The Mysterious Disappearance of Callwriter.com (Part 3)

A smattering of subscribers seemed to be out money when Callwriter.com went offline. I continue with a forum thread addressing this occurrence that took place in March 2013.

In response to one trader who commented how unfair/mean it was to be angry with the service for disappearing without advanced notice, I chimed in:

> Given that the landscape of investing and trading
> is littered with so much in the way of snake oil,
> con-artistry, and other shenanigans, a person who
> walks away from paying customers with nary a word
> nor a refund deserves all the hatred, anger,
> disrespect, and prison time that s/he may get. I
> see no reason to be politically correct on
> something like this; Callwriter subscribers got
> had, plain and simple, and I don’t blame
> them for being angry about it. “Common decency”
> and “callous disrespect for others” have no place
> in this context.
>
> If you don’t believe the financial industry to
> be a hostile landscape then I suggest you start
> watching American Greed on CNBC. One way
> to lose money is by being scammed; increased
> awareness in this area can only make us better
> traders.
>
> Mark


> As one of the subscribers who got s……d, I
> think I can speak with a little authority. I
> actually met John. While he owes me a few
> months of subscription, I don’t think he owed
> me anything else. He seemed like a nice man.
> His wife was a nice lady. They had a family.
> It’s too bad. Life goes on. One man’s
> reputation is ruined.
>
> In a perfect world, I would have liked a
> refund, but that wasn’t forthcoming. This is
> opinion only, but I think he must have been
> in some serious financial distress. He was
> an attorney by profession. He had enough
> sense to not post on the website acknowledging
> problems. Not honorable, but it’s what a good
> attorney would have advised him to do.
>
> For his subscribers, the site was simply an
> information source. It crunched numbers and
> provided lists of candidates. Selection for
> trades was entirely up to the subscriber. The
> results were mine and not John’s. I miss the
> tool.
>
> Mark’s right, people are out to screw you.
> That’s why I choose to be a self-directed
> trader and investor. If this is the biggest
> loss I experience from the financial
> community, I will be well ahead of the pack.