Fwd: Need Help Against Unethical California Software Business Practices

["Steve Landess" <sjl_abc@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

FYI:
Message I found this morning on comp.sys.ibm.as400.misc.  

Comments?

Regards,
Steve

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Cluke" <>
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.as400.misc
Sent: Tuesday, January 11, 2005 12:45 PM
Subject: Need Help Against Unethical California Software Business Practices


> Dear iSeries community:
> 
> AVOID DOING BUSINESS WITH CALIFORNIA SOFTWARE.
> 
> I purchased a personal copy of Baby/400 from California Software in
> 1998 for around $1K. I used the product for about three months, didn't
> like it, and uninstalled it in the Spring of 1999, at which point I
> conducted no further business or correspondence with California
> Software.
> 
> Suddenly in September 2003, California Software sent me an "annual
> maintenance" invoice for $5000 (yes, 5 times the original purchase
> price) of the product I had uninstalled over 4 years prior.
> 
> In the 17 months since then, I have emailed, faxed, phoned and written
> to California Software, trying to explain to them there never was a
> maintenance contract.  They have ignored all requests from myself, a
> lawyer, and the Los Angeles Better Business Bureau, for copies of the
> supposed contract.
> 
> And with all of this, unbelievably, California Software continues to
> bill me.  This year, they've apparently once again changed the terms of
> the contract that never existed, and are billing me on a monthly basis
> to the tune of $417/month.
> 
> The reasons for my posting this article are two-fold:
> 
> (1) To warn small companies or individuals and consultants who do not
> have lots of money to spend in court to seriously reconsider any
> business with this company, and
> 
> (2) To beg anyone with any helpful information or suggestions as to how
> to deal with this situation to please email me back at
> tclukay@xxxxxxxxxxxx
> 
> I would prefer not to have to take money out of my IRA or my son's
> college fund to fight these unethical preditors.
>