[AusNOG] Trouble with an ex-Customer

[Skeeve Stevens]

So,

This is a new one for me.... and I'd like to know what the community thinks
about this situation.

Background first...

We have an ex-client, a micro ISP who has been very hard to deal with over
the time we've been involved with them.

Basically, They've been a customer for over a year, but only on a minimal
basis.  We offered them a higher level of service - even offered to let
them try it out for a couple of weeks for free before signing up to the new
level.  They seemed happy, and at the agreed upon date we asked them to
sign the agreement and can we issue the invoice.  They agreed to the
issuing of the invoice and then we sent the paperwork to them a little
later.

Life goes on for a couple of weeks, and we're getting no response to
questions about the agreement or to overdue notices - while still
delivering them the service.  They request a meeting, and we agree... The
customer has some new staff who were quite arrogant, abusive, and question
everything we've ever done - even though they have no idea about this
industry or how it works.

We don't appreciate being abused, so we say we'd rather not do business
with them anymore and suspend their support services with us the next day
due to the non-payment of their account.  All good and normal.


So a few days later they come at us with legal letters claiming we've
locked them out of some devices - which we haven't - we ceased doing any
work for them immediately.  We explained that we would help them with
whatever they needed - if all they did was pay their overdue invoices.
 They could do anything they needed themselves, but they are just clueless.

Now, this has been dragging on for a few weeks with letters between
lawyers, with them claiming all sort of bizarre things.  My stance is that
'without paying their invoice, we're not doing any work for them at all...
no handover, no anything'.  I am not in the habit of being bullied into
doing work for people - nasty letters or not.  They also threatened they'd
gone to the NSW Police Cyber Crime unit... who I called, and they just
basically shrugged their shoulders and said they'd received nothing yet but
will let me know if they do.

Today we informed them that we will be deleting all information that we
hold of theirs in a few days (all documentation, etc).  I don't really want
to put us at any further risk by having access to their information -
whether it is still current or not.  We're completely within our rights as
we have no legal requirements to keep anything for them.

So, an hour or so ago I got a call from my lawyer.  He was contacted by a
detective at the Kings Cross police station.  Apparently they ex-customer
has gone to the cops and made some claims and a detective seemed to think
that their claim may be valid under Section 308E of the NSW Crimes
Act<http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/ca190082/s308e.html>

The reason I am posting here is to draw on the communities experience of
these kinds of things.  I've not heard of the NSW Police getting involved
in these things, especially at the local station level... but it seems they
are.  I think that they are just using the Police to attempt to intimidate
me into doing work for him... but I won't tolerate that.  I am more than
happy to let them arrest me and let the DPP figure out how to prove their
case against me.

Firstly, my lawyer agrees that they can't compel us to do work for them
without paying.  I also believe that under the Act above, that we haven't
"impaired" (by the Act's definition) anything by not giving them any
information or knowledge we have.  The lawyers agree.

My view here is that they are free to go to any consultants anywhere...
hire who they like, but I am not going to be pressured into doing work for
them without them a) paying any unpaid invoices, or b) paying for any new
work they want, such as handover, etc.

This is a frustrating situation as over the time we've been involved with
this customer he has been abusive and used very violent language in his
dramatic outbursts about completely bizarre things (like us expecting him
to read his email).

I am sure some will say I shouldn't be discussing this here, but this
bullshit of going to the cops because I won't do work for him without him
paying his bills, is a new depth of stupidness I didn't think even they
would go to.

So I am wondering if anyone else here has had these sort of intimidation
tactics used against them in this sort of context.

If you have advice, but want to send it off-list, feel free.


...Skeeve

*Skeeve Stevens - *eintellego Networks Pty Ltd
skeeve at eintellegonetworks.com ; www.eintellegonetworks.com

Phone: 1300 239 038; Cell +61 (0)414 753 383 ; skype://skeeve

facebook.com/eintellegonetworks ;  <http://twitter.com/networkceoau>
linkedin.com/in/skeeve

twitter.com/networkceoau ; blog: www.network-ceo.net


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