After Tomorrow No More Rebills

schockergd said:
I can't wait till they ban continuity , that way I only pay a flat fee to buy my servers at the colo center and can rack up the bill!

Same with cell phones, when their rebills are canceled, I can use as many minutes as I want HA HA HA!
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It will just turn into pre-pay =(
 


you people trying to lump Netflix into continuity as "see- see, they'll never ban that thus no worries about affiliate continuity" are either amateur attorneys who will argue a point, however ridiculous, till the death, or are totally clueless.

I'm hoping the former.
 
Here's the updated "Direct Marketing Best Practices" that I received from Meritus. Feel free to insert all the "oh noes" you want.

Direct Marketing
Best Practices
Billing Practices
I. Terms Disclosure
a. The terms of billing must be clearly disclosed on the website.
• The terms must be appended adjacent to the “call-toaction”
or “submit” button confirming the order. This
price must be within 100 pixels in numbers between
the top and bottom edges of the “call-to-action” or
“submit” order button
• The terms must be in a minimum of 12-point easy to
read font.
• There must be no visually distracting graphics from
the display of the terms.
b. Verbiage must plainly state the enrollment into the membership
without distraction.
• Acceptable disclosure: “By Clicking “Order” you agree
to be enrolled in the _____ day trial for ______, and
after the trial expires, you agree that your card will be
charged $____ per month until you cancel.”
• Pre-checked boxes as terms and conditions must
never be used. The consumer cannot proceed with
order without checking this box.
c. The price point for the product(s) sold must be within reasonable
“fair market value.”
d. 10 day minimum only on trial offers.
e. Billing cycles must not bill the customer the “core” price point twice
in a 30-day span.
• Example of an acceptable billing cycle. Day-1
Customer signs up for a 14-day trial and is charged
the initial S&H. Day -15 customer is billed for the
initial trial shipment. Day-45 customer is billed for the
second month shipment of the product.
f. False guarantees about full money back or full satisfaction are
prohibited unless the offer provides a full refund on all
merchandise, including but not limited to shipping and handling.
g. Double Validation – The consumer must accept terms & conditions
with pricing twice during order submission. For example, once on
the initial landing page and again when checking out and submitting
their credit card information. Additionally, the confirmation order
page must also disclose that they have agreed to these Terms &
Conditions and authorized the charge on their credit card.
II. Up sell Policies:
a. Up-sells or Cross-sells are prohibited

Advertising Practices
III. Marketing
a. Marketing of a product as “Free”, “Risk-Free” or stating that the
product(s) marketed doesn’t cost anything is prohibited if customers
will be paying at the end of a trial for the product or entered into a
membership program that has recurring billing.
b. Images of celebrities are prohibited from use without express legal
written consent of the entity being published.
c. By law, product claims must be truthful and not misleading. Claims
made must substantiated by the formulas used in the product(s)
marketed and the clinical research conducted to support it.
• Claims prohibited from use include: “Flushes
Pounds”, “Flushes Toxins”, “Builds Muscle”
• Additional examples of phrases prohibited from use
include:
o Stating a product will cause permanent weight
loss.
o Stating a product will cause substantial weight
loss no matter what or how much the
consumer eats.
o Stating a product will make you lose a specific
amount of weight in a specific amount of time.
o Causes weight loss or muscle growth in
specific body parts.
o Can substitute a full income job.
o Can earn you money with little to no effort at
all.
o Can earn you a specified amount of money in a
specified amount of time.
o Will instantly earn money with no investment or
effort.
o Will give you access to “free money.”
o Is endorsed or at all associated with Obama or
the government.
o Will secure a job for you at another company or
at the product’s company.
o Has been successfully used by an unrealistic
amount of people.
o Stating a product will earn you hundreds of
thousands or millions of dollars.
o Stating a product will instantly earn you money
with no effort or investment.
• Blogs used, as a promotion means must be honest
and accurate of the endorsee in compliance with FTC
guidelines. Otherwise, clearly and conspicuously
shown as an advertisement or that the story is
fictional in the event the blog is fake.
• News Sites used as a promotion means must clearly
and conspicuously alert the consumer that it is an
advertorial in addition to following FTC guidelines.
• The use of a false sense of urgency is prohibited
unless the customer’s ability to order is genuinely
taken away.
• Countdown clocks and tickers or offer expires today is
prohibited.
• Qualifications for trials should follow pre-determined
rules that disqualify customers who don’t meet such
parameters including but not limited to: Age, Weight,
Height, and Location.
IV. Endorsements/Testimonials
a. Any endorsement/testimonials relaying the experience of a user
must reflect the true and honest opinions of the endorsee.
b. Endorsements/testimonials provided must provide a clear picture of
what users of the product will generally achieve, if the advertiser
does not have substantiation for that claim, then the advertiser
must clearly disclose what the generally expected results would be,
and have substantiation for those claims.

Customer Support Practices
V. Customer Support
a. Merchants must provide customers with multiple outlets for
cancellation.
• Phone
• Email
• Chat
• Mail
b. Customer support must operate within reasonable hours in the
region the product was sold.
c. Customer support must have hold times less than 120 seconds.
d. After hour voice greetings should be recognizable by the consumer.
e. Customer support should be easily accessible.
f. Customer support must follow the Refund/Cancelation Policy as
disclosed on the website.
Fulfillment Practices
VI. Fulfillment Services
a. Products ordered must be executed for fulfillment in a timely
manner. As a general rule, product must be shipped within 48 hrs
(business days) from the date ordered.
b. A customer service number must be clearly included in the invoice
sheet or confirmation email.
c. Cancelation/refund policy must be included with product on
shipment.
d. Delivery confirmation with tracking is recommended.
e. Merchants should strive to provide a product that provides
tremendous value perception to the consumer.
Click to expand...
 
Even if you meet these guidelines meritus is not accepting new rebills as of now... these rules will destroy continuity offers... and again, this is only mertius claiming this stuff... probably to cover their ass... I predict their will be a big push to clean up this space... then mastercard / visa will back off... and the scams will be back with some new ruses.
 
mccc27 said:
Even if you meet these guidelines meritus is not accepting new rebills as of now... these rules will destroy continuity offers... and again, this is only mertius claiming this stuff... probably to cover their ass... I predict their will be a big push to clean up this space... then mastercard / visa will back off... and the scams will be back with some new ruses.
Click to expand...


This stuff isn't coming from Meritus as a CYA. These guidelines are being sent to them by Visa/MC. People processing outside of Meritus are being asked to comply with pretty much the same standards.
 
rebills are running fine, i lost a few and i gained a few new ones. There not going anywhere. EVEN IF Visa and MC ban all rebills, the way i see it advertisers will figure out a different way to get their money. Look at online poker, i can still charge my poker accounts with like 10 different methods besides MC and Visa (which wont work ) My favorite was when they have phone cards, you buy a "phone card" with your visa or MC, then trade your mins in for poker chips lol.
 
fly higher said:
It's not continuity Visa and MC are going after -- it's free trials.

And my MIDs all just went down, I assume with hundreds of other offers. Tomorrow will be another fun day!
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seriouscata.jpg
 
Look at online poker, i can still charge my poker accounts with like 10 different methods besides MC and Visa (which wont work )
Click to expand...
yeah but you know the situation and really want to gamble. can the same be said of some fat chick about to get ripped off on a, lets be honest, impulse buy?
 
$ACP$ said:
rebills are running fine, i lost a few and i gained a few new ones. There not going anywhere. EVEN IF Visa and MC ban all rebills, the way i see it advertisers will figure out a different way to get their money. Look at online poker, i can still charge my poker accounts with like 10 different methods besides MC and Visa (which wont work ) My favorite was when they have phone cards, you buy a "phone card" with your visa or MC, then trade your mins in for poker chips lol.
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Not so fast. While you're right - Advertiser's will find workarounds, the problem with the above scenario is you've got:

a. A guy who wants to play online poker, loves the website, is willing to sign up for a new payment solution that exchanges phone mins for points.

b. A lady who is looking at a tooth whitening website and kind of curious but skeptical, willing to put her credit card up for a small charge of $3.99 to receive a free sample. Not willing to go through hoops to sign up to a new payment solution to do it. She'll be gone like a fart in the wind if you stick new payment workarounds in front of her fat face.
 
itchy said:
yeah but you know the situation and really want to gamble. can the same be said of some fat chick about to get ripped off on a, lets be honest, impulse buy?
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Saw your post too late, itchy. Didnt mean to re-iterate. Hey we both used "fat women" in our example. LOL
 
fly higher said:
It's not continuity Visa and MC are going after -- it's free trials.

And my MIDs all just went down, I assume with hundreds of other offers. Tomorrow will be another fun day!
Click to expand...

That's the worst... what's the scoop on being able to transfer the customer profiles to another MID... is Visa/Mastercard really cracking down on that?
 
itchy said:
yeah but you know the situation and really want to gamble. can the same be said of some fat chick about to get ripped off on a, lets be honest, impulse buy?
Click to expand...


This is very true, but I know people that are starting to implement alternatives to credit cards for the impulse buys online, like a check 21 solution. If anyone is interested in learning more about companies that want the to process continuity/rebills via electronic checks, just pm me.
 
My MIDs with Meritus just got tagged as well. Sucks for all those orders I have in the que!

Well, all I can say is Video Killed the Radio Star.

fly higher said:
It's not continuity Visa and MC are going after -- it's free trials.

And my MIDs all just went down, I assume with hundreds of other offers. Tomorrow will be another fun day!
Click to expand...
 
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