Major problems paying clickbank checks

[dsmpublishing]

Hi guys

i could do with a little bit of help from some fellow warriors that have regular checks by clickbank as i seem to be having a huge nightmare right now and getting more and more frustrated by the second!!!

To cut a long story short nearly two years ago i left the uk and moved to the algarve in Portugal and i soon found out that the clickbank check cashing system can be a nightmare.

I cant get direct deposit into portugal as its not on clickbanks list so im stuck with the checks and the charges for having a wire transfer into portugal are often over $100 per check.

So I arranged it so i paid direct deposit into my bank account in england but as with any internet marketer im a busy girl doing lots of new products and niches so i often open a new clickbank account once a fortnight and as you know your first 2 payments must be checks.

I paid in a few checks last year and the time frame for it clearing was a couple of weeks.

However the checks i paid in for the back end of december arrived and i paid it in arround the 5th of january and it still hasnt cleared.

I have now been told that it takes 4 weeks to clear a check and i am constantly on the phone to my bank in Portugal and they have told me that under new rules with the bank of portugal citibank who handles clickbank checks must confirm that they issued the check and until they do it will NOT CLEAR.

I know portugal can be slow and wanted to ask us other people having similar problems?

for those that paid in checks in January how long did they take to clear?

Im especially interested if you are UK based as i am considering sending them to a friends house to cash on my behalf if it is a lot quicker.

I would love to hear what you think and how hard it has been to cash your cheques as i can see the 90 days been up before the cheque has been cashed.

kind regards


sam
X

[affilcrazy]

Hi Sam,

Mmm it seems like a difficult one. I actually worked as UK Bank Manager for 12 years and therefore understand your frustrations.

First of all check if the Clickbank cheques are crossed "account payee only" (unfortunately i can't remember if they are now). If they are then they can only ever be paid into a account that has the same name as is written of the cheque. i.e. no-one else can cash them for you.

If you intend to use friends, then the easiest thing would be to open Clickbank accounts in your friend's name and supply their address and bank details too. Once they've received the cheques they can deposit them for you. In the UK, it shouldn't actually take more tha 10-14 days to clear a "foreign" cheque, but some banks are just slow with the process. " of the best UK banks for clearing foreign cheques are Barclays and Natwest and the worst without doubt is Lloyds TSB!

As for a portuguese bank, they have to follow the same procedure as any other EU based bank and are more than capable of clearing that cheque with 2 weeks. However, the clearance of foreign cheques involves actual human labour! Oh NO! So you have to rely on one person to check and counter reference that cheque with a foreign bank before it is cleared. (This is as simple as filling out a 2 page form and then telephoning the foreign bank, but can still take a bank employee over a month to do!) So as the process is not automated, it takes a little longer!

Cheers
Partha

EDIT: Sorry hit the enter button too early and posted this before complete!!

[dsmpublishing]

Thanks for your reply

Like i said ive never had problems paying them in until now and didnt know whether others were having a similar problem or whether its just portugal.

If it is just portugal i will change the name to my friends as it is the payee only or get them paid into my uk account directly for me.

All i really want to know is how long people have been waiting for their january checks to clear.

kind regards


sam
X

[JustVisiting]

CB should really be paying affiliates via PayPal like many other programs.

You could open a US bank account.
Advantages:
1. US dollars
2. direct deposit of funds to account

[dsmpublishing]

Hi

I actually use clickbank because i dont trust paypal

didnt know that with a us account a cheque was treated as a direct deposit though!

do you get your clickbank checks cleared straight away in the states?

kind regards


sam
X

[JustVisiting]

Originally Posted by dsmpublishing

Hi

didnt know that with a us account a cheque was treated as a direct deposit though!

After the first 2 checks you could direct deposit. Payment of the first two you could either mail to your bank or pay to your local bank.

[dsmpublishing]

Hi

yes i am well aware of this i have been getting clickbank checks and direct deposits for years.

What i am asking is how long people have been waiting for cheques that they paid in during january and february to clear.

I open new clickbank accounts every month so i always have about 6 cheques a month to pay in until they qualify for direct deposit.

If someone replies on her from the uk and says its much quicker i will simply get them paid in into the uk instead.

kind regards


sam
X

[Nicola Lane]

What you can do is save the first two checks - then send them back to clickbank and ask them to re-issue them as a direct deposit.

They did this for me and confirmed that this was OK. In addition as you send the checks back to them they do not need to charge a re-issue fee as they don't need to cancel the checks.

Hope that helps

[dsmpublishing]

Hi nicola

i thought the first two payments had to be cheques - when i cotacted them on friday they told me that i had to cash the first two as cheques before i could have a direct deposit.

when did this happen for you?

I dont actually mind the first two been cheques all im asking is for them to clear in a reasonable time.

Obviously i have been waiting 8 weeks for my cheques to clear and its crazy and i still have no date for them to clear because the banks have changed their international clearing policy.

so if anyone has paid a check into a uk or portuguese account in january or february can you tell me how long you waited for them to clear?

kind regards


sam
X

[Nicola Lane]

Well about a year ago - I got my first three cheques (yes you have to recieve them! but not necessarily cash them!) then sent them back for a re-issue. I am pretty sure their website system does not know if you have actually cashed your cheques yet - it can only tell if it has issued them.

Possibly it all depends on the customer service rep is! I sent an e-mail asking if I could send the cheques back (due to the difficulties and ursurous charges) and they said OK.

Here are two emails I sent on this subject:

Hello,

Yes, we can reissue your three checks and send them as wire.

Thanks,

Laura
Accounting
lct@clickbank.com


-----Original Message-----
From:
Sent: Sunday, July 20, 2008 2:54 AM
To: CB_Accounting
Subject: Payment Inquiries

Publisher and Affiliate Question


Name: Nicola Lane
Email:
Nickname:

Subject: Payment Inquiries

Questions:
Paying an american dollar cheque into my english bank account will mean significant charges and delays.

Will it be possible to return my first three cheques to you - when I have qualified to set up direct deposit - and have the money sent through the direct deposit system? I'd like me to get the money rather than my bank!

Thanks

and

Hello,

If you return the checks to us, we would waive the $20 fee.

Thanks,

Laura
Accounting
lct@clickbank.com


-----Original Message-----
From:
Sent: Monday, March 23, 2009 4:27 AM
To: CB_Accounting
Subject: Payment Inquiries

Vendor and Affiliate Question


Name: Nicola Lane
Email:
Nickname:

Subject: Payment Inquiries

Questions:
I just want to confirm that if I return paper checks to you, then you will be able to re-issue the payments through direct deposit - WITHOUT - needing to cancell the checks and thus making me pay a $20 fee for each check. Thank you

Hope that helps

[amandafrei]

I have always been scared by Clickbank Checks. To complicated.

It would be great if they would allow the Bank Transfer to be faster. But I think the main reason they don't is that there are a lot of scam affiliates in Clickbank.

[MaverickWil]

Ah Clickbank cheques... takes a month to clear in Malaysia.

[Alexa Smith]

Sam,

I don't want to worry you but I think that "90 days" you mention in your original post might actually be 60 days really (this is from memory - I haven't verified it).

I've also heard of several people retaining and returning the 2 initial cheques and getting them replaced as a direct deposit. I would think this may well be your easiest route.

(Or ... might it also be worth thinking about opening an account in the British Channel Islands? Santander (formerly Abbey) in Jersey, or something? They certainly have a reputation for being fast with clearing international cheques. Just a suggestion.)

Good luck!

[dsmpublishing]

Thanks nicola

i also find that it depends who you deal with - i had 1 that i contacted last week over another matter and they were very unhelpful and werent forthcoming with info. Yet i have spoken to Laura myself in the past especially during product approval and she is great.

I will do the same as you and just sit on the cheques as waiting 2 months for checks that still havent cleared is stupid. The thing is though it never used to be this paid. I just wish we could go onto direct deposit straightaway it would be so much better.

kind regards


sam
X

[dsmpublishing]

Thanks guys

@amandafri - yes i hate clickbank checks but because i am always creating new products i am often on checks with them

@maverickwil - i could cope with a month the way things are going it is taking a lot longer. It used to be 2 weeks but the banking system world wide on international checks seem to have changed.

@alexa - that doesnt worry me at all - once it hits the end date they will issue a direct deposit which will save me asking the bank for it back!

kind regards

sam
X

[Todd Sampson]

I have heard this works, but never had to try it since I live in the US.
First make your payout threshold as low as possible. That will get your 2
checks fast so you can set up direct deposit. Then since the checks are so
small they are not worth cashing since it will cost more than the check is
worth. Just frame the checks and hang them on the wall, but if clickbank
will take the checks back and send them as a direct deposit, that would
be better than the $20 artwork.

In any case good luck.

to your success,
Todd Sampson

[dsmpublishing]

Thanks todd

great advice though i think what i will do now is save the checks and send them back as it saves all the months of waiting around and silly bank charges.

kind regards


sam
X