Garden World Images letter

[splashsmama]

Hello all,

I came across this website/forum as I was researching a copyright infringement letter against myself by Garden World Images. I am very thankfully for a place like this where people such as myself can talk with others who know about these demand letters and have gone through similar instances.

I received an email from License Compliance Services on behalf of Garden World Images indicating I was using one of their images on my website without permission. I had never heard of this place and since they were demanding $400 to be paid immediately, I assumed it was some kind of email scam. What seemed odd was they had a screenshot of my website with the image in question. So I went to Garden World Images and looked through their Gallery and Archives. I tried every search word I could think of and couldn't find the image in their library. Then I saw that Garden World Images is based out of England. That seemed weird since the email came from Washington state. So I found that their copyright attorney was based out of Washington. I contacted Mr. McCormack, their attorney, to see if this was a legitimate case against me or if it was a scam. They couldn't find a case against me, so I went ahead and figured the email to be a scam.

A month later, I receive a physical letter in the mail saying the same thing the email said. And it's the same demand letter I've seen other people have received but from different companies. Practically word for word, minus the change in business names and such.
So I emailed Mr. McCormack again to see if this was real or bogus. They quickly said Garden World Images was trying to settle this out of court and I needed to contact the company in this letter and they could no longer help me because it'd be a conflict of interest if it should come to them. That seemed pretty serious to me.
So I emailed the License Compliance Service listed in the letter. No response.
Then I tried calling them. No answer, so I left a voicemail.
They called me back and were very friendly. I told them I looked through Garden World Images' library of images and couldn't find the image in question, so how could I obtain a license for an image that is not even theirs. And the major point, why should I pay a fine for an image that doesn't seem to belong to them.
She told me that Garden World Images and Floramedia merged recently, so even though it wasn't found in Garden World Images, it could be Floramedia's.
So I am confused, if it was Floramedia's image, why is Garden World Images sending me a letter? And why is Floramedia not even mentioned in the letter?

The lady I talked to on the phone said she couldn't waive the fee BUT she could easily and very quickly (I might add) lower my fee from $400 to $200.

What does everyone think? Should I pay it or not pay it? Any advice would be welcomed.
Several people I've talked to feel I shouldn't pay it, because it reeks of extortion.

[Robert Krausankas (BuddhaPi)]

do you really think a company in England is going to come to the US to file a suit? doubtful, Timothy B. McCormack is a douchebag of the highest magnitude, it won't be long before he involves himself.. If i were you I would not contact any of them any longer..BUT since you already did, they now know they have a fish on their hook, and they will probably continue to pester you to some degree. your options are either pay the 200.00 or deal with them for the next 3 yrs. ( statute of limitations).. So many people jump the gun and contact the trolls first, before getting educated, which in my humble opinion is a big mistake, but whats done is done..

[splashsmama]

True. In hindsight, I shouldn't have contacted anyone. But as you said, what's done is done.
I didn't find out about this website and how popular extortion letters really were until after the fact.
I researched material before contacting them, just not the right information apparently. Sometimes this information is not so easy to find, especially if you don't know that you need to look for it. I came across extortion letters by accident because my mobile device provided a suggestion in my Google search that caught my eye.

And I never said I would pay, so I wouldn't say I'm on the hook just yet. Just sniffing around the worm to see if it's real. 
They were very quick in lowering the fee and I didn't even ask, which is highly suspicious.

[stinger]

I agree with everything Robert says about alleged attorney Timothy B. McCormack.  My advice to you is to do nothing more that may further incriminate you.

Oftentimes these troll letters are pfishing expeditions.  Admit nothing.  Make sure you are not using any other images that you don't hold a license or copyright to.

Avoid email or phone communication.  If you choose to engage them, do so only through registered mail.  Keep reading.  Get as educated as you can before making your decision.  Good luck in your fight.  Keep us apprised of how you make out.

[Greg Troy (KeepFighting)]

Listen to Robert and Stinger, their advice is sound.

[splashsmama]

Thank you, Robert, Stinger, and Greg.
I wish this was more common knowledge for everyone who gets these letters so we know to delete or trash these letters immediately and NOT contact these people. Like the Nigerian prince wanting help transferring money and all those phishing scams are nowadays.