In ancient times, there was a mostly wooden frame called a pillory in the market square of every town. Dishonourable people were exposed there in public. On the one hand, this deterred others from committing similar misdeeds and, on the other, everyone knew about the misbehaviour of the offenders being pilloried.
Today we have the internet. Everything is anonymous, villains are hard to pin down. They commit the same misdemeanours again and again and are not punished for it. So who protects the good from the bad? Me. Today. Here. My villain: Nick Stein, head of Radio Nikita, based in Bulgaria.
Update 14.4.12 Attention! I have already received an unsuccessful but nevertheless expensive warning from Nick Stein! I will gladly publish all your statements, but only after printing your comment with “I am hereby liable for the content of my above comment – name, full address, place, date, signature” by fax to 03212 105 8182 – All comments without signature by fax will be irrevocably deleted after one week. Stick to the facts!
Update 07.09.11: The operators of the Rainbow Camp (see comment 7.9. below) are looking for Nick Stein because of the theft of a car. Who knows his current whereabouts? Any police station will accept useful information!
Update 5.10.09: Nick Stein has now sent me and others warning letters. The allegation that he is a fraudster bothers him a lot. Therefore my request to all who have something to report: Send me your experiences with him! Have you had any of the following experiences with Nick Stein?
Ordering services with a signature, but never paying for them. Changing access data to Hps / Ftp / server etc. directly after completion of the services. Unavailability via telephone, Skype, false addresses, i.e. going underground. Pretence of false facts (sponsors, partners etc.). Non-delivery of reminders etc. Names and contact details of other injured parties also help.
I am endeavouring to initiate proceedings for fraud, anyone who wants to join in: email me!
My case: About half a year ago, Skype rang late in the evening. Urgent order from Mr Nick Stein, Radio Nikita, Bulgaria. He needs a new layout for his homepage www.Radio-Nikita.de immediately (now offline, invoices not paid?). Allegedly has problems with another radio station because of a stolen layout. I have a contract faxed to me and work a three-day night shift to meet the tight deadline. In between, Mr Nick Stein praises me via Radio Nikita Bulgaria and sends slimy greetings to my former girlfriend in Vienna.
After three nights, the work is done and Mr Nick Stein is very happy with the result. He praises my work again, thanks me and immediately commissions another website: www.stein-TV.net. Within another three days, this homepage is also completed and is praised by Mr Stein. No, I explicitly do not link to this website.
When the money for my work hasn’t arrived after three weeks, I call him. Yes, coming soon. Another week later. Same thing. And again and again and again. Today, almost six months after all the services have been provided and accepted, I still haven’t seen a cent of the €1500 for my work. He refuses any contact, the address on his homepages is incorrect, the telephone number is wrong. Only his email is correct, but he doesn’t respond to it:
He cannot be reached under his two Skype pseudonyms. For any interested parties, these are public: radio-nikita and triomnium-kazanlyk. The debt collection company has discontinued the proceedings, the court proceedings will follow soon.
Why am I writing this today? If I had been so good as to write this page, peppered with the terms Nick Stein, Radio Nikita and Bulgaria earlier, if this page had landed in the Google Top10 for these terms earlier, then perhaps another web designer would not have experienced exactly the same thing as I did with this good person.
Unfortunately, another web designer called me last night and asked me about Mr Nick Stein, Radio Nikita, Bulgaria. He too can probably write his 3,000 euro fee for www.radionikita.de into the wind. FTP was changed immediately after completion, contact is denied.
My warning to all potential business partners of Mr Nick Stein, Radio Nikita, Bulgaria! In my opinion, Mr Nick Stein, Radio Nikita, Bulgaria is a fraudster of the first order. I justify this opinion with my own experience and evidence as well as additional extracts from the following websites:
Nick Stein, Radio Nikita, wanted and arrested in Bulgaria. Released a day later.
Nick Stein, Radio Nikita, Bulgaria causes a big scandal with xenophobic statements live on air.
Write about your experiences with Nick Stein!
Within three days I have learnt of at least three other web designers / hosters who have been damaged by Nick Stein. If you have also had experiences with him, please post them here as a comment. Important here: Hate speech, unprovable and personally insulting articles will not be published. What should go here: Hard-hitting, provable facts (in the words of Nick Stein on stein-tv.net). And biting humour, which fortunately enjoys a certain degree of freedom. So, help us build a marvellous pillory for Nick Stein Radio Nikita Bulgaria! Use the right words (see page title) and write as much as you can. More text, more keywords = better positions in Google.
Link this page with the link text Nick Stein!
I never thought this would be the longest thread on this blog. But the length tells me: it’s good, it saves others trouble. Thanks for all the comments! The only thing that will move this site forward now: In-links with the link text Nich Stein Radio Nikita Bulgaria. Every position improvement protects a person from fraud.
Update 31.07.09 Nick Stein sometimes calls me with suppressed numbers. Then he says yes at the beginning of June he wants to pay. Then at the end of July. Then he might say yes, he can pay 50 euros a month. He said the same thing to Fabi_Webdesign. We get no money, nothing, we will never get it and we have provided services totalling more than 4500 euros for a fraudster. Nick Stein has just called again. Now he’s supposedly receiving unemployment benefits and is even upset that I dared to get a real address from his employer after he’s always been on the run and untraceable. According to a source in Bulgaria, he is currently driving a red Mercedes, in case anyone is looking for him. He was seen at Sofia airport a few days ago. And allegedly cannot currently leave Bulgaria without a passport.
My warning: Nick Stein has already conned a lot of people. Read everything and then decide for yourself who you are working for free! Why does this site get so damn many hits? Do more people have stories to tell about Nick Stein?
Frank Woelky, born in 1973. Kitesurfer since 1998. Since 2006, I have been combining kitesurfing and web design on trips lasting several months off the beaten track.