The only thing that has ever worked is to tell them Im going to out them on the boards.
I paid an adult site firm $1,100 to make a site for me and a year later I still never got it. It was a year of them blowing me off and me chasing after them. The owner said he was having a hard time financially, meanwhile heās on the boards acting like heās very successful and has all this money (I later learned that being broke but acting rich on the boards is common).
Finally after a year I said you have 5 days to give me my money back or Im making threads everywhere. I dont care if you have to give blowjobs to homeless guys under a bridge, I want my money back within 5 days.
I would send them a daily reminderā¦4 days left. 3 days left.
Bam, I got my money back.
ok, yes I would agree - boards is a good way. But Iām more thinking if boards dont work or they dont care. I guess then its down to a lawsuit, but from my experinace thats expensive.
I cried fowl pretty quickly when Helix bounced a $50 check on me (that should never happen - itās what overdraft protection is for - especially at that amount)ā¦
But a couple of months ago I contacted a sponsor who hadnāt paid - took weeks to get a response back and then they had no clue they owed me money. I documented it for them, got a response theyād look into it and once again weeks before they responded. It all came out OK in the end, but Iām wondering whether theyāll be more on top of things in the future. They run a lot of sites so Iām finding it surprising theyāre so disorganizedā¦
Neither case was big money - that would be a factor as well. IMO, the more of your money theyāre holding the quicker they should respond.
I know sponsors have issues - like fraud on certain accounts where theyāve done payouts and then get a ton of chargebacksā¦ And they may not want to share with affiliates what theyāre going through, but ultimately the more honest they are with the good affiliates the better it is for everyone (IMHO)ā¦
[QUOTE=MrMax;14935]The only thing that has ever worked is to tell them Im going to out them on the boards.
I paid an adult site firm $1,100 to make a site for me and a year later I still never got it. It was a year of them blowing me off and me chasing after them. The owner said he was having a hard time financially, meanwhile heās on the boards acting like heās very successful and has all this money (I later learned that being broke but acting rich on the boards is common).
Finally after a year I said you have 5 days to give me my money back or Im making threads everywhere. I dont care if you have to give blowjobs to homeless guys under a bridge, I want my money back within 5 days.
I would send them a daily reminderā¦4 days left. 3 days left.
Bam, I got my money back.[/QUOTE]
A good idea but if it doesnāt works I think it is all about the amount of money. If it is a big amount talk to a lawyer about what to do.
If you expose them on the boards then you might gather together some other people who are owed. Perhaps you could then approach them as a group with the threat of taking legal course of action.
Also, what about contacting the processor and seeking their advice. Processors like to keep their reputations squeaky clean, so perhaps theyād be more responsive.
The boards are also a way to warn the community so we donāt experience the loss that you are experiencing.
Every day you remain silent could be more money out of someone elseās pocket who isnāt aware of the problem
The threat of multiple affiliates banning a sponsor could easily be of greater consequence then the threat of a lawsuit, and hits their pocket more quickly then a judgment would.
Does Gay Demon get many submissions from people advertising this sponsor? The threat of not allowing sites advertising them could hit them were really hurtsā¦
You have to go very very carefull with that. Board posting is a last resort when your attempts to resolve an issue have totally failed. This place should never become a place to lynch mob people. Ive seen many times people being falsely accused on boards and have been on the recieving end of it. Thats why webmasters always ask people to try to resolve the issue first then only post when sure of their facts.
I give Bjorn more credit then that. I think he would use the board as a last resort, as I would.
So many times, again and again, someone posts information to late and tons of people post that theyāve had the same problem and didnāt want to say anything. Itās good to learn from your mistakes, and the mistakes of others.
You have to be careful. If they owe you a lot of money and out them on the boards first, then it can be get much harder to collect.
If itās the money that one is really after, and itās a lot of money, then I would send them a final letter demanding what they owe. If they didnāt pay, then sue them, and hope like hell once you get a lawyer involved that they will decide to pay. Then decide if you want to out them and how bad. but, if itās a ton of money and you really want it, outing them may not be the best bet at first, especially if you later decide to sue them. Lawyers have a way of twisting everything you may say in open against you.
I think itās funny the way people on boards constantly talk about getting lawyers. I believe a lot of it is just that: talk. Number one it is very expensive and number two the program may even be based in a different country.
iād present them with an invoice for my sales and if it wasnāt paid and they were in the u.s., after a third invoice and strong letter, iād take them to a collections agency. out of the u.s., itās usually too expensive to mess with - which is how so many companies get away with it.
Not really true. Banaguide sued that straight guys site that dumped all the affiliates. It really depends on how much someone woes you. If someone owed me 20k, i would get a lawyer in a heart beat. Depending on where the company is located, sendingthem to small claims court is not all that difficult. Hiring a lawyer to collect money is much more less costly than hiring a lawyer for other things. Very few companies want leins put on their assets.
Thereās too many people in the gay adult biz who rip off others.
The minute they start owing someone more than $1000 - maybe even $500 - itās because they dipped their hands into the cookie jarā¦ and need to be outed and blown out of the water.
Youāre a bad businessman if you let your acct receivables with any vendor get above one month, in this digital age with ACH, Wires, PayPal, ePassporte, Payoneer, etc.
More than one month - thereās a rip off happening. If youāre that important to them, that theyāre making 2-3-4-5-times what theyāre paying you, then chop off their nuts before making them one more $$.
I donāt even think you need to sue. Just hiring a lawyer to write a strongly worded letter for a few hundred dollars will do the trick. People donāt want to go to court, itās too costly.
I do agree, people often say they are getting a lawyer or suing someoneā¦ but from my experiance its very expensive. Whenever I have employed one its cost me a great deal.
For example, my lawyer (UK Based) charges me $300-500 for a simple letter in regards to Gaydemon Trademarks and copyright infringments.
This is exactly why Im asking what the next step would be.
Sure, there is limit if someone ows me 20k, i wouldnt hesitate in getting a lawyer. But in my case its normally figures like $1000-3000, due to the fact I would have noticed by then if they stopped paying and stopped any traffic before it got higher than that.
[QUOTE=dzinerbear;15134]I donāt even think you need to sue. Just hiring a lawyer to write a strongly worded letter for a few hundred dollars will do the trick. People donāt want to go to court, itās too costly.
Michael[/QUOTE]
That works most of the time. However, I would write the letter and collect my money before i āoutā the company. They are much more likely to pay.