Is Commission Junction a corrupt thief?

D

dakotag

New member
Feb 1, 2010
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Maryland
:disgust:Hi all,

Anyone else have this issue. I just got banned from Commission Junction. They owe me over $1600 and claim they don't have to pay it. Their reasoning behind the ban is false and at times seems like they are making crap up. They have changed their reasons throughout our email communication. First, they are claiming I used prohibited keywords in an ad campaign which is completely false. I've even offered them access to my Bing account (the only platform I used for ads) so they could see my history which would show all activity including additions, changes, deletions, etc. They also keep claiming I used prohibited words in my add which again is false. Unfortunately I can't access a copy of the programs terms anymore since I can't access my account to prove it. They even are now claiming a sequence of letters in my domain are prohibited which I am 100% certain is a lie. First off I used the same domain a couple years ago with no problem. Second I read and re-read the terms and know for a fact the letters are fine. Third the publisher actually spelled out exact examples of what terms could be used, including their trademarks, which I followed to the letter. It seems to me they just don't give a crap and know it wouldn't be cost effective to sue them. What lawyer would take on such a pittance of a case (but $1,600 is a lot to me).

If anyone has had a similar experience I'd love to know and if there is any hope I'll get paid. I've seen some people give similar stories and claim that CJ not only bans affiliates, bu then keeps the links active and charges the publisher even though they aren't paying out. Perhaps if there are enough people who've been honestly screwed then maybe a class action can be pursued. ALSO if anyone has a CJ account and would be willing to send me a copy/screenshot of the advertisers terms let me know and I'll send you the specifics.
 
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dakotag said:
:disgust:Hi all,

Anyone else have this issue. I just got banned from Commission Junction. They owe me over $1600 and claim they don't have to pay it. Their reasoning behind the ban is false and at times seems like they are making crap up. They have changed their reasons throughout our email communication. First, they are claiming I used prohibited keywords in an ad campaign which is completely false. I've even offered them access to my Bing account (the only platform I used for ads) so they could see my history which would show all activity including additions, changes, deletions, etc. They also keep claiming I used prohibited words in my add which again is false. Unfortunately I can't access a copy of the programs terms anymore since I can't access my account to prove it. They even are now claiming a sequence of letters in my domain are prohibited which I am 100% certain is a lie. First off I used the same domain a couple years ago with no problem. Second I read and re-read the terms and know for a fact the letters are fine. Third the publisher actually spelled out exact examples of what terms could be used, including their trademarks, which I followed to the letter. It seems to me they just don't give a crap and know it wouldn't be cost effective to sue them. What lawyer would take on such a pittance of a case (but $1,600 is a lot to me).

If anyone has had a similar experience I'd love to know and if there is any hope I'll get paid. I've seen some people give similar stories and claim that CJ not only bans affiliates, bu then keeps the links active and charges the publisher even though they aren't paying out. Perhaps if there are enough people who've been honestly screwed then maybe a class action can be pursued. ALSO if anyone has a CJ account and would be willing to send me a copy/screenshot of the advertisers terms let me know and I'll send you the specifics.
Click to expand...

Trollolololo but whatever.

You won't get paid. Move on. Seriously.

Same thing happened to me 5 yrs ago for about 20K. That's the issue with getting paid monthly vs better terms. Also you probably just got banned from a program (and commissions reversed) not the entire site, no?
 
You were probably doing something stupid. No one would want to piss away a great traffic source, unless that traffic source is shit and causing problems.
 
Get a lawyer. No way I'd let one of these companies get away with this. A letter or two from a lawyer will more likely get them to cough up some of that dough.
 
I make a few hundred $$$ every month with Commission Junction. They have always paid me.
 
Maybe its time to look at other business opportunities. Like you could start a local soldering business and hire me to do your marketing.

A little something to get your beak wet
KOQPLch.jpg
 
Paper_Chase said:
LOL get a lawyer over $1600. Ok brah
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Huh? Getting a lawyer over $1,600 is definitely not LOL. Lawyers are a dime a dozen nowadays and offer lower fees than ever before. I'm a lawyer, but don't practice, and I would get one for sure. It's a no-brainer, "brah."
 
tavin said:
I generate about 2k-5k daily on CJ. They always pay. Sounds like you're a cheating faggot.
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Thanks for your valuable insight. No. There was no cheating. In fact there last message stated again that it was for use of a trademarked term which, in fact is not trademarked. They said the term "ym" was trademarked ("YM" is in my domain name). I was able to get a copy of the terms and that "word" is not listed. I did a search for trademarks of the company and those letters are not listed AND I had a friend who's a patent and trademark attorney check and he confirmed they are wrong. So some idiot there got it wrong but they are like baseball umpires - unwilling to admit their error. Also I didn't mention this in my first post - the program I asked to run is a permission based program (while I was an approved affiliate I had to get permission to run this specific program). As part of that I stated the website I would be using. Got approved. So it's a screw up by their compliance group but, again, there is no recourse. OH... and if I didn't mention it before, I ran the same program a few years ago with the same domains and keywords and ads. Earned $48k and got paid then with no issue. No this is f* up.
 
Paper_Chase said:
LOL get a lawyer over $1600. Ok brah
Click to expand...
A lawyer would cost more than the $1600. Only a class action suit of people with the same issue would be cost effective. What is even more frustrating now is they actually stated the trademark term they claim I violated. It's not even close to any trademark the company has. So either they are making it up because they made a mistake or are just idiots.
 
JSanti said:
You were probably doing something stupid. No one would want to piss away a great traffic source, unless that traffic source is shit and causing problems.
Click to expand...

Not sure what that would be. I checked and re-checked my keywords and none were prohibited. Their last reply stated a keyword phrase that I supposedly used - It is not in any of the campaigns I had running nor was it ever. So that was real odd. Either Bing screwed up or CJ did. Also, they sent me the supposed "trademark" term that I used which was in my domain name. It is not a trademark for the publisher (or anyone). It's the letters "ym". I verified this after researching the company's trademarks and I also had a friend who is a patent attorney (and deals with trademarks) verify this. To top it off... I had to get permission to promote this program and as part of that I stated the domain I would be using and I was permitted to promote the product. So Someone at CJ screwed up and they are unwilling to admit it. I realize they probably get a ton of sleaze bags, but I bent over backwards to comply and am certain I did.
 
dakotag said:
Thanks for your valuable insight. No. There was no cheating. In fact there last message stated again that it was for use of a trademarked term which, in fact is not trademarked. They said the term "ym" was trademarked ("YM" is in my domain name). I was able to get a copy of the terms and that "word" is not listed. I did a search for trademarks of the company and those letters are not listed AND I had a friend who's a patent and trademark attorney check and he confirmed they are wrong. So some idiot there got it wrong but they are like baseball umpires - unwilling to admit their error. Also I didn't mention this in my first post - the program I asked to run is a permission based program (while I was an approved affiliate I had to get permission to run this specific program). As part of that I stated the website I would be using. Got approved. So it's a screw up by their compliance group but, again, there is no recourse. OH... and if I didn't mention it before, I ran the same program a few years ago with the same domains and keywords and ads. Earned $48k and got paid then with no issue. No this is f* up.
Click to expand...

Hi

dakotag said:
A lawyer would cost more than the $1600. Only a class action suit of people with the same issue would be cost effective. What is even more frustrating now is they actually stated the trademark term they claim I violated. It's not even close to any trademark the company has. So either they are making it up because they made a mistake or are just idiots.
Click to expand...

Im commenting

dakotag said:
Not sure what that would be. I checked and re-checked my keywords and none were prohibited. Their last reply stated a keyword phrase that I supposedly used - It is not in any of the campaigns I had running nor was it ever. So that was real odd. Either Bing screwed up or CJ did. Also, they sent me the supposed "trademark" term that I used which was in my domain name. It is not a trademark for the publisher (or anyone). It's the letters "ym". I verified this after researching the company's trademarks and I also had a friend who is a patent attorney (and deals with trademarks) verify this. To top it off... I had to get permission to promote this program and as part of that I stated the domain I would be using and I was permitted to promote the product. So Someone at CJ screwed up and they are unwilling to admit it. I realize they probably get a ton of sleaze bags, but I bent over backwards to comply and am certain I did.
Click to expand...

On more than one quote
 
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