[AusNOG] *STOP THREAD* Re: Trouble with an ex-Customer

[Gavin Tweedie]

[*STOP THREAD* is a request by the list moderators for this thread to 
end immediately. Full details announced @ 
http://lists.ausnog.net/pipermail/ausnog/2013-April/018219.html]

This thread is not on topic and furthermore as police are involved this 
is not the appropriate forum for this discussion.

Gavin
(on behalf of the AusNOG Board)

On 7/05/2013 11:20 AM, Skeeve Stevens wrote:
> 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 <mailto:skeeve at eintellegonetworks.com> ;
> www.eintellegonetworks.com <http://www.eintellegonetworks.com/>
>
> Phone: 1300 239 038; Cell +61 (0)414 753 383 ; skype://skeeve
>
> facebook.com/eintellegonetworks
> <http://facebook.com/eintellegonetworks> ;
> <http://twitter.com/networkceoau>linkedin.com/in/skeeve
> <http://linkedin.com/in/skeeve>
>
> twitter.com/networkceoau <http://twitter.com/networkceoau> ; blog:
> www.network-ceo.net <http://www.network-ceo.net/>
>
>
> The Experts Who The Experts Call
>
> Juniper - Cisco - Cloud
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> AusNOG mailing list
> AusNOG at lists.ausnog.net
> http://lists.ausnog.net/mailman/listinfo/ausnog
>