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 was not the result of Tachosoft UK simply abandoning the business or its customers.

A fundamental dispute had developed concerning the nature, legality and future direction of services being offered under the Tachosoft name.

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

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

Tachosoft UK became increasingly concerned about the legal, regulatory and ethical implications of that direction, particularly where such services were capable of being used to misrepresent a vehicle's true mileage.

Tachosoft UK sought an amicable and workable resolution which would allow the parties to separate or restructure their respective activities without exposing the Tachosoft brand, its customers or Tachosoft UK to activity which Tachosoft UK considered legally or ethically questionable.

Before any compromise or orderly resolution could be reached, however, Rostyslav Tsoka took unilateral action which Tachosoft UK characterises as a hostile takeover of the operational platform.

Tachosoft UK alleges that access to systems, customer information and other operational assets was removed or placed beyond its control.

The immediate consequence was that Tachosoft UK was no longer able to access and service its own customer base in the normal way.

This also removed Tachosoft UK's practical ability to fulfil existing customer obligations, including supporting customer accounts and honouring previously purchased credits.

This distinction is important.

Tachosoft UK did not voluntarily walk away from its customers or decide simply to cancel its obligations. Its ability to continue servicing those customers was removed before an amicable settlement could be reached.

At that point, the matter could no longer be resolved simply as an internal commercial disagreement.

Legal counsel was instructed and formal legal action commenced.

The underlying dispute, related proceedings and appeals remain ongoing.

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.

Legal counsel was instructed following the loss of operational control and the resulting inability of Tachosoft UK to service its customer base and fulfil existing customer obligations.

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.

Tachosoft UK was attempting to resolve a fundamental dispute concerning the future direction and legality of services being offered.

Before an amicable or orderly resolution could be reached, Tachosoft UK alleges that operational control, customer data and the practical ability to service its customer base were removed from it.

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 the breakdown of the relationship.

Tachosoft UK therefore rejects any suggestion that it simply abandoned its customers or their purchased credits.

Its position is that it was deprived of the operational access necessary to continue servicing those customers and honouring those obligations.

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.