DOlson Posted August 21, 2003 Report Share Posted August 21, 2003 Please read this and take it seriously. It was on Slashdot's comments section. If anyone does this, please post here. I'd do it too if I was American. If anyone can confirm what Canadians should do, let me know... I just got off the phone with the FTC. If everyone calls and complains then the chances they will investigate SCO goes up. They look for patterns. In other words, if the majority of their calls are about SCO then they will investigate. It is time to take the Slashdot effect to the phones. These are the key points to make: -You did not purchase software from SCO -The company that "produced" your software did not purchase it from SCO -It was not marketed or packaged by SCO -Despite this SCO is asking for $199 from home users (You) and $699 from business for 1 CPU They will ask for your name, phone number, address etc. That is mostly to verify your identity and citizenship I think. Here is the number: 1-877-382-4357 option 4 They are nice and listen well. The lady I talked to even took the time to get a better understanding of what Linux is. The best quote from her "You didn't purchase it from them and they want you to pay them? That sounds crazy." -- Call FTC 1-877-382-4357 opt 4 -You didn't buy from SCO -Vendor didn't either -They want $199 ... Here's some information that may help. They actually asked for this info: The SCO Group 355 South 520 West Suite 100 Lindon, Utah 84042 801-765-4999 phone The guy I spoke with was actually somewhat familiar with what Linux is. One of his first questions was how this company got involved with me, which my answer was "Well, that's the problem. They didn't." He eventually asked if SCO has contacted me personally with regard to this situation, which they have not. Don't lie to them. Be completely truthful. At the end of the call I got a reference number, and he said that if SCO does contact me personally, I should call back and let them know. It was very easy to do, and took about 5 minutes of my time. The recording while I wated for the counselor to pick up the phone did say that the FTC does track trends in complaints. If we get enough people to complain, something will happen. Please, take a few minutes and call! So please, if you wanna make a stand, do it. If you only have 5 minutes of spare time, and you are debating whether to reply to this post or to call that number, you know what I recommend. :) Alternatively, you can file your complaint online: https://rn.ftc.gov/pls/dod/wsolcq$.startup?...Z_ORG_CODE=PU01 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DOlson Posted August 21, 2003 Author Report Share Posted August 21, 2003 Note that I see in that list it lists Canada as a country, so I guess that means the FTC is global, or it just deals with American companies? I dont' know much about this sorta thing. :P Success!Complaint Accepted. Thank you for your input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyme Posted August 21, 2003 Report Share Posted August 21, 2003 I'll be calling later this afternoon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dardack Posted August 21, 2003 Report Share Posted August 21, 2003 it lists tons of country's in the website. I think it's for complaining against american companies, even if you're over seas. Also there is a site on FTC if your american and have a complaint against a foreign company, so maybe other Countries form of FTC might have the same thing? don't know. I did post a complain on the website, wondering if i shoulda called. Apparently from someone on slashdot that called later after that post, the guy that took his complaint had had a lot of calls on it already. The more the better. I just followed that guys article on what to say and put in. Anyways, peace. BTW love Linus's comments on: "They're smoking crack." [EDIT] had to make that my sig. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LinuxExplorer Posted August 22, 2003 Report Share Posted August 22, 2003 Guess I'll call tomorrow. They're only open from 9am-8pm EST. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
static Posted August 22, 2003 Report Share Posted August 22, 2003 SCO says IBM behind open source attacks. Kinda related here, so I thought I'd throw it in. Pretty funny :) So any word on whether canucks can call? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtweidmann Posted August 22, 2003 Report Share Posted August 22, 2003 Do they really think that Red Hat (and others of course) need IBM to tell them to "attack" SCO? They only people responsible for organising attacks on SCO are ..er.. well lets face it SCO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ixthusdan Posted August 22, 2003 Report Share Posted August 22, 2003 Why isn't more made of the huge amount of money microbrat has given to the sco initiative? On the other hand, I notice the numerous ibm posts made to this board, as well as the voicemails and e-mails I get from ibm! :shock: These guys really are smokin' crack!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezroller Posted August 22, 2003 Report Share Posted August 22, 2003 this is an excellent idea. I called them. It is true, they are very helpful and friendly. Its nice to call a call center and deal with people as professional as this. my reference number is 3282507. down with SCO. The woman I spoke with was familiar with the complaint. maybe the phones are starting to flood with /.'ers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezroller Posted August 22, 2003 Report Share Posted August 22, 2003 SCO says IBM behind open source attacks. Kinda related here, so I thought I'd throw it in. Pretty funny :) So any word on whether canucks can call? I would think you guys can call regardless. Its an american company, and regardless where you are from, you have a complaint against the company. who knows, maybe they'd step it up a notch since the problem is international. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
static Posted August 22, 2003 Report Share Posted August 22, 2003 who knows, maybe they'd step it up a notch since the problem is international. You know, that's a really good point. That makes it worth a shot, anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dardack Posted August 22, 2003 Report Share Posted August 22, 2003 who knows, maybe they'd step it up a notch since the problem is international. You know, that's a really good point. That makes it worth a shot, anyway. Like i said in my post, on the website it lists every country in the world for where you're complaining from. So anyone in the world can complain with the FTC against SCO, especially on the website but also through the phone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phunni Posted August 22, 2003 Report Share Posted August 22, 2003 Don't know if it'll help since I'm from the UK - but I submitted a complaint online. Figured it was worth a try Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ral Posted August 22, 2003 Report Share Posted August 22, 2003 I'm in. Will submit a complaint online. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JaseP Posted August 23, 2003 Report Share Posted August 23, 2003 Mine: Success! Complaint Accepted. Thank you for your input. First Name: Jason Last Name: Powlette Age Range: 30 - 39 Street Address: --Omited from this post-- City: Nazareth State or Canadian Province: Pennsylvania Country: UNITED STATES Zip Code or Postal Code: --Omitted from this post--- E-Mail Address: --Omitted from this post--- Home Phone: --Omitted from this post--- Work Phone: --Omitted from this post--- Subject of Your Complaint: Computers/Internet Services Name of Company You Are Complaining About: The SCO Group Street Address: 355 South 520 West Suite 100 City: Lindon State or Canadian Province: Utah Country: UNITED STATES Zip Code or Postal Code: 84042 Company Web Site: http://www.caldera.com/ Company E-Mail Address: info@sco.com Phone Number: (801)765-4999Ext. How Did the Company Initially Contact You?: Unknown How Much Did the Company Ask You to Pay?: 199.00 How Much Did You Actually Pay the Company?: 0 How Did You Pay the Company?: Unknown First Name Not Applicable Last Name: Not Applicable Date Company Contacted You: N/A (MM/DD/YYYY) Explain Your Problem: (Please limit your complaint to 2000 characters.): The SCO Group is claiming it owns the rights to a software product that I purchased from another company, namely, the Linux operating system (an open-source operating system for computers). I purchased Linux operating system from Walmart and Best Buy, retail chains of stores. I purchased several different versions of the operating system released by several vendors, Mandrake (a French company) and SuSE (a German company), namely; the Mandrake 8.1 personal edition, the Mandrake 8.2 PowerPack edition, and SuSE 8.2 Professional version. I do not, nor have I ever had any contact with SCO Group, their predecessor, Caldera, nor have I ever used any of their software. SCO Group is claiming that they own the rights to software code in the Linux operating system and that I, as an end user, MAY become liable to purchase a license from them, despite the fact that I have never had any contact with them, they have demonstrated none of their alleged rights to the software code publicly, nor have they succeeded in proving their claims in a court of law, in any jurisdiction. I believe that they, in fact, have no rights to the software and are attempting to extort money from end users such as myself, and businesses that use Linux in their enterprises, using fictitious claims. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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