afraid of being cheated? who wouldn't be. gpt sites to avoid.
Having been involved in the industry for so long, I have undoubtedly encountered certain websites and businesses that are dishonest, unreliable, or outright fraudulent. It is very unfortunate that these types of entities exist because it really hurts the image of the industry and causes consumers and advertisers to become less likely to participate in such programs. I have been subject to random account deletion, offer credit being reversed, unannounced closure of sites, and even outright refusal to pay. Fortunately, this is rare, especially if you stick to the GPT’s recommended on this site. Also, there are ways to protect yourself.
There are many ways to decide for yourself, without the help of this or other sites, if a particular GPT is legitimate or now. One of the best ways is to check the Better Business Bureau website (http://www.bbb.org/us/Find-Business-Reviews/). This will allow you to check a business to see if they rating of it is satisfactory or unsatisfactory and the number and types of complaints filed against it. Also, some websites will feature a picture that might say “BBB Accredited.” This is a very good status to have, but you should still check the BBB site to make sure the picture wasn’t stolen.
With that being said, there are many GPT sites that do not include registered companies or may be too new to be listed on the BBB site. One of the best third party websites is GPT Boycott (http://www.gptboycott.com/). This is a site devoted exclusively to GPT and other offer websites that people have registered complaints against. Anyone can register a complaint against any site, and certain sites may be moved from good standing to the Watch list and then to the Boycott list. From my experience, this is a very reliable site and good source of information.
Part of GPTBoycott.com's current Boycott List.
There are also certain groups of websites to look out for when you are surfing the web. One company, a corporation known as Active Response Group, LLC, is particularly poor at customer service and offer fulfillment. There associated websites include Brandarama, YourTopBrands, RewardsParade, TrustedRewards, and several other sites. They offer high payouts for completing a series of offers, but they have recently fallen behind over 2 years in their payments. I personally had completed several offers, and they did not make any attempt to pay me for a year and a half. I suddenly received several letters from a fulfillment company they had contracted with that asked me to purchase items for myself up to the value that the item I had earned would be worth. I then would have had to send in the form with original receipt and wait for a rebate that would have allegedly been paid 8-10 weeks later. On top of that, it all had been completed in one month’s time. Well, I had completed a couple thousand of dollars worth of offers, and fronting that type of money was not possible. The unfortunate result was they refused to pay me the amount owed, and I was forced to take legal action. You should stay away from this company if you want a reliable and honest service.
Active Response Group, LLC's unsatisfactory rating with the Better
Business Bureau (http://search.newyork.bbb.org/reports.aspx?pid=44&page=1&id=87696)
Above all, just use common sense when determining if a site is legitimate. Chances are that the site is honest, but if you want to be very safe, you might want to stick with highly recommended sites until you get the hang of things.
What if I have already been the victim of a scam?
There are steps you can take to get the money you deserve or repair any damage that has been done to your name. You should always try to amicably resolve any situations that arise before taking any drastic action.
If an offer company has charged you incorrectly, the first step you need to take is to call up their customer service line and explain to them that you have been improperly charged and that you need a refund. Most of the time, companies will be accommodating about this and will refund your money. If for some reason they refuse, you have two options. If the company is a larger corporation, you have the option of writing a letter or email to a manager explaining the situation; they then will likely reverse the charge. If this doesn’t work or if you don’t want to do this, you can file for a chargeback with your credit card company. This is an easy process that most issuers will allow you to do online now. You simply need to fill out a short form explaining what happened and perhaps submit any additional information you might have, such as a cancellation number or any correspondence. This is almost always effective and final.
If you, for some reason, have used a debit card for your transactions, this will be more difficult. Federal law, in the United States, allows for the account holder to be liable up to $50 for fraudulent transactions (since the debit card is linked to your bank account). The bank may or may not hold you to this amount. You will need to visit your local branch and fill out some paperwork and wait for it to be processed. Generally, this type of charge reversal is for criminal fraud, and many banks might even require a police report to file such a paper. In short, just use a credit card for transactions; legally, the offer much more protection for the cardholder.
What if a company or site refuses to pay you or avoids paying you? This is a very unfortunate situation that no one wants to find themselves in. it is actually quite unlikely to occur. If it does happen, you need to keep in contact with the site. Email them and call them asking when you will be paid. Tell them you know how much money they owe you and that you require the money immediately. If they don’t respond or don’t respond favorably, there are a variety of methods you can employ. In order to put pressure on them, you can start a negative publicity campaign where you log onto forums and scam-reporting websites and post what the company has done.
Another solution would be to file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. This can be done online, and the BBB often tries to mediate and resolve complaints. If the company or site already has an unsatisfactory rating, this might not work as well as if the site had a good rating. Companies and individuals have no obligation to cooperate with or even respond to BBB correspondence.
If all else fails, you may be forced to take legal action. Generally, when one thinks of this option, one thinks about the enormous cost of just filing a lawsuit. It doesn’t have to be extremely expensive; most jurisdictions have a small claims court that might cost only $50 to file in. This should one be used as a last resort, and before you take any type of legal action, you should always consult legal counsel. Just as a general observation, however, most companies would rather settle out of court rather than take the time and expense to fight the case, especially if you have a strong one. Gathering evidence and all documentation you have on your transactions with the company is necessary, including things such as Terms and Conditions and correspondence indicating they refused to pay. Note: none of this is legal advice, just general commentary and observations.
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