TRANSAMERICA FLOOD FILES SUIT AGAINST A LA MODE INTERFLOOD

[Bemis Pownall]

were is Mr Biggers now?


must be working on that sketching software he was inquiring about..

ho hum

 

[dbiggers]

I'm actually out on vacation with my kids (it's their spring break) and just now saw this. Interestingly, Transamerica hasn't even served us before they announced it, so it would seem that this method is for grandstanding and PR primarily. InterFlood, our flood map system, has taken the industry by storm; I suppose Transamerica doesn't like that. Perhaps they should improve their product instead.

Read their own statement and it's pretty clear that all we did was point out the flaws in their flood system. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that, when you do it factually, which we did, and which we're confident a judge will see just as easily as any appraiser. What's surprising is that we never even named their system in the body of the ad, since we were talking about the failures of Q3 data in general, etc. We only named them in one place (a tiny comparison chart), and in that, we gave them more "points" than any other system. Sounds like whining to me.

Again, they ought to spend more time and money wondering why it's so easy to find weaknesses in their flood mapping, and less trying to prevent competitors from pointing them out. Appraisers will buy the better flood mapping product, not the one with more attorneys.

One thing is really interesting. Did you notice that they don't claim that we made any false statements about our own InterFlood's capablities? Yet in that ad we made many statements regarding InterFlood's superiority. It appears they aren't even trying to shoot any holes in that.

We'll put out an official statement later today. And don't worry -- we've got great attorneys and enough money to let them haggle with Transamerica for a very long time. But more importantly, we have even better programmers than attorneys, and that's why Transamerica will lose the flood map battle, no matter how much they complain. InterFlood will prevail in the courtroom, but it will clearly continue to prevail where this battle should be fought and will be fought: in the appraisal marketplace.

Dave Biggers
CEO
a la mode, inc.

were is Mr Biggers now?


must be working on that sketching software he was inquiring about..

ho hum

 

[Mike Garrett RAA]

You go, Dave! We still love your product!

 

[Bryan (OK)]

Interflood works great for me.

Fight 'em to the end.

 

[Paulette in Texas]

We love the flood map. As usual we were late coming to the party, but once purchased it is like we're "queen for a day."This weekend we're dumping several very large file cabinets to the back of the garage with all the flood maps in them. We've got y'all. Dad gum but it is easy to use. Haven't found any problems. Map lets us adjust if needed and only had to do that twice out of the first 100+- ones we've gotten. Love it. Good luck and thanks for all the great support and software. Partins in Houston
go w...
Rotts rule and Shih Tzus fine

 

[Pat Butler]

I find it interesting that so few people are having 'problems' with Interflood. I finally got my refund after they couldn't answer why they changed all the Zone C's on our local maps to Zone X.

FEMA intends on phasing out Zone C, but any Zone C's that are on the current maps, that haven't been changed with a LOMR (letter of map revison), are STILL ZONE C. Interflood's premature changing of these Zones has resulted in determinations that are wrong.

I can give you a nearby address where the flood map pops up and shows the Zone C right in the center of their crosshairs. However, the determination given in their data box is Zone X. What happened? Their tech told me that the determination provided in the data box comes from a different source than the map that is generated. If you read Transamerica's complaint you'll find that their data is one of those sources that was alledegly used without their permission!

I was told by Interflood's tech guy that I could read the flood determination right off the map if I preferred to get it from there. The problem is that many times the actual zone descriptor does not appear on the small portion of the map that is displayed- and you can't move that map around. You have to go back to the locator page and nudge that map over- and hope that the new view of the flood panel has the zone descriptor on its face. You know what? You'll be charged for that new map view! I asked what the solution to that was and I never got a return call or a return email.

So those of you who have no problems with Interflood might want to double check any Zone C's against an actual printed map and you might be suprised. My experience of viewing the Zone C on the map and receiving a determination of Zone X is all I needed to know regarding the reliability of their product.

I find it rather ironic that Mark Green is accused of grandstanding by placing information regarding their lawsuit on this site. That accusation is coming from a company with a reputation for advertising products that aren't even available yet!

 

[Paulette in Texas]

Not every software product is made for everybody and every site. Sorry, that y'all didn't have a good experience. But where's the Xitch. You tried it and made the personal decision it was not for you and yours. Fine. No problemo. You even got your refund. How about our situation. We have checked their downloads against dozens of copy files in 5 counties. So far, we haven't found any errors. We quit that after a while. The maps appear to be right on. At least they are in our area. But WE ARE NOT GUARANTEEING anything. It is a service and for that service, ala mode has made it soooooo very easy to click and deliver what in our area is a very much quality product. We also advise in every report to get a flood cert. Our flood map is not a flood cert. It is a good faith estimate of what we believe to be accurate information. As for me and mine, we will continue to buy their services and products UNTIL they stop delivering quality. But in the meantime...wow, what a great product. And may those envious competitors go fly their own kite. Where were they the last few months or years? NOT ever trying to deliver services at reasonable fees to appraisers. Have a great one. Happy y'all are happy. Paulette in Tx
go w..
Rotts rule and Shih tzu is fine

 

[Pat Butler]

Actually, Transamerica has been around for many years prior to Alamode's Interflood project. If you read their legal complaint you'll see that Interflood is even using Transamerica's data without permission! It appears that Ala Mode was so envious of Transamerica that they just had to steal their product. In that respect, I think you have it backwards.

Transamerica gave Alamode permission to use their flood maps in their software program, but not as a stand alone product meant to be sold to the same customer base. So that great product provided by Alamode has actually been stolen from Transamerica. Read the lawsuit complaint for details.

And Interflood is so great that it has to be promoted with false advertising. Insofar as delivering services at reasonable fees to appraisers, I have to laugh at that one. AlaMode practically created the 'service contract' scheme where you loyal followers continue to pay huge fees to them in return for their bug fixes to their software.

I'm still not convinced that your determinations are correct. Interflood's tech told me that they consider Zone C and Zone X to be the same, so they had their programmers make those changes automatically.

 

[dbiggers]

Pat, you're making one really huge mistake based on an assumption which, as a trained appraiser, I'd bet you don't make in the real estate field. Namely, you're assuming that just because Transamerica has said something, it must be true. You deal with each of their assertions as though they were somehow facts, without one shred of evidence.

That's equivalent to taking the owner's word on the square footage of the house and never measuring it yourself. I bet you're a pretty good appraiser; you seem well spoken and intelligent, and you've probably learned to be generally skeptical of assertions made by those who have something to gain from the unchallenged acceptance of those claims.

And also remember that there's no reason to believe that just because you've been sued, that you've done something wrong. Big companies use lawsuits all the time just as stalling tactics against competitors, no matter how baseless the claims in them may be.

So, with that in mind, let me remind you that Transamerica has a lot to gain from their claims, and you've been shown nothing that would suggest they're true. Please, apply equal skepticism to their claims, especially when they're shrewdly written by expensive attorneys, who have mastered the art of making any claim seem terrible and threatening. Remember, that's exactly what they get paid to do.

And again, let me make sure you note that nothing in Transamerica's complaint ever claims that we made false statements about InterFlood's capabilities. You make the assertion above that we somehow have overstated our product or advertised something which wasn't yet available. Given the variety of claims that Transmerica threw into their complaint, wouldn't you think they'd try to nail us on any overstatement of InterFlood's abilities if there were any? Of course they would have. But they couldn't.

Wait until you see the facts... it's part of something called "innocent until PROVEN guilty".

Take my response in the spirit it's intended, please. I can't get into an evidential debate here, for obvious reasons. Just cut us the same slack you're apparently cutting Transamerica. Have your opinion all you want, but be careful about those assumptions.

Dave Biggers
CEO
a la mode, inc.

 

[Pat Butler]

Dave-- I will give you the benefit of the doubt. But I was mislead by your advertising that stated that Transamerica used inferior Q3 data. That's why I initially subscribed to your service.

It wasn't until I logged onto this forum one day that I saw Mark Green's response to your advertising claims that their data was inferior. He clearly explained that they start out with Q3 data but then overlay it with lots of other data from different sources. So their data is much more than plain old Q3 data. Just the fact they they use the LOMR's to update the Q3 data makes it clear that their data is much more than Q3 data by itself. So the use of the LOMR's by itself makes your advertising claims false. Otherwise they would have to be lying about their use of the LOMR's.

I'll certainly give you the benefit of the doubt but do not think that Transamerica would be so blatant as to include their data acquisition procedures in the complaint, then lie about the facts. It would be pretty easy to look up a recent LOMR and see if it has been incorporated into their service. If not, then perhaps Transamerica is lying in its complaint. If the LOMR data is included then that shows that your advertising claims are false.

And what about your claim that Transamerica doesn't have the same software integration? As we all know, any Windows' program can take advantage of copying and pasting from a browser window. So Transamerica's product can be used with virtually every Windows appraisal program. So your claim about their lack of software integration is false too.

Basically, most of their charges in the complaint seem true to me based upon what is basically public knowledge. It will be very interesting to see what becomes of this case. The charges regarding whatever agreement your company had with them with respect to your usage of their data will be interesting. I do find it hard to believe that your company would purchase their data under a limited license then resell it in a way that clearly violates that agreement. Are you guys that bold, or are they lying?

In any event, the charges seem pretty clear. One party or the other is doing a really good job lying about the facts. We'll see what happens...