Be extremely wary or Laurant Systems aka “Stoutgat”

In January 2023 I found myself in the middle of a domestic dispute when my wife saw e-mail notifications sitting in my inbox from Laurant Systems aka "Stoutgat" . I always thought it was spam, so I ignored it. I gave my wife permission to investigate. She told me that it was an internet dating site. I was shocked and I wanted to see who was sending me these notifications and why they were coming through to my e-mail. We accessed the website and had to pay for an “upgrade” in order to gain full access to the account/profile. It didn’t help us, so I contacted the Webmaster for help. I enquired about the date the account was created, who paid for the initial registration, and asked for a full list of the messages that were being sent back and forth on this profile as from the date of registration. None of this is available on the “premium” or “upgraded” version of the account/profile. They responded by asking me for a police-certified copy of my ID, my phone number, and the reason for my enquiry. I was not asked for a proof of address or any other details. They specifically stated that they need these details since they “need to provide the information telephonically so as to verify my identity”.

In good faith, I sent them everything they asked for, but instead of assisting me, so that I could find out what is going on, I received a system generated response stating that they “decline providing any further information”. They claimed that the copy of my ID might not be authentic (although it was certified by the police, whilst I was standing in front of the officer with my original ID in hand). They stated that my e-mail might have been hacked although they can’t say for sure. They gave me a bunch of diplomatic legal jargon, whilst hiding behind the POPI act. They claimed that this might be a case of identity theft… I don’t know who is committing the identity theft, but it certainly isn’t me or my wife. Then I was told that they “have no way of checking or verifying the cell phone number that I have provided”. The e-mail ended simply by stating… “regrettably, we are not in a position to enter into any further correspondence”, and that was it. Thus, they discredited me so that they don’t have to give me any of the data. It’s my e-mail address that was used to create the profile, so I should be entitled to view and receive anything that is linked to it. In their correspondence to me they made it very clear that they comply with the POPI Act and that this law categorically applies to my case. Well, if that is the case, then all regulations under this act apply. According to my understanding, the POPI Act asserts that I have the right to gain access to the information that I have requested and the right to rectify any details. I have the right to enquire as to whether somebody has my personal information, as long as l provide proof of identity (which I already did) and this information must be provided free of charge. I am also allowed to find out what this information consists of and if this information has been disseminated to any third parties.

We investigated further and saw that they don’t ask for an ID number or a phone number when you register. Although they ask for an address, they don’t ask you for any documents to prove that it’s your address. You can fake anything! You can use a false name, give a false address, and they will accept it, as long as they receive a registration fee. They also don’t check to see if the person registering on the website, is the same person making the payment. I know this because in our case, the payment for the upgrade was made by my wife. We don’t have the same initials or surname and completely different bank accounts, but they willingly accepted the payment. This is why I asked them for the payment details when the account was registered/created initially. I wanted to know who paid for it in the first place.

They ask you for all sorts of info when you submit an enquiry to them, but they don’t bother verifying anything that you’ve sent. I didn’t receive any follow-up questions, e-mails, or phone calls from them to verify my identity (as they claimed they would), instead I got an e-mail that said that there was “no way for them to verify my details” in the first place. They stated in their e-mail that they “are concerned about transgressing the POPI and exposing themselves to legal action, if this matter does turn out to be identity theft”. I didn’t mention or threaten anyone with legal action at any point in time.

We went back to the website to see if we possibly missed something. I found that they took the money that we paid earlier that day (no refund or reversal of the transaction), simply blocked the account and cut-off all communication.

They don’t provide a physical address in their correspondence, where you can go and see them. This makes it is impossible for you to physically prove that you are who you say you are. They also don’t provide you with a contact person or any phone numbers that you can call. According to the POPI Act the name and physical address of the organisation collecting/hosting the information must be provided. All they give you is a Gmail address, and that is it! It’s not even a proper e-mail with its own domain name. They don’t respond in person either. All the responses I received came from a “no-reply” e-mail which is an “unattended mailbox”, according to their correspondence. In our investigation we ascertained that you (the customer) are required to provide them (the supplier) with your address, when you signup, but they refrain from providing the same. This type of information is also not divulged on their website when you signup. You will only notice this once you have paid them the compulsory registration fee in advance. They only provide self-help or “FAQ” pages. Thus, if you encounter a serious problem with your account/profile they will not respond to you in person and they will not help you. They have no answerability and make it clear that they are not under any obligation to assist you in any manner.

They are more than willing to take your money, but they make it your own responsibility to ensure your own safety on their website, and then they refuse to provide you with any information that allows you to protect yourself against the possible consequences, if something goes wrong, or allows you to prevent it from happening to you again. I am sure I am not the first or last person that this will happen to. I expected a proper and thorough investigation into my problem from them, or at the very least just the information that I requested, but instead they kept the money, blocked everything and cut-off all communication.

I am being discredited and blatantly ignored, but to the people who are thinking about using this service willingly or at their own accord… rather go somewhere else. In my opinion they are not any better than, any other FREE website.