This is the sleazy, unscrupulous type of person you are dealing with. When I called him out on the fact that their own terms stated they would not ask for final payment until 8-10 weeks before the systems shipped, here was his response:
Our terms and conditions stated we would take payment 8 to 10 weeks before shipment, this does not state we cannot take payment any time earlier than this. This was a statement to suggest we would need money on account at least 8 to 10 weeks before shipment so we can pay for the rest of the manufacturing, this was not a DEADLINE of shipping. We would still be accepting payments 8 to 10 weeks before we ship, so our terms are still active in that respect.
Yeah. He has NO trouble "reworking" or "massaging" the intent of his terms of order, but you'd better believe YOU'RE going to be held to the LETTER of the terms, regardless of how you spin them.
he's a scumball that loves to play games with semantics.
it didn't say they couldn't take payments sooner. sure, douchebag, and everyone that purchased one of these is a business also, as advised by this ultra high level corporate legal firm, (that has yet to be identified). Meanwhile, Alpha is having it's ass handed to them in court.
really, this issue of payment time frame is only one aspect that is indicative of their behavior. the larger issues are their fallacious claims that these were B2B sales and the applicable consumer laws in the UK.
they don't have a legal leg to stand on, and their continued lame defenses of their actions and failed attempts to reframe the intent of the original language isn't helping them one iota in the courtroom.
They also sent out a request for final payment on 5/22/2014 and tied that request to their assertion that they were nearing completion
"We're happy to inform you that development is finalizing and we are on track for shipment in July. We will soon receive our chips at which time we will have finished up on development and can begin assembling the devices.
Therefore, it is now time to collect the remainder of the funds for your order(s)."
Of course now he's singing a different tune, but it's pretty clear that they are setting up to collect their money within this 8-10 week window. If not, what exactly did he mean by that ^^^^^
This, therefore that. We're on track for July shipment (in 8-10 weeks) therefore, it is now time. that was their basis for requesting payment, clearly tied to their timeline of shipping.
he's nothing but a lying sack of shit. and the record shows it, which is his real problem.
