I’m opening up a real can of worms as I surf around the little network I discovered after my disagreement with Hannah.

As well as uncovering several dubious Internet marketing schemes (which is ironic given how much at least two people in this “network” accuse Darren of doing exactly the same thing) I found one web site that has ripped off Tim Ferriss’s “Four Hour Work Week” book and is giving away the audio recording and PDF to anyone that links to the web site.

The guy doing this (and he’s not getting a link from me) says that he’s doing it “because I don’t like watching people get ripped off by scammers like Ferriss”.

The problem is, in law, you don’t have the right to rip people off regardless of what you think of them. Copyright is copyright.

The guy ripping content says it’s OK because “Ferriss is a liar” and “he won’t risk a confrontation for fear of being exposed for a fraud”.

Still against the law. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve had physical junk mail from the UK subsidiary of the Domain Registry of America in the past, and binned it immediately.

Quite apart from the fact that I don’t deal with unsolicited mail from companies that can’t even be bothered to find out my real name, and that I won’t pay extortionate fees to a company that preys on more novice Internet users, I’ve read plenty about the underhand tactics of the DRA.

For those who don’t know, the DRA write to domain name owners, offering them a renewal on their domain name. Their mail does appear to make it a little clearer now that if you sign up with them, you switch control of the domain to them. In the past they’ve made their letters look like invoices that had to be paid…

Anyway, this morning I received more junk mail about two domain names that expire in September this year. I’d never move from my current registrar, particularly as DRA’s renewal prices are extortionate, in my view.

So I decided to complain. Here’s my email to them, making it quite clear that they are potentially breaking UK law, and that I want my details removed. It’s not eloquent, but it is clear enough:

Hello,

Please can you tell me why your UK operation continues to spam me with “offers” about renewing domain names that I own?

I have asked for details to be removed, and therefore your UK subsidiary is breaking UK mailing preference laws.

I would be grateful of a swift response to this request, and an assurance that your operation in London (SW7 4UB) will no longer send unsolicited mail.

All my domain name renewals are handled through a reputable UK-based registry. I will NEVER use your services, so please stop wasting paper and destroying the environment by sending worthless pieces of paper.

Please confirm your intentions by return email. Failure to do so, and continued unsolicited mail from yourselves, will result in legal action being taken against you.

Thank you

Andy Merrett

However, they seemed to use their reply as a further opportunity for a sales pitch:

Hello,

Thank you for your email.

The mail that you received is an offer from our company. It outlines our prices and services and asks if you wish to renew the domain name with us.

The domain registry industry was deregulated which allows customers to renew their domain with any company they wish. Look over our prices and decide for yourself.

Should you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us using the information below.

Gilbert
Technical Support Department

So, Gilbert, what you’ve done is:

1. Tell me what your spam letter has already told me (I KNOW what the letter is about, I just don’t want it)
2. Not responded to my request to remove my details from the database, nor explained or answered my questions.
3. Failed to read my second to last paragraph, and so countering “I will NEVER use your services” with “Look over our prices and decide for yourself.”
4. Proved yourselves to be an incompetent, cowboy operation that doesn’t listen to the complaints of people you’ve sent junk mail to.

If there was even a smidgen of a chance that I’d have used your services, then I certainly won’t now.

Absolutely pathetic, Gilbert.

Why are people suddenly surprised that these pathetic ‘ex-satellite’ quiz channels only care about extorting cash from the gullible?

Of course they want to string out the pathetic charade – with the even more hapless (though usually visually appealing) host – for as long as possible.

Of course they don’t want to give the prizes away.

And while these practices are both shoddy and (at least very close to) illegal, it preys upon the stupidity of the viewer.

Viewers who genuinely think they have any chance of winning something half-decent by calling and hanging on premium-rate phone numbers.

We live in a society where we’re so cash rich that (some) people are happy to throw away cash to such pointless, near-impossible ambitions.

Viewers tempted to waste their money on these shows would be better advised to put their cash into a savings account, or, if they really want a chance at winning something without actually losing any of their cash to rip-off broadcasters: Premium Bonds.

One final note: Tim Suter from Ofcom (you know, the people who are supposed to regulate broadcasters and give the public some level of protection and confidence) has openly stated that he’d be quite happy to tell his friends and family to go ahead and ‘phone in on these shows (even though he hasn’t himself, of course)

Great. Nice one Tim.

Last week I wrote about LA Fitness’s appalling admin and their inability to cancel a gym membership.

After a lot of stress and the threat of legal action, LA Fitness Head Office have finally apologised – to a point.

Despite the fact that we’ve paid them 120, they were willing to refund just £40, because (despite the stupidity of staff at the Epsom branch) we didn’t follow their terms and conditions – despite the fact that the Epsom manager openly admitted that mistakes had been made during the transition from Dragon’s gym to LA Fitness.

So, effectively, LA Fitness have still got the £80 that they claimed we owed them, and caused us a lot of stress with it.

I just hope that ARC Debt Collectors charged them a LOT of money for running crying to them, when they couldn’t even be bothered to send us a personal letter first.

Yes, LA Fitness, you whine on about how we should have sent a recorded delivery cancellation to you. Perhaps you should follow your own ‘advice’ with regards to customer relations.

LA Fitness is one company I hope never to have to deal with again. I suggest you avoid these thieves, too.

Here’s a word of advice…

If you’re the sort of person who might ever cancel a gym membership (and let’s face it, that’s most people) don’t EVER go to LA Fitness (at least, not the one in Ruxley Lane, Ewell).

Not unless, when you cancel your membership in the way expressly recommended by the (incompetent) manager, you still receive threatening letters from debt collection agencies.

The idiots at LA Fitness Epsom have threatened my wife, without any prior warning, with a debt collection thuggery agency, demanding an £80 payment that was never due.

Added to which, they took at least 2 months’ payment after the original membership was cancelled, before we stemmed the flow of cash by stopping the direct debit from our bank account.

So, don’t EVER join the idiots at LA Fitness. They don’t listen to complaints. They have no system in place. And to be honest, if they can’t handle basic administration, what chance have they dealing with something of the utmost importance: your health?

Thanks for nothing LA Fitness. You’re a bunch of cowboys and you deserve to publicly ridiculed. Hence the post.

Update (27 March 2008): MBS has now incorporated, or at least sold its technology, to Platte International. Take a look at the MBS Victims forum for much more information.

We’re on to your dodgy PC-killing tactics.

First take a read of Ask Jack’s blog in the Guardian Online.

While advertising popups often plague net users, Kenyon’s experience seemed worryingly different. He saw that the window was from a company in Leeds called Micro Bill Systems asking for £19.99, with the explanation that his computer had been used to sign up to a website. After suffering the annoying problem for some time, he emailed the Guardian for help.

Kenyon is always careful about protecting his PC. He was using fully updated Windows XP Professional along with Norton Internet Security 2007, Spybot Search & Destroy, AVG anti-spyware and Sophos anti-rootkit. He’d seen popups before but this one stayed longer each day, hindering his computer use. “The popup starts about 30 seconds after the PC is turned on and lasts for about four minutes before the window can be closed. While the bill is displayed, you cannot minimise it or open any other window in front of it, as it always hogs the top window slot,” he says.

Then the slightly bizarre exchange over at the Midtown Computer Systems Enterprise forum Microsoft Security forum, in which someone purporting to be from MBS defend themselves.

Not so, an eagle-eyed reader calls them out on one a clause in their rather dodgy terms and conditions:

You call the below professional ?

“11.6 IF YOU CHOOSE TO IGNORE THE PAYMENT REMINDERS AND DO NOT PAY THE REQUIRED MEMBERSHIP FEE, YOU HEREBY UNDERSTAND AND ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE PROMPT REMINDERS MIGHT BECOME MORE FREQUENT AND THAT YOU MIGHT LOSE THE ABILITY TO USE YOUR COMPUTER (I.E. ACCESSING THE INTERNET, ACCESSING YOUR FILES ETC.), UNTIL YOU HAVE SUBMITTED PAYMENT OR CONTACTED CUSTOMER SERVICES. WHILE YOUR COMPUTER IS CONNECTED TO THE INTERNET THE BILLING PROCESS WILL BE ENFORCABLE.”

Wow. Talk about blackmailing payment.

No doubt they have something going with some sleazy British backstreet ‘debt enforcement agency’ as well. They’re all slimy… at least the ones I’ve had the misfortune to deal with are (including the thugs that eBay UK use – having a fancy name doesn’t obscure who they really are)