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In serious trouble. Legal letter!!
 

Hi guys, im back after a while away.

Basically i stopped selling on eBay as i had university exams and they banned me for presenting a risk to the community.

Anyway i just paid it no mind and thought about a stealth account.

BUT recently my dad received a letter in the post from Rosetta Stone declaring that legal action will be taken against me and that i should write a letter declaring that i cease to sell anymore of the items. I would of ignored it but for some strange reason it went to my dads address. PLEASE NOTE i have never registered an account there, not the same name, not the same address but the phone number i used to register the account was for his house. Still find it weird that letter was sent there.

Anyway my Dad rang these people and the headquarters are in London and he told them he had nothing to do with eBay but that his son did (Me) so basically now i have to ring them and sort something out as my dad is going f'in mental about it.

I really don't know what to admit to on the phone. The items i sold were the language sets and i only sold 4 i think in total so nothing major.

Do you think i should play dumb and just say that i bought them from some guy on a market stall who wanted to get rid of them and i thought i could make some profit by selling them on eBay but had no idea that they were copyrighted against. Furthermore with it being from Rosetta Stone do you think i should keep quiet about all the other items as they are only concerned with their product.

Please help me as im really worried on what is going to happen!

I would just ignore it, I don't think they would sue you for selling 4, I would just deny you sold any.

Yeah, you see the thing is now my parents are involved they are panicking and said they will ring them themselves and tell them what i've been doing. If it had come to my university address then i would of ignored it. just confused on what to say. I might just say i sold them but had no idea they were copyrighted and i will cease selling them completely.

yes,just ignore it,just 4 pcs,they will do nothing for you.

Dont Ignore these MF[Rosetta Stone] they contacted your Dad so they means business !

Just tell these MF that you're a poor UVY student and were able to buy these 4 pcs from some Foreighn students for a good price to sell on eBay ---that you're Very Sorry bla2 and will NOT ever do this No more :nono:

EveryBody has a Soft Spot for a $truggling $tudent :heh:

The only reason they got your real address was that the home phone number. I would NEVER use my home phone for ebay purposes! They can easily track your phone number by using searching reverse phone number online.

i do not think they will believe your reason like this,just ignore them and they will not contact you any more after a while.If you sold 500 pcs,and they will keep to contact you .But if you only sold 4 pcs,they do not happy to spend too much on you,as they get nothing from you finally.

I don't think he CAN ignore it. His parents are now involved, and they do not understand the intricacies of what he is doing, so that presents a problem. For someone who has never been involved with anything like this, that is one SCARY letter!

I like the first idea. I would not send them anything in writing, if you can avoid it. I would call them and sound scared out of my mind - if you can pull off sounding like you are going to cry, that could help.

One of their questions will be "who did you get it from", they will want as much information as possible. I wouldn't say a foreign student, as that could lead to them wanting actual names, and they could end up contacting the University.

I would just give them the location of a real flea market, and say that you just thought you found a great deal and saw a chance to make a little extra money, that you had no idea they were ⊗⊗⊗⊗ or that you were infringing on anybody's trademarks or copyrights. You just thought they were overstocked items, or closeouts.

Of course, tell them you have no idea of the person's name who sold them to you. Tell them you only sold 4 (but only if that is true, they COULD try to verify it with eBay) and that you are very sorry, that you would never do this again in a million years and say something like "please, I'm BEGGING YOU, I am so, so, so sorry, etc."

The problem with using someone else's phone number or address that you know (like a friend or relative), as you have now found out, is that you cannot control the situation if anything goes wrong, like it did here. Your parents are now likely wicked pissed as they don't want to lose everything they have worked for their whole lives and may also be afraid of criminal prosecution. So, they probably won't let you ignore it.

Please bear in mind that I am not located in the UK and I am not an attorney. I'm just saying what I would do in this situation. You may want to speak with a lawyer before you do anything, but I think this would work. My guess is the person handling this would think oh, he's just a college student, a scared kid who made a stupid mistake - he only sold 4 of them and I doubt he would do it again, what could we gain by going after him?

At least, that is what I would try to make them think.

jeff,your idea sound reasonable,but in my opinion,if you call them too much and they will know you are too much care this case and you are very scare them ,and they will sure they can continue to give you troubles and even tell you pay the pennies as much as you can.So just ignore it and they will not contact you after a while.They will send you the court because of 4 pcs?

Teedon, I totally agree with you. But what does he tell his parents? And what about the fact that they already spoke with them and told them their son was involved?

I think this has already gone too far for him to ignore it.

Under normal circumstances, I would agree 100% with not responding to anything. Deny, don't respond and stop selling whatever was causing the problem. But I think its too late for that.

Just my opinion.

He tells his parents to forget about it and that everything will be just fine.

He CAN Ignore it if he Wants. I have dealt with these Guys In the past. At the End of the day there is NO Prosecutor Here in the U.S. or ANYWHERE That would take a case for only 4 Units sold---Thats a FACT.

What I would do, Only Because my dad was involved is to simply tell them that you will NO LONGER sell Rosetta Stone, but at the Same time NOT Admitting that you sold it in the Past, And THATS IT, if they want ANYTHING MORE, Tell them that you will only comply if ordered to do so under Penality of the Law in a Civil Litigation Case,---In other words tell them to Take you to COURT, they will NEVER DO IT!!!

Fizzy,

These guys are more experienced in these matters than I am, so you probably want to take their advice. Any chance of convincing your parents to simply ignoire them from now on?

Really some interesting replies here and it gives me some idea of what to say on the phone. It's hard to explain to my parents what exactly has gone on and how not to be worried as i only sold 4 MAX.

Only thing im worried about is do you reckon a representative for rosetta stone could of bought one of the sets. If so im pretty screwed as i dropshipped them from china so would be able to tell. If not i could easily palm them off and say i got a few from a market as a guy needed to get rid of them and only did it to make a fast buck. Hopefully the WORST he can give me is a little fine. even i dont believe they would take me to court for 4 pieces it would not be cost effective. Especially if im only a university student making some cash on the side to pay my rent.

exactly parents should support their kids interests, instead of being jerks and reacting without thinking it through.........my parents would keep their mouths shut. Its not about being worried, its about keeping it in the family, they should have enough life experience to understand that..

I personally would not reply to anything at all ever...you have not been caught at a market red-handed, the evidence eg, phone etc points to you but it could have been someone else in household etc or friend using your details etc, and that is their dilemma, they are waiting for an admission, its all they would really have thats concrete......

Yeah, it's obviously worrying when my parents haven't had anything like this before. The letter also said if i didn't respond within 5 days that they would pass the case file onto the police to investigate.

Do you not reckon it's possible then that they have bought one of the items i was selling so therefore have proof of it being counterfeit? Although i should note that the 4 people i sold them to were completely happy i believe as i never received any emails wanting a refund or anything.

As i said though i would of left it but my parents said if i do not ring the guy they spoke to in London they will do it. Does anyone know if they will be interested in all my other items, or is it solely a rosetta stone matter?

Just a quick idea...

It seems to me that a lot of people could be spared a lot of grief if there was a post in the Subsrcibers FAQ area that listed products to avoid like the plague!

Rosetta Stone, X90, Insanity, etc.

Just a thought...

tell your parents how serious it is for you to admit anything, compared with not saying anything, if they do not relent, they are seriously messed up..........tell them to read these answers. FIZZY VIMTOS PARENTS! DO WHAT IS BEST FOR YOUR KID, THE OFFICE YOU ARE CALLING WILL THINK YOU ARE IDIOTS FOR ADMITING TO THIS, THEY WOULDNT DO IT IF IT WERE THEIR KID, BECAUSE THEY KNOW THE WAY IT WORKS..WTH IS WRONG WITH YOU?

Rosetta stone rep will only be interested in that product unless they are representing other brands you have....

I really can't figure out how Rosetta Stone stays in business with the prices they charge for their product.

would there be any chance they would believe me if i said that i never actually sold them. If i say the listing was taken down and i refunded the people who had bought them?

I think calling them and denying it is the worst thing you could do. Better to not respond at all if that is the case. They got your dad's phone number from eBay, right? So, they may have also found out already that they were sold.

I think if you do this, they will try to trip you up somehow. Remember, they do this for a living and have probably heard all of the excuses before.

And....if you say that you refunded the monies they would probably ask you to send them the product.

Jeff is right, they will only try to trip you up.

Keep it simple. Try not to contact them at all. The more you lie or try to explain yourself, the worse it could get.

yeah i see where you're coming from. Im not exactly a legal expert, although i have got a law degree! Anyway. In england for sure they are a lot more lenient and less strict than the american legal system. What do you propose would be the worst outcome if i just play daft that yes i did it but promise not do do it again seeing as it's only a very small amount

That was the reasoning behind my original suggestion. Make them know you are a very tiny fish in a very big pond - that they have bigger fish to fry, so to speak.

One thing, though... If your parents DO receive a call or a visit from the police, or any other UK law enforcement agency (which I HIGHLY DOUBT will happen), then GET AN ATTORNEY IMMEDIATELY! At that point, you really would need legal representation.

Ignorance of law is no defence, selling just one is illegal, what is it you DONT understand, youve got a law degree, well so have millions of others they dish them out like sweeties nowadays, when I was at uni you had to be really clever to get in, DO NOT reply, if your dad wants to call them and say it was you, whatever, if YOU dont say anything YOU wont be admitting to anything.....if you call them and start saying I wont do it again blah blah they might make an example of you, unlikely in UK as you said, but if you admit to it, you will deserve everything you get, Jeffs advice is incorrect, the other contributors are correct in this instance..

ya first thing a lawyer would tell you is to say nothing...soooo best to say nothing.

Rosetta Stone, p90x, Insanity,zumba are not allowed to sell on ebay now,please be careful if you want to list them on ebay.And the beatles also can not list on ebay any more.

I wil say it again, They WILL NOT procecute you for 4 Peices I Have Dealt with these guys MORE Than Once, The Biggest MISTAKE I EVER Made in reguards to VERO Was that the first time it Happened to me for p90x I hired a Lawyer, cost me over 3 grand and all he did was send a couple of E-mails, since then I have been through it a least 12 times for different Items--Re Read my post above--NOTHING will Happen to you

Now that's what I'm talking about!!! Slapped knows his stuff!!! I like that ****!!!

@ Slapped :thumb:

:noidea: dont sell VeRo covers everything. No list is being made. The forum does not condone selling phakes.
Ya'll know it. Ya'll push boundaries :peace:
Here's a little waffle about
it http://www.aspkin.com/forums/subscri...ner-items.html

Use the SEARCH function & find 50 mentions...none of which are favorable to the selling of insanity.

My general advice in support of post #31:

For those who do not have experience keeping VeRO under the radar, leave it alone. If you don't already know exactly what to do and if you haven't got the nadz to stand up to the eventual accusations, OH WELL.

Advice to the OP: Make no comment to anyone. Not parents, not manufacturer. Neither confirm or deny. If your parents rat you out, it's no big deal. Unless they have proof you were in possession, they can be challenged as witnesses. If they make statements against you, they deserve to be publicly smeared. If my dad ever took sides specifically against me, he'd be needing a new pair of knee joints. So tell your 'rents to zip it shut.

To everyone, the OP is the best example of why I always tell people NOT to use any info that belongs to somebody who knows you. Even the ones who consent will revoke that consent if they get scary letters from the big bad shyster.

I have no sympathy, but I do hope you get your business worked out, Fizzy Vimto.

ok, i also asked an actual solicitor what to do and he said even though contact had already been made, that i should ignore the letter and make no contact.

One last question which i didn't really ask in the begining is:

If i do ignore the letter and not phone back as i probably wont bother now. it says if i do not respond within 5 days that i have ceased distribution then the case will be handed to the appropriate authorities. Even though the solicitor advised me it would cost more to take me to court than it's worth for the amount i sold, with them handing it over to the police is it not then a criminal matter and i could be taken to court by them?

I think all they are really asking for is information on where i got the items from and a letter to say i have ceased selling. perhaps if i just send an email to that effect, that would be the end of the matter?

Do NOTHING. Say NOTHING and more importantly COMMUNICATE nothing even by email.

Do the oldies know the solicitor? Is he a friend? At the least he could tell your oldies it's nothing to be concerned about given your actions now.

I went on a legal website and paid roughly £10 for an answer to my question, he was fully qualified with a masters in law and 5 years practising, he had 132, 100% positive feedback for helping others so i guess it's pretty accurate advice he's given me!!

The 'proper authories' does not necessarily mean the police. If they do in fact pursue this as a civil matter, it is not criminal - therefore, no police. If they pursue it as a criminal allegation, you would be charged criminally, possibly a letter in the mail from the magistrate's clerk instead of a visit from the men with the chrome bracelets.

Ask yourself: does the overburdened criminal justice system have the time to even blink at something like this? Would they be likely to expend ANY resources pursuing a case? Would they be inclined to not even open a case?

so even though a solicitor and all of us have said dont contact them, you are still asking whether you should email them and give them some info, because that might be the end of the matter????

ok, Ive changed my mind - you and your parents deserve each other, seems that in terms of intelligence the apple doesnt fall far from the tree...

Yes i know, no need to be so rude. I have recently just graduated from university with an LLB in law and even though yes, ignoring the letters seems to be the way forward, it certainly is not impossible that they could pursue the matter further. As for apple not falling far from the tree. Both my parents and step-father are university educated with graduate, high paying jobs, so you can see their concern....

I don't see their concern, if they are educated enough to comprehend strategy and psychology. The communication you received is nothing more serious than a spooky campfire story. Booga Wooga, I say.

If you have background education in law, you already know the answer. You are nervous about the voices in your head. Turn up the volume of your HiFi.

If you acknowledge the contact by sending any reply, you imply culpability.

I think that should be sufficient to let this thread rest. Not much else can be achieved. The only possible further posting would be needless discussion.

I Can't tell

If that were the Case, that you have an LLB in law, then you would KNOW that you cannot Awnser them.

You KNOW that if you Provide them with your Supplier's Contact information, the rest of your Unsold inventory, and everything else they ask for Then you KNOW that you just Provided them with ALL THE EVIDENCE to GUARANTEE a CONVICTION against both YOU and your SUPPLIER.

By providing the requested material you will take a Case that has NO CHANCE of EVER getting into the court system, to a Case that is GUARANTEED to get BOTH, Into the Court System and CONVICTIONS all around.

Go Ahead and Contact them, give what they want, you KNOW what will happen.