Olson & Cepuritis - eBay VERO Scam Artists |
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I'm an eBay power seller and have managed a successful eBay business for almost 10 years. I specialize in books and manuals, and occasionally sell a specific high ticket training package: The Becker CPA Review books - retail of over $3500 a set. I have a reputation in the area for prompt, professional sales of these books, so am approached throughout the year by individuals that wish to sell them. My sales of these materials are usually hassle-free. That is unless someone commits perjury in order to interfere with the legal sale of these materials - Becker / DeVry. In this instance their tools would be lawyers at the firm of Olson & Cepuritis. In the past it has been other law firms, but Becker / DeVry seems to change legal council as often as a mother changes a baby's diapers. And for the same reason (thanks to T.Bubba Bechtel for that one.) This law firm has on two occasions filed false copyright violation complaints with eBay's VERO program (Dec. 07 and Jan. 08,) committing fraud by stating under penalty of perjury that the items I was selling violated their copyright. I filed counter-notices with eBay and replied to the scam-artists email (bgesiakowski@olsonip.com) immediately - none of my emails to this con-job company were ever answered. If you visit the shyster's website, you'll note that no such lawyer or email address is listed on there. Unprofessional. Fraudulent? In my constitutionally protected right to free speech opinion? Yep. Can you say "rack up billable hours by committing fraud?" The proof: I filed counter-notices for the invalid take downs. They did not follow-up. Why? Because they knew that these were false take downs and constituted fraud. If they really believed their own crap they would have to back it up. I am now able to sell these item on eBay. What I find truly disturbing is that this law firm is violating the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act,) the law that it purports to be specialists in upholding. They are committing perjury by filing false complaints - it's as simple as that. They completed the paperwork, affixed their greasy little signature, and sent it in, thus completing their illegal deeds. They know the complaints are false and refuse all attempts at communication. They also are in violation of eBay's VERO member agreement and eBay's auction interference policy. Toss in violation federal fraud and fair trade statutes, illegal business practices and basically being assholes. Oops. Lawyer. Asshole. Sorry for being redundant. As for when they filed their complaints? How's this for amateur hour: The first complaint was filed on Christmas Eve 2007. The next complaint was filed on a Saturday afternoon. Why? Because these idiots assume that this will delay the victim of their fraud by several days. It's a holiday or a weekend, and they assume I don't read my email. Oops. Wrong. The main reason? They can bill their client more $$$ for holiday and weekend hours. I filed the required counter-notice the same day the auctions were fraudulently taken down. I also sent letters to eBay outlining the specific violations committed by Olson & Cepuritis, but that's like "pissing against the wind" - in the end, fruitless. And messy. eBay does not give a damn about the seller. Never has. Never will. That's part and parcel of selling on eBay. We have to put up with their draconian policies and near dictatorial rule. They blithely ignore their own policies - and even violate them. Do as I say and not as I do. We all know that old adage. Have you been a casualty of the ongoing "rack up billable hours" scam? Had your auctions pulled because of false VERO filings? Complain to eBay. Send a complaint to the Illinois State Bar Association (these scammers are in Chicago, IL - Cook County) and anyone else you can think of. Have a friend that's a lawyer? Have him or her send off a few letters to eBay and Olson & Cepuritis. See my link on top of this page on fighting VERO. Final note: Have you seen the photo of their headquarters - the building on the Olson & Cepuritis website. This is actually the Civic Opera House building. They have an office there, yet picture the building prominently on their main website page. This makes it appear that this is their office building. Misleading and unprofessional. Typical. Am I being a little redundant and repetitive here? Yep. It's intentional. Update: I received a reply today (01/09/08) from the email I sent out on 12/26/07. eBay requires a reply from the VERO whiner within two business days. I guess they don't own a calendar. Perhaps they can get a freebie from the Civic Opera? See the eMails! FYI, they place such importance on the VERO program that they stick a rookie paralegal on the case! This is so low on their priorities that they won't even assign a real lawyer. Obviously Becker-DeVry gets what they pay for. These guys are akin to a crack-head child molester following a buss load of kindergartners. Barbara Gesiakowski probably walks around with the same look on her drooling, slack-jawed face. * Rack up billable hours scam: They create work
by filing false copyright complaints, and bill their clients for the
time required. Again, my opinion based on the companies behavior
towards myself. They file a false complaint, don't follow-up, ignore
attempts at communication from myself and from eBay, and basically
make asses of themselves. They made the complaint and bill Becker /
DeVry for the privilege. |