The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) decides to refer Andrew Crossley of ACS Law to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) following complaints over the firm’s practice of sending ‘bullying’ letters to people it accused of illegal file-sharing.
Back in May of last year a new law firm called ACS: Law sprang up to take on the battle of illegal file-sharing, sending out P2P “settlement” letter en masse on behalf of a number of different copyright folders.
A number of innocent people we’re quickly ensnared in the dragnet and threatened that if they didn’t pay settlement fee ranging from between £300-500 ($497-828 USD) in 21 days they’d be sued for copyright infringement.
At this time Consumer watchdog Which? complained to the country’s Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) that ACS Law engaged in ‘bullying’ and ‘excessive’ conduct. The process would take more than a year to sort out the charges.
In the meantime, by December ACS:Law had begun a more aggressive campaign of intimidation when it announced plans to target 15,000 illegal file-sharers as part of what it calls a “revolutionary business model” that “generates revenue for rights holders and effectively decreases copyright infringement in a measurable and sustainable way” unlike the “costly and ineffective” anti-piracy measures of other companies.
Andrew Crossley, a spokesman for ACS:Law, defended the firms approach, saying it’s “unaware” of any innocent people being targeted and that the plan is necessary to “eradicate” illegal file-sharing.
“I am accused of demanding payment in my initial letters of claim,” he said in an open letter posted on the law firm’s website. “This is not true. The recipient of the letter of claim is afforded the opportunity if they wish to close the matter off and avoid the issue continuing by entering into a compromise agreement to bring the matter to an end. They are under no compulsion or obligation to do this and the compromise agreement is an entirely voluntary process.”
By January Which? had received letters from more than 150 innocent people that had received warning letters so far from ACS:Law, proving the need for urgency in the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) review of the matter.
Yet, it wouldn’t be until just recently, more than a year after filing a complaint, that that the SRA would decide to refer Crossley to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT).
“We welcome this decision because we’ve received so many complaints from consumers who believe they been treated appallingly by this law firm,” says Deborah Prince, Which?’s head of legal. “We also believe that it’s time for the profession to take action against law firms, and those responsible for them, which behave in a way we believe most right-thinking people would view as both aggressive and bullying.”
Prince also expressed her disappointment with how long the process takes and asked that the SRA “look at ways to speed up its complaints process.”
The SRA countered that complex cases sometimes require a lot of time in order to gather all the supporting evidence, and that consumers “would not be well served if the SRA” improperly hurried the process.
Either way, at least ACS:Law is finally being forced to account for its misdeeds. Lucky for us is that it doesn’t have the option of having the same “settlement fees” its so often tried to force on innocent people.
Stay tuned.
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Fight back against ACS Law!
The consumer group Which reports that Andrew Crossley of ACS Law Solicitors (ACS Law) is being referred to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) after Which complained that the law firm sent ‘bullying’ letters to people it had accused of illegal file-sharing.
If you were sent these letters, and had not acted as the letter claims, contact us on [email protected] for a free assessment of your case. We are currently gathering clients with view to a group action for harassment as a result of these letters.
This is GREAT news and a vindication of a LOT of people who have received letters from ACS:LAW standing up to them and saying “NO”. Their is one other Law Firm practicing this “Speculative Invoicing” that Andrew Crossley decribes as “Rewvolutionary” and their name is Gallant Macmillan.
For more info on ACS:LAW and these other Law Firms, pleas see the Blog at http://acsbore.wordpress.com/