Legal Action Against Network ?

[tailor]

For reasons not known to me a large media agency has deceded not to pay the network
my commission on sales earnt over a three month period.

I have contacted the network account managers and basically been fobbed off, and totally ignored by the ad agency.

What to do next, am I expected to write this money off after spending a substantial
sum on ppc advertising

I know that the networks only pay when they receive the money from the client, but
even so they should be active in chasing up oustanding debt on my behalf surely.

Has anyone taking legal action against networks for none payment

[zaq]

You are not the first and you wouldnt be the last, take it on the chin and move on, by sueing the network you woundnt last long in this business and any new offers they get you will not be accepted to them, i know sad thats life.

Was you sending traffic direct to them or to your website first?

[Mike_M]

I wouldnt just take it on the chin - you can't allow a network to get away with non payment of validated leads, no matter what the excuse.

I would write a polite letter to the CEO of the network. Your problem/contract/terms/agreement is with them, not the agency, so I wouldnt bother even trying to contact the agency.

[cyates]

i agree .. i was owed in excess of £2800 by one network who will remain nameless...

if its less than £800 let it drop .. it isnt worth teh networks time chasing it

anything more though and contact the MD of teh network ..

failing that .. Small Claims !

i will say that chasing money owed in this business isnt ideal and lot of net works will refuse to work with you if you cause enough trouble

if the merchant allows PPC traffic direct to their site always send it that way rather than via yours ! simply because if you do get it to court by the agreement between you and the network and teh merchant you have agreed to send traffic to their site which resulted in sales at a cost to you and you want it reimbursed
just a tip

good luck

[zaq]

lol yeah write a letter like thats going to work, let it go its not worth the losted future income, if i wrote a letter everytime a merchant not network didnt pay i be on the dole cue

In this business you take whats give and move forward and dont look back on losted income or "what if i sue"

[drivetowin]

Zaq

Sorry but you are so wrong.

Do write a letter and do threaten legal action (but only if you intend to go through with it). If it's enough money then the magical words 'winding up order' tend to do wonders to focus the mind.

I have yet to find any network that will refuse to do business with you because you 'upset' them - and if one of them does then name and shame them on here and elsewhere - because to refuse to do business when you are only pursuing what is rightfully yours is just totally unprofessional. Business is business and if the money is legally yours then pursue it - it is because too many people are wooly livered and not prepared to stand up to networks that they get away with half the things they do.

If the agency have not paid the network then that is the network's problem, not yours.
There is probably not a single network I have not 'upset' at some time in the last 5 years, but they all still do business with me each and every day.

[zaq]

drivetowin i am soooo right.

i am not saying they will ban him off their network more like lose out on private and new campaigns which would have made him 10 times more the money he lost.

As for "name and shame" now thats just being stupid you be given bread crumbs will everyone else get loaves of bread, like you said business is business.

[tailor]

I am not looking to make a living in affilate marketing and it is unlikely that i will want to deal with trade doubler after the way i have been treated.

I have been paid january to july the payments were stopped without a word. In my mind they have created a precedent.


Thanks fror the replies, I am just printing all the documents to send a recorded letter
to the md.

By the way the agency is ZED MEDIA because of their size in the industry perhaps they
think they can get away with this. Be carefull if you deal with campaigns run by them.

[Qui Gon Jinn]

Assuming you are confident you are in the right ... and ... neither the network or agency have been responsive ... and ... you promoted & adhered to any paid search policies.

Since you are not privvy to the contract set between a network and a merchant ... and the network is invoicing on your behalf, you might be able to claim against the network. In instances where I have been vociferous against networks a couple have suggested that we do not work with them anymore. Send a polite letter (recorded delivery) to the MD giving 14 days notice of your intentions saying that you will issue a small claims for settlement against the network, which is as cheap as chips to issue (circa £25). Making a Claim

We recently had to reluctantly embark on a small claims against a network whereby the merchant was in the wrong, the network ended up agreeing to pay before it went to small claims, though I am not sure if the merchant knows this, as I think it was unlikely the network wanted to tell the merchant they were in the wrong & they preferred to favour them rather than an affiliate. Which is fine that we got our due monies, but the principles of the network came into question.

If a network chooses to exclude you from programs, a foolhardy route, then simply communicate directly with the merchants on their network outlining your reasons & opinions of that network, even suggesting the merchant goes dual network. I don't think the merchants would appreciate it if the network intended to behave like that & prohibit the growth of their program because of the network's prejudices. It's useful to keep a database of merchant contact details. Most emails we get, if contact details are there, we store. If not it's easy enough to acquire with just a couple of telephone calls. A few networks don't like vociferous affiliates, those are ones we rank lowly. BBG's rarely engage on the forum or blogs (there maybe a pattern).

On a program information page, it should always say whether there is an agency & which one is involved (but it doesn't, with a few networks reluctant to still publish these), which will give an indicator to if they are on the white list & whether a network will be likely to bias with them. There a number of decent agencies around, but there are a few bad eggs.

Re Zed Media, I am aware of a previous employee who worked there & a few months ago moved to i-level i.e. Next. I am not sure which affiliate programs they look after but from their website clients include Powergen, Lloyds TSB, o2, Toyota, Scottish Widows, Hewlett Packard, Lexus, BT, Capital One, Tiscali, Sage, Staples, LOreal, Mini, World Vision, MBNA, Zurich, Saville Row, NSPCC, British Airways.

It's very useful to be proactive with the networks who guarantee payment and those are the ones we perhaps should illustrate more & bring to the fore. Some are just more helpful than others in resolutions, so let's beef them up.

Good luck with your claim, but be sure first of all.

[Scorpioncart]

Is there no kind of protection around for affiliates such as a Union...........maybe its just me but this type of post seem to be increasing more & more around affiliate forums & unless something is done then i doubt anything will improve.
Would it happen in a "normal" 9-5 job? Strikes galore !!
I guess all we can do at present is wish you luck tailor

[andrewshipway]

Take no notice of Zaq.

As someone said above, threaten to take them to court first. If that fails take them to the small claims court.

Qui Gon Jinn I would be interested in which merchant that was.... and network