Affiliate Commission Thief

17 replies
Warriors,

I have a problem and would like to read what advice you may have to offer...

I am NOT going to name this person here... for it is against the WF terms of service... BUT... there are plenty of places I can do that at.

I am an affiliate for a person/product creator that runs his own "affiliate program software" for products he has had created.

I am involved with Many affiliate networks, CPA networks and for people who use their own... "Affiliate Networking Software"

I have NEVER had a problem with any of these networks or product owners "Paying" their affiliates the commissions owed to them for affiliate sales made... and in some cases... the product owners payed earlier than they had to.

BUT....

For the first time in my 5 years of online marketing... I am having a problem.

I am an affiliate for this product owner and he uses his Own affiliate networking software (Not Infusionsoft) and he "will not" and "does not" stay on-top of his affiliates "sales" and "commisssions" owed.

There are NO refunds for the product (accept under special circumstances) and the affiliate product sign-up page reads "Payments are made once per month, for the previous month"... after the payment thresh-hold has been met.


I still have commissions owed to me from 2011.


I have also researched and found a few other people that "have gone" and "are going" through this same situation as I am from this product owner.

I Do Not want to start posting Negative reviews about the product owner/creator... We both know that could destroy a product creators reputation... (But I WILL)... ALL I want is my commissions.

I contacted him over and over without any response...

UNTIL...

I finally posted on one of his threads... and the next day he contacted me through my email and we had a very negative exchange back and forth.

He is saying I "TOLD" a potential customer of mine to set up their own affiliate link and purchase the product in order to save money from "MY" commission.

(I am NOT the first person he has done this too.. as per my research)

I don't know what kind of IM'er you are... but Affiliate commissions are one of the ways I make my living online. I wouldn't even tell my Brother to purchase something that I can make a $51 commission off of.

I have screenshots of each of my contacts/emails that I have sent to the owner and.. screenshots inside my affiliate area dashboard showing... pending commissions, approved commissions and payed commissions.

I have the screenshots layed out in a "timeline" and "anyone" can see that he contradicts himself and... "FLAT OUT LIES".

I WILL post a link later... if the WF mods say it's ok too.


I have asked this question in other places and here are a few responses I have received:


* Contact Attorney General and file a complaint.

* Contact the Credit Bureau and file a complaint.

* Contact the BBB and file a complaint.

* Contact his Domain Registrar and file a complaint.

I was told... "People don't realize the shit-storm that can come down upon them... especially since the US Government is getting more and more involved in the IM game."

also.. people said to file a complaint with the following:

paypal(.)com
ripoffreport(.)com
scamchecker(.)com
scam(.)com
fbi(.)gov/scams-safety/e-scams
ic3(.)gov/default(.)aspx




My question to my fellow Warriors....


What would YOU do or Suggest I do in this situation?



Darryl Newkirk
#affiliate #commission #thief
  • Profile picture of the author Mike Hill
    Well, PayPal can't do much if anything about getting you the commissions you're owed from this marketer. But I'd be interested in knowing who it was as I had a problem a few years ago and am still owed hundreds of dollars. I've pretty much written that off and will only deal with affiliate programs if third parties are involved and a few select CPA networks.
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  • Profile picture of the author Brains Gone Wild
    I'd have to agree with the advice you've received so far. While it may seem harsh to some, I've had way too much $$$ "withheld" (aka, screwed over) to not take immediate action. I agree that reputation is everything, especially in this industry. However, why protect a reputation that is not worth protecting? Isn't it a disservice by NOT speaking publicly about your experience? (not here, of course) This person shouldn't be in business if he/she isn't operating ethically or providing value. Just my opinion. Either way, best of luck to you.
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  • Profile picture of the author agmccall
    Well, if you haven't already I would stop promoting his/her product. And , I would tell them as such.

    If you send them a bunch of sales then he/she might be a bit more interested in sending you your money.

    If you are not owed alot and do not send much traffic their way, then just stop promoting and move on.

    As far as the money that is owed you, if it is a large sum, then get a laweyer and fight it, if it is only a little, then like I said before, just move on.
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  • Profile picture of the author dgnew1281
    Mike,

    I am in the process of contacting the WF mods to see if it's ok to post a link to an off-site page that reveals who he is... along with the correspondence I had with him.

    This is not the first time he has done this... BUT... I would rather keep them out of it...

    I will keep this thread informed...


    Thanks
    Darryl Newkirk
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  • Profile picture of the author Dan Grossman
    Stop wasting your time, don't waste the time of third parties that can't help you, just print everything out and pay ~$25 to file in your local small claims court.
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  • Profile picture of the author dgnew1281
    Thanks for the quick replies everyone!

    I have stopped promoting him and his products... and I WILL expose him for what he is...

    It is NOT enough to warrant a Lawyer... but notifying the above mentioned will hopefully make him lose more money than it was worth to go ahead and pay my commissions.

    Thanks

    Darryl Newkirk
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    • Profile picture of the author Dan Grossman
      Originally Posted by dgnew1281 View Post

      It is NOT enough to warrant a Lawyer...
      There are no lawyers in small claims court. They're not allowed. You represent yourself and so does he. Just two people and a judge. Most small claims cases are for exactly this, to settle an unpaid debt. It really does just cost like $25 in most towns.
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      • Profile picture of the author dgnew1281
        Dan,

        Thanks for the info... and yes... I have been in small claims court before.. but not for IM'ing.

        I have written off the commissions... because I am in the process of exposing him and hopefully costing him more than it was worth.


        Thanks

        Darryl Newkirk
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        • Profile picture of the author dgnew1281
          I agree that reputation is everything, especially in this industry. However, why protect a reputation that is not worth protecting? Isn't it a disservice by NOT speaking publicly about your experience? (not here, of course) This person shouldn't be in business if he/she isn't operating ethically or providing value.

          I agree and I will expose him. I'm already in the process.


          Thanks
          Darryl Newkirk
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  • Profile picture of the author maz1207
    Hi, i'm sorry to hear that. I would report to the websites that you name above so that other affiliates won't have the bad experience as yours with this guy. Save others from being cheated by this person and less people will promote his products.
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    • Profile picture of the author dgnew1281
      Originally Posted by maz1207 View Post

      Hi, i'm sorry to hear that. I would report to the websites that you name above so that other affiliates won't have the bad experience as yours with this guy. Save others from being cheated by this person and less people will promote his products.
      Thanks Maz!

      I am going to wait 24 hours and will do just that.

      The great thing when you make your living online... You can take some time off from your daily activities to expose.. Liars, Cheats and Thieves.

      Thanks,

      Darryl Newkirk
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  • Profile picture of the author dgnew1281
    Originally Posted by Nio93 View Post

    It happens all the time. CPA networks don't pay, they shave leads, or sometimes the company altogether just vanishes. Go with the more reputable ones and you won't run into this problem again. You learn you learn right?
    Nio,

    I've been in this game for 5 years and this is my first encounter with this type of person... (I guess I am lucky)

    I am working with a group at another place and we are weeding-out those that shave leads.. can't really do anything about those that just shut their doors.

    Thanks for your in-put!!


    Darryl Newkirk
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  • Profile picture of the author jendoe
    Hi Darryl,

    Ugh - what a rotten situation. I don't know the answer (if there is one)... but a couple thoughts popped into my mind that you might want to think about or research further.

    1. I wonder what it takes to report someone to the credit boards? I've heard of landlords reporting people for not paying their rent. Wondering if you could get something reported to ding his credit. That would at least cause a little well-deserved pain.

    2. If you truly want to "write it off" - make sure you look into the tax implications. Not sure what it means on your end, but I believe when people settle debts for less than they owe (i.e. with credit card companies) - the "forgiven" amount is reported to the IRS as income. If you had a way to report the "written off" amount, he'd need to count that as income, I believe, and could face the ire of the IRS if he doesn't. Just a thought.

    3. I know you said you don't want to do this, but I'd totally do the small claims thing!

    Good luck with it...
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  • Profile picture of the author Charles AK
    I come from the CPA industry and people do this all the time, the sad thing is the only thing you can do about it, is move on.

    Imagine spending $2,000 on a facebook campaign and getting ripped off for $7,000. the marketer likely pocketed all that cash.

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  • Profile picture of the author Troy_Phillips
    I set an affiliate promotion up for a warrior's product a while back and got the same thing. I only ran it for 7 days as I wanted to make sure I would get paid after another warrior friend alerted me to the fact they had not been paid by them either.

    During that week I made several (I mean several) sales and over a year later have yet to receive payment. I contacted the dude and he said to read about his payment threshold. His script paid out automatically when the threshold was met. His threshold was in real fine print but was only $250 .. I was well past that.

    Never did get him to reply back after the initial conversation but the few times he has shown up here all I need to do is reply to one of his post and he disappears again for a few months.

    That was what made me decide to quit affiliate marketing almost completely. I will still work with a few instant pay scripts or some people I know will pay but that is about it anymore.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mark72
    I've always been very wary about self-hosted affiliate programs.

    I have signed up with some of them before - but only for highly respected marketers.

    The temptation to skim commissions is just too great for some people to resist.
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  • Profile picture of the author Charles AK
    there is people that have there own private network in the CPA industry so there leads won't get taking away.
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