i find myself scratching my head over this one. 138.com finds some older player complaints on a Player Mediation Site and ends up closing our affiliate account and refused to pay commissions owed.
Here is what happened:
138.com Casino has several player complaints on a player mediation site.
They found them and contacted the mediation site. They indicated that they were dealt with, then indicated that they were not dealt with, then called the players cheats and then said they couldn’t discuss players issues because it violates the Data Protection Act. No sensitive information is every requested by the mediation site and the players provide any sensitive information directly to the site when the complaint is made.
138.com then figured out that there was an association between the Player Mediation site and us their affiliate. They threatened to close our account and not pay commissions if the reports were not taken down. They indicated that their terms and conditions were violated and provided them. The only item in the terms and conditions that allowed them to close the account is use of “ Their Sole Discretion”. They tried to say that the mediation site had posted incorrect information but would not provide the correct information.
Because we are separate we could not take the reports down and 138 proceeded to close our account and refuse payment of past commissions Although it is any Casino’s right to stop doing business with a player or affiliate, it is most concerning that they feel it appropriate to keep funds earned in the past as they have no legal or ethical basis to do so.
AskGamblers
Dear @Gib,
Please make sure to update your complaint accordingly and clarify the total amount of the disputed withdrawal request/s.
Thanks for cooperating the AskGamblers Complaints Team.
Response from 138
Dear Gib,
Following our email exchange on this matter, I will outline the same response as before.
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First, I would like to express that 138's aim is to be fair to our players and affiliates, but at the same time be treated fairly by our players and affiliates. It is 138's intention to honour all our obligations in terms of financial settlement of commissions to affiliates, as we have done so in the past.
Secondly, in regards to the pending issues highlighted on your site, we have expressed our situation in that the issues relating to these players have been resolved and that the information provided on your site is no longer valid. It is on this basis of false information that we are looking at terminating our agreement and not the use of 'Sole Discretion' in an attempt to not pay due commission. 138.com is a regulated business and we have to comply with Data Protection Acts which expressly say that we cannot share our customer data with any third party, so unless you have information that says otherwise that these issues are not resolved, your approach appears to be heavy handed in forcing 138 to pay out.
If you feel that our approach to resolve this matter is in any way unfair to yourself or 138, please let me know your thoughts because our aim is to amend what is not correct and move on in our relationship with your group. If you feel the need to threaten 138 with negative press in the community to enforce your resolution on this matter and get your commissions paid then unfortunately we will see this as your unwillingness to be fair to 138 and the players involved.
I will stress again that 138.com is a fair company who respects its players and marketing partners, but we also expect players and affiliates to respect us with the same fairness.
I hope we can find resolve to this matter and have the information corrected on your sites, at which point we will not need to seek termination of our agreement due to false information and continue due commissions.
If you decide to pursue your threat to us in the public forum, please feel free to include this email in that publication as our fair approached in handling this issue will not change and I believe the community will see that you have little respect for 138.com.
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In addition to the above, I would like to add that we understand that associated sites might not be under your control, but the lack of willingness to even work with us to try and amend the resolved incorrect information does not reflect the above mentioned. Based on the false and damaging information to 138.com listed on your site (associated site) we have withheld commissions until we find resolution.
Let me highlight that in the event of a Data Protection breach, it is 138.com that will be fined huge sums and not yourself, so we ensure they we full comply with the requirements on players personal details, this is not some excuse to cover up anything.
Regards
138.com
Intentions and aims are great in theory and may sound good but if your actions do not back your intentions, they aren't really worth anything.
It is great that you have given reassurances to everyone that the player issues have been resolved. Unfortunately communications with the players are indicating that this isn't the case. I am sure that you can understand that you may feel that the player issues were resolved but the players feel otherwise. This combined with how you are dealing with our account is why a simple reassurance isn't sufficient to convince everyone that they are resolved. When things don't go as you want, you just shut things down and don't pay money that is owed.
Again, there is no specific sensitive data that is being asked for by the mediation site. This combined with the fact that the players have already provided usernames, e-mails and other player specific data directly and the client privilege that is set up, makes this not an issue. All that needs to be explained is in general terms how the issues were resolved. No sensitive information is requested or required.
Closing an account of an associated site, not paying outstanding commissions that is owed from July,August and September, not resolving player disputes and using the data act as an excuse are not the actions that support your aim or intentions you mentioned. This is why your reassurances that things have been dealt with are not sufficient. You are saying you are dealing with us fairly when it is pretty clear that it isn't the case.
If you feel that a player did something wrong, is it then fine to close their account and not pay them their money? This is how you are dealing with us.
Fair seems pretty subjective in this case and seems to be fair only in your eyes. We delivered you players and revenues. You can't dispute that. We are fine with the closing of the account because your philosophy on what is fair and appropriate is off base in our opinion. You keeping our July and August Commissions and refusing to confirm our September commission is simply opportunistic.
If you take the same approach with players as you have with us, I can understand how player complaints may arise
We are owed July and August Commissions in the amount of 1204.84 GBP. We request you confirm our commission for September and add this to our payment.
I have re read all of the e-mail correspondents and your reply again.
1)I have an e-mail that offers help to fix this situation and your account manger ignored this and went straight to threats of closure of our account and keeping commissions. Your affiliate manager did not pursue this but went straight to threats. Your comments about not willing to work with you is no correct. I can prove this to anyone that is interested in seeing the e-mails.
2)I have e-mails between myself and your top affiliate manager letting them know that I would be posting this situation on forums and letting players know. Your affiliate manager indicated that he had no problem with this because he felt it would make you guys look good. If your position is totally justified as he suggested then it would make you look good. Letting the facts be known is not a threat but a duty that we hold to our players and to our fellow affiliates.
Your actions are not demonstrating a casino that takes fair and respect and you are really struggling to see any other position than your own.
The current situation is: Player Complaints about in fair treatment. You say they are resolved but are unwilling to simply explain how they are. You say that they were paid, then they weren't because they were cheats and then you can't talk about the issues. You find out that the player has posted their complaint on someone associated with a site that does business with you. You take away their account and their commission due after threatening to do so if the player complaints aren't taken down. There are so many things that are wrong with these series of events and it is hard to " Simply Trust" someone that feels that this it is fine to keep commission that is owed.
An example that might help you follow logic: If you come across a player that you feel is a "cheat" to use the word of your account manager, your probably ask for additional information to determine if they are. If you ask them and they don't provide you the information but they don't, then you have to make a call if they are a cheat or not based on the information you have. You don't just trust their word. When a player claims that a casino is a cheat and the casino refused to provide information but the player has specific information indicating that the casino is acting inappropriately, then what do you think happens..... See the similarity.
