Ok..... I was warned that this thread was going to be here. I have not checked in on these forums for a number of days and I am just now getting checking in.
It's clear I am going to have to exercise some restraint in my response but where should I freaking start??
Let's start off by the outrageous notion that we are perpetuating a scam trying to take people's money....
1. Do you honestly think we are so stupid we would leave a post like yours up for everyone to read? Also, as Oscar pointed out, do you honestly think your post would be the lone post out of the hundreds of posts in the last few months?
2. If we wanted to run a scam, don't you think we would make it EASIER for people to pay us? Yes, there is a Paypal button for contributions and donations for those who want to show their gratitude. (To those of you who have contributed, thank you!) If anything, Buddhapi and I discussed that there probably ISN'T ENOUGH instructions to get on to the letter program!
3. With all the complaints about Getty Images, Masterfile, etc. don't you think that people who were supposedly scammed by us would be adding our names to all the other sites that have written complaints about the stock photo companies?
4. Do you honestly think that such a high profile attorney like Oscar would risk his professional license and livelihood over $200 letters? Assuming we even received $100K/year as you seem to be guessing, do you honestly think that is such big money that it would be worth ruining our names over it? Oh, let's not forget, we put our faces out for others to see? You think we are that dumb?
Regarding Oscar's letter, yes it is somewhat systemized. You know why? It was the only way to service larger numbers of people for $150! Yes, $150. That is how much it started at 3 years ago. It was only this year that we had to increase it to $195. And believe it or not, it takes creativity and intelligence to create a simple and inexpensive system. Also, do you know how much time to follow-up 500+ clients. Even if it only took 10-minutes each, do the math. That assumes the follow-up is brief and to the point.
I have read Oscar's letter and you want to know part of what it says? Part of what it says that Oscar is personally representing the client and all communications must go through him. So go ahead, lift that exact sentence and have another attorney or yourself use it and see if it carries any weight? People who think that the letter itself is so "magical" and carries the power within the words itself is sadly mistaken. Part of the power of the letter is that you have a seasoned attorney "crazy" enough to break with traditions of the legal community to represent the greater whole. And with 500+ clients related to these letters, how many lawyers do you honestly think will have more exposure and insights than Oscar has? And just so you know, part of the beauty is the collective power which every client benefits from. That is why nearly no attorney is able to financially take on Getty Images.
Oh, and guess what, genius? My response letters has been available for everyone to see. Some people have tried to adopt it with mixed results. Am I an attorney, no? Why is it that some people respond and can't get good results and someone else like me can even without an attorney? It is called strategy and it is called having a spine to stand up and fight hard in a way that people take you seriously. I cannot prove it but I suspect when Getty Images looked into who I was (the man behind the letter and this website which was created from nothing), they decided to back off. What I am trying to say is the letter is only as strong and capable as the person writing it.
You say the information on this website and discussion forum is good? Who do you think did all the work over the last 3 years to put this community and website together? It was a tag-team effort between Oscar and myself. We brought our different strengths together and created tremendous synergy. Did we use ingenuity, leverage, and efficiencies to get the word out and devise a way to collect information but also to serve thousands of people? You bet we did.
We did it because it served the greater good. Do we ask for some nominal monies to support the cause? You bet we do! There are real costs of our time. Yes, we want to help but do you think Oscar and I should sacrifice our livelihoods to help others over these letters? If you do, then do us a favor and just leave. We aren't going to become martyrs over this.
And some people like you only see the faults and criticize us. Well, what are you doing to help the cause? Have you spent hundreds of collective hours that Oscar and I have spent over the last 3 years on the forums, videos, phone discussions, reading, researching, negotiating, emailing, etc? I think not. This may be a bold statement but I think there are very few people in the U.S. and quite possibly the world that have done as much work on defending the demand letter issue AND have impacted tens of thousands of people as we have. The web statistics don't lie. As of August 2011, we have a readership of 10,000+ unique visitors. And it appears, we may hit 15,000+ unique visitors per month sometime in late 2012. That is a lot of people being educated and being served.
My fight and case with Getty Images was long over. So this website (ELI) as served its initial purpose. I have publicly stated many times that I have contemplated shutting down this website entirely because of the negative energy and conspiracy theorists posting idiotic claims without getting all the facts. I will be honest with you and everyone else. It is this kind of crap that has hardened us over time. We started out helping people and donating time and info as we could but over time, people have taken advantage of it. In fact, one reason why Oscar gets backed up is because people continue to try to get FREE time through calls to his office and emails to his inbox. The people who are willing to pay for the Letter Program gets backed log as well because he has to wade his way through the pile.
I frequently get interrupted in the middle of my day by people who take it upon themselves to search my phone number and call me regarding the stock photo letters. Do you see my phone number or my personal email anywhere on this website? No! There is a reason for that. But people don't care and they will call and email anyway.
Never forget, we have the power to delete any message or user we want. There is no freedom of speech here because this is private website and property. You are in OUR home. That means people should mind their manners. We leave dumb messages like yours up to show everyone we are transparent in how we work. We are not afraid of constructive criticism or even disagreement. Having said that, don't expect that Oscar or I will quietly sit and let someone disparage our personal and professional reputations. WE could have deleted your message altogether but we chose to deal with it head-on for everyone to see.
Up until a few weeks ago, it was only Oscar and I who were the public face and put together this community to literally serve thousands of people. Honestly, time and hundreds of people has taken its toll on us. The stock photo companies love this and I know they wish this website would shut down and go away. It would make THEIR job much easier if letter recipients didn't get educated and have FREE resources to learn from.
Buddhapi (aka Robert K.) has agreed to provide me and Oscar some much-needed relief from the ongoing support. And you know how much he gets paid? ZERO! His job is to help field messages and yes, he has chosen to publicly reveal his identity as we have to better support the cause.
And regarding Oscar's representation of his clients. Are you even aware that there is confidentiality between client and attorney? There are some things he cannot say publicly if he knows it. And even if he could, he isn't obligated to. He has provided tons of free info already. Even me, Oscar consults with me on certain issues as well as screening information. There are things I cannot say or reveal because I am part of his legal team on specific issues.
You may not think Oscar is exceptional. As Oscar and I tell people, feel free to represent yourself or go find another attorney. We have no hold on anyone. And if you think some young inexperienced lawyer is the way to go, it only shows your own ignorance and how much legal experience you have. I am afraid to tell you that even as a non-attorney, I have probably been in the courtroom representing myself in front of judges more frequently than many young attorneys who have just graduated from school. They may be book smart, but some couldn't argue their way out of a sandwich bag.
It is unfortunate that I had to take a strong tone in my response to you but when you start firing off your mouth with barely a clue of what is happening in the big picture, the work behind the scenes, or knowing the full story, we are not going to simply be quiet about it.
Believe it or not, there is way more happening than any individual letter. It is only the uninformed and ignorant of letter recipients that think THEIR letter is special, unusual, and get ulcers over it. And there is work, progress, and other behind-the-scenes activity that do not appear on these very public forums.
Matthew Chan
SHAME!!!
Contrary to what Matthew or Oscar will say. This site is for profit and to make money. $50-100K a year gives $500K-1 mln in 10 yrs. Seeing others complaining that Oscar happily takes their money and never writes the letters and does not even bother to respond when people ask why their letter was never sent out is very disturbing and amounts to fraud and malpractice.
As some wrote in this forum Oscar does sit on a lot of evidence but taking $200 per letter that he never even bothers to send sounds like a good business.
Oh.. saying that $200 per letter Is a small money for Oscar compared to his salary from law practice is not an excuse for negligence and theft.
If you are in a situation with Getty or Masterfile, you are better off writing your own letter and put an offer. Oscar uses one letter where he puts in your name .. most of his letters must look very similar and therefore lose its significance. If you were intelligent enough to build your own website or own a business, you can write a letter yourself that will be unique and therefore more powerful. Use all the information they put in this website for their sales gimmick. The information is good. Oscar and Mathew themselves are useless if u try asking them anything. Paying them money seems wasteful.
The only good thing about this site is that it exits and people post here what they think. It will exist as long as Oscar will be receiving $200 per letter from you people. There is no goodwill etc.. etc.. so save it! Make sure you send the letters people paid you for or you will be sued for malpractice.
I cannot imagine having a problem with Getty or Masterfile, paying some Oscar money to send a letter to them and find out later that he never sent it, but happily took my money! What a SCAM! I would never recommend any one to hire Oscar to represent them.
Supposedly Oscar represented in court many Masterfile or Getty victims.. why hasn’t he ever ask them in court to show the judge how much of their revenues comes from extortion and how much from standard licensing. Oscars comes here to this forum and asks users for this information!! This would be one of the first things an intelligent defense attorney would do in court to discredit these companies. I would never hire this man. Yes, you are better off paying more to defend yourself than have someone that will not win your case and only cares about leading you through the court process just to take your money.
I’m sorry, but I don’t really see anything exceptional about Oscar, his practice or experience. I know many people who claim they have 20 years of experience in certain industries.. sitting on a chair, taking salary.. so what? You must be clever and intelligent. That is what counts.. not how many years you sit on a chair performing mediocrely. Find yourself young and smart lawyer who will actually want to put his/her heart and win instead of just taking your money.
Show Posts
