Net firm puts therapist’s home on web

A THERAPIST has been left living in fear after her address and a map showing the way to her front door was published on the internet by mistake.

Jo Spaczynska was horrified when she saw her personal details had been placed on the web by internet advertising firm Scoot.

The company was supposed to advertise the services which she offers at a local medical centre.

Ms Spaczynska, a therapist who has treated people with mental health problems, said the publication of her personal details had left her with serious safety concerns.

"You can imagine how distressed I was when I logged on to my page and I found out that they had published my full home address.

"Not only that, but there was a map showing how to get to my house. It was exactly what I did not want them to do," she said.

"I have worked with people in the past who I may not want knocking on my front door.

"As a single woman, I also did not want my full details on the world wide web.

"I agreed to take a one-month trial with Scoot to advertise my therapy services, but I was quite clear that I did not want my home details to be published on the internet."

The details remained published for more than a month, she said, despite repeated calls have them removed.

Her problems with Scoot continued when she tried to cancel her contract, which she understood she had taken on as a one-month free trial.

The firm insisted that she owed 117, covering administration fees and payments for every hit on her web page.

She refused, saying she should not be expected to pay for a page which had mistakenly published personal details.

The firm then hired a debt collection agency to pursue her for the cash.

Ms Spaczynska said: " The collection agency were very aggressive. They said they would take me to court if I refused to pay and put me on the debt blacklist. I was in tears at the thought of it." It was only when the Evening News contacted Scoot over its treatment of Ms Spaczynska that it agreed to cancel its legal moves against her.

The firm has also sent a letter of apology to her over the inclusion of personal details on the web page.

A spokeswoman said: "As a gesture of goodwill, we have agreed to cancel this customer’s contract and will not continue to pursue the outstanding bill.

"We have written to her to apologise for the mistake over the map.

"However, she did sign a 12-month contract and we were entitled to seek payment for the service provided. However, we have agreed to waive this due to the mix-up."

Ms Spaczynska said she was relieved that the episode was now at an end.

"They should never have pursued me for this money after the mistakes that were made on the website," she added.

In February, ten Southside guesthouse owners refused to pay their bills to Scoot, claiming that incorrect information on their hotels had been posted on the web.

The hoteliers were later offered a full refund from the company.