RE: Fwd: Need Help Against Unethical California Software Business Practices

Well...they *are* entering into that unholy 'Midrange Alliance' with
Microsoft...maybe California Software is trying to impress  Microsoft
with their business practices.

> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: Fwd: Need Help Against Unethical California Software
> Business      Practices
> From: "Steve Landess" <sjl_abc@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> Date: Wed, January 12, 2005 10:21 am
> To: midrange-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx
> Cc: tclukay@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.
> >
> -- 
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