We are not litigious people. Litigious companies typically create lengthy, confusing contracts full of legalese (often with the intent to victimize the other party at a later date). Our contracts are short, concise and in plain English.
We’re good guys, not nice guys – nice guys are pushovers, and we’re definitely not that. We put everything on the table with our partners. We’re fully transparent and would rather fall on a sword, than break a single promise. The reality in our minds however, is that this should not be considered extraordinary - it should be standard.
We believe that disagreements, when they arise (and they will), should be handled between the contracting parties, without the need for lawyers and court; and with care, compassion and a determination to seek appropriate remedy.
However, our performance marketing space is unfortunately full of predators - individuals and companies that provide no value to others and seek to extract money in unethical and illegal ways from those of us that conduct our businesses with good sense and strong principles.
We all ultimately bear the cost of the activities of these predators. And most of us are unwittingly complicit, allowing them to remain and continue to do business, harming more and more, by simply not holding them accountable.
For the sake of our business, for the sake of our honest and productive partners, and for the sake of performance marketing itself, we intend to drive these predators out, at any cost in time and money.
Consider this an abridged version of our “Good CPA Business Practice Manifesto”. Here are our approaches to the following situations:
Behaviour: Many Advertisers think that not only is scrubbing okay, that it is a natural part of their business, and that networks and publishers should ensure their profits in this way. We think that’s nonsense. We know that offers can be priced to convert naturally, and also allow profits for all parties. It is normally due to laziness or arrogance that this activity occurs.
Resolution: We send out a firm cease and desist, with 24 hours to comply. Should there be no action or reply, we pause the offer(s). Should there be no action or reply within 72 hours, we terminate the relationship. Should the scrubbed lead value be significant enough, we file criminal theft charges with local law enforcement and a civil financial complaint for damages with local courts.
Result: Scrubbing adversely affects everyone (other than the Advertiser of course). It is a parasitic behaviour that needs to be ended permanently. Good business requires “straight shooting”, and the prohibition of parlour tricks like these. Removing these will restore trust, and encourage loyalty.
Behaviour: There are only two valid reasons for a chargeback from an Advertiser: 1) fraud 2) serious traffic violation. Anything beyond that is inappropriate, and will ultimately be rejected by us. Many Advertisers think that they can mismanage their business, and then just pass on the losses to networks and publishers. This is another despicable and shamefully common practice in the CPA space. We guarantee to not pass on chargebacks (that are not due to fraud or serious traffic violation), and to pursue the Advertiser for the payment they rightfully owe.
Resolution: Chargebacks are treated as non-payment. We send out email notifications/reminders at 3 days, 7 days, 15, days, and 30 days. Should there be no action or reply, we send out registered-mail payment demands at 45 days, 60, days, 75 days, and 90 days. We charge 1.5% per month interest on outstanding balances, and a $100 per hour of administration required for pursuit and management of accounts in serious arrears. Should there be no action or reply, we file criminal theft charges with local law enforcement and a civil financial complaint for damages with local courts.
Result: Keeping Advertisers honest is a critical aspect of any stable CPA network. The more that networks, agencies and media companies force Advertisers to act ethically, the stronger we will be as an industry.
Behaviour: Some Advertisers think they can pay “Net whenever”, in spite of a previous explicit agreement on pay terms. Not only does this jeopardize the network (and the publisher), but also it’s this sort of irresponsibility that tarnishes our entire industry, creating cash-flow and trust issues across the entire space. The irresponsibility leaks onto the networks and partners, then on to the publisher. Countless parties can ultimately be harmed by a single non-payment.
Resolution: We send out email notifications/reminders at 3 days, 7 days, 15 days, and 30 days. Should there be no action or reply, we send out registered-mail payment demands at 45 days, 60, days, 75 days, and 90 days. We charge 1.5% per month interest on outstanding balances, and a $100 per hour of administration required for pursuit and management of accounts in serious arrears. Should there be no action or reply, we file criminal theft charges with local law enforcement and a civil financial complaint for damages with local courts.
Result: Advertisers that lack good business sense should find a new space to play in, and we’re doing our part to ensure that they play fair or find new jobs. If an Advertiser does not pay when they promised to, we go after them until they do. Collecting payments in a timely fashion strengthens the network, and protects our other partners and our publishers.
Behaviour: There are individual fraudsters and entire fraud rings. These individuals create bots and/or have a team of people fill in offers, switching IPs, user agents, browsers, etc. in an attempt to block detection. They are obviously providing no value to anyone. Advertisers often get stuck with bad leads, and networks often are left on the hook for legitimate chargebacks from the Advertisers. Fraud is theft.
Resolution: We use Scrubkit. So, we detect fraudsters quickly. Their accounts are banned. The leads are reversed and the amount is credited to the Advertiser. Once the administration is done, we seek legal remedy for damage to our company and the Advertiser, by filing criminal fraud charges with local law enforcement and a civil financial complaint for damages with local courts
Result: This is probably the most damaging malpractice within the performance marketing space. This needs to be stopped permanently. Fraud detection/prevention goes a long way, but pursuing publishers and securing judgments against them for damage and/or assisting criminal prosecutors is necessary to end this entirely.
Behaviour: Serious traffic violations can be spam, phishing traffic, baiting traffic, and any unapproved traffic sources (always check offer description). These traffic violations can damage the Advertisers brand and cause legal challenges for them as well. This is a very costly malpractice, and many publishers willfully engage, often having no idea how much damage they are doing.
Resolution: If the serious traffic violation was willful and/or caused significant damage to the network or the Advertiser (or both), we file criminal fraud charges with local law enforcement and a civil financial complaint for damages with local courts.
Result: Advertisers should rest easy knowing that they’ll receive exactly what they ask for, and pay for. Networks must protect their brands and ensure that the traffic they receive does not open them to legal issues. Pursuing publishers legally, that engage in this sort of short-sighted behaviour, should end this practice over time.
Behaviour: Harassment is often connected with libel or threat to libel. Harassment is often initiated to waste people’s time. Willfully and intentionally wasting someone else’s time can, and often does, constitute criminal harassment.
Resolution: Harassment is treated much like Libel. We send out a firm cease and desist, with 10 days to comply. Should there be no action or reply, we file criminal harassment charges with local law enforcement and a civil financial complaint for damages with local courts.
Result: The Internet is a wonderful place. Unfortunately, due to anonymity and the impersonal nature of Instant Messengers and email, people often say and do some really bad things (things they often wouldn’t do in the physical world). What many don’t realize is that it’s not just annoying and frustrating, it’s often criminal. We need to spend our time increasing the value we provide to our partners, and not dealing with the unproductive and malicious behaviour of others.
Behaviour: Libel is one of the most damaging and unprincipled online acts. Usually an anonymous web user posts a comment on a forum or a complaints board that libels, with false stories and fictional scenarios. Often these are unethical competitors or disgruntled ex-publishers (usually banned for fraud).
Resolution: We send out a firm cease and desist, to both the libeler and the facilitator of libel (complaint boards, etc.) with 10 days to comply. Should there be no action or reply, we file criminal libel charges with local law enforcement and a civil financial complaint for damages with local courts, against both the libeler and the facilitator of libel.
Result: We are the first to stand up and take responsibility for our mistakes. We believe everyone should be held accountable. Libel is something altogether different however. Libel is a cowardly attempt to either damage a competitor or as retaliation against an appropriate action (e.g. banning a publisher for fraud). It is unlawful damage. We think that those acting within the law and with high ethics should be protected against this sort of vicious and damaging behaviour.
Behaviour: Unfortunately many Partners do not conduct their business in a proper and straightforward manner, and due to greed, they will cut a broker out of a deal, without a second though. When one party introduces two parties, and especially should there be an express covenant against circumvention (in addition to common sense), these two parties should not deal directly.
Resolution: We send out a firm cease and desist, with 10 days to comply. Should there be no action or reply, we file a civil financial complaint for damages with local courts.
Result: It is imperative that partners trust each other. Unfortunately, allowing this sort of behaviour encourages this malpractice across the industry, and it becomes more and more rampant (which it is today). So, in an effort to bring justice and to restore faith and trust, we will pursue those that violate contracts and good business practices.
Behaviour: Due again to the impersonal nature of the Internet, many of us don’t appreciate the essential nature of confidentiality and openly share sensitive data, whether that be unique strategies, personal details or even proprietary software and code. This is massively damaging to the industry.
Resolution: We send out a firm cease and desist, with 10 days to comply. Should there be no action or reply, we file a civil financial complaint for damages with local courts.
Result: Pursuing those that carelessly share confidential information that damages others should reduce this practice and encourage trust between partners – an essential component to long-term profitable ventures.
Most individuals and companies make their locale the legal jurisdiction in their contracts. We execute our agreements where the other party resides. While more expensive and time consuming, it puts us at their front door. We are more than happy to spend the extra time and money to expedite these processes.
We would rather be spending our time working with high quality and productive partners (or otherwise having a beer on the beach), than dealing with the fallout of unprincipled behaviour. However, it is necessary to respond to these damaging activities with lightning speed and full force.
We will spare no expense in ensuring that all parties in performance marketing that we encounter – advertisers, brokers, agencies, networks, publishers, etc. – behave as agreed, with high ethics, common sense and good business principles, to ensure that all solid parties are protected, now and in the future. We believe this will ensure long-term stability and profits within our circles, and ultimately legitimize performance marketing as a trustworthy and lucrative industry.
We hope this will earn us regard as protectors, of our partners’ interests and the industry as a whole.
For more information about our contracts, see our terms page.