0. they started shipping equipment to PETA which ordered a lot later than most of us
From a legal point of view, this would only be of interest for us if we can prove that there was no pre-contract (even a verbal one). This may become very hard. However, if the case goes to court, it could be relevant for giving some colour to the case.
1. they then capped the CPP at 50%
This definitively is an issue which a lawyer should look at. This issue has been widely discussed (see here:
http://zeitschrift.schulthess.com/szw/index.php?id=38). Now as a matter of facts, the homepage of Bitmine as I see it on archive.org stated in the terms of sales: "1.9 Bitmine may change these Terms without notice to you in relation to future sales." So this is bad news if we read the before quoted story.
If they would have shipped the equipment they owe us before they shipped to PETA, there would not have been any need for more
than 50% CPP and we would not have noticed the 50% cap
They can't have it both ways, moving a large customer in front of the queue and not compensating us
I agree that this is a point which can make one angry - me too. But still it may be practically irrelevant in front of a court.
Nothing to do with DD, but with really poor business ethics
Poor business ethics may be a bad argument at court, although I fully agree with you.
My order has not shipped because they lack power supplies. They could have shipped it 3 weeks ago but prefered to ship it to PETA (that is where all those parts went). And now they will only ship me 50% CPP while they should ship me 80% or more
In my honest opinion, it would make sense to get a calculation sheet (anybody who's better in math than me could probably help...).
At court, every single client would have to prove the losses. So, for example: If I can show that I would have made like 20 Bitcoin in the time from the expected order until delivery, but now only make 10 Bitcoin with additional hashing power, I could probably file a claim in the value of those 10 Bitcoins.
However, Swiss courts are known to be pretty much friendly regarding the companies and not the customers, and furthermore, it would be a hell of a lot of work to convince the court that this is not about the risk of Bitcoins but of mining Bitcoins.
So having said this, I believe that there are chances to file a lawsuit. There are some slight chances to win this lawsuit or to get an agreement outside of the court.
But we all need to be realistic: The chances are slim and we should calculate them based on (legal) facts and not on anger and trolling.
Now several people here have posted that they are in contact with lawyers. What I would like to read then is: What exactly do these lawyers say, also regarding the terms of sale as quoted above?
Most lawyers I know tend to tell that we should file a lawsuit - I'd like to hear what kind of a lawsuit? Civil? Criminal? And what would the lawyers charge if several persons group together. Or would it make more sense if every person files a separate lawsuit? This could make more sense, for every case may differ. If the court decides in a group-lawsuit that Bitmine is right, all cases would be lost at once. If everybody files a separate lawsuit, this may not be the case, i.e. every single client would have the possibility to go to the next higher court.
Additionally, the court may ask for a higher fee when there is a group (higher jurisdictional amount).
So I just try to keep the whole thing on a realistic level.
Me, personally, will make a decision once my rigs are delivered (which may be in many, many months). This decision will be based on several facts. If the difficulty is by then so high that I basically can't make any money out of it, I most probably will file a civil claim against the company and - if I can find more evidence - against some of the representatives of the company.
Base of this lawsuit will be figures I already have and figures I will have in the future. These figures will then be compared to calculate a possible claim.
So yes, maybe we should leave this forum for trolling and open a legal thread regarding Bitmine :-)
