First: There's no chance they have a real lawyer.  If they did, they'd redirect every single person to them. 
Second: What I don't get is, they outsourced the development, they should still have all their money until said development is complete.  If they paid in advance, they should have signed some contract to if unreasonable delays (a month) happen, they get discounted service.
Third: By Sept's "supposed delivery date," which is impossible to meet if they are just now redoing their tapeout, there is a 0% chance of recovering their money, even 'at cost'.  They'd still go bankrupt.  They know this, which is why they are not giving refunds.  They have a worthless product... if they didn't they'd have no problems with refunds... and transparency... and ethics. 

If you have to keep repeating how ethical, generous, and transparent you are... you're in denial.  Someone that IS ethical, doesn't have to tell the same customer over and over again every time their is any interaction.

I added super duper Gaussion blur effect now but in the land of quotes and screen capture its a bit too late.  Not that it really matters, I'm hardly anon in the interwebs.  Alpha knows who I am cheers for mentioning it though. 

The Alpha forum has been purged of all posts from before 28th of July. But anyone looking for proof that Alpha had repeatedly advertised shipping in July, their newsletters contain all you need. They have made this statement several times, even using it too draw in more customers when they re-opened batch one pre-orders.

Development update 29/03/14: https://alpha-t.net/news/development-update-29032014/

Letter from the M D 27/03/14: https://alpha-t.net/news/letter-managing-director/

Viper update 20/06/14: https://alpha-t.net/news/viper-update-20062014/

Performance increase 27/05/14: https://alpha-t.net/news/performance-increase/

These updates should have also been emailed to every newsletter subscriber so Alpha cannot remove these statements. I should also point this out:

Payments 22/05/14: https://alpha-t.net/news/payments-22052014/

Despite what they are now saying, Alpha asked for final payment on 22/05/14. According to their T&Cs they would ship 8-10 weeks after requesting final payment. The 10 week shipping deadline passed on 31/07/14.

Hope this helps.

The law firm they have used in the past is Gately LLP (tel 0161 836 7700), contact name is Leigh Whittaker http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/leigh-whittaker/28/417/108 at
Ship Canal House
98 King Street
Manchester
M2 4WU

You also cannot just `appoint private bailiffs' and expect to get results in this kind of case. They aren't above the law and without going through court they have no more rights to get money back than anyone else does - they can't expect to gain entry to any private premises and certainly cannot steal things. The cases they tend to get results for are those where there is an indisputable debt and neither party would argue about the validity of the claim. This isn't the case with AT and they would more-than-likely just tell the bailiffs to leave.

I don't quite understand the mentality of this thread, which seems to be clogged up almost-daily with arguments demonstrating something which has already been done-to-death. If you paid by credit card, then you have a good chance to get money back - in the UK the credit card company shares some of the risk of the transaction, so even in the case of the company going into administration the credit card company should still cover some of the loss themselves (in fact in this case there would be no need to argue that there has been any DSR-breach or otherwise-untoward behaviour).
The problem with the route of court-action is that once AT don't show up to court, and the customer is favoured in the verdict, then what? The court-appointed bailiffs are pretty useless and actually getting the money that the court says you are owed can be much harder than winning in court. The reason this is likely is that it is my understanding that AT has very little in the way of corporate debt - so any CCJ won't matter to the company as it doesn't have a financial reputation to worry about. It has no need for credit in the future and presumably already has manufacturing contracts set-up - so who cares about CCJs? They clearly aren't in it for the long term and the company looks set to wind-up after this debacle is over anyway. My guess is that if AT resists any court judgement against them, they will be able to hold out until September anyway and if everything else goes to plan, might be able to shake off the legal troubles long enough to post out some orders.

I would consider stopping my claim if they have a word with Dexel and make the miner useful for another algo, they missed the boat for this one.

Just sent this:-


Mr Mohammed Mubasher Akram
The Managing Director
Alpha Technologies Ltd
66 Dickenson Road
Rusholme
Manchester
M14 5HF
England


4st August 2014

RE Invoice 12677 as part of Invoice 5023  -total amount £7898.88

Dear Mr Akram,

I paid my “full payment” via bank transfer on or before the 22nd of May 2014. It has now been ten weeks since that payment and as per your terms and conditions where you stated very clearly that shipping would begin “8 to 10 week” there after. Your amended Terms and Conditions did not make any reference to this or change this and can only be regarded as still applying in the original implied distance contract.  You applied pressure to by saying there was a time limit to this to which we adhered. You have since extended this time limit a number of times to others and have attempted to allow credit card payments that have since been refunded. Moreover, you stated you increased the performance of the machine to make it more attractive. Since there is no prototype it is impossible to verify.

We are now at the ten-week threshold and your “newsletter” dated 28th of July clearly lays out that there have been developmental delays of your product.  Also it states you have had funding issues which I can only assume you have solved, most likely with payments like mine, and loans from investors or banks.

I suggest to you that you were fully aware of these developmental delays when you were applying deadlines for payment, and therefore, I suggest Alpha Technologies has deceived me and gained a pecuniary advantage over me through the use of such tactics. Moreover you manipulated my financial decision by informing me they you had increased the units performance. Not only that but it is a clear breach of any implied contract. Effectively, when we made payment, you were agreeing to supply the product no more than ten weeks hence. You have not, nor are you likely to in the next ten weeks. I am not an investor in your company I am a customer.  I dread to think of the approach Trading Standards would take and how Distance-Selling Regulations would be applied. Contrary to your assertions that mining is a business activity, I would be confident that the authorities would take a very different view, for the majority of customers they would be consumers and this is not their main business activity.

Further your estimation of “end of September” I believe is unrealistic and I do not expect you to ship before the end of the year. I would estimate from your own road map you are stalled at least four months from shipping.

I further note you “offers to increase performance” of said Viper Miner and your latest desperate offer of shares. I can only assume this is an attempt to stave off insolvency. I am concerned this is a breach of the rules of public offerings of shares.

But that is all moot. As per the 8-10 weeks delivery failure I require full refund of the total amount paid to you, both the deposit and the “full payment”. As you have breached you own terms, willfully and deceptively.  If you do not respond with a refund to this letter in the next 14 days I will take it you are unwilling to discuss terms or make a refund.

However, I am happy to seek mediation to this matter if you so prefer and would be pleased to make the arrangements necessary. Please let me know if you wish to use this route.

As you have made clear on your forums in official ”posts” your unwillingness to refund under any circumstances, here for your information I refer you to the Consumer Protection From Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, Reg. 3;4;5;6;7;8;9;10;17  and Amendments(2014) Reg. 2Para 3 Reg9(1A); part 4A, regs. 27B and 27H.  Please also refer to schedule 1 S6(b);S7;S14;S20;S26

Also Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, Reg. 19;20;38 and 34.

Finally the Companies act 2008, and Distance Selling Regulations 2000


 Yours sincerely

It is good that you sent this via snail mail and email etc.and hopefully registered mail....but imho it is probably going to sit on a large pile of unopened mail at
whatever office their mail gets dumped to..again imho it is probably a frigging 'flood' of refund orders via pm on their forums
email and snail mail ...a lot of it I would assume is registered....I also imagine they are being 'served' papers by process servers
as well at this point...the fact they no longer have a phone number....shows how overwhelmed they are on this front again
this is speculation on my part...but seems that way from what I can tell from their actions in the past 6 weeks...

UNLESS they can prove they have a 'working chip' soon ...they are gonna go belly up fast I think....with a 'working chip'
they MIGHT be able to salvage something ..even if it was just sell the works to a private mining farm or something to pay
off debts....in other words a machine 'could' be built from the chip ...save somebody some lead time..but other then
that getting a machine out to consumers in time for it to matter..convincing the 30% who have paid to pay the remaining
70% via unsecured payments etc...well I just don't see it from  a 'bad press' to incompetence they show point of view...

anyway ...good luck on your efforts....but from the banning on the alpha forums ....the guy that runs the forum just quitting
and the stock option plan...they have no $$ left .....and are being overwhelmed with refund requests and or legal issues
of a massive note..if you are a UK citizen and have a way to 'serve papers' do so quickly....

again this is speculation...but I just can't see from their behavior and actions how it could be anything less then the end
or I should say the 'potential end' of their company...ie bankruptcy....it all points to they are in a world of hurt!!!!

the smell of 'panic' is strong in the force at alpha tech imho

again good luck use all the avenues legal/regulator/bitpay/cc or whatever to get your $$$ back...each time I get on this
thread I expect to see the link to the alpha announcement that they have closed shop and filed for bankruptcy protection.

It is that 'dire' for them in my view.

Searing

Send it via registered mail with return receipt. That will get their attention and likely will sign for it too.
[/quote]

Just about to walk to the post office with it.

Have been on to the Police in the UK and it seems that they will only take note if there is a large enough group involved

SO!

Everyone please start making complaints to
http://www.actionfraud.police.uk

please be clear about the regulatory offence under the Companies Act and the possibility of the Management at AT being a flight risk

Also do the same with
http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/consumer_e/consumer_protection_for_the_consumer_e/consumer_citizens_advice_consumer_service_e/if_you_need_more_help.htm

We need as many people to make complaints for this to be take seriously. Even you guys who are outside the UK. Cisizens advice are a portal to Trading Standards and they can refer the case to regulatory authorities about the shares offer.

Alpha T setup in the UK. this is why i was confident about dealing with them because if they shafted us then they would have multiple agencies investigating them.



REMEMBER - EVERYONE NEEDS TO MAKE A COMPLAINT!! Get on the links above.

That will make sure that they go bankrupt and you pre-ordered guys loose money.
They may not have nothing for you to liquidate than the worthless rented ugly office shown in that picture.
It seems they are trying to deliver but a lot of other factors including their lack of capacity and experience
being a manufacturer of think kind of a hardware killed their intention.
So, I don't think they are trying to scam. They will finally deliver if you are not going for legal action and hit them.
The resultant will be filing bankruptcy if possible.
Never think of getting your money back since they have nothing in bank to give you or the legal system can take and give.

The possible option is to group all the pre-ordered customers and send some representative to discuss in person with the company owner. Understand the real problem and help them by helping you to sort it out by setting a new date.
Adjust the price & hash power as per the date. And black&white it with the help of some advocates.
This will only give you some return for your pre-order otherwise nothing going to get back than a small % refund of your pre-order, that too if you are extremely lucky.
You guys have no other choice than sorting it out like this.