of soedtu@hotmail.com) and I'll easily be able to remove the "me" and reach you should it be needed. I'll not take action against e-mails posted without "me", as spam is much less serious than personal data open to the public.
Rest assured that I will not misuse your e-mail or any other information. That I would never do so should be immediately apparent by the existence of this website ;-)
Best regards,
Søren Ekelund
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Heads up! Take the action to the right place.
The investigation is grinding to a halt, but why? Like any action-oriented organisation we can't make moves without information. Harsh words, yes, but they are needed!
All we need to act against these scammers is specific information from the victims of these crimes. And yet I see daily postings of complaints at Andy's site while the importent info never hits the net. Now, I hope the trouble is not that people are afraid to get involved, or simply don't care. Rather I'd believe that the format of this site is wrong for sharing information.
In case you prefer a real forum, please post all the information you've got about these scams here: FraudWatchers.org , the best anti-fraud website and forum on the net!
I've made a post here on FraudWatchers.org; ready, easy to find and easy to post in. You don't even need to register, just please give as much information as possible. You can find inspiration about the needed info here.
And now, let's go get these scammers who are taking our money, patience and and pride, and laughing while no one acts on their crimes!
Best regards,
Søren Ekelund
All we need to act against these scammers is specific information from the victims of these crimes. And yet I see daily postings of complaints at Andy's site while the importent info never hits the net. Now, I hope the trouble is not that people are afraid to get involved, or simply don't care. Rather I'd believe that the format of this site is wrong for sharing information.
In case you prefer a real forum, please post all the information you've got about these scams here: FraudWatchers.org , the best anti-fraud website and forum on the net!
I've made a post here on FraudWatchers.org; ready, easy to find and easy to post in. You don't even need to register, just please give as much information as possible. You can find inspiration about the needed info here.
And now, let's go get these scammers who are taking our money, patience and and pride, and laughing while no one acts on their crimes!
Best regards,
Søren Ekelund
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
What can WE/YOU do?
These frauds are counting their victims in the thousands, possibly hundreds of thousands. I hope you will help me stop these companies, and thus help yourself and all the other people who have been hurt by these scams and who will be in the future.
You might say that there are a million other, possibly better, causes to fight for and spend your time on. However, in this kind of fight we can actually make a big difference with just a little effort from everyone.
Remember, just because those who run these scams are smart, hard to find and maybe even wield considerable power, it doesn't mean that they can't and shouldn't be punished. Nothing goes unnoticed to the entire world and money and people can't disappear forever. Everything leaves clues; it's just a question of giving enough attention.
So, let's get our options on the table. Speaking about such things openly may seem odd, as the perpetrators can read this as easily as anyone, and probably will. However this knowledge will only leave them one of three actions, all of them satisfying to us:
A1) Stop their business and hide; the track may get cold, but at least the fraud has been stopped.
A2) Continue their business but try to cover their tracks; they'll be punished with stress from being constantly harassed and their business will become a lot harder, and we'll get them sooner or later anyway.
A3) Continue unaffected; we'll get them sooner than they can imagine.
Our options, in no particular order or combination:
B1) Gather all the evidence we can by ourselves, file complaints with anti-fraud agencies and advocate that they act on the case.
You can: File personal complaints here and with international anti-fraud agencies (see the links section to the right of this text) and be careful to indicate that you are not the only one concerned. Provide links to this and similar websites in your complaint.
We can: When we have some hundred reports we can make an organised complaint to the anti-fraud agencies, stating the full seriousness and perspectives of these crimes and with sending all the information we have gathered on the perpetrators.
B2) Raise money for a private/public investigation and ensure it is followed through.
You can: Support the cause by donating funds and suggest that others do likewise.
We can: By collecting enough funds we can pay for the initiation of a private investigation of the companies in question or support public investigation thus ensuring more resources than would else be available.
B3) Warn customers of the scam, through means of the internet and one-to-one communication.
You can: Tell of your experiences and concerns at this website and others like it, tell the truth about the company in reviews and spread the word of the frauds on news boards, forums and blogs. Tell your friends, your family and you collegous at work or at the study. Always inform about this or a similar site so that people can quickly gain as much information as possible about the problem and support the cause.
We can: By gaining influence on the net many customers will check with us before visiting sites, thus avoiding the scam shops and supporting the legal businesses. The more known each independent anti-fraud website is, the more it will be rated on Google and other search machines and hopefully finally end on top of the scammers' own pages. Thus the customers will be warned before making the mistake of buying from any of the known scam shops.
B4) Attack the perpetrators directly by hacking, physical action or other means. I do not recommend this, as it conflicts with the law and thus our interests in a safe internet. Beware: Taking action is this way may damage our cause more than help it and may even force us to stop all of our activities.
You can: Put banners of warning on their websites or close them down. Find the perpetrators in person and make a civil arrest. Take note: None of these methods, if committed through illegal means, are recommended or in any way supported by this community!
We can: We cannot engage in or support illegal activity, but where such action can be done without breaking the law or where legal permission for similar action can be gained, it will be supported in full by this community.
Best regards,
Søren Ekelund
You might say that there are a million other, possibly better, causes to fight for and spend your time on. However, in this kind of fight we can actually make a big difference with just a little effort from everyone.
Remember, just because those who run these scams are smart, hard to find and maybe even wield considerable power, it doesn't mean that they can't and shouldn't be punished. Nothing goes unnoticed to the entire world and money and people can't disappear forever. Everything leaves clues; it's just a question of giving enough attention.
So, let's get our options on the table. Speaking about such things openly may seem odd, as the perpetrators can read this as easily as anyone, and probably will. However this knowledge will only leave them one of three actions, all of them satisfying to us:
A1) Stop their business and hide; the track may get cold, but at least the fraud has been stopped.
A2) Continue their business but try to cover their tracks; they'll be punished with stress from being constantly harassed and their business will become a lot harder, and we'll get them sooner or later anyway.
A3) Continue unaffected; we'll get them sooner than they can imagine.
Our options, in no particular order or combination:
B1) Gather all the evidence we can by ourselves, file complaints with anti-fraud agencies and advocate that they act on the case.
You can: File personal complaints here and with international anti-fraud agencies (see the links section to the right of this text) and be careful to indicate that you are not the only one concerned. Provide links to this and similar websites in your complaint.
We can: When we have some hundred reports we can make an organised complaint to the anti-fraud agencies, stating the full seriousness and perspectives of these crimes and with sending all the information we have gathered on the perpetrators.
B2) Raise money for a private/public investigation and ensure it is followed through.
You can: Support the cause by donating funds and suggest that others do likewise.
We can: By collecting enough funds we can pay for the initiation of a private investigation of the companies in question or support public investigation thus ensuring more resources than would else be available.
B3) Warn customers of the scam, through means of the internet and one-to-one communication.
You can: Tell of your experiences and concerns at this website and others like it, tell the truth about the company in reviews and spread the word of the frauds on news boards, forums and blogs. Tell your friends, your family and you collegous at work or at the study. Always inform about this or a similar site so that people can quickly gain as much information as possible about the problem and support the cause.
We can: By gaining influence on the net many customers will check with us before visiting sites, thus avoiding the scam shops and supporting the legal businesses. The more known each independent anti-fraud website is, the more it will be rated on Google and other search machines and hopefully finally end on top of the scammers' own pages. Thus the customers will be warned before making the mistake of buying from any of the known scam shops.
B4) Attack the perpetrators directly by hacking, physical action or other means. I do not recommend this, as it conflicts with the law and thus our interests in a safe internet. Beware: Taking action is this way may damage our cause more than help it and may even force us to stop all of our activities.
You can: Put banners of warning on their websites or close them down. Find the perpetrators in person and make a civil arrest. Take note: None of these methods, if committed through illegal means, are recommended or in any way supported by this community!
We can: We cannot engage in or support illegal activity, but where such action can be done without breaking the law or where legal permission for similar action can be gained, it will be supported in full by this community.
Best regards,
Søren Ekelund
Monday, February 18, 2008
Unique-DVD .com
Here reports from other sites will be added to newly reported incidents so we may see the full perspective of these cases.
You are very welcome to add to the tally by reporting experiences (good as well as bad) and relevant comments about this company in particular. Comments not regarding the title company will be moved to an appropriate section of this place, with a notice of the movement visible for a minimum of 7 days.
When you add a case please include as much relevant information as possible, so as to allow us to compile and analyze the information about the company.
Read this before you post!
Take note; this is a publicly accessible forum so please do not post personal data such as bank account, full address, phone or fax numbers, as these might be used by scammers alike to those who we are already hunting. Should you forget this I will remove your comment and post it later without the personal data, but please do double-check your comment before you post as this procedure will be quite time-consuming for me.
However, do please leave your e-mail address just below the heading of your comment so that you can be contacted if your testament is needed later for investigation or trial of the perpetrators. Placing a false "me" just before the @ in your e-mail address should fool eventual spam-bots (my e-mail would become soedtume@hotmail.com instead of soedtu@hotmail.com) and I'll easily be able to remove the "me" and reach you should it be needed. I'll not take action against e-mails posted without "me", as spam is much less serious than personal data open to the public.
Rest assured that I will not misuse your e-mail or any other information. That I would never do so should be immediately apparent by the existence of this website ;-)
Best regards,
Søren Ekelund
You are very welcome to add to the tally by reporting experiences (good as well as bad) and relevant comments about this company in particular. Comments not regarding the title company will be moved to an appropriate section of this place, with a notice of the movement visible for a minimum of 7 days.
When you add a case please include as much relevant information as possible, so as to allow us to compile and analyze the information about the company.
Read this before you post!
Take note; this is a publicly accessible forum so please do not post personal data such as bank account, full address, phone or fax numbers, as these might be used by scammers alike to those who we are already hunting. Should you forget this I will remove your comment and post it later without the personal data, but please do double-check your comment before you post as this procedure will be quite time-consuming for me.
However, do please leave your e-mail address just below the heading of your comment so that you can be contacted if your testament is needed later for investigation or trial of the perpetrators. Placing a false "me" just before the @ in your e-mail address should fool eventual spam-bots (my e-mail would become soedtume@hotmail.com instead of soedtu@hotmail.com) and I'll easily be able to remove the "me" and reach you should it be needed. I'll not take action against e-mails posted without "me", as spam is much less serious than personal data open to the public.
Rest assured that I will not misuse your e-mail or any other information. That I would never do so should be immediately apparent by the existence of this website ;-)
Best regards,
Søren Ekelund
DVD Diesel .com
Here reports from other sites will be added to newly reported incidents so we may see the full perspective of these cases.
You are very welcome to add to the tally by reporting experiences (good as well as bad) and relevant comments about this company in particular. Comments not regarding the title company will be moved to an appropriate section of this place, with a notice of the movement visible for a minimum of 7 days.
When you add a case please include as much relevant information as possible, so as to allow us to compile and analyze the information about the company.
Read this before you post!
Take note; this is a publicly accessible forum so please do not post personal data such as bank account, full address, phone or fax numbers, as these might be used by scammers alike to those who we are already hunting. Should you forget this I will remove your comment and post it later without the personal data, but please do double-check your comment before you post as this procedure will be quite time-consuming for me.
However, do please leave your e-mail address just below the heading of your comment so that you can be contacted if your testament is needed later for investigation or trial of the perpetrators. Placing a false "me" just before the @ in your e-mail address should fool eventual spam-bots (my e-mail would become soedtume@hotmail.com instead of soedtu@hotmail.com) and I'll easily be able to remove the "me" and reach you should it be needed. I'll not take action against e-mails posted without "me", as spam is much less serious than personal data open to the public.
Rest assured that I will not misuse your e-mail or any other information. That I would never do so should be immediately apparent by the existence of this website ;-)
Best regards,
Søren Ekelund
You are very welcome to add to the tally by reporting experiences (good as well as bad) and relevant comments about this company in particular. Comments not regarding the title company will be moved to an appropriate section of this place, with a notice of the movement visible for a minimum of 7 days.
When you add a case please include as much relevant information as possible, so as to allow us to compile and analyze the information about the company.
Read this before you post!
Take note; this is a publicly accessible forum so please do not post personal data such as bank account, full address, phone or fax numbers, as these might be used by scammers alike to those who we are already hunting. Should you forget this I will remove your comment and post it later without the personal data, but please do double-check your comment before you post as this procedure will be quite time-consuming for me.
However, do please leave your e-mail address just below the heading of your comment so that you can be contacted if your testament is needed later for investigation or trial of the perpetrators. Placing a false "me" just before the @ in your e-mail address should fool eventual spam-bots (my e-mail would become soedtume@hotmail.com instead of soedtu@hotmail.com) and I'll easily be able to remove the "me" and reach you should it be needed. I'll not take action against e-mails posted without "me", as spam is much less serious than personal data open to the public.
Rest assured that I will not misuse your e-mail or any other information. That I would never do so should be immediately apparent by the existence of this website ;-)
Best regards,
Søren Ekelund
DVD scam netted brothers a fortune - and serious jail-time
Yorkshire Evening Post
DVD scam netted brothers a fortune
Published Date: 17 April 2004
Location: Leeds
BY DAVID BRUCE
YORKSHIRE film fans were among thousands of victims of two brothers who masterminded a counterfeit business that netted them almost £400,000 in just 18 months.
Skinhead brothers Paul and Jason Tame bought counterfeit DVDs from crime gangs in the Far East – and sold them for a hefty profit to unsuspecting customers across Europe.
Investigators said that the money their suppliers made from the illicit trade would have been fed into the seedy world of drugs, prostitution and slave labour in the Far East.
The British-based brothers' business operated from five addresses in the Hastings area. They acquired fake copies of recently-released DVDs including the highly popular Spiderman video.
The brothers advertised the DVDs on the internet as well as local newspapers. Many of their customers lived in the Yorkshire region.
But, the brothers' money-making scam eventually came to an end because of a large number of complaints from customers.
They told police and a film industry watchdog that the films were of such poor quality they were unwatchable.
Raids
Police and investigators from the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) moved into action and seized almost 7,000 counterfeit DVDs during raids on five addresses in the south-east.
In March this year, Paul Tame, 34, and his brother Jason, 30, pleaded guilty at Lewes Crown Court to a sample Common Law offence of defrauding the film industry. Yesterday Paul Tame was given nine months in jail and his brother four months behind bars.
They masterminded a counterfeit video business which is said to have made in excess of £250,000 per year. Over the 18 months they operated their scam they are calculated to have earned almost £400,000.
The counterfeit DVDs were bought from Malaysia for £1 each and sold on through an elaborate Internet mail order operation for £5.
Pat Timoney, UK Theatrical Piracy Manager at FACT, said: "The conviction will send out further warning to those who think they can get away with video counterfeiting and piracy.
"The Tame brothers were blatant in their Internet advertising of their services and they now face a substantial period of time in prison to reflect on this." Their operation was eventually blocked by the internet service provider.
Lavinia Carey, Director General at the British Video Association (BVA), said: "Yet again, FACT has had another success story in the war against video counterfeiting. The Tame brothers were serious film fraudsters, obtaining illegal goods from gangs in the Far East involved in serious organised crime.
"The profits these gangs received from the brothers will have been fed into drugs, prostitution and slave labour."
david.bruce@ypn.co.uk
Copied by Søren Ekelund from http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/DVD-scam-netted-brothers-a.776086.jp, last seen 18-02-2008. Permission pending.
DVD scam netted brothers a fortune
Published Date: 17 April 2004
Location: Leeds
BY DAVID BRUCE
YORKSHIRE film fans were among thousands of victims of two brothers who masterminded a counterfeit business that netted them almost £400,000 in just 18 months.
Skinhead brothers Paul and Jason Tame bought counterfeit DVDs from crime gangs in the Far East – and sold them for a hefty profit to unsuspecting customers across Europe.
Investigators said that the money their suppliers made from the illicit trade would have been fed into the seedy world of drugs, prostitution and slave labour in the Far East.
The British-based brothers' business operated from five addresses in the Hastings area. They acquired fake copies of recently-released DVDs including the highly popular Spiderman video.
The brothers advertised the DVDs on the internet as well as local newspapers. Many of their customers lived in the Yorkshire region.
But, the brothers' money-making scam eventually came to an end because of a large number of complaints from customers.
They told police and a film industry watchdog that the films were of such poor quality they were unwatchable.
Raids
Police and investigators from the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) moved into action and seized almost 7,000 counterfeit DVDs during raids on five addresses in the south-east.
In March this year, Paul Tame, 34, and his brother Jason, 30, pleaded guilty at Lewes Crown Court to a sample Common Law offence of defrauding the film industry. Yesterday Paul Tame was given nine months in jail and his brother four months behind bars.
They masterminded a counterfeit video business which is said to have made in excess of £250,000 per year. Over the 18 months they operated their scam they are calculated to have earned almost £400,000.
The counterfeit DVDs were bought from Malaysia for £1 each and sold on through an elaborate Internet mail order operation for £5.
Pat Timoney, UK Theatrical Piracy Manager at FACT, said: "The conviction will send out further warning to those who think they can get away with video counterfeiting and piracy.
"The Tame brothers were blatant in their Internet advertising of their services and they now face a substantial period of time in prison to reflect on this." Their operation was eventually blocked by the internet service provider.
Lavinia Carey, Director General at the British Video Association (BVA), said: "Yet again, FACT has had another success story in the war against video counterfeiting. The Tame brothers were serious film fraudsters, obtaining illegal goods from gangs in the Far East involved in serious organised crime.
"The profits these gangs received from the brothers will have been fed into drugs, prostitution and slave labour."
david.bruce@ypn.co.uk
Copied by Søren Ekelund from http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/DVD-scam-netted-brothers-a.776086.jp, last seen 18-02-2008. Permission pending.
How to spot illegal DVDs and shops
The preferred scenario is of cause to recognize the scammers before doing business with them. However, have you already ordered or paid your items in a shop you don't trust, being on your guard won't hurt.
Here are some clues to recognizing suspicious deals. Remember though that these clues are not fool proof and might just be indicating an unconventional but legal retailer. Be discreet in your accusations in cases where fraud has not yet been experienced and state in your eventual report that you are only suspicious and hasn't yet seen an actual scam from the company in question.
Protect yourself:
Use your credit card to pay with. In this way if you're scammed the credit card company can refund the payment and their fraud department can then credit the company in question. Be warned: If you pay with money transfer or debit card the bank may not be able to act on the fraud. If in doubt, call your bank and/or credit card company and ask before you trade.
Clues to recognize shops intend on fraud:
- If the price is much lower than you are able to get anywhere else, something is probably wrong. This doesn't mean you shouldn't accept good offers, but be on your guard if you do. A $400 retail item might seem like a steal at $200, but incredible deals on brand new items increase the chance of seeing a scam mentioned here.
- Alternatively, very high prices for previously unavailable items should raise a warning flag, as well as deals on items not normally traded legally.
- Use web sites like epinions.com and see others' experiences with the seller. Beware though that scammers are aware of the sites too and that clever scammers post false reviews to turn the balance in their favour.
- A down-and-dirty Google search often helps a lot. If you're researching the company "GenericCo” simply Google for "GenericCo problems" (minus the quotes). This will give you any reports about problematic transactions from other users and will help you determine if the seller's practices are worth supporting. Don't take the odd positive or negative comment for being the absolute thruth, but when sites like this comes up the company in question is probably out for trouble.
Remember though; even if Google doesn't give relevant results, it doesn't mean the business is necessarily legitimate, only that nobody else have reported against it yet. Do however give new companies a fair chance to establish themselves; follow the directions under 'Protect Yourself' and trust that your credit card company will help you, should the need arise.
- Sellers may tell you their DVDs are region free. This can be a very efective clue, as very few legally produced DVDs are region free. But again; just because the discs are not region-free, it doesn't mean they are necessarily legitimate.
Clues to recognize illegal DVDs:
- If you buy legally produced DVDs on a regular basis you will notice that the rear of the disk is generally silver and that the picture on the front is clear and legible. Beware; these can be just clever frauds however.
- If you buy a disc from a retailer you don't know well and the rear of the disc is purple or green in colour, then the DVD is probably a counterfeit.
- Don't be fooled by the box or the disc having a picture printed on, it rather than the old system of sticking a label on it.
As with all modern technology there are always people that abuse it. It is totally now feasible to print directly onto the front of the disc. However in the majority of cases you will find that the print quality isn't quite right. But, as technology improves this will get harder to spot.
- The box and cover is equally easy to print fraudulently. The easy way to tell whatever a DVD is a counterfeit is that a genuine DVD cover is printed on paper that is glossy on both sides. The counterfeit will feel more like the paper you use for regular printing. Having been said that, it is possible to purchase glossy paper, but it is far more expensive so pirates usually go for the cheaper option.
In part copied from http://reviews.ebay.co.uk/counterfeit-dvds-dvd-fraud_W0QQugidZ10000000001103287 and http://www.andybrain.com/archive/fighting_online_fraud.htm, both last seen 18-02-2008. Used without permission.
Here are some clues to recognizing suspicious deals. Remember though that these clues are not fool proof and might just be indicating an unconventional but legal retailer. Be discreet in your accusations in cases where fraud has not yet been experienced and state in your eventual report that you are only suspicious and hasn't yet seen an actual scam from the company in question.
Protect yourself:
Use your credit card to pay with. In this way if you're scammed the credit card company can refund the payment and their fraud department can then credit the company in question. Be warned: If you pay with money transfer or debit card the bank may not be able to act on the fraud. If in doubt, call your bank and/or credit card company and ask before you trade.
Clues to recognize shops intend on fraud:
- If the price is much lower than you are able to get anywhere else, something is probably wrong. This doesn't mean you shouldn't accept good offers, but be on your guard if you do. A $400 retail item might seem like a steal at $200, but incredible deals on brand new items increase the chance of seeing a scam mentioned here.
- Alternatively, very high prices for previously unavailable items should raise a warning flag, as well as deals on items not normally traded legally.
- Use web sites like epinions.com and see others' experiences with the seller. Beware though that scammers are aware of the sites too and that clever scammers post false reviews to turn the balance in their favour.
- A down-and-dirty Google search often helps a lot. If you're researching the company "GenericCo” simply Google for "GenericCo problems" (minus the quotes). This will give you any reports about problematic transactions from other users and will help you determine if the seller's practices are worth supporting. Don't take the odd positive or negative comment for being the absolute thruth, but when sites like this comes up the company in question is probably out for trouble.
Remember though; even if Google doesn't give relevant results, it doesn't mean the business is necessarily legitimate, only that nobody else have reported against it yet. Do however give new companies a fair chance to establish themselves; follow the directions under 'Protect Yourself' and trust that your credit card company will help you, should the need arise.
- Sellers may tell you their DVDs are region free. This can be a very efective clue, as very few legally produced DVDs are region free. But again; just because the discs are not region-free, it doesn't mean they are necessarily legitimate.
Clues to recognize illegal DVDs:
- If you buy legally produced DVDs on a regular basis you will notice that the rear of the disk is generally silver and that the picture on the front is clear and legible. Beware; these can be just clever frauds however.
- If you buy a disc from a retailer you don't know well and the rear of the disc is purple or green in colour, then the DVD is probably a counterfeit.
- Don't be fooled by the box or the disc having a picture printed on, it rather than the old system of sticking a label on it.
As with all modern technology there are always people that abuse it. It is totally now feasible to print directly onto the front of the disc. However in the majority of cases you will find that the print quality isn't quite right. But, as technology improves this will get harder to spot.
- The box and cover is equally easy to print fraudulently. The easy way to tell whatever a DVD is a counterfeit is that a genuine DVD cover is printed on paper that is glossy on both sides. The counterfeit will feel more like the paper you use for regular printing. Having been said that, it is possible to purchase glossy paper, but it is far more expensive so pirates usually go for the cheaper option.
In part copied from http://reviews.ebay.co.uk/counterfeit-dvds-dvd-fraud_W0QQugidZ10000000001103287 and http://www.andybrain.com/archive/fighting_online_fraud.htm, both last seen 18-02-2008. Used without permission.
RCMP arrested 8 for dealing counterfiet DVDs (19-12-2007)
CBC News
Mounties bust fake DVD scam in Montreal
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
The RCMP have seized thousands of counterfeit DVDs of popular American TV shows and arrested eight people suspected of masterminding a black-market scam to sell the videos.
Read the whole story at CBC News.
Best regards,
Søren Ekelund
Mounties bust fake DVD scam in Montreal
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
The RCMP have seized thousands of counterfeit DVDs of popular American TV shows and arrested eight people suspected of masterminding a black-market scam to sell the videos.
Read the whole story at CBC News.
Best regards,
Søren Ekelund
TV DVD Planet .com
Here reports from other sites will be added to newly reported incidents so we may see the full perspective of these cases.
You are very welcome to add to the tally by reporting experiences (good as well as bad) and relevant comments about this company in particular. Comments not regarding the title company will be moved to an appropriate section of this place, with a notice of the movement visible for a minimum of 7 days.
When you add a case please include as much relevant information as possible, so as to allow us to compile and analyze the information about the company.
Read this before you post!
Take note; this is a publicly accessible forum so please do not post personal data such as bank account, full address, phone or fax numbers, as these might be used by scammers alike to those who we are already hunting. Should you forget this I will remove your comment and post it later without the personal data, but please do double-check your comment before you post as this procedure will be quite time-consuming for me.
However, do please leave your e-mail address just below the heading of your comment so that you can be contacted if your testament is needed later for investigation or trial of the perpetrators. Placing a false "me" just before the @ in your e-mail address should fool eventual spam-bots (my e-mail would become soedtume@hotmail.com instead of soedtu@hotmail.com) and I'll easily be able to remove the "me" and reach you should it be needed. I'll not take action against e-mails posted without "me", as spam is much less serious than personal data open to the public.
Rest assured that I will not misuse your e-mail or any other information. That I would never do so should be immediately apparent by the existence of this website ;-)
Best regards,
Søren Ekelund
You are very welcome to add to the tally by reporting experiences (good as well as bad) and relevant comments about this company in particular. Comments not regarding the title company will be moved to an appropriate section of this place, with a notice of the movement visible for a minimum of 7 days.
When you add a case please include as much relevant information as possible, so as to allow us to compile and analyze the information about the company.
Read this before you post!
Take note; this is a publicly accessible forum so please do not post personal data such as bank account, full address, phone or fax numbers, as these might be used by scammers alike to those who we are already hunting. Should you forget this I will remove your comment and post it later without the personal data, but please do double-check your comment before you post as this procedure will be quite time-consuming for me.
However, do please leave your e-mail address just below the heading of your comment so that you can be contacted if your testament is needed later for investigation or trial of the perpetrators. Placing a false "me" just before the @ in your e-mail address should fool eventual spam-bots (my e-mail would become soedtume@hotmail.com instead of soedtu@hotmail.com) and I'll easily be able to remove the "me" and reach you should it be needed. I'll not take action against e-mails posted without "me", as spam is much less serious than personal data open to the public.
Rest assured that I will not misuse your e-mail or any other information. That I would never do so should be immediately apparent by the existence of this website ;-)
Best regards,
Søren Ekelund
TV DVD World .tv
Here reports from other sites will be added to newly reported incidents so we may see the full perspective of these cases.
You are very welcome to add to the tally by reporting experiences (good as well as bad) and relevant comments about this company in particular. Comments not regarding the title company will be moved to an appropriate section of this place, with a notice of the movement visible for a minimum of 7 days.
When you add a case please include as much relevant information as possible, so as to allow us to compile and analyze the information about the company.
Read this before you post!
Take note; this is a publicly accessible forum so please do not post personal data such as bank account, full address, phone or fax numbers, as these might be used by scammers alike to those who we are already hunting. Should you forget this I will remove your comment and post it later without the personal data, but please do double-check your comment before you post as this procedure will be quite time-consuming for me.
However, do please leave your e-mail address just below the heading of your comment so that you can be contacted if your testament is needed later for investigation or trial of the perpetrators. Placing a false "me" just before the @ in your e-mail address should fool eventual spam-bots (my e-mail would become soedtume@hotmail.com instead of soedtu@hotmail.com) and I'll easily be able to remove the "me" and reach you should it be needed. I'll not take action against e-mails posted without "me", as spam is much less serious than personal data open to the public.
Rest assured that I will not misuse your e-mail or any other information. That I would never do so should be immediately apparent by the existence of this website ;-)
Best regards,
Søren Ekelund
You are very welcome to add to the tally by reporting experiences (good as well as bad) and relevant comments about this company in particular. Comments not regarding the title company will be moved to an appropriate section of this place, with a notice of the movement visible for a minimum of 7 days.
When you add a case please include as much relevant information as possible, so as to allow us to compile and analyze the information about the company.
Read this before you post!
Take note; this is a publicly accessible forum so please do not post personal data such as bank account, full address, phone or fax numbers, as these might be used by scammers alike to those who we are already hunting. Should you forget this I will remove your comment and post it later without the personal data, but please do double-check your comment before you post as this procedure will be quite time-consuming for me.
However, do please leave your e-mail address just below the heading of your comment so that you can be contacted if your testament is needed later for investigation or trial of the perpetrators. Placing a false "me" just before the @ in your e-mail address should fool eventual spam-bots (my e-mail would become soedtume@hotmail.com instead of soedtu@hotmail.com) and I'll easily be able to remove the "me" and reach you should it be needed. I'll not take action against e-mails posted without "me", as spam is much less serious than personal data open to the public.
Rest assured that I will not misuse your e-mail or any other information. That I would never do so should be immediately apparent by the existence of this website ;-)
Best regards,
Søren Ekelund
TV Milk .com
Here reports from other sites will be added to newly reported incidents so we may see the full perspective of these cases.
You are very welcome to add to the tally by reporting experiences (good as well as bad) and relevant comments about this company in particular. Comments not regarding the title company will be moved to an appropriate section of this place, with a notice of the movement visible for a minimum of 7 days.
When you add a case please include as much relevant information as possible, so as to allow us to compile and analyze the information about the company.
Read this before you post!
Take note; this is a publicly accessible forum so please do not post personal data such as bank account, full address, phone or fax numbers, as these might be used by scammers alike to those who we are already hunting. Should you forget this I will remove your comment and post it later without the personal data, but please do double-check your comment before you post as this procedure will be quite time-consuming for me.
However, do please leave your e-mail address just below the heading of your comment so that you can be contacted if your testament is needed later for investigation or trial of the perpetrators. Placing a false "me" just before the @ in your e-mail address should fool eventual spam-bots (my e-mail would become soedtume@hotmail.com instead of soedtu@hotmail.com) and I'll easily be able to remove the "me" and reach you should it be needed. I'll not take action against e-mails posted without "me", as spam is much less serious than personal data open to the public.
Rest assured that I will not misuse your e-mail or any other information. That I would never do so should be immediately apparent by the existence of this website ;-)
Best regards,
Søren Ekelund
You are very welcome to add to the tally by reporting experiences (good as well as bad) and relevant comments about this company in particular. Comments not regarding the title company will be moved to an appropriate section of this place, with a notice of the movement visible for a minimum of 7 days.
When you add a case please include as much relevant information as possible, so as to allow us to compile and analyze the information about the company.
Read this before you post!
Take note; this is a publicly accessible forum so please do not post personal data such as bank account, full address, phone or fax numbers, as these might be used by scammers alike to those who we are already hunting. Should you forget this I will remove your comment and post it later without the personal data, but please do double-check your comment before you post as this procedure will be quite time-consuming for me.
However, do please leave your e-mail address just below the heading of your comment so that you can be contacted if your testament is needed later for investigation or trial of the perpetrators. Placing a false "me" just before the @ in your e-mail address should fool eventual spam-bots (my e-mail would become soedtume@hotmail.com instead of soedtu@hotmail.com) and I'll easily be able to remove the "me" and reach you should it be needed. I'll not take action against e-mails posted without "me", as spam is much less serious than personal data open to the public.
Rest assured that I will not misuse your e-mail or any other information. That I would never do so should be immediately apparent by the existence of this website ;-)
Best regards,
Søren Ekelund
TV Addicts .tv
Here reports from other sites will be added to newly reported incidents so we may see the full perspective of these cases.
You are very welcome to add to the tally by reporting experiences (good as well as bad) and relevant comments about this company in particular. Comments not regarding the title company will be moved to an appropriate section of this place, with a notice of the movement visible for a minimum of 7 days.
When you add a case please include as much relevant information as possible, so as to allow us to compile and analyze the information about the company.
Read this before you post!
Take note; this is a publicly accessible forum so please do not post personal data such as bank account, full address, phone or fax numbers, as these might be used by scammers alike to those who we are already hunting. Should you forget this I will remove your comment and post it later without the personal data, but please do double-check your comment before you post as this procedure will be quite time-consuming for me.
However, do please leave your e-mail address just below the heading of your comment so that you can be contacted if your testament is needed later for investigation or trial of the perpetrators. Placing a false "me" just before the @ in your e-mail address should fool eventual spam-bots (my e-mail would become soedtume@hotmail.com instead of soedtu@hotmail.com) and I'll easily be able to remove the "me" and reach you should it be needed. I'll not take action against e-mails posted without "me", as spam is much less serious than personal data open to the public.
Rest assured that I will not misuse your e-mail or any other information. That I would never do so should be immediately apparent by the existence of this website ;-)
Best regards,
Søren Ekelund
You are very welcome to add to the tally by reporting experiences (good as well as bad) and relevant comments about this company in particular. Comments not regarding the title company will be moved to an appropriate section of this place, with a notice of the movement visible for a minimum of 7 days.
When you add a case please include as much relevant information as possible, so as to allow us to compile and analyze the information about the company.
Read this before you post!
Take note; this is a publicly accessible forum so please do not post personal data such as bank account, full address, phone or fax numbers, as these might be used by scammers alike to those who we are already hunting. Should you forget this I will remove your comment and post it later without the personal data, but please do double-check your comment before you post as this procedure will be quite time-consuming for me.
However, do please leave your e-mail address just below the heading of your comment so that you can be contacted if your testament is needed later for investigation or trial of the perpetrators. Placing a false "me" just before the @ in your e-mail address should fool eventual spam-bots (my e-mail would become soedtume@hotmail.com instead of soedtu@hotmail.com) and I'll easily be able to remove the "me" and reach you should it be needed. I'll not take action against e-mails posted without "me", as spam is much less serious than personal data open to the public.
Rest assured that I will not misuse your e-mail or any other information. That I would never do so should be immediately apparent by the existence of this website ;-)
Best regards,
Søren Ekelund
DVD Planet .com
Here reports from other sites will be added to newly reported incidents so we may see the full perspective of these cases.
You are very welcome to add to the tally by reporting experiences (good as well as bad) and relevant comments about this company in particular. Comments not regarding the title company will be moved to an appropriate section of this place, with a notice of the movement visible for a minimum of 7 days.
When you add a case please include as much relevant information as possible, so as to allow us to compile and analyze the information about the company.
Read this before you post!
Take note; this is a publicly accessible forum so please do not post personal data such as bank account, full address, phone or fax numbers, as these might be used by scammers alike to those who we are already hunting. Should you forget this I will remove your comment and post it later without the personal data, but please do double-check your comment before you post as this procedure will be quite time-consuming for me.
However, do please leave your e-mail address just below the heading of your comment so that you can be contacted if your testament is needed later for investigation or trial of the perpetrators. Placing a false "me" just before the @ in your e-mail address should fool eventual spam-bots (my e-mail would become soedtume@hotmail.com instead of soedtu@hotmail.com) and I'll easily be able to remove the "me" and reach you should it be needed. I'll not take action against e-mails posted without "me", as spam is much less serious than personal data open to the public.
Rest assured that I will not misuse your e-mail or any other information. That I would never do so should be immediately apparent by the existence of this website ;-)
Best regards,
Søren Ekelund
You are very welcome to add to the tally by reporting experiences (good as well as bad) and relevant comments about this company in particular. Comments not regarding the title company will be moved to an appropriate section of this place, with a notice of the movement visible for a minimum of 7 days.
When you add a case please include as much relevant information as possible, so as to allow us to compile and analyze the information about the company.
Read this before you post!
Take note; this is a publicly accessible forum so please do not post personal data such as bank account, full address, phone or fax numbers, as these might be used by scammers alike to those who we are already hunting. Should you forget this I will remove your comment and post it later without the personal data, but please do double-check your comment before you post as this procedure will be quite time-consuming for me.
However, do please leave your e-mail address just below the heading of your comment so that you can be contacted if your testament is needed later for investigation or trial of the perpetrators. Placing a false "me" just before the @ in your e-mail address should fool eventual spam-bots (my e-mail would become soedtume@hotmail.com instead of soedtu@hotmail.com) and I'll easily be able to remove the "me" and reach you should it be needed. I'll not take action against e-mails posted without "me", as spam is much less serious than personal data open to the public.
Rest assured that I will not misuse your e-mail or any other information. That I would never do so should be immediately apparent by the existence of this website ;-)
Best regards,
Søren Ekelund
DVD Avenue .tv
Here reports from other sites will be added to newly reported incidents so we may see the full perspective of these cases.
You are very welcome to add to the tally by reporting experiences (good as well as bad) and relevant comments about this company in particular. Comments not regarding the title company will be moved to an appropriate section of this place, with a notice of the movement visible for a minimum of 7 days.
When you add a case please include as much relevant information as possible, so as to allow us to compile and analyze the information about the company.
Read this before you post!
Take note; this is a publicly accessible forum so please do not post personal data such as bank account, full address, phone or fax numbers, as these might be used by scammers alike to those who we are already hunting. Should you forget this I will remove your comment and post it later without the personal data, but please do double-check your comment before you post as this procedure will be quite time-consuming for me.
However, do please leave your e-mail address just below the heading of your comment so that you can be contacted if your testament is needed later for investigation or trial of the perpetrators. Placing a false "me" just before the @ in your e-mail address should fool eventual spam-bots (my e-mail would become soedtume@hotmail.com instead of soedtu@hotmail.com) and I'll easily be able to remove the "me" and reach you should it be needed. I'll not take action against e-mails posted without "me", as spam is much less serious than personal data open to the public.
Rest assured that I will not misuse your e-mail or any other information. That I would never do so should be immediately apparent by the existence of this website ;-)
Best regards,
Søren Ekelund
You are very welcome to add to the tally by reporting experiences (good as well as bad) and relevant comments about this company in particular. Comments not regarding the title company will be moved to an appropriate section of this place, with a notice of the movement visible for a minimum of 7 days.
When you add a case please include as much relevant information as possible, so as to allow us to compile and analyze the information about the company.
Read this before you post!
Take note; this is a publicly accessible forum so please do not post personal data such as bank account, full address, phone or fax numbers, as these might be used by scammers alike to those who we are already hunting. Should you forget this I will remove your comment and post it later without the personal data, but please do double-check your comment before you post as this procedure will be quite time-consuming for me.
However, do please leave your e-mail address just below the heading of your comment so that you can be contacted if your testament is needed later for investigation or trial of the perpetrators. Placing a false "me" just before the @ in your e-mail address should fool eventual spam-bots (my e-mail would become soedtume@hotmail.com instead of soedtu@hotmail.com) and I'll easily be able to remove the "me" and reach you should it be needed. I'll not take action against e-mails posted without "me", as spam is much less serious than personal data open to the public.
Rest assured that I will not misuse your e-mail or any other information. That I would never do so should be immediately apparent by the existence of this website ;-)
Best regards,
Søren Ekelund
All My Favorite Shows .com
Here reports from other sites will be added to newly reported incidents so we may see the full perspective of these cases.
You are very welcome to add to the tally by reporting experiences (good as well as bad) and relevant comments about this company in particular. Comments not regarding the title company will be moved to an appropriate section of this place, with a notice of the movement visible for a minimum of 7 days.
When you add a case please include as much relevant information as possible, so as to allow us to compile and analyze the information about the company.
Read this before you post!
Take note; this is a publicly accessible forum so please do not post personal data such as bank account, full address, phone or fax numbers, as these might be used by scammers alike to those who we are already hunting. Should you forget this I will remove your comment and post it later without the personal data, but please do double-check your comment before you post as this procedure will be quite time-consuming for me.
However, do please leave your e-mail address just below the heading of your comment so that you can be contacted if your testament is needed later for investigation or trial of the perpetrators. Placing a false "me" just before the @ in your e-mail address should fool eventual spam-bots (my e-mail would become soedtume@hotmail.com instead of soedtu@hotmail.com) and I'll easily be able to remove the "me" and reach you should it be needed. I'll not take action against e-mails posted without "me", as spam is much less serious than personal data open to the public.
Rest assured that I will not misuse your e-mail or any other information. That I would never do so should be immediately apparent by the existence of this website ;-)
Best regards,
Søren Ekelund
You are very welcome to add to the tally by reporting experiences (good as well as bad) and relevant comments about this company in particular. Comments not regarding the title company will be moved to an appropriate section of this place, with a notice of the movement visible for a minimum of 7 days.
When you add a case please include as much relevant information as possible, so as to allow us to compile and analyze the information about the company.
Read this before you post!
Take note; this is a publicly accessible forum so please do not post personal data such as bank account, full address, phone or fax numbers, as these might be used by scammers alike to those who we are already hunting. Should you forget this I will remove your comment and post it later without the personal data, but please do double-check your comment before you post as this procedure will be quite time-consuming for me.
However, do please leave your e-mail address just below the heading of your comment so that you can be contacted if your testament is needed later for investigation or trial of the perpetrators. Placing a false "me" just before the @ in your e-mail address should fool eventual spam-bots (my e-mail would become soedtume@hotmail.com instead of soedtu@hotmail.com) and I'll easily be able to remove the "me" and reach you should it be needed. I'll not take action against e-mails posted without "me", as spam is much less serious than personal data open to the public.
Rest assured that I will not misuse your e-mail or any other information. That I would never do so should be immediately apparent by the existence of this website ;-)
Best regards,
Søren Ekelund
Ultimate DVD Shop .com
Here reports from other sites will be added to newly reported incidents so we may see the full perspective of these cases.
You are very welcome to add to the tally by reporting experiences (good as well as bad) and relevant comments about this company in particular. Comments not regarding the title company will be moved to an appropriate section of this place, with a notice of the movement visible for a minimum of 7 days.
When you add a case please include as much relevant information as possible, so as to allow us to compile and analyze the information about the company.
Read this before you post!
Take note; this is a publicly accessible forum so please do not post personal data such as bank account, full address, phone or fax numbers, as these might be used by scammers alike to those who we are already hunting. Should you forget this I will remove your comment and post it later without the personal data, but please do double-check your comment before you post as this procedure will be quite time-consuming for me.
However, do please leave your e-mail address just below the heading of your comment so that you can be contacted if your testament is needed later for investigation or trial of the perpetrators. Placing a false "me" just before the @ in your e-mail address should fool eventual spam-bots (my e-mail would become soedtume@hotmail.com instead of soedtu@hotmail.com) and I'll easily be able to remove the "me" and reach you should it be needed. I'll not take action against e-mails posted without "me", as spam is much less serious than personal data open to the public.
Rest assured that I will not misuse your e-mail or any other information. That I would never do so should be immediately apparent by the existence of this website ;-)
Best regards,
Søren Ekelund
You are very welcome to add to the tally by reporting experiences (good as well as bad) and relevant comments about this company in particular. Comments not regarding the title company will be moved to an appropriate section of this place, with a notice of the movement visible for a minimum of 7 days.
When you add a case please include as much relevant information as possible, so as to allow us to compile and analyze the information about the company.
Read this before you post!
Take note; this is a publicly accessible forum so please do not post personal data such as bank account, full address, phone or fax numbers, as these might be used by scammers alike to those who we are already hunting. Should you forget this I will remove your comment and post it later without the personal data, but please do double-check your comment before you post as this procedure will be quite time-consuming for me.
However, do please leave your e-mail address just below the heading of your comment so that you can be contacted if your testament is needed later for investigation or trial of the perpetrators. Placing a false "me" just before the @ in your e-mail address should fool eventual spam-bots (my e-mail would become soedtume@hotmail.com instead of soedtu@hotmail.com) and I'll easily be able to remove the "me" and reach you should it be needed. I'll not take action against e-mails posted without "me", as spam is much less serious than personal data open to the public.
Rest assured that I will not misuse your e-mail or any other information. That I would never do so should be immediately apparent by the existence of this website ;-)
Best regards,
Søren Ekelund
Reports about fraud
From here you can access individual sections with reports for each company in question. Please follow the links below to read the reports and add your experiences and comments.
Active DVD fraud websites
All My Favorite Shows .com
DVD Avenue .tv
DVD Craze .tv
DVD Donkey .com
DVD Planet .com
To DVD Or Not To DVD .com
TV Addicts .tv
TV DVD World .tv
TV Milk .com
Ultimate DVD Shop .com
Historical DVD fraud websites
TV DVD Planet .com
Suspected DVD fraud websites
DVD Diesel .com
Unique-DVD .com
Best regards,
Søren Ekelund
Active DVD fraud websites
All My Favorite Shows .com
DVD Avenue .tv
DVD Craze .tv
DVD Donkey .com
DVD Planet .com
To DVD Or Not To DVD .com
TV Addicts .tv
TV DVD World .tv
TV Milk .com
Ultimate DVD Shop .com
Historical DVD fraud websites
TV DVD Planet .com
Suspected DVD fraud websites
DVD Diesel .com
Unique-DVD .com
Best regards,
Søren Ekelund
DVD Donkey .com
Here reports from other sites will be added to newly reported incidents so we may see the full perspective of these cases.
You are very welcome to add to the tally by reporting experiences (good as well as bad) and relevant comments about this company in particular. Comments not regarding the title company will be moved to an appropriate section of this place, with a notice of the movement visible for a minimum of 7 days.
When you add a case please include as much relevant information as possible, so as to allow us to compile and analyze the information about the company.
Read this before you post!
Take note; this is a publicly accessible forum so please do not post personal data such as bank account, full address, phone or fax numbers, as these might be used by scammers alike to those who we are already hunting. Should you forget this I will remove your comment and post it later without the personal data, but please do double-check your comment before you post as this procedure will be quite time-consuming for me.
However, do please leave your e-mail address just below the heading of your comment so that you can be contacted if your testament is needed later for investigation or trial of the perpetrators. Placing a false "me" just before the @ in your e-mail address should fool eventual spam-bots (my e-mail would become soedtume@hotmail.com instead of soedtu@hotmail.com) and I'll easily be able to remove the "me" and reach you should it be needed. I'll not take action against e-mails posted without "me", as spam is much less serious than personal data open to the public.
Rest assured that I will not misuse your e-mail or any other information. That I would never do so should be immediately apparent by the existence of this website ;-)
Best regards,
Søren Ekelund
You are very welcome to add to the tally by reporting experiences (good as well as bad) and relevant comments about this company in particular. Comments not regarding the title company will be moved to an appropriate section of this place, with a notice of the movement visible for a minimum of 7 days.
When you add a case please include as much relevant information as possible, so as to allow us to compile and analyze the information about the company.
Read this before you post!
Take note; this is a publicly accessible forum so please do not post personal data such as bank account, full address, phone or fax numbers, as these might be used by scammers alike to those who we are already hunting. Should you forget this I will remove your comment and post it later without the personal data, but please do double-check your comment before you post as this procedure will be quite time-consuming for me.
However, do please leave your e-mail address just below the heading of your comment so that you can be contacted if your testament is needed later for investigation or trial of the perpetrators. Placing a false "me" just before the @ in your e-mail address should fool eventual spam-bots (my e-mail would become soedtume@hotmail.com instead of soedtu@hotmail.com) and I'll easily be able to remove the "me" and reach you should it be needed. I'll not take action against e-mails posted without "me", as spam is much less serious than personal data open to the public.
Rest assured that I will not misuse your e-mail or any other information. That I would never do so should be immediately apparent by the existence of this website ;-)
Best regards,
Søren Ekelund
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Have you been scammed? Here is what to do.
If you have been scammed or suspect you might be the victim of fraud, here is what to do:
1) Check again. Make sure that the company or person who you've done business with really has been trying to fraud you and isn't just slow, unlucky with the delivery or have made a simple mistake. A quick way to check is to search this site and Google for notes on the company in question. If you are in doubt, act as if it is a fraud, but do so discretely (there is no reason to discredit perfectly earnest people).
2) Collect all the information you can on your transactions and communication with the company. This information will become handy later. Save e-mail and letters, copy chat logs, tape phone calls or write down date, time, name of the supporter and notes from the conversation.
3) Contact your bank or credit card company and dispute pending payments with the company suspected of fraud. They should also be able to issue a refund for money already paid, and you can then let their collections department attempt to recover the money.
4) Inform the company of your suspicion. If they are a lawful company they will in most cases act quickly to clear their name and settle the dispute. Be warned though, that an illegal company might be even quicker just to get off the hook. Thus it can be a good idea to accept the company's offer of redemption, but do still log all communication and leave a discrete comment on a page like this one. If several cases arise there is probably a reason you became anxious and we can then act in unison against the scammers.
5) If the company does not make believable acts of redemption within reasonable time (10 working days will do) you can begin taking action(s) against the fraud:
- By sharing your experiences at forums like this you help others avoid your trouble, get support in punishing the perpetrators and help confirm suspected illegal companies. In this way you also make business much harder for those who scammed you, as their reputation will be rapidly discredited.
- By filing complaints with national and international business law organisations (such as the BBB, IC3, RCMP, etc.) you can add to the attention given to the case in particular. When enough people have filed complaints against a particular company federal action will be taken to close down the business and punish the people responsible for the fraud.
- By filing a lawsuit you might be able to get the responsible behind the company judged before a court. However, many of these scammers hide behind endless layers of lies and veils and investigations can take many years and cost horrendous amounts of money. If you are not prepared to use a personal fortune, possibly to no avail, it will be better to report you experience to forums and official agencies and allow the investigation to done in unison.
6) Look out for other scams and off-shots of the company that scammed you. In these cases, repeat the above points for each company.
Good luck with your case! And please let us know of your troubles and victories.
Best regards,
Søren Ekelund
1) Check again. Make sure that the company or person who you've done business with really has been trying to fraud you and isn't just slow, unlucky with the delivery or have made a simple mistake. A quick way to check is to search this site and Google for notes on the company in question. If you are in doubt, act as if it is a fraud, but do so discretely (there is no reason to discredit perfectly earnest people).
2) Collect all the information you can on your transactions and communication with the company. This information will become handy later. Save e-mail and letters, copy chat logs, tape phone calls or write down date, time, name of the supporter and notes from the conversation.
3) Contact your bank or credit card company and dispute pending payments with the company suspected of fraud. They should also be able to issue a refund for money already paid, and you can then let their collections department attempt to recover the money.
4) Inform the company of your suspicion. If they are a lawful company they will in most cases act quickly to clear their name and settle the dispute. Be warned though, that an illegal company might be even quicker just to get off the hook. Thus it can be a good idea to accept the company's offer of redemption, but do still log all communication and leave a discrete comment on a page like this one. If several cases arise there is probably a reason you became anxious and we can then act in unison against the scammers.
5) If the company does not make believable acts of redemption within reasonable time (10 working days will do) you can begin taking action(s) against the fraud:
- By sharing your experiences at forums like this you help others avoid your trouble, get support in punishing the perpetrators and help confirm suspected illegal companies. In this way you also make business much harder for those who scammed you, as their reputation will be rapidly discredited.
- By filing complaints with national and international business law organisations (such as the BBB, IC3, RCMP, etc.) you can add to the attention given to the case in particular. When enough people have filed complaints against a particular company federal action will be taken to close down the business and punish the people responsible for the fraud.
- By filing a lawsuit you might be able to get the responsible behind the company judged before a court. However, many of these scammers hide behind endless layers of lies and veils and investigations can take many years and cost horrendous amounts of money. If you are not prepared to use a personal fortune, possibly to no avail, it will be better to report you experience to forums and official agencies and allow the investigation to done in unison.
6) Look out for other scams and off-shots of the company that scammed you. In these cases, repeat the above points for each company.
Good luck with your case! And please let us know of your troubles and victories.
Best regards,
Søren Ekelund
Tips - tell about frauds
Have you been frauded or do you know of a website doing illegal business? Please share your experience, so we can all learn from the cases and gather all the information we can about the scammers. As each case becomes distinct I'll move it to it's own separate thread.
Please include all the information you can get your hands on:
Collect all the information you can on your transactions and communication with the company, from offers and prices to business addresses, shipping addresses, phone numbers, bank accounts, owners and all other data relating to the company in question. Save e-mails and letters, copy chat logs, tape phone calls or write down date, time, name of the supporter and notes from the conversation.
Do you have information about already posted cases? Please feel free to add your comments and help us all make it hot for the perpetrators behind these frauds.
Read this before you post!
Take note; this is a publicly accessible forum so please do not post personal data such as bank account, full address, phone or fax numbers, as these might be used by scammers alike to those who we are already hunting. Should you forget this I will remove your comment and post it later without the personal data, but please do double-check your comment before you post as this procedure will be quite time-consuming for me.
However, do please leave your e-mail address just below the heading of your comment so that you can be contacted if your testament is needed later for investigation or trial of the perpetrators. Placing a false "me" just before the @ in your e-mail address should fool eventual spam-bots (my e-mail would become soedtume@hotmail.com instead of soedtu@hotmail.com) and I'll easily be able to remove the "me" and reach you should it be needed. I'll not take action against e-mails posted without "me", as spam is much less serious than personal data open to the public.
Rest assured that I will not misuse your e-mail or any other information. That I would never do so should be immediately apparent by the existence of this website ;-)
Best regards,
Søren Ekelund
Please include all the information you can get your hands on:
Collect all the information you can on your transactions and communication with the company, from offers and prices to business addresses, shipping addresses, phone numbers, bank accounts, owners and all other data relating to the company in question. Save e-mails and letters, copy chat logs, tape phone calls or write down date, time, name of the supporter and notes from the conversation.
Do you have information about already posted cases? Please feel free to add your comments and help us all make it hot for the perpetrators behind these frauds.
Read this before you post!
Take note; this is a publicly accessible forum so please do not post personal data such as bank account, full address, phone or fax numbers, as these might be used by scammers alike to those who we are already hunting. Should you forget this I will remove your comment and post it later without the personal data, but please do double-check your comment before you post as this procedure will be quite time-consuming for me.
However, do please leave your e-mail address just below the heading of your comment so that you can be contacted if your testament is needed later for investigation or trial of the perpetrators. Placing a false "me" just before the @ in your e-mail address should fool eventual spam-bots (my e-mail would become soedtume@hotmail.com instead of soedtu@hotmail.com) and I'll easily be able to remove the "me" and reach you should it be needed. I'll not take action against e-mails posted without "me", as spam is much less serious than personal data open to the public.
Rest assured that I will not misuse your e-mail or any other information. That I would never do so should be immediately apparent by the existence of this website ;-)
Best regards,
Søren Ekelund
Confirmation or denial of fraud needed.
[Quote from http://www.andybrain.com/qna/2007/12/12/problems-with-dvdavenuetv/#comment-308]
jetro:
Unique-dvd.co Also a scam dvd site. Bought a tv miniseries rich man poor man and the disks were home copies of a videotape complete with background hiss and static. There was no audio at all on one disk. When contacted, the owner, plugpray@hotmail.com responded with rude, accusational emails. Just another online scammer…
23 January 2008, 2:09 pm
[/Quote]
Can anybody else confirm unique-dvd.com as a fraud? Not that I don't belive you Jetro, but even though I'm sceptical about the legality of all these websites, I'd rather not wrongly accuse a lawful site.
Best regards,
Søren Ekelund
jetro:
Unique-dvd.co Also a scam dvd site. Bought a tv miniseries rich man poor man and the disks were home copies of a videotape complete with background hiss and static. There was no audio at all on one disk. When contacted, the owner, plugpray@hotmail.com responded with rude, accusational emails. Just another online scammer…
23 January 2008, 2:09 pm
[/Quote]
Can anybody else confirm unique-dvd.com as a fraud? Not that I don't belive you Jetro, but even though I'm sceptical about the legality of all these websites, I'd rather not wrongly accuse a lawful site.
Best regards,
Søren Ekelund
E-mail to orders@ultimatedvdshop.com, 16th of February 2008
Please note: Should you choose to ignore this mail or somehow misplace it, I will file a lawsuit through the Danish and International courts, systems forgiving of neither merchant fraud nor negligence. Before acting casually you should keep in mind that I have registered when and if you received and opened this e-mail, a proof I can and will take to court. You will be given 48 hours to react to this letter and contact me, from the moment you have opened it. Any delay beyond 48 hours will result in a lawsuit.
Dear Ultimate DVD Shop
I contact you about order 140219 and 145886, the last one shown in Enclosure 1 below.
Order 140219 was ordered the 13th of August 2007 and was promised 12 to 14 days of delivery.
By the 28th of August I had still received neither package nor word from you. I contacted you by Live Chat from your web page and you told me that the delivery was late, because you were out of stock. I accepted that, but by the 3rd of September I had heard nothing, and contacted you again. This time you told me that the transaction had failed, and I accepted that, despite it meaning that I would have to wait and order the item again. A copy of the chat log can be seen in Enclosure 2.
A week later I placed order 145886 for the same item, the receipt shown in Enclosure 1. I received the package the 7th of October 2007. The package seemed to have taken immense damage and the covers had been all but destroyed. The discs however seemed fine. The 9th of October I again contacted you, complaining about the damage to your supporter Karen. She asked me to check the discs within 20 days and report whatever I needed only new covers or a full new package. The 23rd of October I reported that also disc 7 was damaged and Karen promised that a full new package was being shipped soon. I was told that I would receive an e-mail with the tracking number of the package.
By the 13th of December 2007 I had not received any e-mails from you yet, and contacted you by Live Chat ones again. The log from the chat session can be found in Enclosure 3, and ended when your supporter Nicky terminated the connection, apparently because he found my claims offensive. A second attempt a few minutes later resulted in supporter Nicky being contacted again and this time he terminated the connection immediately after I greeted him.
The next day I contacted you again by Live Chat, this time talking with supporter Marie. Despite troubles with the communications, which I figure resulted from Marie either not reading what I wrote to her, reading it too quickly or simply not understanding written English, Marie finally agreed to take my complaints to a manager and notify me by e-mail. Until this day of writing, I have never been notified.
Today it is the 15th of February 2008, more than half a year since the order was first placed with you. I wanted to contact you again, but now suddenly the Live Chat had gone. But not only that, it was also impossible to find any clue to an e-mail address at your web-site. The one I use here I gained from the receipt of order 145886. One might even get the thought that you don't want to be contacted....and by searching on the websites www.complaintsboard.com and http://www.andybrain.com/qna/2007/12/12/problems-with-dvdavenuetv/ one will quickly see that I am not the only one concerned about your methods.
It is now the fourth time I contact you within a year because of negligence on your part. Further ignorance or delays from you will NOT be tolerated. While the sum of your transactions is insignificant, the total drain you have made on mine and other peoples time and money is not. As such it has become a case of principle for me to get back what is rightly your customer's property, or punish you severely for your lack of integrity and respect for the laws of trade.
TOSHIBA International was the last company who tried to avoid living up to their part in a deal with me. The result of case 4031/7-666 at trial in Denmark was full compensation for me and a roughly estimated expenditure of 236,000 USD for TOSHIBA to remedy their faulty products.
If you have any intention of making legal business you should react to this letter immediately. I understand that mistakes can happen and such misunderstandings are best settled through dialog.
Should you however choose to ignore this mail or somehow 'misplace' it, I will file a lawsuit through the Danish and International courts, systems forgiving of neither merchant fraud nor negligence. Before acting casually you should keep in mind that I have registered when, where and if you received and opened this e-mail, a proof I can and will take to court.
You will be given 48 hours to react to this letter and contact me, from the moment you have opened it. Any delay beyond 48 hours will result in a lawsuit.
Yours sincerely,
Søren O. Ekelund
Phone: (excluded not to attract spam-bots)
E-mail: (excluded not to attract spam-bots)
Enclosure 1
Dear Søren,
Thank you for choosing UltimateDVDShop. We are currently processing your order. Below is your current order information. Please keep this email as an invoice for your purchase. Please note you will be recieving another email within the next 48 hours confirming the processing of your order. Please expect to recieve your merchandise within 12-14 days of ordering.
Order Info
Order #: 145886
Products:
ITEM: 1X Sabrina The Teenage Witch On DVD USD$ 78.99
Shipping: USD$ 53.99
Price: USD$ 132.98
Shipping Info
Name: Søren Ekelund
Address: (excluded not to attract spam-bots)
City: (excluded not to attract spam-bots)
Province/State: (excluded not to attract spam-bots)
Country: (excluded not to attract spam-bots)
Zip/Postal: (excluded not to attract spam-bots)
Email: (excluded not to attract spam-bots)
Telephone: (excluded not to attract spam-bots)
If for any reason your shipping information is incorrect, please contact us immediately so that we can resolve the issue. orders@UltimateDVDShop
At UltimateDVDShop, we are comitted to providing our clients with the highest level of customer service.
Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions or comments.
Toll-Free - 1-877-7-TV-SHOW or email us at orders@UltimateDVDShop
Enclosure 2
Please wait for a site operator to respond.
You are now chatting with 'karen'
karen: hello
karen: may I help you?
you: hallo. I placed order 140219 with you the 13th august. The 28th august you told me you were out of stock, then today you told me the transaction had faulted. Now I tried to order it again, but you have raised the price 40$. Can you do something about that?
you: Please?
karen: We apologize for the inconvenience
karen: please remember that we do update our
karen: system
karen: on a regular basis sometimes the price will go up and sometimes it
karen: will go down
karen: depends on the number of stocks
you: But I ordered it while you had stock, then you told me it was out of stock, then rejected my payment. How was I to foresee that?
you: Can't you just reinitiate order 140219, drop it in my shopping cart and let me try to pay it again?
karen: sorry but we can't process your order number 140219
karen: please try to place your order again
karen: if you really want the series
you: I have done that, but I won't buy it for 120$ when ordered it for 88$...
karen: sorry for the inconvenience
karen: if you want please try to placed your order again next weeks
karen: or please visit our website in a regular basis for the update on the price of the series
you: So because YOU were out of order, then tried to draw money after 14 days (where my bank will automatically dismiss it) and then told me you could not get to my money, only because I asked you (I could have waited for months), I now have to reorder some time in the future on the random luck that you change your prices?
karen: sorry for the inconvenience
karen: please try to place your order again
you: Can you promise me, the price will drop to 88$ or below, next week?
karen: yes it i s
you: thank you. I'll see you then.
Enclosure 3
Please wait for a site operator to respond.
All operators are currently assisting others. Thanks for your patience. An operator will be with you shortly.
All operators are currently assisting others. Thanks for your patience. An operator will be with you shortly.
All operators are currently assisting others. Thanks for your patience. An operator will be with you shortly.
All operators are currently assisting others. Thanks for your patience. An operator will be with you shortly.
All operators are currently assisting others. Thanks for your patience. An operator will be with you shortly.
All operators are currently assisting others. Thanks for your patience. An operator will be with you shortly.
All operators are currently assisting others. Thanks for your patience. An operator will be with you shortly.
All operators are currently assisting others. Thanks for your patience. An operator will be with you shortly.
All operators are currently assisting others. Thanks for your patience. An operator will be with you shortly.
All operators are currently assisting others. Thanks for your patience. An operator will be with you shortly.
All operators are currently assisting others. Thanks for your patience. An operator will be with you shortly.
All operators are currently assisting others. Thanks for your patience. An operator will be with you shortly.
All operators are currently assisting others. Thanks for your patience. An operator will be with you shortly.
All operators are currently assisting others. Thanks for your patience. An operator will be with you shortly.
All operators are currently assisting others. Thanks for your patience. An operator will be with you shortly.
All operators are currently assisting others. Thanks for your patience. An operator will be with you shortly.
You are now chatting with 'nicky '
nicky : Welcome to our live chat service.
you: Hallo, you are speaking with Søren Ekelund. I contact you about order 145886. The 9th of October I asked for replacement disks and was told to wait for a Track & Trace number on e-mail, indicating the package had been dispacthed. Neither T&T number nor package ever showed up, however. What has happened?
nicky : Please hold one moment.
nicky : I will verify your account now.
you: Thank you.
nicky : Thank you for waiting.
nicky : we apologize for the inconvenience
nicky : we will call our shipping company to follow up the exact location of your package
nicky : and we will get back to you for any updates
you: Thank you. But why did I never receive the T&T number?
you: I could do the tracking myself, if I only had the T&T number. But I'm happe to see you on the case.
nicky : here is your tracking code EE109346188CA
you: That's the tracking number on the first, faulty, package, I'm afraid. You were supposed to send a replacement, as of chat conversation with your employee 'Karen' the 9th of October.
nicky : we apologize for the inconvenience
nicky : the series is on back order that's why we are not able to send you the dvd right away
you: You know that 'apologize' reply get annoying at length, don't you? ;-) Fair enough, but two months of back order time for a replacement? That seems quite steep to me. Can't you do something to redeem the troubles?
you: Sorry if you found my tone rude. However, I'm not getting my girlfrind's christmas present, because of faulte wares and back orders. I know you can't fix that, but you might be able to compensate me enough to not loose all hope of trading with you again.
you: Are you there, Nicky?
you: If you found me being offensive, just say so. That's all right and I'll back off and we'll talk nicely about this. By ignoring me, you are just pissing me off. OK, Nicky?
you: I take that's the service you offer, but I'll give you a second chance, chatting with you on a second channel. Give me a sec...
Enclosure 4
All operators are currently assisting others. Thanks for your patience. An operator will be with you shortly.
All operators are currently assisting others. Thanks for your patience. An operator will be with you shortly.
All operators are currently assisting others. Thanks for your patience. An operator will be with you shortly.
All operators are currently assisting others. Thanks for your patience. An operator will be with you shortly.
All operators are currently assisting others. Thanks for your patience. An operator will be with you shortly.
All operators are currently assisting others. Thanks for your patience. An operator will be with you shortly.
All operators are currently assisting others. Thanks for your patience. An operator will be with you shortly.
All operators are currently assisting others. Thanks for your patience. An operator will be with you shortly.
All operators are currently assisting others. Thanks for your patience. An operator will be with you shortly.
All operators are currently assisting others. Thanks for your patience. An operator will be with you shortly.
All operators are currently assisting others. Thanks for your patience. An operator will be with you shortly.
All operators are currently assisting others. Thanks for your patience. An operator will be with you shortly.
All operators are currently assisting others. Thanks for your patience. An operator will be with you shortly.
All operators are currently assisting others. Thanks for your patience. An operator will be with you shortly.
All operators are currently assisting others. Thanks for your patience. An operator will be with you shortly.
All operators are currently assisting others. Thanks for your patience. An operator will be with you shortly.
All operators are currently assisting others. Thanks for your patience. An operator will be with you shortly.
All operators are currently assisting others. Thanks for your patience. An operator will be with you shortly.
All operators are currently assisting others. Thanks for your patience. An operator will be with you shortly.
All operators are currently assisting others. Thanks for your patience. An operator will be with you shortly.
All operators are currently assisting others. Thanks for your patience. An operator will be with you shortly.
You are now chatting with 'Marie'
Marie: hi, how may i help you
you: Hallo. Sorry for the time, but I had waited long and had left for the restroom. You are speaking with Søren Ekelund. I contact you about order 145886. I received a damaged package, was promised a replacement the 9th of October by 'Karen' but haven't received the replacement package yet.
Marie: one second
you: Yes?
Marie: thanks for waiting
Marie: we apologize but replacement has not been shipped yet
you: Fair enough, but two months of back order time for a replacement? That seems quite steep to me. And far worse, it means my girlfriend's Christmas gift will either be broken or none-existent. I’ll have to buy something else. Can't you do something to redeem the troubles?
Marie: we apologize
Marie: we will send a follow up report for it
you: And that means...?
Marie: an email will be sent to you when your replacement has been shipped for your update
you: Well, thanks, but that's not much help really. And with what, a week left before christmas? Few solid firms wouldn't do something to amend such a mess.
Marie: please tell me, how may I help you?
you: Cant you make a partial refund, give a gift-certificate or something like that, to give me just one reason to trade with Ultimate DVD Shop again?
you: You first delayed my package because you were out of stock, then I received a broken package, and it takes two months of silence because I'm even told what's going on. In my business, each day of delay means thousands of dollars in fines and a blackened reputation in the long run. Be happy you're not entrepreneurs ;-)
you: "...silence before I'm even told..." Sorry for the typo.
you: And to make matters worse, your supporter 'Nicky' first ignored me and then simply closed the chat, when I asked for you to redeem this in some way. Not the best image to make...
you: That was when I contacted you Sunday. The chat log should show, and if not, I have most of the conversation saved on my desk top.
Marie: will you ask or a refund?
you: I'm sorry if I sound mad, Marie, it's not you I'm mad at. No, I don't want a refund, because I need the product. What I'm asking for is a compensation, in cash or something else, to show your good will towards a much trouble customer. Thank you.
Marie: welcome
you: Welcome? Sorry, I don't think I understood that in context.
Marie: disregard it please
you: Think of it this way: If you hired me to build you a house, and I came to you a week before you moved, and told you that although I was already two months behind, I wouldn't be able to make. You'll have to stay in a shelter, until I'm done. Now, this case is of cause not as serious, but just as annoying. And, if I may say so, just as damaging for a company's reputation.
you: For me, each day would mean a thousand dollar fine. I'm not asking for anything like this. Say, a 30% refund and the product delivered when it arrives. At least you have shown some courtesy and I'll no longer mad at your company. You might even have won back a bit of respect on my part.
you: So, what can you do for me, Marie?
you: Hallo? :-)
Marie: one second
Marie: are you asking for a refund?
you: Good to see you are still there. No, as before I'm asking for you to compensate me for the troubles you've caused. What I'm asking of you, is that you refund me 30% of my money AND deliver the product when you again have it in store. I ask of this because you have not lived up to your part of the deal. Thus, if I get a refund wil simply mean I've lend you my money in two months. That's why I ask for compansation; say a 30% refund amounting to 44,33 dollers AND the product delivered.
Marie: are you asking for a refund?
you: So, to recap, I ask of you 44,33 dollars AND the product delivered, as compensation for you not living up to your part of the deal.
you: You see, this is why I got pissed at your company at first. Are you actually reading what I write, Marie?
Marie: yes
Marie: then do i have to forwad a refund request now?
you: No! I ask for the produkt delivered AND a partial refund. Can you do that, yes or no?
Marie: no
Marie: we can deliver the product
Marie: but we cant offer partial refund
you: And you can't give a gift-certificate or similar, in compansation?
Marie: we will forward this matter out with the superivisor
you: Sounds fair. Shall I e-mail him, or how will I be notified of his decision?
Marie: we will send you an email
you: Sounds good. Thank you, Marie.
Dear Ultimate DVD Shop
I contact you about order 140219 and 145886, the last one shown in Enclosure 1 below.
Order 140219 was ordered the 13th of August 2007 and was promised 12 to 14 days of delivery.
By the 28th of August I had still received neither package nor word from you. I contacted you by Live Chat from your web page and you told me that the delivery was late, because you were out of stock. I accepted that, but by the 3rd of September I had heard nothing, and contacted you again. This time you told me that the transaction had failed, and I accepted that, despite it meaning that I would have to wait and order the item again. A copy of the chat log can be seen in Enclosure 2.
A week later I placed order 145886 for the same item, the receipt shown in Enclosure 1. I received the package the 7th of October 2007. The package seemed to have taken immense damage and the covers had been all but destroyed. The discs however seemed fine. The 9th of October I again contacted you, complaining about the damage to your supporter Karen. She asked me to check the discs within 20 days and report whatever I needed only new covers or a full new package. The 23rd of October I reported that also disc 7 was damaged and Karen promised that a full new package was being shipped soon. I was told that I would receive an e-mail with the tracking number of the package.
By the 13th of December 2007 I had not received any e-mails from you yet, and contacted you by Live Chat ones again. The log from the chat session can be found in Enclosure 3, and ended when your supporter Nicky terminated the connection, apparently because he found my claims offensive. A second attempt a few minutes later resulted in supporter Nicky being contacted again and this time he terminated the connection immediately after I greeted him.
The next day I contacted you again by Live Chat, this time talking with supporter Marie. Despite troubles with the communications, which I figure resulted from Marie either not reading what I wrote to her, reading it too quickly or simply not understanding written English, Marie finally agreed to take my complaints to a manager and notify me by e-mail. Until this day of writing, I have never been notified.
Today it is the 15th of February 2008, more than half a year since the order was first placed with you. I wanted to contact you again, but now suddenly the Live Chat had gone. But not only that, it was also impossible to find any clue to an e-mail address at your web-site. The one I use here I gained from the receipt of order 145886. One might even get the thought that you don't want to be contacted....and by searching on the websites www.complaintsboard.com and http://www.andybrain.com/qna/2007/12/12/problems-with-dvdavenuetv/ one will quickly see that I am not the only one concerned about your methods.
It is now the fourth time I contact you within a year because of negligence on your part. Further ignorance or delays from you will NOT be tolerated. While the sum of your transactions is insignificant, the total drain you have made on mine and other peoples time and money is not. As such it has become a case of principle for me to get back what is rightly your customer's property, or punish you severely for your lack of integrity and respect for the laws of trade.
TOSHIBA International was the last company who tried to avoid living up to their part in a deal with me. The result of case 4031/7-666 at trial in Denmark was full compensation for me and a roughly estimated expenditure of 236,000 USD for TOSHIBA to remedy their faulty products.
If you have any intention of making legal business you should react to this letter immediately. I understand that mistakes can happen and such misunderstandings are best settled through dialog.
Should you however choose to ignore this mail or somehow 'misplace' it, I will file a lawsuit through the Danish and International courts, systems forgiving of neither merchant fraud nor negligence. Before acting casually you should keep in mind that I have registered when, where and if you received and opened this e-mail, a proof I can and will take to court.
You will be given 48 hours to react to this letter and contact me, from the moment you have opened it. Any delay beyond 48 hours will result in a lawsuit.
Yours sincerely,
Søren O. Ekelund
Phone: (excluded not to attract spam-bots)
E-mail: (excluded not to attract spam-bots)
Enclosure 1
Dear Søren,
Thank you for choosing UltimateDVDShop. We are currently processing your order. Below is your current order information. Please keep this email as an invoice for your purchase. Please note you will be recieving another email within the next 48 hours confirming the processing of your order. Please expect to recieve your merchandise within 12-14 days of ordering.
Order Info
Order #: 145886
Products:
ITEM: 1X Sabrina The Teenage Witch On DVD USD$ 78.99
Shipping: USD$ 53.99
Price: USD$ 132.98
Shipping Info
Name: Søren Ekelund
Address: (excluded not to attract spam-bots)
City: (excluded not to attract spam-bots)
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Enclosure 2
Please wait for a site operator to respond.
You are now chatting with 'karen'
karen: hello
karen: may I help you?
you: hallo. I placed order 140219 with you the 13th august. The 28th august you told me you were out of stock, then today you told me the transaction had faulted. Now I tried to order it again, but you have raised the price 40$. Can you do something about that?
you: Please?
karen: We apologize for the inconvenience
karen: please remember that we do update our
karen: system
karen: on a regular basis sometimes the price will go up and sometimes it
karen: will go down
karen: depends on the number of stocks
you: But I ordered it while you had stock, then you told me it was out of stock, then rejected my payment. How was I to foresee that?
you: Can't you just reinitiate order 140219, drop it in my shopping cart and let me try to pay it again?
karen: sorry but we can't process your order number 140219
karen: please try to place your order again
karen: if you really want the series
you: I have done that, but I won't buy it for 120$ when ordered it for 88$...
karen: sorry for the inconvenience
karen: if you want please try to placed your order again next weeks
karen: or please visit our website in a regular basis for the update on the price of the series
you: So because YOU were out of order, then tried to draw money after 14 days (where my bank will automatically dismiss it) and then told me you could not get to my money, only because I asked you (I could have waited for months), I now have to reorder some time in the future on the random luck that you change your prices?
karen: sorry for the inconvenience
karen: please try to place your order again
you: Can you promise me, the price will drop to 88$ or below, next week?
karen: yes it i s
you: thank you. I'll see you then.
Enclosure 3
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You are now chatting with 'nicky '
nicky : Welcome to our live chat service.
you: Hallo, you are speaking with Søren Ekelund. I contact you about order 145886. The 9th of October I asked for replacement disks and was told to wait for a Track & Trace number on e-mail, indicating the package had been dispacthed. Neither T&T number nor package ever showed up, however. What has happened?
nicky : Please hold one moment.
nicky : I will verify your account now.
you: Thank you.
nicky : Thank you for waiting.
nicky : we apologize for the inconvenience
nicky : we will call our shipping company to follow up the exact location of your package
nicky : and we will get back to you for any updates
you: Thank you. But why did I never receive the T&T number?
you: I could do the tracking myself, if I only had the T&T number. But I'm happe to see you on the case.
nicky : here is your tracking code EE109346188CA
you: That's the tracking number on the first, faulty, package, I'm afraid. You were supposed to send a replacement, as of chat conversation with your employee 'Karen' the 9th of October.
nicky : we apologize for the inconvenience
nicky : the series is on back order that's why we are not able to send you the dvd right away
you: You know that 'apologize' reply get annoying at length, don't you? ;-) Fair enough, but two months of back order time for a replacement? That seems quite steep to me. Can't you do something to redeem the troubles?
you: Sorry if you found my tone rude. However, I'm not getting my girlfrind's christmas present, because of faulte wares and back orders. I know you can't fix that, but you might be able to compensate me enough to not loose all hope of trading with you again.
you: Are you there, Nicky?
you: If you found me being offensive, just say so. That's all right and I'll back off and we'll talk nicely about this. By ignoring me, you are just pissing me off. OK, Nicky?
you: I take that's the service you offer, but I'll give you a second chance, chatting with you on a second channel. Give me a sec...
Enclosure 4
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You are now chatting with 'Marie'
Marie: hi, how may i help you
you: Hallo. Sorry for the time, but I had waited long and had left for the restroom. You are speaking with Søren Ekelund. I contact you about order 145886. I received a damaged package, was promised a replacement the 9th of October by 'Karen' but haven't received the replacement package yet.
Marie: one second
you: Yes?
Marie: thanks for waiting
Marie: we apologize but replacement has not been shipped yet
you: Fair enough, but two months of back order time for a replacement? That seems quite steep to me. And far worse, it means my girlfriend's Christmas gift will either be broken or none-existent. I’ll have to buy something else. Can't you do something to redeem the troubles?
Marie: we apologize
Marie: we will send a follow up report for it
you: And that means...?
Marie: an email will be sent to you when your replacement has been shipped for your update
you: Well, thanks, but that's not much help really. And with what, a week left before christmas? Few solid firms wouldn't do something to amend such a mess.
Marie: please tell me, how may I help you?
you: Cant you make a partial refund, give a gift-certificate or something like that, to give me just one reason to trade with Ultimate DVD Shop again?
you: You first delayed my package because you were out of stock, then I received a broken package, and it takes two months of silence because I'm even told what's going on. In my business, each day of delay means thousands of dollars in fines and a blackened reputation in the long run. Be happy you're not entrepreneurs ;-)
you: "...silence before I'm even told..." Sorry for the typo.
you: And to make matters worse, your supporter 'Nicky' first ignored me and then simply closed the chat, when I asked for you to redeem this in some way. Not the best image to make...
you: That was when I contacted you Sunday. The chat log should show, and if not, I have most of the conversation saved on my desk top.
Marie: will you ask or a refund?
you: I'm sorry if I sound mad, Marie, it's not you I'm mad at. No, I don't want a refund, because I need the product. What I'm asking for is a compensation, in cash or something else, to show your good will towards a much trouble customer. Thank you.
Marie: welcome
you: Welcome? Sorry, I don't think I understood that in context.
Marie: disregard it please
you: Think of it this way: If you hired me to build you a house, and I came to you a week before you moved, and told you that although I was already two months behind, I wouldn't be able to make. You'll have to stay in a shelter, until I'm done. Now, this case is of cause not as serious, but just as annoying. And, if I may say so, just as damaging for a company's reputation.
you: For me, each day would mean a thousand dollar fine. I'm not asking for anything like this. Say, a 30% refund and the product delivered when it arrives. At least you have shown some courtesy and I'll no longer mad at your company. You might even have won back a bit of respect on my part.
you: So, what can you do for me, Marie?
you: Hallo? :-)
Marie: one second
Marie: are you asking for a refund?
you: Good to see you are still there. No, as before I'm asking for you to compensate me for the troubles you've caused. What I'm asking of you, is that you refund me 30% of my money AND deliver the product when you again have it in store. I ask of this because you have not lived up to your part of the deal. Thus, if I get a refund wil simply mean I've lend you my money in two months. That's why I ask for compansation; say a 30% refund amounting to 44,33 dollers AND the product delivered.
Marie: are you asking for a refund?
you: So, to recap, I ask of you 44,33 dollars AND the product delivered, as compensation for you not living up to your part of the deal.
you: You see, this is why I got pissed at your company at first. Are you actually reading what I write, Marie?
Marie: yes
Marie: then do i have to forwad a refund request now?
you: No! I ask for the produkt delivered AND a partial refund. Can you do that, yes or no?
Marie: no
Marie: we can deliver the product
Marie: but we cant offer partial refund
you: And you can't give a gift-certificate or similar, in compansation?
Marie: we will forward this matter out with the superivisor
you: Sounds fair. Shall I e-mail him, or how will I be notified of his decision?
Marie: we will send you an email
you: Sounds good. Thank you, Marie.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Where to begin?
Hey! This blog was created the 16th February 2008, with the purpose of fighting back against the fraud spreading over the internet. As a first case TV-DVD scams will be taken up, but feel free to add comments about other known scams or possible scams. I will put up new subjects to sort out the comments as fast as I can.
First of all I'll thank Andy Kaiser for his website. This may be the first step on the way of closing down these, and many other scammers. Even though you might have lost money, time and temper in the lone effort of punishing these internet thieves, do not despair. Together and with the help of international courts we can stop this and similar scams, avoid that more people suffer from their crimes, clean some of the filth from the internet and hopefully punish the perpetrators.
It should be said before anything else that I do not take shit from anyone, and that I do not give up. For this reason I cannot help but take this personally. For the same reason I have participated in several lawsuits against companies who did not act as law and logic proscribes, from small local businesses to international companies such as Toshiba Computer Systems. That said I am no law, scam or internet expert, and thus there are still a lot of things out there that I don't have any knowledge about. So please help me help you.
When it comes down to it I guess I was originally just another victim for this world-spanning fraud. Through 6 months I have tried to get Ultimate DVD Shop to honour their obligations through means of dialog. This day I finally called their bluff and send them a diplomatic e-mail, warning them of my intention to file a lawsuit if they do not take contact within 48 hours to begin settling affairs with their customers. I hope you will help me with this, and thus help yourself and all the other people who have been hurt by this scam and who will be in the future.
You might say that there are a million other, possibly better, causes to fight for and spend your time on. However, in this kind of fight we can actually make a big difference with just a little effort from everyone.
Remember, just because those who run these scams are smart, hard to find and maybe even wield considerable power, it doesn't mean that they can't and shouldn't be punished. Nothing goes unnoticed to the entire world and money and people can't disappear forever. Everything leaves clues; it's just a question of giving enough attention.
So, first of all let's get our options and needs on the table. Speaking about such things openly may seem odd, as the perpetrators can read this as easily as anyone, and probably will. However this knowledge will only leave them one of three actions, all of them satisfying to us:
A1) Stop their business and hide; the track may get cold, but at least the fraud has been stopped.
A2) Continue but try to cover their tracks; they'll be punished with stress from being constantly harassed and their business will become a lot harder, and we'll get them sooner or later.
A3) Continue unaffected; we'll get them anyway.
Our options, off the top of my head and in no particular order or combination:
B1) Gather all the evidence we can by ourselves, file complaints with the IC3 and similar agencies and advocate that they act on the case.
B2) Raise money for a private/public investigation and ensure it is followed through.
B3) Warn customers of the scam, through means of the internet and one-to-one communication.
B4) Attack the perpetrators directly by hacking, physical action or other means. I do not recommend this, as it conflicts with the law and thus our interests in a safe internet.
Now, for every one of those methods we need a place to discuss the problem and gather the information. This website is my idea of such a place, but suggestions for improvement and change are always very welcome.
Best regards,
Søren Ekelund
First of all I'll thank Andy Kaiser for his website. This may be the first step on the way of closing down these, and many other scammers. Even though you might have lost money, time and temper in the lone effort of punishing these internet thieves, do not despair. Together and with the help of international courts we can stop this and similar scams, avoid that more people suffer from their crimes, clean some of the filth from the internet and hopefully punish the perpetrators.
It should be said before anything else that I do not take shit from anyone, and that I do not give up. For this reason I cannot help but take this personally. For the same reason I have participated in several lawsuits against companies who did not act as law and logic proscribes, from small local businesses to international companies such as Toshiba Computer Systems. That said I am no law, scam or internet expert, and thus there are still a lot of things out there that I don't have any knowledge about. So please help me help you.
When it comes down to it I guess I was originally just another victim for this world-spanning fraud. Through 6 months I have tried to get Ultimate DVD Shop to honour their obligations through means of dialog. This day I finally called their bluff and send them a diplomatic e-mail, warning them of my intention to file a lawsuit if they do not take contact within 48 hours to begin settling affairs with their customers. I hope you will help me with this, and thus help yourself and all the other people who have been hurt by this scam and who will be in the future.
You might say that there are a million other, possibly better, causes to fight for and spend your time on. However, in this kind of fight we can actually make a big difference with just a little effort from everyone.
Remember, just because those who run these scams are smart, hard to find and maybe even wield considerable power, it doesn't mean that they can't and shouldn't be punished. Nothing goes unnoticed to the entire world and money and people can't disappear forever. Everything leaves clues; it's just a question of giving enough attention.
So, first of all let's get our options and needs on the table. Speaking about such things openly may seem odd, as the perpetrators can read this as easily as anyone, and probably will. However this knowledge will only leave them one of three actions, all of them satisfying to us:
A1) Stop their business and hide; the track may get cold, but at least the fraud has been stopped.
A2) Continue but try to cover their tracks; they'll be punished with stress from being constantly harassed and their business will become a lot harder, and we'll get them sooner or later.
A3) Continue unaffected; we'll get them anyway.
Our options, off the top of my head and in no particular order or combination:
B1) Gather all the evidence we can by ourselves, file complaints with the IC3 and similar agencies and advocate that they act on the case.
B2) Raise money for a private/public investigation and ensure it is followed through.
B3) Warn customers of the scam, through means of the internet and one-to-one communication.
B4) Attack the perpetrators directly by hacking, physical action or other means. I do not recommend this, as it conflicts with the law and thus our interests in a safe internet.
Now, for every one of those methods we need a place to discuss the problem and gather the information. This website is my idea of such a place, but suggestions for improvement and change are always very welcome.
Best regards,
Søren Ekelund
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