Formal Notice Regarding Tachosoft®, Customer Accounts, Purchased Credits and Customer Data

Tachosoft UK is publishing this notice to explain the circumstances surrounding the disruption of Tachosoft.com, the loss of access experienced by many customers, and the subsequent appearance of websites and services using Tachosoft customer information and goodwill.

Customer Credits Were Sold on the Express Basis That They Would Not Expire

One of the most important issues concerns customer credits.

Customers purchased Tachosoft credits on the express contractual understanding that those credits would not expire.

Those credits represented services which customers had already paid for.

Following the breakdown between Tachosoft UK and the individual responsible for the technical operation of the platform, Rostyslav Tsoka, Tachosoft UK alleges that the Tachosoft customer database and associated customer information were taken and subsequently used in connection with replacement or duplicate services.

Many customers were then unable to access their original Tachosoft accounts or the credits they had previously purchased.

This has resulted in the extraordinary situation where customers who had already paid for services — and had specifically been promised that their purchased credits would not expire — have been required to purchase services again if they wish to continue using platforms now being operated using the same customer base and substantially the same underlying service.

Customers should therefore understand an important point before making any further payment:

If you previously purchased credits from Tachosoft and have subsequently been locked out of those credits, paying a replacement service operated by the person responsible for taking control of the customer data may effectively mean paying again for a service for which you had already paid.

Tachosoft UK does not consider that acceptable.

Customers should retain evidence of their former account balance, purchases, invoices and any representations stating that their credits would not expire.

Why the Relationship Broke Down

There has been speculation regarding why Tachosoft.com ceased operating normally.

The breakdown did not simply arise from a commercial disagreement.

A fundamental dispute developed concerning the nature and legality of services being offered and the direction in which the business was being taken.

Tachosoft's original activities included legitimate automotive electronics work and technical services, including airbag-related services.

Over time, an increasing emphasis was placed on services associated with digital odometer alteration and mileage correction.

Tachosoft UK became increasingly concerned about the legal, regulatory and ethical implications of the direction in which those services were developing and the circumstances in which mileage-related services could be used.

There was consequently a fundamental disagreement about the future direction of the business and the services with which the Tachosoft name should be associated.

Tachosoft UK was not prepared for the Tachosoft name and goodwill to be used indiscriminately for activities which it considered capable of facilitating unlawful mileage manipulation or the misrepresentation of vehicle mileage.

That dispute ultimately resulted in the breakdown of the working relationship.

What happened afterwards is a separate and much more serious issue.

Customer Data, Accounts and Goodwill

Rostyslav Tsoka had technical involvement in the development and operation of the Tachosoft platform.

That technical role provided access to infrastructure, software and customer information.

It did not, in Tachosoft UK's position, confer ownership of:

• the Tachosoft® name;
• the Tachosoft customer base;
• customer accounts;
• purchased customer credits;
• customer relationships;
• Tachosoft goodwill;
• Tachosoft domains or traffic;
• or the right to establish a replacement business using those assets.

Tachosoft UK alleges that following the breakdown of the relationship, customer information and other business assets were taken without authority and used to establish and/or support replacement websites and services.

These have included services operating under names including tsoftonline and tachosofts.com.

Customers have subsequently encountered replacement websites offering substantially similar services while, in numerous cases, being unable to use the credits they had already purchased through Tachosoft.

This is particularly concerning because the value of a customer database is not merely a list of email addresses.

It comprises years of customer acquisition, customer relationships, purchasing history, reputation and goodwill built under the Tachosoft name.

Tachosoft UK considers the unauthorised appropriation and subsequent commercial use of those assets to be extremely serious.

Customers Should Not Assume a Replacement Website Is Tachosoft

The existence of a customer's previous details within another website does not demonstrate that the website is authorised by Tachosoft UK.

Indeed, the presence of existing Tachosoft customer information on another service may itself form part of the dispute.

Customers should not assume that a replacement website is the lawful successor to Tachosoft simply because:

• their email address is recognised;
• their previous details appear within it;
• similar software or services are offered;
• Tachosoft terminology is used;
• or they have been redirected from a Tachosoft-related domain.

Tachosoft UK has not transferred ownership of the Tachosoft® business, brand, customer goodwill or previously purchased customer credits to Rostyslav Tsoka.

Customers Who Have Lost Purchased Credits

Any customer who purchased credits which were represented as non-expiring and who can no longer access those credits is encouraged to preserve evidence.

This should include, where available:

• previous account screenshots;
• credit balances;
• purchase confirmations;
• invoices;
• card or PayPal payments;
• Tachosoft emails;
• account correspondence;
• evidence stating that credits did not expire;
• screenshots of replacement websites;
• requests to purchase additional credits;
• evidence that an old account has been blocked or removed;
• and any communication suggesting that a replacement service is the continuation of Tachosoft.

Do not delete old Tachosoft emails or payment records.

They may be important in establishing the value of purchased credits and the contractual terms under which they were sold.

Location and Reporting to Authorities

Rostyslav Tsoka is a Ukrainian national who is now understood to be residing in Switzerland.

Customers considering making a criminal complaint concerning conduct connected with the subsequent operation of these services should therefore be aware that reports may need to be made to the appropriate Swiss police or other Swiss authorities, particularly where the individual or relevant operation is now based in Switzerland.

Customers may also have rights to report matters to data-protection, consumer-protection, payment or law-enforcement authorities within their own country.

Where personal data is concerned, customers should consider reporting any suspected unauthorised use of their information to the relevant data-protection authority in their jurisdiction.

Ongoing Legal Proceedings

Legal action concerning these matters is ongoing.

Related proceedings, challenges and appeals also remain ongoing, and the underlying disputes have not been finally determined.

Tachosoft UK will continue to pursue the legal remedies available to it and to place relevant evidence before the appropriate courts, authorities and other bodies.

Nothing in this notice should be taken as suggesting that those proceedings have concluded.

The Position of Tachosoft UK

Tachosoft UK considers that the circumstances surrounding the loss of customer access, the removal of previously purchased non-expiring credits, and the subsequent use of Tachosoft customer information and goodwill require proper investigation.

The central issue is straightforward.

Customers paid money to Tachosoft for credits.

They were expressly told those credits would not expire.

Many of those customers subsequently lost access to what they had purchased.

A replacement service then appeared possessing Tachosoft customer information and offering customers the opportunity to purchase services again.

Tachosoft UK alleges that this resulted from the unauthorised taking and use of Tachosoft customer data and business goodwill following a dispute concerning the future direction and legality of services being offered.

Customers are entitled to understand those circumstances before deciding whether to provide further money or personal information to any replacement service.

Tachosoft UK will continue to preserve evidence relating to customer accounts, purchased credits, customer data, domains, intellectual property and the circumstances surrounding the establishment of replacement services.

Legal action, related proceedings and appeals remain ongoing.

Further information will be published as appropriate.