V-Bux Ripoff Doesn't Credit properly completed free trial offers and support is condescending Internet
I was invited to visit dell.v-bux.com to complete free trial offers. In exchange for completing the trial offers my referrer agreed to cover the expenses of any processing fees and/or shipping and handling charges plus a small stipend.
I completed five offers at dell.v-bux.com on April 2, 2007. Each offer was valued between 19% and 22% credit. Between them all I had completed enough offers to earn 100% credit. Unfortunately, I was not rewarded with 100%+ credit, but only credited for three offers for 61% credit.
I submitted a help ticket and missing credit reports for the remaining offers I had not received credit for. I was told by support that I should expect a response anywhere from 2 hours to 31 days. I was also told that I was not required to do anything else but wait it out.
On April 4, 2007 I received credit for an offer I thought had failed when I initially had completed it. I considered this a turn of good fortune and that it meant I only needed one of the remaining two offers to clear.
On April 16, 2007 frustrated by the lack of progress and communication from v-bux, I completed another offer that should have provided me the remaining 19% credit. I was careful to follow every instruction v-bux provided to assure that I would receive credit for the offer and still I did not receive credit.
I again contacted v-bux support and was told I should still wait on my other offers.
From here out, v-bux did nothing but put me off and continue to tell me to wait and that it was out of their hands. They put the blame on their publishers and affiliates.
Finally, I was told they were meeting with their publishers last Friday (5/18/07) and that they would use my difficulties as an example. V-Bux told me they couldn't promise I would receive credit as a result of the meeting, but they would try.
Following the meeting, V-Bux support questioned my integrity and claimed that I must have been involved in something fraudulent because their publishers all claimed I was denied due to "poor lead quality". V-Bux's solution was to offer me the opportunity to re-sign up with any of their sites and they would waive the credit requirements so all I would need to do would be to refer other suckers to their site.
The problem with this solution is that it screws the person that originally referred me out of my credit as well. It also means that I am screwed out of the fees and shipping and handling charges I paid for the original offers because my referrer and I agreed he would pay me after I had received my credit.
Just a warning, people. You can't get something for nothing. V-Bux claims to pay out over 90% off their members. As one of the apparent 10% that got screwed, I can tell you it sucks. Don't bother with v-bux.
Travis
Pineville, Louisiana
U.S.A.
4 Updates & Rebuttals
Travis
Pineville,Louisiana,
U.S.A.
V-Bux pays off
#5Author of original report
Sun, June 03, 2007
After having my offer crediting issues resolved by V-Bux, I decided to refer someone to complete the process and receive my "free" gift/prize.
I gave the person I referred the very detailed instructions provided to me by V-Bux to all but guarantee my referral would not experience the same difficulties I did. My referral completed her offer credits in one day without any problems. I submitted my claim to V-Bux for my prize and V-Bux paid out (my prize was a $100 PayPal Gift Card) at the end of the week when they completed their process.
My only complaint was that I wasn't aware that it would take until the end of the week to process my claim for my prize. As my prize was a PayPal credit, I expected the process would have been pretty much automatic and instant.
V-Bux informed me that the processing policy could be found within their FAQs at present, but that on my suggestion they would add it to the Claim Order page when they release V-Bux v2.0 next month.
Travis
Pineville,Louisiana,
U.S.A.
V-Bux Complaint Resolved - minor comments
#5Author of original report
Tue, May 29, 2007
I don't really wish to belabor this point as the issue has finally been resolved and I am ready to move on, but there are a couple of points I would like to clarify about Jonathan's response.
1) I will not say it is not possible or unlikely that my account was being processed for "manual" crediting prior to me submitting this RipOff Report, but from my point of view, I had only been provided a direct e-mail address for a support technician instead of continuing support through their support ticket system. It was not until after this report had been filed that I was notified that my account would be manually credited.
2) From my initial five trial offers it is possible that my computer settings may have been the cause of me not being properly credited. It is unusual, to me however, that the first three credited so easily. None-the-less, I accepted that possibility and before attempting to obtain credit on April 16th, I adjusted all of my PC settings to conform to the settings advised by V-Bux and still did not receive credit.
At this point, I am satisfied that V-Bux has resolved this issue and have no further complaint with them.
Jonathan
Beverly,Massachusetts,
U.S.A.
Response to User's Report and Additional Information on Topic
#5REBUTTAL Owner of company
Fri, May 25, 2007
On behalf of the V-Bux network, I would like to personally address the concern posed in this submission.
Before I do this, it is crucial to note that this user's account was processed for crediting before this submission was filed. The issue was resolved prior to the filing of this report. Also, it is key to mention that crediting is determined by a third-party affiliate network that is not associated with V-Bux. The problems the user experienced were incurred due to settings on his computer that prevented his offers from tracking. As a result, the affiliate network had no record of the lead generated. All these points are further addressed below.
This user has been communicating directly with a V-Bux support representative for an estimated five hours over the course of the past two months. As we do with all support inquiries, a representative thoroughly addressed each one of his inquires within twenty-four hours. For further reference, I have enclosed the full support log.
V-Bux.Com, a web property of the Vintage Network LLC, launched on January 1st, 2007. Since its inception, V-Bux has risen to the top of the incentivized marketing industry. As of May 25, 2007, members have received over $175,000 worth of free prizes from V-Bux.Com. By reaching this tally in less than six months of operation, V-Bux's has become the fastest incentivized network to ship $100,000 to its members. Also, to date, we are the only network to provide detailed proof supporting these tallies.
In this report, the user expresses concern about our crediting. In order for a user to be entitled to an incentive from V-Bux, he/she is required to participate in our advertisers' offers. Each offer is assigned a value between 1 to 100%. To fulfill his/her requirements, the user must earn 100% offer credit. In many occasions, this requires the user to sign-up for multiple offers.
At V-Bux, we utilize affiliate networks to broker our offers. When a sign-up is generated by a V-Bux user, the advertiser reports the action to the affiliate network. The affiliate network then sends us a report of the sign-ups (or leads) generated through a PHP query. Our website then processes these reports in real-time, crediting our users for their participation. (Note: Above, the user uses the term publishers interchangeably with affiliate networks)
The tracking that takes place between the advertiser and the affiliate networks is complex. Our advertisers utilize cookies and several advanced tracking mechanisms. On occasion, the settings on a user's browser inhibit these cookies from filing and these tracking mechanisms from running. As a result, for many of the offers, the advertiser is unable to report the lead to the respective affiliate network.
Consequently, the affiliate network provides V-Bux with no record of the lead generation. This results in the user not receiving credit. The user who filed the report above experienced this. (Note: V-Bux provides its users with a comprehensive list of settings they should use to ensure credit. Should a user have additional questions, we offer three avenues for support)
To understand this further When a user does not receive credit for an offer, V-Bux also is not compensated for the lead.
At the moment, V-Bux observes a 94.7% network-wide crediting percentage. This percentage is determined by dividing the number of missing credit reports by the total number of offers reported. We then subtract this percentage from 100.
In closing, the issue the user outlined above has been resolved. Crediting is independent from V-Bux, and is determined by third-party affiliate networks. Crediting can be affected by a user's flailure to follow instructions regarding settings on their computer. At the moment, V-Bux users enjoy a 94.7% crediting rate. Since its launch in Janary 1, 2007, V-Bux has become the premier website in the incenvtivized marketing industry.
Jonathan Manzi
President/CEO
Vintage Network LLC
V-Bux.com
p: 978 223 0491
o: 978 925 5132
f: 978 997 0368
Travis
Pineville,Louisiana,
U.S.A.
V-Bux takes corrective actions at last
#5Author of original report
Fri, May 25, 2007
Thank you RipOffReport.com!!
I notified V-Bux I filed a RipOff Report and invited them to rebutt any facts I presented that were inaccurate. On the same day I filed my RipOff Report and notified v-bux of my actions, I received a message from the President/CEO directly that he "went ahead and credited [my] account to 100% out of [his] own pocket" along with profuse apologies.
V-Bux also requested I remove this report. Unfortunately, it is my understanding that once filed, a RipOff Report can never be removed entirely, but I am here to report that v-bux did finally provide me 100% credit for the offers I had completed. I am awaiting confirmation from my referrer that he also received referral credit for me, but at the time of this posting, I am willing to believe that v-bux has adequately resolved my issues.