Author: Mark Fletcher

POS Solutions Director Bernard Zimmermann published the following false and misleading information at his company’s blog today:

The managing director of tower systems Mark Fletcher complained that his company, might be tainted though Kellie-Ann’s actions. I agree. Our complaint was against her actions and nothing else.

Note I have done what checks I can on her. I have rang up the newsagency where she claims to work and discovered that no-one knows there of a Kellie-Ann. I have also emailed her with no response.

So I have removed the article and the comments. If anyone wishes to discuss it with me, they can contact me on Ph: (03) 9597-7222

I have not complained to Bernard that my company, Tower Systems, might be tainted. Here is what all I have said to yesterday at 2:08PM in response to another (now removed) post:

Bernard,

Your post about Newport shows how desperate you have become.

mark

In response to an email from Zimmermann today, I said:

You are pathetic and have demonstrated you will go to any length to try and discredit us to stop your hemorrhage of customers.

The back story to this exchange is that some time between Friday evening and Saturday morning Zimmermann published a post on his company blog alleging that someone claiming to be from Newport newsagency and a user of Tower Systems’ software “bombed” his blog with 80 comments negative about us. While Bernard says that he called Newport newsagency and that the person named the alleged comments does not exist there, he still published his post.

There are a couple of Newport Newsagencies. One is a happy Tower user and one is a happy POS user. Given this and the fact that the person Bernard named does not work at the Newport which uses Tower, I cannot see why he would publish what he did other than to try and discredit us.

I suspect that someone within POS agrees that the post could only serve a negative purpose because it was removed yesterday morning. However, people reading the POS blog through reader software would have a copy – as we do. Removing it from the blog does not recall the copies already distributed and published ion this way.

Bernard Zimmermann has a track record of publishing false and misleading information at his blog. For example, he recently claimed that they had integrated with e-pay. That post was subsequently edited and then removed. He also has a track record for plagiarising from this blog and from Tower Systems corporate blog. Most times I leave it be because our market share and growth speak for us. The post by Bernard and the actions since is an indication of the trouble POS Solutions is in.

I don’t believe that 80 comments negative to Tower were posted at the POS Solutions blog. I think this has been made up. It reflects issues internal at POS. I have gained some insight into these issues over the last six months from former users, former employees, newsagents suppliers and from Bernard himself.

We have offered to help the company out of its difficulties through a friendly acquisition and while Bernard willingly entered into negotiations, visiting our office for talks, his partner declined. I agreed with Bernard, in response to his query, to continue to support their DOS software, employee all of their staff and provide a role for Bernard until his planned retirement. We would be happy to re-open these discussions in the interests of supporting the 600 newsagents with the POS software.

Bernard’s post today publishes a lie. I did not complain to him. I said nothing about how Tower may be tainted – I knew the whole scenario was made up. The lie demonstrates why newsagents should think twice before they use POS Solutions.

UPDATE (8/9) Bernard Zimmermann claims in a new post at his blog that he is banned from making comments here.  That is not true.  No one is banned.  None of his comments or those from his employees or partner have ever been banned or removed.

Bernard demonstrates how he twists the facts.  I talked to former POS users to help them switch to Tower.  I talked to POS employees who sought to work for Tower.  I talked to Bernard when he wanted to discuss selling his share in POS Solutions to me.  he explained that we wanted to move on from the business within two to three years.  I offered him employment through that time.   We also discussed price.

Bernard once in an email said he could bu Tower Systems.  He has never made an offer.  I made my first written formal offer for POS Solutions in June 2007.  Naturally, the details of the offer are confidential.  The offer did not go anywhere.  Then, svereal months ago, Bernard contacted me and said he wanted to talk.  he gave no indication what he wanted to talk about.  When he got to my office, he wanted to talk about selling POS Solutions to me.

None of this has anything to do with the defamation action I commenced more than four years ago.  This action has dawdled in the counts because the first four defences from POS Solutions were found to be defective.  Now they have a defence which the court will consider we can move to the next step which is court ordered mediation.  I look forward to that.

The court case was never discussed in my meeting at the Tower office with Bernard.