Has anyone else received an unsolicited e-mail (not a-mail - sorry !) from William Mcnamee (I think it's the same guy who posted on here a couple of weeks ago) advertising various music services? It carries something at its head which looks very much like the associated board coat of arms, and he puts the letters abrsm after his name - I'm sure this is incorrect use of the abrsm name and will forward it later to someone at the board. Any comment from the mods? Anything else I should do ? These are the details ... (in this case I feel justified in breaking the rule about posting personal details!)

William Mcnamee (ABRSM)
salesmusicbox@aol.com

Suite 210, Coborne House, 3 Cobern Road, Docklands, London
Fax: +44 (0) 870 711 2211

Received that E-Mail, too.

Yes I got that email. I did some research on him and found he advertises elsewhere. My gut feeling is that he's genuine(ish) and just trying to make a few bucks out of some outdated stuff he's got. In other words, the programmes he's selling are expired versions, and the idea is: you buy it and then spend a few extra quid buying the update. From his point of view if he can sell countless copies of old software he can potentially make a lot of money. I don't know if he's selling copyrighted stuff, but I'd imagine he's probably careful not to put himself at risk of being prosecuted. However, having said all that, I wouldn't risk sending him 40 odd quid as he isn't a proper registered business.

His use of the AB logo is just plain wrong, however, and the AB need to be told. He's obviously using it for credibility but I'd expect the AB would have something to say about that!

Violinia

Hi everyone,

I'm just letting you know that we are aware of Mr McNamee's activities and that I've passed on details of his behaviour to the necessary individuals at the Board - please be advised that he is in no way affiliated with the Associated Board and that his actions are entirely unauthorised. I would be grateful if anyone could forward the content of his latest communication to me via private message - he has received a prior warning from us and we are very concerned that he has continued to use our name despite this notification.

I would also be very much appreciative if someone could inform me directly if any other communications of the same nature are received from him (or indeed through any other suspicious channels) - it makes it much easier for us to pinpoint this type of behaviour if we're quickly notified by our forum users and we're very grateful for the assistance!

Yes - I will pm you with what I received this morning. I had a feeling the board may have already cautioned him, since he posted on here not so long ago - and I was a bit surprised to find him still using the AB name.

It's on its way over !

(ed) I have pmd a copy - but the coat-of-arms was lost in the de-formatting and does not appear.