Getting Booted from Affiliate Program - Need Lawyer!

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Hi

So lets say I didnt read the 20 page TOS when I signed up to this Affiliate Network (like who has time to read all that shit - I glance for key points only).

So this network today sends me a short "you did this so you are now banished" email for breaking some TOS rule. In my defence it was only a small part of my earnings. I need a lawyer that I can use to make sure they at least pay me for my earnings while booting me out of their network.

I don't overly care about my account being closed but I want my 10k in earnings I made with them. I don't need these fuckers screwing me out of my earnings even if what I did was against the "TOS". (Nothing shady).

My Question is:
Where can a NON-USA resident like myself (in another 1st world country) find a good Internet Lawyer (preferably in the U.S.A) to send this network a nice letter (legitimate) to scare them into paying me in case they decide they don't feel like it? And if they hold their ground, be able to take it abit further (I am in another country and 10k isnt worth flying over for but I'd still like some legal muscle).

Appreciate everyone's help on this. I am sure this thread will be VERY useful for ALL WF members abroad and in the USA using affiliate networks.

So please share your thoughts / ideas / contacts / websites with us. 10k is a serious amount of money to lose.

Thanks guys!

P.S. To the whinging mary's telling me its my fault etc can fuck off and not reply, thx. :)
 


Uh you are not going to like this, but if you broke the terms and conditions of your contract, you dont have a snowballs chance of recovering much. No lawyer is going to take that case on contingency and it is going to cost you more than you would recover even if you were in the right, which you pretty much admitted you aren't.
 
It's your fault dude.

Oh, sorry, just read the fine print.

Seriously though: most affiliate programs do not simply seize earnings in the event of an account closure, unless you did something seriously stupid that shouldn't have been doing in the first place, and knew you shouldn't even if you didn't read the ToS. I'd say (you guessed it) read the ToS and see what it says about your money in the event of an account closure. It should be spelled out clearly and not just something that they'll decide after the fact.

As far as the thread proving useful, it can inasmuch as it inspires some newbies to read the ToS to which they are agreeing before they click it. It's just stupid that so many people in this business are trying to run a business without having any idea how a contract works.

If you happen to be in the EU I have a pretty good lawyer contact in Gibraltar who does lots of across the pond business and corporate work; he may be able to help you out if you have a legitimate beef and are in his territory.

Frank
 
Pleasure getting a reply from a pro like you (diorex).

Well I figure the network could screw me with the "you didn't follow the terms" bs. But that particular against-tos earnings method I used was not a big part of my earnings (and there is no way they could ever prove otherwise).

I figure I am at least entitled to the funds I didnt earn with this against-tos method and a lawyer would be happy to fire off a letter asking for payment and citing this etc.

Anyone know any lawyers for non-USA residents can use that are good at this sort of thing - dealing with payment/affiliate networks? I don't intend to fold over and die that easily.

Please keep the advice/info coming. Appreciated.
 
Thanks for the reply Frank,

I'm not in the territory your mentioned but I'll PM you for details anyway, thanks.

I agree with what you said, sometimes the networks just pay you out then get rid of you. This is the goal. I just want to make sure it happens.

Please keep the contacts/info/advice coming people, its appreciated.
 
The problem here is one of contractual obligations.

Read the contract again if it says ANYWHERE "If you break the TOS, you will not get paid" - well, then you are out of luck and no lawyer will make it happen.

Proving which part of your earnings were made by this method will not only be very difficult, it will also be of no interest. If you broke a contract, you broke a contract, no matter on which scale.

Lesson learned: ALWAYS read ALL of a contract before signing up / promoting.

I also learned this the hard way (in another area). I know it is a bitch having to read 20+ pages but it will save you so much hassle later on.

::emp::
 
The TOS says something along the lines of "account will be closed and/or revenues forfeited if you break the TOS". So theres a glimmer of hope I'll be paid.

Know of any Internet lawyer that deals with this kind of thing?
 
If you agreed to their TOS, I'm sure it says something in there along the lines of "we will not pay you in the event of account closure." You agreed to that, and therefor its not like a lawyer could do anything.

Also, I've never heard of an 'internet lawyer'. Perhaps I'm just not inside the popularity circle.
 
Internet lawyer = A lawyer that knows about affiliate networks and merchants and knows the keywords in this biz and how it operates. I need one of these people to craft a professional email/letter in case the affiliate network decides not to pay me.

If anyone knows a decent "Internet Lawyer" please do PM me/reply here. It's very appreciated.
 
I had a similar thing happen with me.. But I was able to show my manager that the majority of my revenue was coming from legit methods & they decided having me forfeit the blackhat earnings & keep sending them my legit traffic was the best move for them.

That's your only real chance.. Try to work it out with the network. Be completely honest with them & keep it 100% legit from here out & they might let you keep your account.

I've never signed up with a network where enforcing the tos wasn't their sole discretion.. Pretty much if you break the TOS they can keep every penny you are owed & not a lawyer in the world can or will fight that because you signed the contract.

Don't waste your money on a lawyer, try to make it right with the network.
 
Once I'm paid I can say what, and no warnings.

I agree with what you say ChickenTalk. Let's hope they are feeling nice.

But seriously, internet lawyer anyone - really I WILL take that avenue if I have to - 10k isnt 1k. Paying a lawyer is worth it in this case... just need to know one that works via phone/email, I can pay first.

If anyone knows of an acceptable one please do share. I'm not thinking of doing anything extreme. Thanks.
 
Lets not be stingy with the contacts people... I know a number of you's have a lawyer you contact and whatnot - give them some more business by telling us or pming me :)

I think all affiliates that make anything substantial need a lawyer contact.
 
Be smart and work with the network. If you have a relationship with them they'll fight on your behalf. If you don't you shouldn't run that much traffic to them. If you don't trust that the advertiser didn't pay them then don't run traffic to them in the first place.

10k is a joke and a waste of time. Sure it's a little money but it would cost you 30k in a legal fees to sue them. Be realistic, save your time and move on.

If you plan on doing something talk with your affiliate manager about it so they know what's going on. Then when something like this happens you can say hey you know exactlly what the deal was and it's not an issue. This is the protocol I follow.

If you're running shit torrent traffic or something worthless like that then be happy if you did get paid something and move on.

Bottom-line every little bit of energy you'd put into sueing the affiliate company and advertiser over 10k measly dollars would be better spent building something new.
 
Yeah, $10k isn't exactly pocket change, but you've got to see whether or not you'd even break even on it.
Worse still, if you lose, you've not only wasted your money chasing lost money, you'll probably have to pay THEIR legal costs too... and being an internet marketing company, they're gonna have some REALLY expensive lawyers...

Write a physical letter to them, be POLITE (I know how hard that is to people that owe you money), and see if you can recoup some of your losses.
If they say now, start to slag off their reputation, and see if you can get some hackers to DDOS them for a while ;)
 
Yeah nah I am not sueing, however I'd like a professional letter crafted for me in case they decide they wont pay me... at this point it seems the fuckers wont... I bitched and moaned as best as possible via email. They ignore my requests for a phone number, I'll hunt it down myself if they they kick me to the curb. I am guessing they will be hard arses. Yeah I mentioned to at least give me back what I spent on making them money. Lets hope they do that at the least.

At any rate some legal contacts for letter purposes would be nice (no I am not going to create my own legal letter referencing some fake law firm :D)
 
You could try calling the phone number listed on their domain WHOIS, or look up the phone number associated with their business registration w/ their state. Most states have online corporate record databases.

Phone calls can go a long way.
 
I don't want to sound accusatory or anything like that, but I must admit I'm confused. If you have been generating legit volume and the violation is indeed just a small fraction of your revenue it seems like it would be in both of your best interests to cease the veiolations and continue working with them. If its true that its a meaningless violation and I was your AM I would certainly look to keep your traffic. My other point of confusion is getting a lawyer for $10k. I agree its significant but getting involved with legal battles, especially with those who have more money and resources than you is NEVER a good idea. I would disclose everything and try and work with the network. If that doesnt work I would go out and try and make another 10g before I called a lawyer who I have never met in my life. Hope it works out for you.
 
10k isn't enough to sue over first of all. if you've ever been to court, and im sure anyone here that has will agree, your legal fees will rack up way faster than you expect.

In this situation I'd try to get on the phone with someone with decision making power ASAP.

Explain the situation. Tell them you are happy with their network and sorry that you misunderstood the terms. Tell them you are fine with them reducing your commissions that were generated against the terms, but that you think it would be mutually beneficial for them to give you the earnings that were okay with the TOS so that you can reinvest them into your marketing efforts and make the network more money while continuing your commissions.
 
It'll cost you more in legal fees than the $10K you might get back... and it's highly likely you'll lose since most network terms are ironclad. Depending on the nature of just how you broke their terms, they might even have legal recourse against you if you decide to push it.

Try to work with the network. If they won't have it, learn from your mistake and chalk it up to experience. Perhaps try to stay within terms next time. ;)
 
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