Legal Assistance for Customs and Counterfeit Products

Questioner

In May 2018, customs allegedly intercepted a shipment that was supposedly intended for me. In this shipment, 23 counterfeit Louis Vuitton glasses were found. I received several letters about this from the company called 'React'. They gave me the following three options: Option 1: Do nothing, whereby customs assumes that I agree to the destruction of the goods on the basis of article 23 of regulation EC 608/2013. Whereby the civil proceedings that have arisen between me and React have not yet been resolved. They would also retain the right to hold me liable in court for the financial loss caused by my actions and to claim a judicial prohibition of future infringements. Option 2: Fill out a waiver, pay €275, provide seller details and sign a waiver. The latter has a penalty clause where I have to pay €450 per item in case of a possible future infringement of the intellectual property of one of their clients. Option 3: Object to the suspension and/or cancellation, in which case React may consider seeking a court order to have the cancellation effected. Because I didn't order anything I didn't respond to the letters. I don't plan on paying even 1 euro for something I didn't do, and certainly not filling out a statement with which they think they can demand more money in the future. Now, 8 months later, I receive a letter from law firm 'DLA Piper' (which is located on the same street as React) stating that they now want compensation of €875, otherwise they threaten to take legal action. My question: how big is the chance that they will be able to get their way in a possible lawsuit? This should not be possible in the Netherlands? There can be no proof that I ordered those items, is it enough proof that they say the shipment was addressed to me? Help! Thanks in advance.

Lawyer

Have you received a message from the Tax Authorities? Who shipped the goods to you? Do you know this person or company? You state that there is no evidence that you ordered these goods. So you have nothing to fear. The fact that the goods were addressed to does not change that. Do you have any questions? Please feel free to ask