What action should I take on affiliate merchants that dont pay commissions owed? I currently have two merchants that are past due with their payments for my promotions... and "past due" would be a gross understatement. One merchant owes me $602. The payout is supposed to be sent monthly (assuming minimum is met, which it has been consistently)... yet I havent received a check from this merchant since the end of March 2005 (in 8+ months). That payment was my very first commission check, and was $175. I have earned a total of $777 in commission from this merchant - leaving an outstanding balance of $602. I corresponded with the owner/manager several times in August, September and October 2005 - both by email and by phone. Each time he assured me he was going to handle it personally ("walk the check out the door"). I got an apology and an explanation that they were transferring to a new service to manage their program, etc - and assurance it would be taken care of. December 1st - I call the toll free number I usually reach this affiliate manager at... and the number is "no longer in service". I sent an email... but at this point, I am not sure what course of action to take next? I do have one other merchant that owes me several hundred. I am sure whatever advice you can offer me on the 1st one will apply to the second one as well. For me, it's the principle of the matter. These guys owe me a chunk of money, and I intend to make sure they own up to their end of the agreement. In addition, I have advertising expenses and time put into those promotions - so I'd like to see that money back, of course. A thousands bucks is a thousand bucks. Any suggestions?
You have a couple of options. What most people tend to do in such circumstances is to go to a small claims court (presuming you have proof of the amount owed), the advantage being that you can also claim for the expense of bringing the case so it won't cost you anything. Another option is to 'factor' the debt - i.e. sell it on to a company who will instantly pay you a percentage of the amount owed, then it's down to them to recover the money. So if you were owed $500 a company may buy the debt off you for $350. Naturally this isn't a great option as you don't get everything you're owed, but you do get something (it's no longer your problem if the company concerned never pays up) and you get it immediately. I'd suggest the first step in both cases is to issue an ultimatum. Tell them that they have x number of days to pay, else you're pursue the matter through the courts. Don't call or send an e-mail, send them a physical letter and get a signature on delivery - this tells them you're serious. I'd be surprised if they didn't pay up at this point, however I would be concerned about company #1 - with the amount of time they've been stalling you for and the phone number being disconnected, I'd suspect that bankruptcy may be on the cards...
Thanks for taking the time to post - I appreciate the thorough advice! I did find another (working) number for Company #1 and left a message with the manager/owner's assistant. I also made an appointment with my lawyer to discuss my options - and have copies of the affiliate agreement, stats from my account (showing outstanding balance) and all of the contact information and other documents I have on file. I imagine my next step is to send a certified letter demanding payment, and then take it from there...
If the costs are more then the amount due, you move on, and learn a lesson from this. Any time you want to try a new affiliate program, search for them on message boards and see what others think about them. If there are no search results, odds are, there not good and none of us know anything about them. Who are the Merchants?
Meet with a lawyer, what is he charging you?? If it's 100 bucks an hour and you are owed 600 from the affiliate company,... you know what I mean??
If you go the small claims route, you will have to represent yourself. Additionally, if you win, the burden of collection is on you. Furthermore, if you are suing a corporation and that corporation has no assets, you have a moral victory only. I hate to say this, but suing is most likely not in your best interest. Moving on is. If nothing else, send a letter, accompanied with proof, to your SAG, their SAG and the BBB. At least you document the incident.
well i think some time its not about money.... she mey have to pay a lot more then she actully earned from that aff's.... but its about braking trust... efforts and time.... and LAW is the only way to expose one's anger....