Pintmaster

I get a lot of people on here who have problems dealing with Silverleaf Resorts, a timeshare company that does a lot of direct marketing. I would encourage unhappy customers to band together and organize. Mark Guenther posted a comment on a previous post.

My name is Mark Guenther and I have been hounded by this company for the last year. I live in the atlanta area and I have been getting these calls about cars and money. I did some research and I have traced what I think is back to chicago. The man I usually get is Bill Carson at 773 465 5370. The reason I am writing is if anyone has recieved one of these blue cards or any address to meet a representitive please email me or call me at 404 579 8189 this is my office line. I would like to put a stop to this. I am not a lawyer but I have the time and the energy to do something

Check out my previous articles about silverleaf: article 1, article 2
Or read about Westgate Resorts, a slightly better behaved version.

Good luck! If you want me to set up a more organized effort / forum, let me know!

Whenever I sign up for a website, I sign up with the name of the website at pintmaster dot com. This is so I can track who sells my information on by the addresses I get spam to. Well, let this be a lesson to ye. Recently broke “Performancing” seems to have sold their email list. I just got some spam sent to that name at pintmaster dot com. Had I given them my personal address, I would likely have to change emails to prevent the spam coming in. Now I can just make performancing at pintmaster dot com a black hole email. Here’s the spam email for reference:

SINOSTEEL CORPORATION
17B Xichang’an Street,
West District,
Beijing P.
R.CHINA.430074
Tel: +86-13-710107624
Fax: +852-301-62379
Email:mrleechen007@yahoo.com.cn

Dear Sir/Madam,

REF/SINOS/299U

I am Mr.Lee Chen, Managinig Director of Sinosteel Corporation.

We deal on the following Products listed below:

-Baosteel -Wuhan Iron & Steel Corp
-Anshan Iron & Steel Corp
-Taiyuan Iron & Steel Corp and so on.

We export these Raw Materials into America,Africa, Canada, Asia and
Europe. We are currently running this Business from Beijing, China
(H/OFFICE) where I am located for now.

We are searching for Representatives who can help us establish a medium
of getting to our Customers in Canada, America,Asia,Africa and Europe
as well as making payments through you to us.

Please, if you are interested in transacting business with us,
we will be glad to have you as our Partner. Your area of
Specialisation or Occupation is of no relevance in respect of
resolving to assist us.

Note that subject to your satisfaction,you will be given the
opportunity to negotiate your mode of which we will pay for
your services rendered (as our Representative in Canada,
Africa, America, Asia and Europe).We often give out 10% to
our Company Representative (each) that works with us.

Please, if you are interested, acknowledge the receipt of this email
for further instuctions from Board of SINOSTEEL CORPORATION by
forwarding
to us your Particulars:
Name:
Title:
Company:
Address:
City:
State:
Zip:
Country:
Tel Number:
Fax Number:
E-Mail:

Thanks in advance, Representative Inquiry
Mr.Lee Chen
Managing Director.
Email: mrleechen007@yahoo.com.cn
.

So, I went to Crome on Sunday evening. It’s a nice place and they charge $10 cover to get in (surprising for a sunday!). When you get there it is pretty packed. A lot of people migrate from La Strada around 5 - 6 o’clock. The bar was cool - very nice with white “VIP” couches outside - reminded me a lot of Pangia in Marbella. Now here is the part where I bitch and moan :). There was a bar at the far side of the outside where there were these two 30-something women (they could have been 20-something with too much sun, cigs and alcohol I suppose) working the bar. I went up there and asked them for a club soda since I am no longer drinking. They poured it and said “$3″. I said “you’re not gonna make me pay for that are you?”. They just said “leave us a nice tip” and I said “keep being nice to me and I will”. So, I grabbed me drink without paying and walked away.

Fair enough, I had to talk my way out of paying with these bitches. So I walked inside and hung out for a bit and then my drink was empty. So, I figured… I want to give these bitches a tip & I went back out. I said, “could I get another club soda please”. She poured the drink, rang it up and looked at me deadpan and said “$3″. I said “that’s not very nice” and she said “$3″. I said “you guys are horrible” and handed over $5. She rang me up and said “do you want to stay here?”. I said “what?”. She said “if you want to stay here, you had better not call us horrible”. I said nothing and walked away.

So I guess I cant be that pissed - I didnt get kicked out. Frankly I would have been surprised to be kicked out for calling the horrible bartenders “horrible” for charging me for soda water.

The blonde (short w/ bad face) and brunette (taller w/ bad face) behind the counter have such a small circle of influence that pretty much extends to the four corners of Crome and in reality, they probably dont even have all of that. It’s just sad when people try and abuse what little power they have.

All in all, it is a nice place. They just need to fix their policy on non-alcoholic drinks. I have never been charged for Soda Water more than one glass, and I dont expect to be - especially by somewhere that charges cover on a sunday! Crome - if you want to be seen with other people posing as rich and trendy, it’s the place to be.

I cancelled Time Warner Cable and returned my DVR. Im now using an antenna to get OTA broadcasts of HDTV and my computer to record it. I could not justify the $60 for TV (beyond the main networks) that I barely watch. I would encourage anyone else out there to do the same. I have an indoor antenna and the signal is not 100%. I will be changing this to an outdoor antenna when I can find a good installer since I dont have a ladder tall enough to get on my roof.

Most of the games are being played on ESPN2-HD. Why do I have time warner cable when they dont have ESPN2-HD? I have an HDTV, but I am unable to use it for 32 world cup games. This is bullshit. I just called up Time Warner Cable to yell at the person on the other end. I am even thinking about switching to dish, but I wont. We have ESPN2 and ESPN2 at work - it just doesnt seem worth it since I am thinking of getting rid of subscription tv COMPLETELY.

This post is going to be a little longer than usual.

I would like to try and tackle this huge issue and succinctly explain the major reasons people pirate content on the internet. I wont spend time defining piracy. There are three major categories that make up the majority of downloads on the internet: music, video, software. The decision to pirate vs. pay for these items is a combination of several factors: desirability, price, accessibility, respect for the copyright holder.
Desirability
This one is pretty straightforward. I’d define this as ‘how much the person wants the material’. For example, pirate A is a huge Nine inch Nails fan and wants to get hold of the new album ASAP! The album appears on the net a month before hitting the shelves. There is much free content out there, but most of the time, the marketing to make us want the expensive stuff serves its purpose and people find a way to get content, one way or another.
Price
The price is someting that is hotly contested by avid pirates. Keep in mind that most pirates are males between 14 and 25. This demographic has the brains, but not necessarily the disposible income to buy all the latest “media”. What determines the price of a CD, or the price of a piece of software (Microsoft Office 2003 Pro lists for $499). This media - music, dvds, software has almost NO resale value. I recently sold Prince of Persia - sands of time for XBOX for $5 when at the time of purchase (approx 1.5 years ago), the software was worth $45 - $55. All of these products lose most of their value as soon as you unpack them. The lack of resale potential combined with the high initial price makes these products a pretty unappealing purchase.

Accessibility
I can download The Da Vinci Code, Microsoft Office 2003, “The Strokes - First Impressions of Earth” any time I chose. If I want to purchase these items for my consumption, I can go to the movie theater for a single use experience of The Da Vinci Code, but I have to drive there, find parking, go for a specific showing and bring money. It is not a simple affair to see the movie. Certainly not as simple as downloading it. If I want Microsoft Office, I can go to a store and buy it, or I can buy it online and have it shipped to me. Both of these take more effort than downloading. For the CD, “The Strokes - First Impressions of Earth”, I have two good choices. I can download from a pirate site, or I can download from the iTunes music store with high quality, properly tagged and extremely easy access to the material. The success of the iTunes music store is proof that accessibility is a key factor in an individuals decision to buy vs. pirate. I can certainly say that software that is inexpensive (less than $50) and downloadable online is much more likely to be purchased by me. I am less likely to drop $4 - 500 on Microsoft Office when it is quicker and easier to download it.

Respect for the Copyright Holder
Let’s face it. The RIAA and MPAA are not making any friends by threatening and strongarming money out of their potential customers. Their mentality to punish those who do different than what they dictate is the norm is straight out of a dystopian science fiction novel - 1984, Brave New World - etc… Most young people feel that the prices the record companies set are unfair and unnecessary. For a while, I thought it might be good to send Artists money directly after downloading their songs, but found this was too challenging. The record companies certainly play a part in bringing new music to market, but they have had their day and dinosaurs will die. The movie studios use the US as a test market for new releases and then adjust their strategies for marketing to other regions. This is not possible anymore, especially for blockbusters that will be downloaded. The consumer refuses to be the guinea pig anymore. The consumer refuses to eat what is for dinner. The consumer is fed up with being tossed around and told what to listen to, what to watch, what to buy. The organizations making movies, music, software churn out crap that is the minimum amount of effort for the maximum amount of return and then convince the consumer to pay for it. After years of being spoon fed, the consumer is now a teenager and does not like being told what to consume. The “Copyright Holder” has lost the respect of the consumer and now expects to win it back by attacking the consumer, by trying to extort money from the consumer. This is reason enough to not support these copyright holders.
These items combined help people make the decision to pirate or not pirate. Let’s run through a scenario and take “The Da Vinci Code” movie that just came out. The movie received terrible reviews but still made a killing in its opening weekend. The poor reviews made the movie less desirable to attend. The price of taking my girlfriend, all included would be about $20. I would have to drive to the movies, park and decide on a specific time to go. There is currently no other means to see this movie. I dont think that a movie like the Da Vinci Code which has bad reviews, and is probably bad (I havent seen it) should get my money. Im interested to see it, but dont want to send the message to hollywood that they can churn out crap and I’ll pay for it. If I do see the movie, I wont see it in the theaters. The pirated copies at the moment are terrible quality - probably being filmed in the theater, so I will wait until the DVD release. Dan Brown also seems like a scumbag and has already made a boatload of money. One of the interesting things about media is that after a certain point, every additional unit sold is just more and more icing. Let’s face it. Dan Brown doesnt need my extra money. Sony Pictures doesnt need my money, they already made enough to cover their costs. Isn’t it just greedy if they want more icing on their cake? I know, I know… it has to pay for all the unsuccessful movies they make. Simple answer to that is, get better at your job. Dont put out shitty movies.

Enough with the bitching, where’s the solution?
Alright. Well, I think iTunes is halfway there. The copyright holders are still too greedy though. The solution to this whole dilemma is to make copyrighted material available for cheap, and make it easily accessible. Dont get greedy. If more people want it, lower the price. Dont milk the consumer because you can. Microsoft sells office 2003 pro for $499 because they can. Yes, it is expensive to produce, and yes they deserve to recoup their costs. As unit sales go up, the cost should come down. This should hold true for Music, TV, Video Games, Software, Movies. Im a demanding consumer, and I want things when I want them, and how I want them. I want to watch my TV shows without commercials. I dont want to have to pay $10 to see a new movie in a theater, and I dont want to pay $55 - 60 for a video game I will play only a few times. I definitely dont want to pay $499 for software that Microsoft has created a monopoly with by locking out competitors.

Succinctly, and briefly, the solution is: focus on meeting the consumers wants and needs. Stop trying to milk us like we are a herd of cows. If software, music, video games, TV, movies were available in excellent quality, and not expensive - then there would be no pirates, because it wouldnt be worth the extra effort. Until then, there are a lot of users out there who will find compelling reasons to consider piracy as an alternative to paying. No amount of lawsuits can or will stop it.

My colleague in my office started getting this on her phone bill and I have to sit across from her. I’ve heard her yelling her head off at these people trying to get this service removed.

The number for these people is +1-866-928-1093 and apparently, the people in charge are Mike and Christina.

Services they illegally put on your phone bill include:

• Answerstop Voicemail
• Privacy Plus Voice Mail
• Voice Express
• VoiceXpress
• Antivirus Email

It’s hard to pinpoint who is perpetrating the crime here, but the companies involved and allowing it to happen are below. If you know any other names, please post them in the comments, and I will add them here when I can:

• Enhanced Services Billing, Inc.
• ESBI
• Billing Concepts
• BSG Clearing Solutions Gmbh (why is a company in germany getting away with screwing americans?)
• Zero Plus Dialing, Inc.a
• ZPDI
• USBI
• OAN
• HBS
• ESBI Spec Serv & Prod

Various addresses for these people include:
PO BOX 15624
CLEARWATER FL 33766
PHONE 1-888-523-3724

Enhanced Services Billing, Inc.
7411 John Smith Drive, Suite 200
San Antonio, TX 78229-4898

HBS Billing Services
4242 Medical Drive, Suite 2100
San Antonio, TX 78229

Other Resources

• FTC Website mentions ESBI
• ESBI Website - to submit a complaint!
• ZPDI - Behind the screen
• A little self-promotion from Billing concepts

I hope this little blog helps someone. I hate scams & if anyone has any information on how to deal with these scumbags, please share it with the rest of us to help get rid of this scourge on society.