DigiProtect Now Handing Pre-Settlement Threat Amounts Over To Collections Agencies
from the that's-not-good dept
We've covered how various companies in Europe have built up an extremely profitable business by purposely seeding content they have the rights to on file sharing networks, and then sending "pre-settlement" letters demanding money from the holder of any IP address that connects to them, even if the IP address is not accurately indicating who was involved. They're now sending out these letters at a massive rate, and while they're not actually filing lawsuits, it appears that at least one of the firms involved, DigiProtect, is getting a collections agency involved in some cases. That seems pretty nasty. There's no actual debt here, because the person has not agreed to pay up, but by handing it over to a collections agency, the person will now get hounded with demands for payment. It's difficult to see how this is even close to legal.![Hide This Hide this](https://ii.techdirt.com/s/t/i/topclose.png)
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Filed Under: collections, pre-settlement
Companies: digiprotect
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Protection racket
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FDCPA
Probably the biggest question is if you contest the debt, should you expect DigiProtect to take you to court?
This whole thing seems quite wrong.
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Re: FDCPA
damn i hate ignorant amerifags who think the usa is the world
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Re: Re: FDCPA
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Re: Re: FDCPA
And maybe that's the problem.
Every time some snot-head neighbor of yours gets in your face or you have an earthquake or flood or tsunami you come crying to the USA to save and help you.
The money/services/equipment sent to other countries to aid for the last 10 years from the USA could buy almost any mid sized country in Europe.
We don't want to live there.
/Rant
Yes the AC is a result of our great American education.
Please excuse his/her ignorance just as we ignore your silly accents.
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Re: Re: FDCPA
Admittedly, I missed the Europe/UK sentence. I'll do better after my third cup. Promise.
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Re: Re: FDCPA
really?
lets try this again without the grade school-like name calling.
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Re: FDCPA
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Re: Re: FDCPA
working for a devil just can't be good for the ol' morale.
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Re: FDCPA
Do you actually have DEBT they are trying to collect?
I am sure any "rational" country would have law to punish people who try to collect non-existant debt on you.
at least I hope that's the case...
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Never heard from the collections agency again.
I also followed up with my local drive licenses plate provider on how come they release my private information to a company with out a court order but only by the accusations from a private company. I reported their release of my private information to the privacy commission and filed a formal complaint.
As in this case how did the company resolve who owes the IP address for that given time? Is it provable in court? Was it proved in court? Why would the ISP release private information to another company with out a court order?
People need to start fighting this guys. The government needs to work for the people and take down this protection racket scheme.
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Re:
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Forget the harrassment...
Then it's just a matter of piling on the charges....
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Re: Forget the harrassment...
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Re: Re: Forget the harrassment...
Easy there, Sparky....
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Re: Re: Forget the harrassment...
*** Borrowed without permission from AngryDude
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Re: Forget the harrassment...
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The future.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20427375.200-net-piracy-the-people-vs-the-entertainm ent-industry.html?full=true
But I don't think in the future it will matter because what is to come will definitely kill all hope of containing anything.
Fast memory that can hold your entire life in video could be just around the corner.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20427370.600-five-ways-to-revolutionise-computer-memo ry.html?full=true
Then you have the new paradigm called "augmented reality" when people start using glasses or googles or even full masks(frog concept) that will enhance how you see and interact with the world and will be capable of seeing what you see and storing that information, then everyone will have a perfect copy of what they see and it could be even stored in 3D format and all those people will be pirates then.
It is not getting more difficult to copy data is getting easier every year, next year is coming out(maybe) the first 802.11n(150Mb/s) equipment and after 2012 the 802.11ac which promises Gb/s is in already being planed.
Soon people will have gigabit connections and it will come the day that to transfer a whole Bluray it will only be a matter of seconds.
Encrypted channels with morphing protocols that simulate other protocols will kill deep packet inspection.
I feel sorry for those people who think they can try and stop anything it ain't gonna happen dude!
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Re: The future.
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Collections
Since the bank could not produce the required legal papers, my friends got the full debt dropped and a good chunk of a free house.
I say do the same and request proof of your debt.
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DigiProtect Now Handing Pre-Settlement Threat Amounts Over To Collections Agencies
Sue the collection agencies too. Track 'em and smack 'em back.
If they come creeping around our servers I will corrupt their entire system. I buy every book I can find on hacking and also have many you can't buy. The hacker is the enemy to my corporation and we will have take every measure to nail them.
Also we have setup a sweet Honey Pot Data NET that grabs hackers and lets them think they have a system to hack while we log every move. Smack 'em back. We donate a whole group of servers to this and I am happy to say I have nailed several assholes who try to subvert our databases. When they mess with our servers I have a tendency to treat them like burglars and I will send them the nastiest stuff I can find for them. I call it my extended firewall.
On to the case at hand. Any company that fraudulently attaches a charge to any person and saying that their agreement to charge them is their IP address I really hope they do it to me. I am lucky enough to be able to pay cash for the things I want. So I have no credit. Car paid off, House paid off, large screen paid off plus I am the CTO of a small company but with enough resources to smack 'em back.
This is serious stuff and is so unfair we need to attack it now.
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Re: DigiProtect Now Handing Pre-Settlement Threat Amounts Over To Collections Agencies
"We've covered how various companies in Europe"
They aren't in the U.S.
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Re: Re: DigiProtect Now Handing Pre-Settlement Threat Amounts Over To Collections Agencies
Pot, meet kettle.
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Re: Re: Re: Re: DigiProtect Now Handing Pre-Settlement Threat Amounts Over To Collections Agencies
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Having worked for a collection agency once when I was a lot younger, I know a little about what they are legally allowed to do, and if a person is prepared to make a statement, under court oath, that they do not owe that money and there is no existing proof to the contrary (and there can't be in this case), then the collection agency will stop calling them. If they do not, the collection agency can be sued for harassment.
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@DigiProtect Now Handing Pre-Settlement Threat Amounts Over To Collections Agencies
I think we should start doing the same thing as these guys - seed our legally owned content, and then when one somebody at one of these collection groups downloads it, slam them back and get another collection group after them. It would be entertaining.
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Re: @DigiProtect Now Handing Pre-Settlement Threat Amounts Over To Collections Agencies
Zero Cool told me that he hacked a Gibson, so I'd be careful....
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Re: Re: @DigiProtect Now Handing Pre-Settlement Threat Amounts Over To Collections Agencies
yeah it was easy the admin used the password "god" ;)
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: @DigiProtect Now Handing Pre-Settlement Threat Amounts Over To Collections Agencies
no your crime is your fashion sense .... that black hat is so late 80's ... you should wear a tux like me .... ;)
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: @DigiProtect Now Handing Pre-Settlement Threat Amounts Over To Collections Agencies
I accept no criticism from birds that can't be bothered to fly....
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: @DigiProtect Now Handing Pre-Settlement Threat Amounts Over To Collections Agencies
i have a catapult and a ticket to the local zoo. i can prove it!
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Much easier..
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Only in the IP world do people accept this as okay.
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Re:
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Re: Re:
IP law is retarded if you think it in that light.
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OP
Also, this is illegal, as the collections agencies have not provided hard proof of failure to pay, and they cannot be set on you without:
a) A Possession/Seizure order; or
b) A valid credit agreement.
Under UK law, they have two months to provide you with a HARD COPY of the credit agreement/court order, or their claim is void.
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