Winn and Sims Anonymously Slanders Me And My Family

Well, just when I think that Winn and Sims can't shoot themselves in the foot any further, they do it again... There was a post I made over here where an Anonymous reader made some slanderous remarks (well technically it's libel because it was written, not spoken). Not thinking anything of it, I didn't look into it any further. My sister on the other hand thought it might be Winn and Sims. Knowing how an anonymous user really wouldn't be interested enough in this site to return again, it seemed a little suspicious when that same user returned to post again. So let's see here, this person slandered me and my family in the following ways (and these are all direct quotes):

• You're a fucking asshole mother fucker


• You're obviously a no-talent asshole


• You know nothing about business


• Why don't you get a life? Better yet, just drop dead


• Fuck off and stay there....dick.


• I am not affiliated with Winn & Sims (hmm, that seems like it might be a blatant lie)


• asshole sister


• he's gay


• You are as equally pathetic

Now this is where it gets interesting. Apparently Winn and Sims underestimate my ability to track all users on my servers, including them (you would think they would realize this after I posted this, but ok).

So after, the second post I decided to pull the web logs to see who this person actually is...

www.winn-and-sims.com 66.121.62.50 - - [16/Nov/2004:18:15:08 -0800] "GET / HTTP/1.1" 200 38964 "http://search.msn.com/results.aspx?srch=105&FORM=AS5&q=winn+%26+sims" "Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows 98)"
www.winn-and-sims.com 66.121.62.50 - - [16/Nov/2004:18:15:08 -0800] "GET /style.css HTTP/1.1" 200 3177 "http://www.winn-and-sims.com/" "Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows 98)"
www.winn-and-sims.com 66.121.62.50 - - [16/Nov/2004:18:15:09 -0800] "GET /images/letter.gif HTTP/1.1" 200 33972 "http://www.winn-and-sims.com/" "Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows 98)"
www.winn-and-sims.com 66.121.62.50 - - [16/Nov/2004:18:15:09 -0800] "GET /images/building.jpg HTTP/1.1" 200 47898 "http://www.winn-and-sims.com/" "Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows 98)"
www.winn-and-sims.com 66.121.62.50 - - [16/Nov/2004:18:15:09 -0800] "GET /images/old.jpg HTTP/1.1" 200 39440 "http://www.winn-and-sims.com/" "Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows 98)"
www.winn-and-sims.com 66.121.62.50 - - [16/Nov/2004:18:16:40 -0800] "GET /2004/11/swift-efficiency.html HTTP/1.1" 200 5848 "http://www.winn-and-sims.com/" "Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows 98)"
www.winn-and-sims.com 66.121.62.50 - - [16/Nov/2004:18:19:52 -0800] "GET /2004/10/dispute-settled.html HTTP/1.1" 200 7501 "http://www.winn-and-sims.com/" "Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows 98)"
www.winn-and-sims.com 66.121.62.50 - - [16/Nov/2004:18:32:30 -0800] "GET /2004/08/obscene-letter-to-ralph.html HTTP/1.1" 200 5728 "http://www.winn-and-sims.com/2004/10/dispute-settled.html" "Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows 98)"
www.winn-and-sims.com 66.121.62.50 - - [16/Nov/2004:18:33:49 -0800] "GET /2004/09/why-i-wasnt-served-summons.html HTTP/1.1" 200 8736 "http://www.winn-and-sims.com/" "Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows 98)"

Now, let's resolve the www.winnsims.com IP address:

Name: www.winnsims.com
Address: 66.121.62.50

Notice that the IP address for their website is the same as the user that posted the comments. Knowing that their server is a SuSE Linux machine that is physically located in their office, and also acts as their network gateway for their NAT, that means that whoever posted those comments was physically located within the Winn and Sims office.

It makes me wonder if this letter was actually written by Winn and Sims, then mailed to themselves to try and make me look bad to my attorney since the general tone and verbiage is similar. I think it would be unlikely, but everything about this seems like it should be unlikely as well. Just makes me wonder.

Swift Efficiency

Not only has Winn and Sims not accepted ownership of the domain (per the settlement agreement), they are also 3 weeks late (so far) for filing the request for dismissal with the court (per the settlement agreement, it was supposed to be filed no later than October 20th [15 days after the execution of the settlement agreement]).

I'm not sure if it's even possible to drag your feet any more than this.

Domain Transfer (Still) Pending

I'm trying to give Winn and Sims the winnandsims.com domain per the settlement agreement and it's been a week now since I initiated a domain transfer to their requested email address. I've also resent the request to them almost every day.

{knock, knock} Anyone home? A domain can't be transfered to someone unless the receiving party accepts ownership of it.

Maybe they changed their collective minds and don't want it anymore.

Domain Transfer Initiated

I got tired of waiting for Winn and Sims to do it, so I went ahead and initiated the domain transfer for winnandsims.com on my own just to get this whole thing over with.

Hopefully they will be able to figure out how to accept it.

Who Is The #1 Visitor To This Site?

Why, that would be Winn and Sims (the law firm) of course, with 28 unique visits between May 28, 2004 at 11:34:39 am and now.

Everyone there seems to use Internet Explorer on Windows 98 or Windows 2000 as their web browser. Someone should tell them about Firefox. It's a much better browser.

Domain Transfer Agreement (Or Not)

I know that debt collectors must deal with pretty idiotic people on a normal basis, but Winn and Sims must think I'm beyond stupid. The settlement agreement was already signed and executed by all parties, and part of that agreement was a clause that I would transfer the domain winnandsims.com to them by completing any necessary domain transfer forms within 10 days of receipt.

Now, they try to slip a whole "Domain Transfer and Assignment Agreement" in the backdoor (which is longer than the original settlement agreement) that they think I'm going to sign. Pretty much everything that they couldn't get me to agree to in the settlement agreement is showing up in this. Or maybe they just want me to sign something that says I'm still willing to transfer the domain to them? I'm not going to breach the original settlement agreement, so as soon as they get me domain transfer info, the domain is theirs.

Here are some of my favorite parts from the new one...

• I can never apply for any derivative domain name


• I will not take any action that will detriment winnandsims.com (whatever that means... {shrug})


• I won't apply for a trademark with their name (or anything similar) in it (uh, because I wanted one? huh?)


• I will not purchase a META-TAG on any website that references any trademark of theirs (after reading that, I wonder if they know what a meta tag actually is or not). Either way, has anyone in the world ever heard of someone buying a meta tag? Maybe someone would like to buy my <br> tags... This could be a hot item on eBay I'm sure. heh


• They would like me to transfer all goodwill I have associated with winnandsims.com


• They want me to grant them power of attorney for my domain names (this one is so funny I actually started to cry from laughing so hard... really).


• They want me to remove all the content of my site


• I won't maliciously redirect traffic from their domains to my own or link to their domains (uh, okay... why not put in there that I won't steal a nuclear warhead from our government. It has about as much probability or relevance).


• They want any future disputes to be resolved in Orange County (right after they signed the *actual* settlement agreement which states future disputes will be resolved in San Diego).

What's even funnier is there is a provision in this new agreement that basically reads exactly as the original (signed) agreement does. Basically saying I'll transfer the domain name to them. I wonder what would happen if I lost my mind and did sign this one? Would I get another agreement I'm supposed to sign saying that I still agree to transfer the domain ownership? :)

As far as I'm concerned the original dispute has been settled and there isn't going to be any further agreement I'm going to sign (other than the transfer agreement with the domain registrar).

While we are in the process of trying to get people to sign binding agreements for absolutely no reason whatsoever, maybe I'll see if they would be willing to sign an agreement that all Winn and Sims employees will get a tattoo of my name somewhere on their body.

New Domain

Since Winn and Sims gets my domain as part of the settlement agreement, I've moved everything over to my new domain (winn-and-sims.com). To be honest, I kind of like this one better anyway. :)

Dispute Settled

I got a signed copy of the settlement agreement yesterday. Since I made it specifically clear I would not agree to anything that requires confidentiality, I can share it. This is what it ended up being...

• I get my money back that was levied ($6,858.94).


• Cavalry agrees to pay for my attorney fees ($3,000).


• Winn and Sims gets ownership of the winnandsims.com domain (but not the content).


• Any future disputes between us will be resolved in San Diego (rather than Van Nuys).

So what it basically comes down to is I get all my money back, plus my attorney fees, but then I'm out $8 for the cost of the domain.

Why I Wasn't Served A Summons?

One interesting thing I noticed is that Winn and Sims paid $22 to serve my summon to appear in court (mine must have been a deal because they paid $45 for a different one to be served). The company that they paid to do it is based in Los Angeles (I'm in San Diego), which is a 216 mile round-trip between their location and the location I was supposed to be served papers at.

Now lets do the math here... Cheap gas is at least $2/gallon around here, but let's call it $1.80 to be nice. And figure an average car probably gets around 20 miles per gallon. So hypothetically 11 gallons of gas could have been required to properly serve me (which works out to roughly $20 in gas). Now, if there was absolutely no traffic it would be a 4 hour round-trip, but we are talking about Los Angeles here, so 6 hours round-trip is a more realistic estimate. Not even taking into expenses like wear and tear on the vehicle, that leaves about $0.33 per hour that this company made to serve me papers (of course, they also need to pay their employee out of that sum of money as well).

I'll assume that a someone that was intelligent enough to go through law school would realize that for $22, it probably was never actually going to happen. In fact, I would bet money that if I asked an unemployed homeless guy (that happened to have a car) to drop something off for me in Los Angeles for $22, he would laugh at me.

It's quite possible that Winn and Sims just thought it was their lucky day, and got a deal of a lifetime. Personally, I think Crystal Jackson at Executive Attorney Services screwed Winn and Sims (they were out $22 and I never got served any papers).

All Sorts Of Good Domains

Winn and Sims went on a tear and bought all sorts of good domains. Maybe they are expanding and would like to have a unique domain for each office location or something.

winnandsims.net
winnandsims.org
winnandsims.info
winnandsims.biz
winnandsims.us
winnsims.net
winnsims.org
winnsims.info
winnsims.biz
winnsims.us

probably others too...

They already own winnsims.com, and I'm going to give them winnandsims.com, so their collection should be complete soon. :)

Someone should also tell Kel-tek (the company they outsource their IT needs to) that there are places that are much cheaper than Network Solutions for registering domains. 10 domains for 5 years each at Network Solutions works out to $999.50 for a bunch of useless domains. You could have gotten those same domains for the same terms for $347.50 through Omnis. Oh well... {shrug}

Winn And Sims Better Business Bureau Record

Company Rating F

It seems I'm not the only one that has complaints about Winn and Sims as a company. They seem to have an unsatisfactory standing with the Better Business Bureau. In fact, they have the lowest possible rating with the Better Business Bureau (a rating of "F").

Quote from the BBB regarding Winn and Sims

...F means that we strongly question the company’s reliability for reasons such as that they have failed to respond to complaints, their advertising is grossly misleading, they are not in compliance with the law’s licensing or registration requirements, their complaints contain especially serious allegations, or the company’s industry is known to us for its fraudulent business practices.

For the record, I did not do anything with the Better Business Bureau regarding Winn and Sims (or anyone for that matter). Personally, I think it's a waste of time. But I still think it's interesting that others have followed through with it.

Obscene Letter To Ralph

Winn and Sims apparently received an obscene letter directed towards Ralph (Sims I'm assuming). Since it was postmarked from San Diego, it was logically attributed to me. It's that same sort of logic and Sherlock Holmes-like investigation skills that started this whole silly case.

So while I don't actually claim responsibility, they did send my attorney a copy of it (which of course was forwarded to me). It appears someone besides myself is dissatisfied with Winn and Sims. I have no clue who "James" is (but I'll assume it's not his real name), nor do I know what his complaint is. It is a legitimate letter sent by someone to Winn and Sims, which I know for a fact because it was forwarded to me when they incorrectly attributed its origination to me.



In theory, if Winn and Sims spent time delivering documents that were requested for discovery (which was due over a month ago), rather than wasting their own time with this letter we might get somewhere.

My personal advice to "James"... while your letter is funny in a childish sort of way, it's pretty much a waste of your time and serves no purpose (other than for you to vent your frustrations... which I guess might be personally useful to you).

Still No Discovery

The 30 day extension we granted them has now passed, and much to my amazement (haha!), Winn and Sims is still unable to produce the requested documents for discovery. We gave them another month, so now they have until September 12. Although I'm not really holding my breath on this one.

Cavalry Portfolio Services

I was bored, so I decided to see who Cavalry actually was, and it looks like I hit the nail on the head from this entry.

From their website:
...one of the largest buyers of distressed debt in the United States...

It's still one of those things that my brain wants to spell as Calvary for whatever reason (see previous post).

Default Judgment Reversed

The default judgment was officially reversed by the court. So at least the whole thing is back to the point of me being able to prove this is identity theft, and not bad debt (which will be cake).

Documents Lost?

It seems Winn and Sims is unable to produce the documents we requested for discovery, so a 30 day extension was granted to allow them to do so. This gives them until August 12.

Offer For Half

Apparently Winn and Sims heard that I'm fighting it, and they offered to give me half my money back. Right... It's about the principle for me, and I would be willing to pay more than what they took just to get it back.

Also, I forgot to mention that Winn and Sims willfully set aside the default judgment, so we don't have to do the hearing on June 8th.

Hearing Set

Have a hearing set at the Van Nuys courthouse on June 8th to start to undo what Winn and Sims did.

Cavalry Investments LLC

After seeing their name all over the court documents, I was wondering who they are exactly (they don't sound like a credit card company in my opinion).

I could be totally wrong, but as far as I can tell they look like they buy large quantities of bad debt from credit card companies as a whole.

The financial business world is fascinating, isn't it? hehe (just kidding)

BTW, I don't like the word Cavalry, I always want to spell it as Calvary for some reason...

Building

I was bored, so I poked around a little bit. Winn and Sims' offices are in a pretty cool historical building...

This is what it looks like now:



And "back in the day":

Six Month Window

Since the judgment was entered on October 29, apparently I only have 2 weeks to do anything about it (there is a 6 month time frame). Which if you ask me is incredibly lame because if they choose to snag my money a month from now, I would have been completely out of luck, even though I knew nothing about it.

Now They Have My Correct Address

Called Juan this morning and gave him my right address (since they never had it to begin with). That way they actually know where to send my money back to.

Allegedly Unethical Firm

Hey look, I'm famous (just kidding of course). Open Directory gave us an entry in Allegedly Unethical Firms which propagates out to the hundreds of sites/directories that use ODP data. For example:

• Winn and Sims link in Google directory
  
• Winn and Sims link in DMOZ
  
• Winn and Sims link in Science Daily
  
• Winn and Sims link in Thumbshots
  
• Winn and Sims link in knowledge.com
  
• Winn and Sims link in Excite UK

Looking It All Over

Ate some salmon for dinner while looking over some of the court documents. Lots of interesting things here:

• Says I was served on June 27, 2003. It also says the person who was served has black hair, blue eyes, is 5' 4" and 160 pounds. That's interesting, because I'm 6'0", no hair (have a clean shaven head since about 6 months before this date), brown eyes and weigh 155 pounds. The person who "served" me (Crystal Jackson from Executive Attorney Services) probably was eating a cheeseburger at the beach instead... Job well done Crystal! {rolls eyes}
  
• Credit card application has my mothers maiden name as something not even remotely correct.
  
• Address, phone number and signature on credit card application is not mine (gee, no wonder I never got a statement). (The only thing that IS right is the name and social security number)
  
• I wasn't even named on the original lawsuit. Somehow half way through it, I got added (plantiff even had to refile court documents because the court had no idea who I was).
  

Off To Los Angeles

Spent six hours in Los Angeles traffic going to the Van Nuys court house to get a copy of everything in the file. Officially you can only get 20 pages without filing a duplication request and coming back another day to pick it up. After a little arguing, they photocopied all documents for me right then and there (I didn't particularly want to drive from San Diego again).

Talked To Juan

So I called the phone number, and it's the law offices of Winn and Sims. Talked to a guy named Juan (who is assigned to my suit). He wasn't terribly helpful (can't blame him, because they probably deal with 100 jack-asses per day who really are guilty). Basically said I needed to get a lawyer to get it straightened out.

Called Bank

Called the bank and they said there was a Marshal Levy against my account, and only had a phone number for it (which they gave me).

Money Missing

Realized $6,878.94 is missing from one of my back accounts. Gee, that's strange, but since it's Saturday, I'll call the bank on Monday.

Background

I got a call from one of their call handlers a few years ago. Telling me I owed $6,000 on some credit card which I never had. It was a MasterCard, and never in my life have I been in possesion of ANY MasterCard, much less one from whatever credit card compay they were representing. Even funnier is the fact it the credit card (and statements) were sent to an address where not only did I never live, I never lived in that county (no wonder I never knew about this credit card I have... hah!). In fact, if I ever was able to actually *see* a copy of a credit card statement (which they were not able to provide), I would bet money that I could show transactions run close to the same time on my real credit card hundreds of miles away. In fact, I'll bet not a single transaction on this fake credit card was run in the county I live in.

I explained to them I never had a MasterCard, and asked to send me a copy of the application. Their response was that I needed to file a police report if it truely was a case of stolen identity.... So I did. I offered to send them a copy, but by that time (because it was 24 hours after the first call from them... hehe), they said it was too late. So I asked them to put me in touch with the issuing credit card company. And of course they couldn't do that either. So whatever, I found their fax number on their website (which is terrible BTW [this site is terrible too, but hey, I spent 5 minutes on it, and it's not a business site]) and faxed them a copy of the police report.

So didn't hear anything back from them, and figured it was done. Okay, fast forward a couple years. I have this one bank account where I keep "play" money in. Somehow they seemed to have gotten a court order to take money out of that account (which was abut $7,000, I assume from interest on my "bad debt"). Not being a lawyer, it seems interesting that you are able to do that without any sort of court hearing or notification. But okay... whatever. :)

So now, it seems I have to hire a lawyer so I can have some of my play money back.

Just to give some background on my credit:

• My "real" credit card is not a piddly $5,000 limit. It's a Visa Signature with no limit
  
• I spend a little over $100,000/year on my Visa (I have lots of sky miles these days)
  
• To date, I have never in my life had a finance charge accrue on any credit card I own (they all are setup to pay off in full at the end of each month)
  
• Big purchases are always cash (real estate and vehicles)
  
• Last time I had my credit report run, the company running it said they had never seen such a perfect credit report (950 out of 950)

Oh well, I can't really blame them, they are just puppets I suppose. But since they are paid on commissions, it might save them some money in the future to *not* assume everyone is guilty. :)