Payer Baware?
By: Clarence Tyler | Posted: 23rd June 2006
I'm aware of the problems that Mr. Ivie (FunnyFarmTraffic.com) recently had with Paypal. I also understand their new "Acceptable Use Policy" (AUP) and what needs to be done to bring an exchange in line with their wants. I don't however understand their way of making it known that a program doesn't fall within Paypal's terms in it's current state of being.
My problem with them is their freezing an account without warning as several of their accounts have the exact same structure and terms. When they single out only 1 exchange, they seem to take no consideration for the effect that this will have on the owner. We know factually that hundreds of exchanges operated on that given day with the same terms as Mr Ivie. Most new owners don't change much in their prewritten terms beyond their site name. Mr Ivie is a great guy and I have the utmost respect for him from my early dealings with the program.
That notwithstanding, it seems like Mr. Ivie had the misfortune of being singled out to be made the example. They could just as easily have contacted him and given him a little time to make the necessary changes. Any owner with even a small amount of common sense would do what was needed rather than have his account frozen. A frozen account also hurts a program by hurting it's members. Once an account is frozen, a program member can't collect commissions owed them unless the owner has the means to pay it out of his/her own monies. Some programs may not have an alternate payment method in place.
Paypal looks to be becoming heavy-handed in how they deal with people. The sudden demise of StormPay may have improved their market share but most assuredly didn't leave them as the only kid on the block. I'm sure a lot of owners will take another processor, even if it doesn't have the name recognition, rather than simply be bullied without notice. Most paying program members would almost certainly follow suit and go to a new processor rather than risk losing monies earned on a Paypal whim.
Lastly, keep in mind that Paypal changed their AUP to include the term "Autosurfs". Too bad that they didn't even seem to understand that there's more than 1 kind of "Autosurf" and everyone wasn't doing the things that concerned them so much. Their lack of knowledge extends to their support staff to an amazing degree. They have people answering telephone questions who don't even know what an "Autosuef" program is. Nor do they know how the AUP change will effect a program.
As if that isn't bad enough, there is no way in place for their members to talk to the persons who write or make the policy decisions in the AUP. Persons owning programs may have a personal representative that they can contact but a new owner would simply be left floundering should he/she wish clarification on the policy change.
The known term in business or commerce is, "Buyer beware". Will the newest term will be, "Payer beware?".
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Tags: misfortune, common sense, commissions, little time, risk, market share, kid on the block, utmost respect, paypal, program members, monies, whim, current state