Greensmoke Affiliate Program Scammed me.

Greensmoke promised LIFETIME residuals for their affiliates, but after they were purchased by Altria, they decided to renege on the deal. They shut down most of the affiliate accounts that had large residuals in November and December.I encourage everyone who has had their account terminated to write to Green Smoke, Altria tobacco and their Attorney General about this issue. If enough people let Green Smoke aka Altria tobacco know we won't put up with this, they'll do something. If everyone does nothing, nothing will happen. Here is the contact info for Altria, Green smoke and a link to the Attorneys General for all states:
Altria
altria.com
Philip Morris USA (Altria Company)
800-343-0975
U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company (Altria Company)
800-650-7411
Green Smoke
greensmoke.com/ecig-info/contact-us.html
Toll Free*: (888) 224 1345
Miami, FL: (305) 851 5795
NY, NY: (212) 845 9813
Attorneys General
naag.org/current-attorneys-general.php
Of course you will be ignored when you call or email them. But after 10-20 calls from everyone, they will start to listen. You should also spread the link to this page around as some of those who have been scammed by Altria may be helped by this.

 

Did anyone get anywhere with this? They absolutely robbed me blind after years of building their brand and referring over $100,000 in sales to their company. I am disgusted, they need hanging for their mercenary little games.

 

If that much money is at stake, re-read the terms of service of the affiliate program of the e-cig company you originally joined and see if there is any clause in there allowing recurring payments to be terminated if acquired. If not, at the very least you could threaten a lawsuit against the new company. Also see if there is any clause in the affiliate agreement requiring any legal disputes to be heard in a specific state or jurisdiction. Otherwise, you could always file a lawsuit yourself and be out only a few hundred dollars ($350 - $400 or so) of the lawsuit filing fee. You don't need a lawyer to sue somebody in federal court. I knew a guy who would research his own cases before filing a lawsuit.

The cost for the company to defend itself against a lawsuit--assuming you can get the case heard in a court near you--would far exceed any amount of commissions you would be out. Most businesses end up settling lawsuits anyway, and that reason is because the cost to defend against a lawsuit can easily exceed the cost of a settlement. That should be used to your advantage if the affiliate terms are in your favor. If the terms are not in your favor, you are out of luck.

 

Thanks for your reply. Yes I have checked fully, I believe I have a clear cut case. I have evidence taken from online published material where GreenSmoke's affiliate managers and staff were actively (and fervently) pushing the "Lifetime Commissions" angle. This was the basis on why I signed up, and the basis for my continued efforts, a contract was therefore in place and nothing in the agreements made between the parties waived any part of that commitment. I am fairly used to doing the same as your friend and taking matters up myself, the problem is I am in the UK (I was one of their top affiliates bringing their product to the unsuspecting British public!) so the added problem of the distances make it hard for me to take this on myself. I am in contact with a respected US Attorney who could take the case on for me, he is on hold currently as I know of another US Attorney who was actually an affiliate and may be running a Class Action himself. I just wondered if anyone else is doing anything before I either pile in myself or join up with the Class Action once they have the Class certified.
Thanks again