Scam invoice received from softwaresammler.de

[SpiritedAway 3]

Hey,

I was directed to a site called "softwaresammler.de" and it wouldn't let me go any further until I signed up, so out of pure naivety I did. Now, when signing up I do not recall it telling me that there was a fee, in fact, I am sure I recall it saying that it was free!

Then today, I received an e-mail from the "Kundensupport" telling me that they want a payment of €8 per month, for a minimum of 12 months. It tells me it wants the sum of €96 sending out to its bank (it sent its bank details) within the next 7 days, or the company will sue me.

 

I can't find the TOS now, but having looked on the internet other sites are saying that this is a scam and that I am just to ignore the e-mail. However, I can not just ignore the e-mail being petrified of being sued.

 

It tells me it has my IP address and e-mail address and birth date (which are all correct), however all the other details, such as address and name are all wrong. I assume that if they do sue me, they will be given the correct warrant to access all my personal details on Sky's system anyway (my internet provider).

 

However, in just over a month I will be living in Germany anyway, so the company will not be able to find be, oder? Okay, so I'm not planning on dodging the country from them, but would this be then taken up in the UK courts, or the German ones?

 

Am I bound into this then, because on other sites, people are saying that they have this contract for 24 months now, and the company will not let them leave it.

[the_cat 292]

You don't need need legal advise, just tell them to fuck off and ignore it! So if I wrote to you a legal letter and said I'm going to sue you, would you crap your pants? No, of course not.

[bagatelle 25]

You can ignore the eMail, but you should report this company to the Verbraucherzentrale http://www.verbraucherzentrale.de/.

[El Jeffo 42,135]

Ignore it. If it ever comes to them sending you a Mahnbescheid (which is the final, binding step), simply dispute it.

 

Here's a recent article (in German) showing how they're just full of hot air.

[Guest]

there's some info here about it all.

deffo don't pay em though.

[SpiritedAway 3]

So you're all in agreement that I should just ignore it?

 

I feel a bit better now :)

[robinson100 12,854]

They are after €96 from me too, and having spoken to a lawyer friend of mine, I am ignoring it...

[El Jeffo 42,135]

Yes, ignore it - but like I said, in the unlikely case that they send you a Mahnbescheid, be sure to send a disputing reply back, or it will be binding.

[ruapehu 3,756]

I just checked out that website, and if you want to download something, you have to register. On the right hand side, it states the fee very clearly.

 

I don't know if in this case you can in fact just ignore it and say it is a scam, if it was just something you didn't notice. Maybe the page you registered through didn't have that info?

[SpiritedAway 3]

I was not directed to a page with the fees on, it just asked asked for my name and address. :S

[SpiritedAway 3]

 

Yes, ignore it - but like I said, in the unlikely case that they send you a Mahnbescheid, be sure to send a disputing reply back, or it will be binding.

What are my chances though, if I do dispute?

[El Jeffo 42,135]

If you google the parent company, Content Services Limited, you'll find any number of articles/forum posts about their unscrupulous business methods. They've never won a court case and they will likely be banned as soon as the summer break is over. So don't sweat it.

 

EDIT: If you dispute the Mahnbescheid, the plaintiff will have to take you to court to prove his case, and it will be thrown out just like all the precedents.

[SpiritedAway 3]

 

They are after €96 from me too, and having spoken to a lawyer friend of mine, I am ignoring it...

Really? Can you tell me exactly what you were advised?

[SpiritedAway 3]

 

If you google the parent company, Content Services Limited, you'll find any number of articles/forum posts about their unscrupulous business methods. They've never won a court case and they will likely be banned as soon as the summer break is over. So don't sweat it.

 

EDIT: If you dispute the Mahnbescheid, the plaintiff will have to take you to court to prove his case, and it will be thrown out just like all the precedents.

How can I dispute it though? And which court would it be under? The German I assume :S

[sarabyrd 18,767]

 

It tells me it has my IP address and e-mail address and birth date (which are all correct), however all the other details, such as address and name are all wrong. I assume that if they do sue me, they will be given the correct warrant to access all my personal details on Sky's system anyway (my internet provider).

No. If they apply for a court order with the wrong details just be brazen and say it's not you, someone was abusing your PC and stole your data. They have to sue the right person which they can't if they don't have your name. Sky is not authorized to hand out your contact details to every scammer on the planet, and the scammer has no legal claim to demand your information from Sky.

 

Nice trick, though, using a fictitious name and address when registering. Here's a pat on the back.

 

[ruapehu 3,756]

Looking at the page again, I would say slim.

 

Next to the registration field, there is pricing information. It looks pretty clear to me. I don't know if, after the fact, you can get out of it.

 

Registration page

 

EDIT: OK, go with sarabyrd's info, because of the incorrect address.

 

Did you actually go ahead and use the service, i.e. download stuff?

[SpiritedAway 3]

 

No. If they apply for a court order with the wrong details just be brazen and say it's not you, someone was abusing your PC and stole your data. They have to sue the right person which they can't if they don't have your name. Sky is not authorized to hand out your contact details to every scammer on the planet, and the scammer has no legal claim to demand your information from Sky.

 

Nice trick, though, using a fictitious name and address when registering. Here's a pat on the back.

Thank you, but surely this will only lead the claims of fraud :(

[bal00 1,917]

 

However, in just over a month I will be living in Germany anyway, so the company will not be able to find be, oder? Okay, so I'm not planning on dodging the country from them, but would this be then taken up in the UK courts, or the German ones?

Neither, because it won't go to court. There are a lot of similar websites out there and they all work on the same principle: Let users sign up, hide the price of the service in the fine print, then try to bully users into paying. Legally they don't have a leg to stand on because of the misleading nature of the website, but if only 1 out of 10 users end up paying, that's still a lot of money. The emails and letters are (as far as the law is concerned) meaningless.

 

A legitimate company would have a German court mail you a "Mahnbescheid" and take you to court if you disputed it, provided they had a legitimate claim. Companies like this one though are just fishing for gullible victims and avoid courts like the plague. They know they'd lose, and once a court decides their website is fraudulent, they can no longer pester all the other people who signed up. Don't pay, don't reply.

[sarabyrd 18,767]

Then they have to find out your real name and address. Seriously, they have to sue the correct person. If I have a claim against Jane Doe, Odeonsplatz, Munich and she signed up as Angela Merkel, Bundestag, Berlin I can't go for Merkel, can I? I mean, I can but the case will be thrown out of court.

 

By the time they realize their mistake you are long gone. Do you think that a scammer is going to follow you around the globe?

[ruapehu 3,756]

 

they don't have a leg to stand on because of the misleading nature of the website

What counts as misleading? If you check the link I posted, I would not have said that was in any way misleading.