Smorty owes me referral money: An update

June 2, 2008 · Filed Under peso makin'

As you recall, Smorty owes me money. Again. This time what they owe me is referral income just shy of $5.00. Not a huge sum of money, but it would feed me twice at Taco Bell.

I called Smorty on their shenanigans of withholding my money from me. They tried to put me off. Then they tried to tell me that they only owed my $0.30. Here are the complete emails that I exchanged with those wankers.

Original message I sent on May 20:
Just wondering how long it takes to get paid for referrals. I have referred someone that I know has approved posts yet I have not seen any referral income. Please advise.

Smorty’s reply that day:

Hi XXXmynamehereXXX,Referral money is paid with normal post payments, it is not paid on it’s own. http://blog.smorty.com/2008/03/referall-commissions.html

Smorty

My reply to them:

According to my records, the payments that I have received have only been for actual opportunities that I took. Do you have a detailed payment history showing referral payments for my account? Thanks

Then they reply:

The referral payments will be noticed with an information sign saying “New payment was increased due to commission and reposted missing posts modifiers” and the net part of the payment will be in green.
Smorty

So, I find the info on my account and verify that I have not been paid any referral payments.

Then, I reply:

I have not received any referral payment and my referral says that her payment history shows a 1st payment date of April 1, 2008. Thanks.

They respond:

You will be receiving your referral payment which is $0.30 with your next post payment.

Smorty

Now, I have no outstanding post payments, and they should know this. But still, I forge on.

I reply to Smorty:

Thanks. And when can I expect the remaining $4.41 referral payment?

They respond:

As you can see from the referal Program section from your admin panel, Your past 4 weeks referal earning is $0,30 which will be paid on our next payment cycle which is on a weekly basis, however Smorty do not have a set payment day. The reason for this is because we pay via PayPal mass pay. The transfer of tens of thousands of dollars through PayPal can sometimes vary in time. As soon as your post has been approved, which takes 5 days, we try to pay for that blog article on the first payment day of that week.
Regards
Smorty

So, then I reply:

I am aware that the referral section shows that $0.30 is due to me, however I am also aware that the grand total in referral payments due to me is $4.71 as evidenced from a screencap sent to me by my referral. My referral has taken several tasks which equal a grand total of $94.20 in payments. And the referral 5% would be $4.71. As of today’s date I have received no referral payments whatsoever. Thanks for investigating this matter.

Douchebags.

They then respond:

You will be receiving the referral payment as $4,71 total but it will be in step by step process. Your referral did not receive the payments one at a time. The system makes the payment to the blogger’s post first then to the referral.

Smorty

So, I reply:

Thank you for your help in clearing up this matter. I do hope it is resolved within the next month as my referral received their first payment on April 1, 2008.
Regards.

And that was my last communication with them on May 23, 2008. I can’t wait to see how long it takes to get the $4.71. You would have thought that they would have gotten tired of my emails and just paid me the money that they owe me. What they do not know though is that I want my damn money! I will give them till the end of month before I email them again. And send the info to The Consumerist. People that want to make money online need to know not to waste their time with companies that do not respect them enough to pay them in a timely manner.

Smorty referral FAQ: (click to enlarge)