Dear all,
The email in question was sent, without our knowledge, to our merchant and associated partners.
Affiliate Window have a long and successful history with Quidco that dates back to March 2005. We have always been advocates of the cashback model and in particular the value cashback can bring to this channel. As one of the network’s partners we have watched cashback interest grow over the past few years to a point where an affiliate is able to leverage considerable influence and restrictions over both networks and merchants.
However, over the past year it has only been Quidco’s influence over our merchants that has concerned us. Whilst we do not doubt that Quidco have a strong commitment to its members, Affiliate Window have become increasingly concerned how Quidco are prepared to sacrifice protection for merchants in favour of its members by securing cashback, in some cases where no cashback is due.
This was highlighted eight months ago when Quidco asked all the networks they work with to enter into the Quidco ‘SureShop’ agreement. This was an obligation designed to guarantee members that networks resolve any Quidco member transaction queries within 28 days or they would be auto-approved. As I
am sure you are aware, transaction approval should strictly lie with the merchant and cashback users can often submit requests for transaction queries because they have not received their cashback after making a purchase. The reasons for this are varied and often NOT associated with network tracking but more likely the user failing to access a merchant site via a Quidco link or the user clicked another affiliate link prior to sale, such as a discount voucher site. Nevertheless, we were happy to assist Quidco in processing these queries and as you have seen over the past few months we developed a solution to submit these queries into our system to be reviewed by merchants on the basis that they control how and when this occurs.
Our concerns regarding SureShop were heightened when Quidco members began submitting queries for transactions that had already been presented and declined by merchants. This effectively meant merchants declining a transaction and then subsequently having that same transaction auto-approved if they are unable to review it within the 28 days or bogus/fraudulent transactions being submitted on the off-chance of their approval. I
am sure you agree, this system offers no protection to merchants and will inevitably end in a situation where the merchant is paying Quidco members commission for sales that are not valid.
After all any network has to feel confident that it tracks a very high percentage of sales (thus raising a serious question mark over the volume of Quidco transaction queries) or admit that their tracking is flawed and agree that Quidco members should be allowed to submit erroneous transaction queries.
As such, and after careful consideration, Affiliate Window decided to opt out of the SureShop agreement. This meant that the onus for the validity of member transaction queries was also shared with Quidco rather than our merchants alone. We felt this ensured transparency, accountability and above all protection to our merchants, something that we feel has been eroded by Quidco’s representation of the cashback market of late. We would ask all merchants operating in the affiliate industry to consider not just the merit of SureShop but the obvious disadvantages it brings.
This is obviously a carefully timed email designed to apply undue pressure on our clients. This is what we have come to expect of Quidco over recent months. We continue to work with all the other cashback partners many of whom appreciate our stance regarding the protection of merchants. It is well known that cashback users are not loyal to just one site and you will still be able to engage the broader cashback community through alternative partners with added peace of mind.
We would like to take merchants through this in more detail and ensure you have full visibility on the issue so we can address any concerns. Therefore, if you would like to contact us directly to discuss this please don’t hesitate to do so using any of the details below.
Kind Regards
Mark Walters
COO
mark.walters@affiliatewindow.com
020 7553 0360
Kevin Edwards
Partnerships Director
Kevin.edwards@affiliatewindow.com
020 7553 0354
Anthony Clements
Manager, Key Accounts Team
Anthony.clements@affiliatewindow.com
020 7553 0353
