Did you know CRS faced trademark infringement charges on November 23rd? Elise Madeleine Petri, Karrie-Lee Karreman and Stewart Fotheringham were issued a summons after BBY Solutions, Inc., that is Best Buy, the multinational retailer of technology and entertainment products and services, instituted a lawsuit against the trio at CRS. Acquisis were amenable for trademark infringement as well: http://www.diyfreebies.com/2010/04/ This is as likely to happen as locking your keys in the car, if you can't ever remember where they are. Eventually you pay in the end for being so careless. I bet the court granted BBY Solutions a preliminary injunction, which forced CRS to change how they advertised the gift cards. This surely explains why the Best Buy deal vanished! I haven't seen it since around October.
Notice the error? And it's both names. Either the whois or legal document is wrong. "Elise Petri" is what I've always known. Elise and Elsie are both womens names, so I can't tell. Last names can be anything; Petri or Pitre? They got Madeleine right. "Elise Petri" can't be real because I don't think a federal district court would botch up names. Perhaps whoever filled out the domain registrant info wasn't Elsie Pitre? If it were a difficult name to call to mind or spell correctly, it can be misspelled. But can it legally? Aren't documents such as these gone over with a fine-tooth comb? If Karrie-Lee Karreman, Elsie Madeleine Pitre, and Stewart Fotheringham entered the court-house, then there would be paperwork to go over and their names would be handwritten by them, or at the very least someone would fill in their names provided the document did not require a signature, just the defendants' names. This really interests me because one of these is wrong, and I am betting it is the whois. You know what? Wouldn't this confirm Stewart Fotheringham is in fact a real person? Ohhh... *slips into reverie*
*Karrie-Lee and Elsie enter the court-house with a lawyer*
Lawyer, "Hello. My clients Karrie-Lee Karreman and Elsie Madeleine Pitre, from Consumers Reward Solutions, are here about a case involving copyrighted materials."
*Lady at front desk checks her records* "Of course. Trademark Infringement case BBY Solutions, Inc. vs. Karrie-Lee Karreman, Elsie Madeleine Pitre and Stewart Fotheringham. Here is your paperwork. Please read pages 1 through 5, and a signature is required on the final pages. Um, may I ask where is Mr. Fotheringham?"
Lawyer, "Oh uhhh... Well, he uh, has a bad case of jungle fever. He caught it in the East Indies, and he doesn't want to be seen right now. My clients begged him to stay, but he needed an escape from his stressful job at Consumers Reward Solutions."
*pause from Lady* "Oh dear. I am terribly sorry to hear that. I hope he feels better soon, please send him my well wishes."
Lawyer, "That we will-- *gets cut off by man approaching desk*
Abrupt man, "Hi! I think I know you. *shakes Karrie and Elsie's hands* I am Stewart Fotheringham, and I am here, because like you, I am also in this train wreck! Let's finish this today." *big grin*
Lawyer, *wipes forehead* "Uhhh... Ha ha ha!! You aren't Stewart, you big joker you. Good one. It's alright. *jerks pen out of man's hand* We'll do the paperwork. I gotta tell you, you are one funny guy! Did the company put you up to this? Haha, I'll bet they did." *anxiously grabs both ladies by the arm, briskly turns to walk away."
Abrupt man, "This is not a joke, sir. I am Stewart Fotheringham from Consumers Reward Solutions."
*front desk lady*, "What in God's name is going on here?! Mr. Stokes (lawyer), did you just lie? Do you know where YOU are standing? You could be held accountable for lying about the defendant's whereabouts. *looks at Mr. Fotheringham* Sir, for a man with malaria you aren't the picture of bad health."
Abrupt man now known as Stewart Fotheringham, "Huh. What is going on? I think ALL this has given me a migraine, not malaria!!"
Lawyer, *clears throat*, "Erm, look. This has all been a BIG misunderstanding... Mr. Fotheringham wasn't supposed to be back today, and here he is. Alive and well, in the flesh. Staring right at us. What do you know? So let's start a journey of our own into the courtroom and review these documents..."
Stewart Fotheringham, "No. First you're telling me why you said I wasn't Stewart, then you'll explain why this charming lady thinks I had malaria."
Lawyer, "Oh, this is absurd! Can't a man tell a joke? About the malaria..."
Stewart Fotheringham, "Yes, about the malaria... It seems the mosquitoes have made you sick and not me for you to say such a thing. And why am I not Stewart?"
Karrie-Lee Karreman, "Oh alright, I'll spill the beans. We thought the upper-administration created "Stewart Fotheringham" for the sole purpose of having a nonexistent employee to take the fall for everything. I mean, look at the name-- it's out of the middle ages. Also, we'd notice a Stewart in our building since we're very chummy at the office. Unless you've been working alongside Dave, we don't know you. After we explained what we thought to Mr. Stokes, he said he'd take care of it and, well, he did."
Stewart Fotheringham, "Well, thank you for the explanation. Although you got it all wrong, Mr. Stokes got it partly right."
*everybody's expression confused*
Stewart Fotheringham, "You see, I HAVE been living on an island, but it did not make me ill. I moved into Dave's Hawaiian hut... Talk about a tropical paradise! Palm trees swaying, the sand between your toes, the sounds of the ocean... Ahhh, pure heaven. Don't know why Consumers Reward Solutions wanted me there, nor will I ever understand why Dave was there to begin with. But as long as they call us to check in we still have a purpose in the company. This is all a shock, I know, but let us be thankful the truth prevailed."
Elsie Madeleine Pitre, "At least there are no secrets surrounding our names. Mine changes year-round, but I am still the same person! haha"
*desk lady scowls as the group guffaws*
The End.
What was that?! *shakes head* Oh, right! All this CRS exploration has me unbalanced. Anyway, you've all been waiting for the arrival of my check. I asked Dave about it early February to which he replied:
"On Tue, Feb 1, 2011 at 8:03 PM, Svc Acct wrote:
Currently, Your gift is on back order and I will send you a check for
$3000.00 USD and you can use for anything you like.
I will be sending you the the third week of February. Probably the 18th
Let me know what address you will be at around 6-7 days after that date.
Dave"
My response, "From: me
Sent: Wed, 02 Feb 2011 04:34:58 -0500
To: Svc Acct
Subject: Re: [11E-148AFF62-207F] Having a problem
Hello,
I won't be leaving until March 15th, so if you send it on or around the 18th
of February that's perfect. I just wanted to inform you of my upcoming move
in case the check was scheduled to ship right before or after March 15th.
My current address:
*******
*******
*******
You can send it there. If my situation changes, I will let you know
promptly and give you my new address. However, I most likely won't be
leaving until March 15th, or a little before that time.
Thanks ,
me"
Dave, "On Wed, Feb 2, 2011 at 6:20 PM, Svc Acct wrote:
Ok,
I will send tracking info right after I send the check.
Dave"
My e-mail weeks later:
"From: me
Sent: Sun, 27 Feb 2011 07:03:09 -0500
To: Svc Acct
Subject: Re: [11E-148AFF62-207F]
Please let me know when the check ships so I'll know to watch for it.
Knowing when it ships will help determine when it will arrive, and I'll try
to be home at that time.
Thanks,
me"
Dave, "from Svc Acct
reply-to Svc Acct
to xxxx@xx.com
date Sun, Feb 27, 2011 at 11:39 AM
subject [11E-148AFF62-207F]
hide details 11:39 AM (4 hours ago)
Your tracking number is ** *** *** *** **
You can track through canadapost.ca
Enjoy the funds
Dave"
CRS time line:
Dec 8, 2010-- Registered and did my offers all in one sitting
Dec 12, 2010-- Forwarded my confirmations to Dave
Dec 14, 2010-- Dave approved my offers, then requested my signed paperwork
Dec 14, 2010-- Sent Dave my release form and w9 that night
Dec 16, 2010-- Dave received my paperwork, and told me to wait 8-10 weeks for the shipment of my gift
Feb 28, 2011-- Check received!
It's here!! Thank you CRS, this is truly wonderful. What an awesome payout. And Dave, if you're reading, thanks for all your help. My experience with CRS might be one of the best by far, and I don't say that often about DIY companies. Everything went smoothly; offer crediting, approval, paperwork, processing and the wait. The wait felt a lot shorter than with other DIYs, not sure why that is. Dave helped me relax as I was timid when going into this. He answered all my questions, and he even works weekends. Talk about fantastic customer support! CRS has definitely stepped up by improving their customer service. It's nothing like it was before Dave moved in. With the 3 grand I'll pay 3 years in advance on our hosting (DIYfreebies.com), do more sites, and reserve the rest for the summer and misc. debts. I like using my freebie cash to give back to the community whether that be this blog, site testing, you name it. This site has helped so many, and what greater gift than the preservation of our home. I'm very proud of our progress, and how everyone has come together to make that happen. Let's keep up the good work!
A member said, "signed up for the $1000 Target card. Only 2 categories of offers listed when there should be 3 since it’s 2/2/9. In the first you must do 2 offers, in the 2nd 9 offers. Unfortunately, there are only 7 offers in the 2nd category. It would be impossible for anyone to complete this site since it’s, well for lack of better wording, messed up!
The choice of $1000 giftcard is the same as the above. The Amazon giftcard is even more messed up. I had finished the survey and instead of taking me to the offers, it took me back to the original landing page. Had I gotten to the offers, I am sure I would have found the same mess as above, lol.”
I haven’t signed up for any of the Ifficient gifts so I wouldn’t know the offer count or anything. My advice is to hold off on Ifficient until the site issues are fixed. I will, however, leave the sites up for our review and testing. When this matter is resolved I’ll test them out and report back on my progress. Sean McCormick already knows, and is looking into it. He needs time to find the flaws and fix them. I think there were more problems at the core. Please be patient. Some of you want to know if there are any Ifficient payment reports, and I will honestly tell you, there aren't any I know of. But let's have faith in Ifficient. They're trying to do great things. In the meantime we have Nuitech, I-Deal and CRS for those willing to take the risk! Below is another Ifficient address. I grabbed it from their contact page for our record keeping.
New Ifficient address:
1550 Larimer St, #662
Denver, CO 80202
Okay, below is the correspondence I had with a member who got confirmation on the rules within Consumer Gain's FAQ. This should clear up any confusion regarding the 6-day rule and 60-day time limit.
This exchange between myself and a member is to help those who are confused by Consumer Gain's rules.
member, "From: member
To: wozniack
Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2011 4:27 pm
Subject: Re: Sorry to bother you but.. (Consumer Gain) Quote message
Oh okay, thanks. I saw the following in the FAQs and was thinking that they were like nuitech in the sense that they make you not only prove that you signed up for the offers but also prove that you still hadn't canceled by day 6 which was very hard to do sometimes.
"30. Is my offer still considered complete if I cancel a membership, trial period, or other agreement with a sponsor?"
A: You will not be eligible to receive a gift in this promotion if, within 6 days of your sponsor offer initial transaction date, you cancel your participation in more than two sponsor offers you have completed as part of the programs requirements."
Hmm.. and now that I'm here I've noticed FAQ #23,
"23. Is there any time limit for completing sponsor offers?"
A: Complete the required number of offer transactions within 60 days of registering on our website."
Were these there when you completed a gift for them or are they new? It says effective Dec 1. 2009.
I guess I better get to e-mailing them to see if there's anything I can do about the final page 3 offer that I'm stuck on."
My response, "From: wozniack
To: member
Posted: Sun Feb 06, 2011 9:28 pm
Subject: Re: Sorry to bother you but.. (Consumer Gain)This is what they told me about 2 months ago,
"“Hello,
As long as you make a payment to the advertiser, are credited for the offer in your account with our site, you can cancel the offer with that advertiser before or after the six days. We ask that the advertiser get back to us in at least 5 days about offers, which is why we have that 6-day rule out there. But, in all honesty, if you complete the offer and it’s already posted in your account, you’re not going to be penalized. That is, provided that a payment was made.
Some offer are free trial ones, but again, make a payment, wait for it to show in your account, then cancel it.
Hope this helps.
Thanks,
Member Services”
It is clear you can cancel an offer, but I'll get confirmation that you can't cancel more than 2 within 6 days. The 6-day time limit wasn't there before, but I will get confirmation on that too. Since they've limited everyone's receipt to "one gift per lifetime" other changes are possible, and I don't want to guess so I will just ask.
There was no cancellation limitation, time limit, and we were allowed two gifts per lifetime when I did them. But I want to be sure on this.
Good luck on your gift!
wozniack"
member, "From: member
To: wozniack
Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2011 3:41 pm
Subject: Re: Sorry to bother you but.. (Consumer Gain) Quote message
Hey thanks. I think you might be right about them not caring about the 6 day thing. I asked what kind of proof I needed to provide that I kept a specific offer for 6 days and was told "You were already credited for this offer." which leads me to believe that I don't need to prove anything.
Also, I was told there is no time limit. Even though it specifically states in the FAQs on assortedgifts.net that there is a 60 day time limit."
My response, "From: wozniack
To: member
Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2011 10:31 pm
Subject: Re: Sorry to bother you but.. (Consumer Gain)
Hi,
That's good to know. Would you mind sharing your response from CG with me so I could inform others? It might help clear up some of the confusion with the 6 days and time limit. I wouldn't post your user name btw, I would say "an anonymous member sent me this response from CG." At least we know there is still no time limit.
Thanks for asking them.
wozniack"
member, "From: member
To: wozniack
Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2011 7:27 am
Subject: Re: Sorry to bother you but.. (Consumer Gain) Quote message
I sent,
"Hello, I was wondering if the following is good enough proof that I'm still a member of the Columbia House DVD club that I signed up for on January 21.
Attached is the image.
Thanks"
and attached a screen shot of me logged in.
Then I sent another e-mail just asking about the time limit for the site.
They replied with
"Hello,
You were already credited for the Columbia House DVD Club offer. Also, there is no time limit."
So I took that as there not being a 6 day thing.
It MIGHT be that since columbia house is a club it's different. But I don't think so. Especially since in the same area under FAQs it states the 60 day limit rule and I was obviously told they don't care about that."
This member asked a good question, because I hadn't read the FAQ and although CG acted as if they didn't care about the 6 days, the FAQ states you cannot cancel no more than 2 offers. But actually they do not care how many are canceled. No time limit exists in spite of the FAQ stating you have 60 days from the time of registration. Thanks for allowing me to share this anonymous! It will help a lot of people.
Anyone going to Ad:tech this year? Looks like fun. My introduction to the convention 2 years ago: "Celebratory anniversary blog..." Innovative marketers assemble into the massive exhibit hall to celebrate AdTech in San Francisco, CA: http://www.ad-tech.com/sf/adtech_san_francisco.aspx What a great way to network with those in the same field!
Last year's party list:
Monday, April 19
5:00pm - ad:tech Delegate Mixer – Conference Only
7:30pm - ad:tech San Francisco Opening Night Party (Unofficial)
9:00pm - Partner Weekly’s Rock Out
Tuesday, April 20
1:00pm - Affbuzz ad:tech Underground
5:00pm - Meetup202
6:00pm - Blumberg Capital & DoubleVerify Cocktail Party
6:00pm - AdRoll + Girls in Tech After Party
6pm – 8pm – WhereJohn Colins Lounge 138 Minna Street (map)
6pm – ad:tech Big Networking Bash
6:30pm - Oldtimers Party
7:30pm - Cocktails For A Cure
9-2am – Get Money + Get Paid AdTech Party
10:00pm - Clickbooth Party (Win 2 Free VIP Tickets Below)
10:00pm - Moss Networks VIP MIX+MING
The Clickbooth Affiliate Apocalypse Party was one of the biggest events, as it had aerialists, fire breathing dancers, contortionists, wild vampires, jamming music, and a mixed bag of other entertainment!
Credit: Steve Hall
Credit: RLJ Media
Credit: Steve Hall
Credit: RLJ Media
Credit: RLJ Media
Credit: Steve Hall
These pictures were taken by Roger Lanoue Jr. of RLJ Media, and Steve Hall from AdRants.
The organizers of Ad:tech's The Affiliate Ball have introduced The Marketers Ball, coming to Ad Tech April 12, 2011. Ad:tech welcomes rock god Dave Navarro, and the dynamic DJ Skribble to 2011's Marketers Ball. This amped up venue is open to over 2000 invited guests. For more information, click here: http://marketersball.com/ -- Short list of 2010's exhibiting companies: The Nielsen Company, TRUSTe, Fox Networks, Affinity, and Atrinsic. Will any ex-ARG--or should I say Caivis employees be there? Hm. I want to see the attendee list, lol. I love knowing who will be there. As grand as March's blogs are, I feel DIYfreebies is a convention all it's own. The great reveal of the check and Ad-tech makes for a big celebration. *w*
Cashing my check tomorrow, and I'll let you all know how it goes. That was the easiest 3 grand I ever made! Our link list can be found in the first entry for March. This is the final blog for this month, please see the "Nuitech's manager cracks down..." entry for the first half. As always, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask. I love hearing from you!
I'm over and out...
wozniack
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