DIYfreebies.com

I-Deal customer support answers DBA and site questions + proof pic; Nick Brown and workmate examined and spam violation; anonymous member returns with Nuitech update; new links. Enjoy the holiday BBQ cookout and new deals this month… Happy Labor Day!

Let’s start with the Nick Brown case. To refresh ourselves, gift50.com linked to brandnewprizes.com, a CRS site owned by Robert Celsi. Nick Brown contrived a cellular text spamming plot to bait successful sign ups and offer completions. Although gift50.com linked to CRS, I needed more to ride on to tell me if Nick Brown had involvement with CRS. Before we go any further, if you haven’t read our discussion on Nick Brown and Robert Celsi, do so here: DIYfreebies’ third annual anniversary blog…, then here: The night explodes with… — The rest of us may continue.

Nick Brown has another corporation in marketing known as Delivery Division, Inc. Take a look…

delivery-division.com whois:

Click to enlarge.

The contact page has Nick Brown’s e-mail: nick.brown@Delivery-Division.com, so we know Mr. Brown works there. However, the whosis info shows a Bart Brown in Wilmington, Delaware. Started off with Robert Celsi taking us to Vaughan, Ontario, and Austin, Texas. Then, Nick Brown drags us down to Wilmington, Delaware all the way from New York to meet his– son, brother or father? Whew. *wipes forehead* Okay, so who is Bart Brown? Could the man in the whois info be related to Nick Brown? Or is someone behind the computer registering domains with false information? Bart Brown and/or Nick Brown could be a fictitious name like Bob Davis or Kevin White. Or what about him having a friend who shares the same last name? My intuition says both men are bonded by blood. Just the feeling I get. Whether or not they are family, we must find out if they are with CRS or not.

Let’s look at my other findings…

The whois matches Nick Brown’s…

Now we have an address match! But as you can see, there is a typo in the whois report. We have: 244 5th Avenue STE# 282j, New York, NY 10001; 244 Fifth Avenue STE# 292j, New York, NY 10001; and Best World Media’s contact page: 244 Fifth avenue Suite 292, New York, NY 10010. The first two pointed to a NY mailbox, Best World Media’s location did not. All three addresses sent me to a street corner on Google maps with a mailbox right on it. On the zip code, if “STE 292j” and “STE 292″ are on the same street, why wouldn’t the zip code be the same? I think the Best World Media address is the right one, and the whois info was entered wrong. What do you think? Could the whois info be falsified? And if so, what does that say about there being two Browns?

Complaints on Nick Brown:

Since Best World Media, Inc. and Delivery-Division, Inc. are compliant with the CAN-SPAM act, if they registered for e-mail accounts and domains with false information, they could face penalties of up to $16,000. Isn’t a big blow though if they usually pay the Department of Justice $100,000 on the low scale for unsolicited e-mails. Most DIY companies spam to some extent, and nearly all of them do it through e-mail. It becomes a problem when they refuse to honor opt-out requests. If someone does not want your spam, they don’t want. What part of “No” don’t they understand? Despite what was said to the contrary, companies who spam supply me with current promotions, which I am able to investigate fully and determine their legitimacy. However, I understand the ire from those who don’t want it. Years ago, before I blogged, I made a new e-mail address, then gave it to 50+ friends so they could find me. That was my only escape from my mailbox nightmare. Before I could read my mail, I had to scroll through 3-4 pages of spam e-mails! It was awful. There should be a better way to stop spammers in their tracks. If CRS aren’t tied into Nick Brown and Bart Brown, they can’t be held liable for spamming. Anyway, I will try to dig up some more dirt on these guys as the weeks progress.

You may have seen this I-Deal site:

It was a non-referral Visa site which is now gone. But the one for 2 referrals remains: http://www.e-researchcouncil.com/?session_id=b498ce32cdb111e0b80c2b435407cece — The status page for the non-referral Visa with the same image as the 2 referral site can be accessed here: e-researchcouncil.com/account.cgi?config=1174, or visit the consumerrewards.us.com home page. This particular site, which was moved to consumerrewards.us.com, sparked DBA concerns which I-Deal has addressed to me. Please see my questions to them, and their response to me below.

me, From: xxxx@xx.com [mailto:xxxx@xx.com]
Sent: Tuesday, August 23, 2011 2:07 PM
To: contactus@expertcustomerservice.com
Subject: DBA question (Thread:295429)

Hello,

I had a question regarding your DBAs. I noticed that your gifts sometimes are moved to other sites with different DBAs, and I was hoping you could give me a little clarification. If a site is located at consumerrewards.us.com, with the 123 Click DBA, then is moved to another site with the DBA Top Notch Media, what dba are we receiving a gift from, and what dba can we still receive a gift from? The Visa site that was identical to this one but with no referrals got taken down? http://www.e-researchcouncil.com/?session_id=b498ce32cdb111e0b80c2b435407cece <-- One with referrals that looks like the other. My guess is that the old Visa with no referral link is still considered Top Notch Media, but I wanted to get confirmation from you for those who are confused by it.

I hope that all makes sense. Thank you for your time...

me"

I-Deal's reply, "from Customer Service contactus@expertcustomerservice.com via yahoo.com
to xxxx@xx.com
date Tue, Aug 23, 2011 at 2:38 PM
subject RE: DBA question (Thread:295429)
signed-by yahoo.com
Important mainly because of the people in the conversation.

hide details 2:38 PM (1 hour ago)

Dear Customer,

The Visa offer you are referring to was changed from Top Notch on August 12, 2011 to 123 Click Inc. If you registered for this offer while it was still Top Notch, you will now be receiving the gift from 123 Click. However, we will not penalize you in this scenario, if you already created a unique email address for a separate 123 Click, Inc. site.

Specifically, what is meant by penalize, is outlined in our terms and conditions. Namely, only 1 email address per entity (123 Click, Top Notch), $1,000 per 6 months per entity, etc.

Sincerely,

Customer Service"

Me, "xxxx@xx.com xxxx@xx.com
toCustomer Service

dateTue, Aug 23, 2011 at 5:04 PM
subjectRe: DBA question (Thread:295429)
mailed-by xxxx.com

hide details 5:04 PM (6 minutes ago)

Thank you for your quick and thorough response. I appreciate it. Just to be clear, if we receive the Visa gift from 123 Click, that shouldn’t hinder us from doing a new site under 123 Click, right? Its Top Notch Media that we couldn’t do for another 6 months since that is what we signed up for? Or is it that we cannot do 123 Click since that is where this gift is coming from? That is all the questions I had.

Thanks again!

me”

I-Deal’s reply, “fromCustomer Service contactus@expertcustomerservice.com
to xxxx@xx.com

dateWed, Aug 24, 2011 at 8:17 AM
subjectRE: DBA question (Thread:295429)
Important mainly because of the people in the conversation.

hide details 8:17 AM (4 hours ago)

Dear Customer,

Please let me know if this answers your concerns….

Let’s say you registered for the Visa offer while it was Top Notch using the email address anonymous37@gmail.com. The terms and conditions state that you can only use anonymous37@gmail.com if you ever plan on registering for a Top Notch Media site in the future.

Let’s say that you already signed up and received $500 gift from 123 Click using an email address such as anonymous38@yahoo.com. Now, if I were to research your email address I would see that anonymous37@gmail.com is registered for a 123 Click site (since we did the change a few weeks ago) for Visa offer. I would also see that the email address anonymous38@yahoo.com registered for a 123 Click site. In my review process, I would be able to determine that your Visa offer shifted from Top Notch to 123 Click, and therefore you would not be penalized in this instance for having 2 different email addresses registered for the 123 Click entity.

In regards to your questions about 6 months…

Let’s say you signed up for Netflix as part of your gold,silver,platinum requirements for a 123 Click site. This would mean that you would NOT be able to sign up for Netflix again on any site (123 Click, Top Notch, etc) until 6 months have passed from your initial Netflix sign-up date.

Please let us know if you have any more questions.

Sincerely,

Customer Service”

me, “from xxxx@xx.com xxxx@xx.com
to Customer Service

dateWed, Aug 24, 2011 at 1:09 PM
subjectRe: DBA question (Thread:295429)
mailed-by xxxx.com

hide details 1:09 PM (4 minutes ago)

Hello,

Thank you! You answered my questions perfectly. Makes sense to me now. I will pass this info along as it will help others with their gifts. Very good to know.

Thanks again…”

In their last response, they used e-mails “anonymous37@gmail.com”, and “anonymous38@gmail.com” as an example. I hid my e-mail by typing “anonymous” for my address. “37″ is the only part that is real. I-Deal used “37″ and “38″ in their explanation, so that is where the “38″ also comes from. The 38 represents another e-mail that was used to register for a 123 Click site. From what I understand, they wont penalize you because the offer shifted from Top Notch Media to 123 Click. You should be able to do more sites under 123 Click with the e-mail you have always used. As for Top Notch Media, if you did the Visa offer they may not allow you to do another site under Top Notch Media for 6 months since that is where you registered initially. Or it could be that since 123 Click is rewarding you and isn’t penalizing you, that Top Notch Media is expelled from the issue, making them doable since they are not giving you the gift. I may need to ask them again to be sure.

Next comes the crediting problems we have seen with I-Deal. Below is what a member sent me regarding their offers. I will also include the exchange between them and I-Deal.

member, “Wozniak,

I still haven’t had any other offers credit, except that one I told you about. The name of it is Simply beaming (tooth whitening) or something like that. I just can’t believe this, that only one credited so far. I’ve never had this happen before, but I’ve never done an I-Deal site before either. I just don’t think this is normal. I think I’m going to go ahead and start other offers. The trial expirations are all either over or ending within a day or so, so I’ve cancelled the ones that I dont want . The thought of starting over again……oh well, a $1,000 gc is worth it. At least the one I did get the credit for is the one with the bonus gc for $250. Also, I don’t understnad everything I’ve read about the 7, 20 and 30 day crediting. What does that mean? It’s not really explained anywhere. Does that mean they only credit on those days, like if they don’t credit you by the 7th day, they will credit you on the 20th or 30th day? Thanks so much for your help.

member”

member to I-Deal, “Web Site: e-ResearchCouncil.com (1174: ERC Visa Card)
Email: xxxx@xx.net
IP: **********
Question: My question was not found here

Message entered by user:

Hi, sorry to trouble you, but I’m not familiar with your sites and wondered if it is normal to have only 1 offer approved out of the 8 that I did complete. I know that you must allow up to 30 days, but I’ve never seen this before on any site and thought you might be able to tell me something. I did most of the offers starting the 20th of july and had all completed by the 25th. Thank you for your attention to this matter.”

I-Deal’s response to member, “Dear customer,

Per the terms and conditions of our website:

We do not guarantee that you will receive credit for an offer. We reserve the right to refuse crediting your account for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to improper sign-up, lack of appropriate information or documentation or improper browser settings.

We are not responsible for delays in reporting offer completion. The time it takes to receive credit for an offer varies with each advertiser.

We are unable to manually credit an offer.

We would suggest completing another offer before your account expires. All accounts expire 60 days after the original registration date.

Sincerely,

Customer Service”

This member is one of many who are experiencing difficulty with I-Deal’s gift sites. There are 3 crediting cycles to go by: 7-day, 20-day and 30-day. Most people would rather do a 7-day site than a 20/30-day, because the 20/30-day sites push you closer to your expiration date. That’s why it is recommended to do your offers all in one sitting, then do any replacements once you see that you’re approved for all your other offers. Now with I-Deal’s faulty crediting system, people who have done their offers all at once are doing double the amount because of the replacements. When only 1 out of 8-10 offers credit that is very bad news. And I-Deal will only tell you to complete more offers, as they always have. What to do? Here are some tips if your offers haven’t credited: Complete more offers. Close browser and delete cookies before opening browser and doing offers. Only click offers once. Set your security and privacy settings to low while you do your offers. Make sure your firewalls are turned off. If that fails, try doing one offer at a time. Clear cookies/cache, open browser and do another offer an hour later. Or take it a section at a time. Do just one the first day if you’ve had trouble with a previous I-Deal site. Check your status the next day, then move on to the next.

I-Deal crediting cycles

Silver = 1, Gold = 3, Platinum = 10
Then 20-day and 30-day periods

I-Deal’s offers have been crediting the next day for many people. Meaning, if you signed up and registered for a gift today, most of your offers would show “Approved!” by tomorrow. That is how my last one went. All but two showed “Approved!” on my status page. I listed I-Deal’s crediting cycles in case someone needed them.

Surprise!!

My $1,000.00 gift came in the form of two $500.00 Visas. I was so happy!~! They showed up Tuesday, August 16, 2011, 3 weeks after my approval. Was nice to do I-Deal again, especially since being limited after CRS.

If you have been following our anonymous member’s Nuitech progress, then you’ll want to see the end result. For those who haven’t kept up with anonymous’s gift, please read “DIYfreebies’ third annual anniversary blog…“, and “End of summer bash…” to get the details. Below is my correspondence with anonymous regarding their gift.

member, “from member xxxx@xx.com
to “diyfreebies@gmail.com”
date Fri, Aug 5, 2011 at 7:58 PM
subject Nuitech may come through after all !
mailed-by xxxx.com
signed-by xxxx.com
Important mainly because of the people in the conversation.

hide details Aug 5

I’ve religiously checked my status everyday and finally today when it’s too late to do anything I got confirmation that i’m approved for my gift. I’ll have to wait till monday to get it notarized and it said I should receive my gift in 4 weeks ! Boy, this one was tough. I still made a profit of 5-600 but I usually don’t spend that much. I’ll be relieved when I get my check. It’s been trying.”

member, “from [Busy] wozniack diyfreebies@gmail.com
to member
date Sat, Aug 6, 2011 at 1:33 PM
subject Re: Nuitech may come through after all !
mailed-by gmail.com

hide details Aug 6

member,

Congratulations! I am so happy about your approval. You should post a proof pic on your blog once you get it! I would like to share this good news in September’s blog if you don’t mind. It would give my readers some relief. ) You did a great job.

Have a great weekend!

wozniack”

Me again, “from [Busy] wozniack diyfreebies@gmail.com
to member
date Sat, Aug 6, 2011 at 2:07 PM
subject Re: Nuitech may come through after all !
mailed-by xxxx.com

hide details Aug 6

member,

Could you tell me how you were able to get Nuitech to accept your billing statement? I ask because, if you read my latest blog, you will see that is where I left off, with Nuitech accusing you of copying and pasting your statement. I just wanted to know what you had to do to get them to accept it, or if they went on and approved it as is.

Thanks,

wozniack”

Member, “from member xxxx@xx.com
to wozniack
date Sat, Aug 6, 2011 at 2:58 PM
subject Re: Nuitech may come through after all !
mailed-by xxxx.com
signed-by xxxx.com
Important mainly because of your interaction with messages in the conversation.

hide details Aug 6

Hi, I had to download it as a different txt file and resent them, they accepted it. There was several file types I could choose. I didn’t know whether they were going to accept it or not though i’ve been waiting to see if they were going to deny it or not. As you may have noticed one of their responses is that they don’t accept word documents. I replied that it wasn’t a word document it( actually popped up in it’s own window to be printed ) they then replied that they don’t accept copy and paste. Ok, so apparently they didn’t like the way it looked. I’m just glad it went through. Let me know if you have any other questions.
BTW, on my Ideal offer only one of my replacements has approved, hopefully more will go through.

Thanks,

member”

I must criticize companies who I feel are unfair, its what I do. Doing the “dirty work” isn’t easy, but I do it to #1. Help the victim. And, #2. to get the company’s attention. If a company reads my blog, they gain a better understanding of what is going on with their members, and may work on changing the operations within their company. Which helps improve their service, and it keeps their members smiling from ear-to-ear. As the author of this blog, I am sometimes asked for my opinion on a company’s performance and what I think they should do. I go by the customer response, because it tells me how well a company is performing. If there are an abundance of complaints, then there is an unresolved issue that hasn’t been dealt with. By connecting with members I relay their concerns to the company and we work together to reform their business.

Congratulations once more, anonymous. Glad you were finally approved. Now comes the fun part… Waiting for your gift’s arrival! A “thank you” is in order to Nuitech for approving this member. Thank you for running a legitimate DIY network.

Come get your hot links! Check out these cool Labor Day deals…

*links ‘n such*

I-Deal–

http://www.giftcardsurveys.us.com/?session_id=d8773514ce7e11e094cfc6b9a68cb92e – 8 offers, no refs/$500.00 JcPenney gc

Nuitech–

http://www.freegiftcardsnow.com/rd_p?p=313458&t=11469&c=40439-fgcn_234x60_500chilis&a= – 8 offers, no refs/$500.00 Chili’s gc

http://www.exclusivegiftcards.com/rd_p?p=205468&t=15177 – 6 offers, no refs/$250.00 Motorcycle Superstore gc

http://exclusivegiftcards.com/rd_p?p=124395&t=964&c=&a=sub=194753 – 8 offers, no refs/$500.00 Best Buy gc

http://www.consumerincentiverewards.com/rd_p?p=313572&t=17593&c=53210-cirvitawiiu250gc_728_hibrand&a= – 6 offers, no refs/$250.00 Visa gc

http://www.consumerincentiverewards.com/rd_p?p=313572&t=17593&c=53210-cirvitawiiu250gc_728_hibrand&a= – 6 offers, no refs/$250.00 restaurant gc of your choice (Visa option)

http://www.consumerincentiverewards.com/rd_p?p=314479&t=17712&c=txt_030&a=Custom_Variable_For_This_Creative_Here – 6 offers, no refs/$250.00 Visa gc

http://www.consumerincentiverewards.com/rd_p?p=208015&c=49072-cirihopdennys250gc_728_hibrand&a=PEERFLY – 6 offers, no refs/$250.00 gc to IHOP or Denny’s

http://www.onlinerewardcenter.com/rd_p?p=305720&c=49947-orceconomysurvey_728_hibrand&a=SUBID – 6 offers, no refs/$250.00 Visa

http://www.mypremiumrewards.com/rd_p?p=203190 – 8 offers, no refs/Motorola Droid X phone or Apple iPhone 4

http://www.premiumproductsonline.com/rd_p?p=305875 – 8 offers, no refs/Nintendo Wii Bundle + $250 Sports Authority or GNC Gift Card

Nice to have decent I-Deal offers again even though their sites don’t credit so well. Will be working on another I-Deal site very soon. Summer went by in a whirl, now it’s September. I like it when it gets this time of year though. I’m tired of the heat. I’m ready to rake leaves and shovel snow. The months leading up to Christmas are just as delightful as the holiday itself. I am savoring every minute of it when the time comes. *w* Hopefully we see more amazing offers from I-Deal and Nuitech, and one of us will be able to test an Ifficient or LeaderDirect site. That would be two more DIY options for us! I can’t test because their sites lack offers I can do or else I would. This concludes September’s blog. As always, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask. I love hearing from you!

Take care,

wozniack

Hi everyone,

If you get an e-mail from “Ebates customer care”, that’s from me. Right now if you purchase at least $25.00 from their list of online retailers, you get a free $10.00 gift card to any of these merchants: Barnes & Noble, Target, The Home Depot, magazines.com. They also have a referral bonus going on where you can earn $30.00 for referring 3 friends, or a $100.00 gift card for 10 referrals or a $250.00 gift card for 25 referrals. And if you earn 50 referrals you get an iPad 2! Your referral must make a qualifying purchase of $25+ between 8/13/11 and 8/31/11.

Click the button below to sign up:

As for MyView, MyPoints and Toluna, I am still having trouble with their refer-a-friend invites. I’m sorry it has taken so long. I will try to send out another batch of invitations as soon as it gets resolved. The ebates bonus promotion ends 8/31/11, so act fast and tell all your friends! Everyone wins with ebates.

Have fun…

wozniack

Say good-bye to summer with CRS settlement letter and communication issues; an anonymous member is back with Nuitech update + DBA rule reminder; Acquisis never left town! link list, and more. Make a splash in the pool of amazing deals and thrills this month!

The $300.00 settlement checks from CRS keep rolling in. One member allowed me to share the note CRS left for her with the $300.00 check.

member, “Just an update to let you know that I received $300 from CRS. They never asked for a utility bill so I guess my name and adress match 411.com. Along with the check there was a small photocopied paper stating (exact words) “This check is payment in full and in full and final satisfaction of all claims arising from or relating to your participation in Brand Sample Center. By cashing this check, you agree that this payment of $300 shall be a full and final settlement. Further, you agree to irrevocably and unconditionally release, renounce and discharge Brand Sample Center and Consumers Rewards Solutions from any and all future actions,suits, debts, and claims arising from or related to your participation in Brand Sample Ceter“. Those are the exact words. It’s interesting they misspelled their own name in the last word Center for Ceter”. Also, I thought I was dealing with Consumers Reward Solutions not Brand Sample Center. In any case, I am not cashing that check since I don’t accept that as a full payment especially at this point.”

This member went on to say, “I have sent them over a dozen emails with no response. I have called all of the numbers you provided me. Only one worked and the man on the line put me on hold then hung up on me when I asked about my account. Then when I called back it went to voicemail.”

Could the man on the line be John H.? CRS’ manager who told someone that he is a busy man and had no time for them? See August’s post from 2010 to learn more: http://www.diyfreebies.com/surfs-up-with-consumers-reward-solutions-exposed-and-indicted-nuitechs-rule-change-webprizeland-wave-of-new-links/ — The fact that you are hung up on while asking for help is ridiculous in itself. And Dave disconnected his phone number, and hasn’t been responsive to e-mails. Is Dave quitting his job at CRS, or is he hiding out? Why did ‘Mystery Man’ hang up on a member? I had sent the member above these phone numbers: 1-866-393-4824, 1-866-351-1721, 1-866-985-9444, 1-866-994-9894. She could not remember which number was Mystery Man as it had been too long since she’d dialed the number. But the number that John H. answered is not any of those numbers, only one of them was Mystery Man. John H.’s number is: 1-877-680-4175. Who is ‘Mystery Man’? A thought: What if… Dave is Mystery Man? Think about it. His phone number is disconnected, and he doesn’t answer e-mails. What else is there to do at the office? Could he be working a new support line? He’d still have a job at CRS, same position (customer support), just working a line other than his own. But what would that accomplish? Wouldn’t those who’ve spoken to Dave recognize his voice? Or has that yet to happen? If Dave has left the island who’ll replace him? What are CRS’ plans moving forward?

I gave them another chance after the $300.00 settlement and lowballing incident, and I cannot give them anymore. They choose to avoid their members by disconnecting phone numbers and hanging up on them. Why have a number at all? Unresponsiveness or no mode of communication is something you watch for with DIY companies. It is the reason I shy away from many of them, as I found there isn’t a way to contact them and/or they never reply to your e-mails. CRS were paying well and Dave was right there when you needed him. Not long after the LG washer & dryer site “DIY classes” took place did CRS hit the bottom slope. If it were me who received the $300.00 settlement check, I wouldn’t cash it. By cashing it you accept the payment. I would hold on to it until after I learnt the outcome in court. Afterward I suppose you could cash it since you already have it in hand. You would still get $300.00 if you lost.

I’d like to go back over Product Test Panel’s gift program. Some of you had questions, so we’ll revisit the topic of Product Test Panel. Please read what I have below.

Expect to front a lot of money as this isn’t your average DIY. The first and second page have your basic low-cost offers and, the last page, a higher offer requirement. Depending on the offers you choose you spend $1,600.00-$1,700.00 or more on the final page in addition to the regular offers. If you find a good deal, you’ll get back what you spent and then some. Bonus offers must be completed within 24 hours in order to earn credit. It may take 3 months maximum start-to-finish with PTP. After 8-9 weeks you may request an MCR on any offer(s) that have not credited. The premium offers are manual only, and are approved within 30 days. Shipping time for gifts is about 2 weeks.

Now let’s look at a Product Test Panel site…

Registration page with bonus advertisement:

Offer page #1:

Offer page #2:

Final page:

Bullseye bonus page:

gift site: http://retailreportcard.producttestpanel.com/

The bonuses are what I mean by “misc. gifts” in my *links ‘n such* section of my blog. An example: “::link here:: – offers unknown/$1,000.00 JcPenney gc + misc gifts.” So you can get several gifts if you grab the bonuses. The bonus offers are what make the site worth doing! Just do them within 24 hours and you’re all set. I have never done a PTP site myself, but I’m waiting for a mega deal to come along since you can only do them once per lifetime. I missed out on an amazing deal 3 years ago, so I’ll just wait until they go wild with their mega deals; TVs, gift cards, laptops, the works! *w*
There are smaller gift sites now with no OODs. You must do many regular offers for a lesser amount of $500.00+ gift value, with no bonuses, but it is not worth it because it still has the one gift per lifetime rule, so OODs are your best bet for a valuable DIY gift from Product Test Panel.

Anyway, I wanted to give my readers a page-by-page tour of your typical Product Test Panel site. The first two pages and bonus offers are easy, its the last page you worry about. If anybody needs further instruction on their first Product Test Panel site, please let me know. I am here to help.

We have an update from our member who had problems with Nuitech in this entry: DIYfreebies’ third annual anniversary blog… — Since they allowed me to post their messages to me, and from Nuitech, I’ll copy them here for your viewing.

from member, “from member xxxx@xx.com
to wozniack

date Tue, Jul 19, 2011 at 5:02 PM
subject xxxx
mailed-by xxxx.com
signed-by xxxx.com
Important mainly because of your interaction with messages in the conversation.

hide details Jul 19 (10 days ago)

Woo hoo ! Thanks! I’m still dealing with Nuitech they are seriously driving me crazy. I sent them via mail all the info they requested and they emailed me and said they need more statements from my credit card . I’ll let you know how it goes. They really are being impossible. I keep all my documents and it’s like they want more than you can provide. I hope it goes through as It’s ended up costing way too much time and money. Thanks again, i’ll definitely check the offer out.

member”

member, “from member xxxx@xx.com
to wozniack

date Fri, Jul 29, 2011 at 9:37 AM
subject xxxx
mailed-by xxxx.com
signed-by xxxx.com
Important mainly because of your interaction with messages in the conversation.

hide details 9:37 AM (6 hours ago)

Hey, I was wondering if you started this offer ? I did and none of my gold offers are being tracked. I’ve clicked on most of them and it never shows pending. I know i’ll have to do some replacements , but if none of them are showing up it concerns me. Any suggestions ? Also, i’m still fighting with Nuitech they are being impossible ! I’ve just sent more credit card statements to them. It’s a long story , but I’m hoping for payment but it doesn’t look good. I could scream!!!!!! They actually accused me of copying and pasting my credit card statement. They said they don’t accept word documents. Huh ? I sent them my credit card statements that I downloaded directly from my credit card company. Anyway, Have a great weekend!

member”

me, “from wozniack xxxx@xx.com
to member

dateFri, Jul 29, 2011 at 12:03 PM
subject xxxx
mailed-by gmail.com

hide details 12:03 PM (5 hours ago)

member,

I’m sorry for the trouble you are still having with Nuitech, and now I-Deal. People have been having major issues with their offers. One person ended up having to do 14 total to qualify for their gift! Exactly when did you do your offers? You may need to wait a week for them to post to your account as the crediting process has been somewhat slow. One of my platinum offers didn’t credit until a week after I registered, but, it was too late by then as I’d gotten too impatient and did another replacement that credited. Which offers didn’t credit, by the way?

As for Nuitech, I can’t believe they accused you of doing that. Obviously you never had problems when sending them your credit card statement before, right? You’ve been dealing with this since May, and they are still giving you grief. Would you mind sending me what they told you? Also, I would like to share this with my readers, if that is okay with you. I will make you anonymous. If they continue to follow your situation with Nuitech, it may help them understand what to do if they end up in the same boat.

Have a great weekend yourself! Thanks.

wozniack”

That was 5 days ago. Tonight this member sent me their Nuitech e-mails. With their permission I will post them below.

me, “from [Offline] wozniack diyfreebies@gmail.com
to member
date Tue, Aug 2, 2011 at 5:10 PM
subject xxxx
mailed-by gmail.com

hide details 5:10 PM (5 hours ago)

Hi again,

I will be posting my blog tonight, and I wanted to see if it was OK to share your recent experience with my readers. Doing so may teach them what to do when stuck in a situation like yours. Did they ever accept your credit card statement?

Thanks,

wozniack”

member, “from member xxxx@xx.com
to wozniack
date Tue, Aug 2, 2011 at 5:39 PM
subject xxxx
mailed-by xxxx.com
signed-by xxxx.com
Important mainly because of your interaction with messages in the conversation.

hide details 5:39 PM (5 hours ago)

Sure you can share it. Nuitech responded that they received my confirmation and it will be 5-7 days. I know they’ll have another road block. They are being ridiculous.
I did 3 or 4 replacement offers for my ideal offer and only one has been approved. I’ve also ran into some issues with the companies that i’ve signed up with over a year ago. one being eyepothesis. it said i wasn’t eligible to sign up again as well as netflix and ivory white. So, I’m hoping some more go through. After Nuitech i hope ideal will be easy. How about your offers ? Have they all went through ?

member”

member, “from member xxxx@xx.com
to wozniack
date Tue, Aug 2, 2011 at 5:46 PM
subject xxxx
mailed-by xxxx.com
signed-by xxxx.com
Important mainly because of the people in the conversation.

hide details 5:46 PM (5 hours ago)

I sent you a few of my emails with nuitech. I don’t mind if you share them, but if you could hide the offers named i’d appreciate it. You know how they can be about that.

Thanks,

member”

member, “from member xxxx@xx.com
to “diyfreebies@gmail.com”
date Tue, Aug 2, 2011 at 5:45 PM
subject Fw: Confirmation received
mailed-by xxxx.com
signed-by xxxx.com

On Tue, 8/2/11, member wrote:

From: member
Subject: Fw: Confirmation received
To: xxxx@xx.com
Date: Tuesday, August 2, 2011, 10:42 PM

On Fri, 7/15/11, Personalcashbailout Support wrote:

From: Personalcashbailout Support
Subject: Confirmation received
To: xxxx@xx.com
Date: Friday, July 15, 2011, 2:21 PM

Dear member,

Thank you for sending us your confirmation(s). We are missing the
following information:

– June charge (on your bank statement) from xxxx

– Initial charges from xxxx and xxxx on your bank
statement

– Subsequent charges on your bank statement, showing at least 30 days
history, from xxxx, xxxx, xxxx, xxxx,
xxxx, xxxx and xxxx.

Please send the documents to the following address:

Verification Department
13762 W. SR. 84 Suite 612
Davie, FL 33325

Or fax it to 954-653-9031 (Attention Verification Department)

Please do not reply to this email as the account this is sent from is
not monitored for incoming mail and you will not receive a reply. Please
use the contact form provided at our website.

Thank you,

Support”

member”

from member xxxx@xx.com
to “diyfreebies@gmail.com”
date Tue, Aug 2, 2011 at 5:45 PM
subject Fw: Confirmation received
mailed-by xxxx.com
signed-by xxxx.com
Important mainly because of the people in the conversation.

— On Tue, 8/2/11, xxxx wrote:

From: member
Subject: Fw: Confirmation received
To: xxxx@xx.com
Date: Tuesday, August 2, 2011, 10:42 PM

On Fri, 7/22/11, Personalcashbailout Support wrote:

From: Personalcashbailout Support
Subject: Confirmation received
To: xxxx@xx.com
Date: Friday, July 22, 2011, 11:43 AM

Dear member,

Thank you for sending us your billing statements. After reviewing your
information, we see the statement you sent is a word document and we
need the actual (bank) billing statement with the account number blacked
out except for the last four digits and your name on the statement (bank
logo/letterhead needs to display as well).

Also, we need proof of current membership or cancellation email from at
least one of the following:

– xxxx. If still active, we need late April and May charges on
your bank statement

– xxxx. If still, we need the July charge on your bank statement (if
applicable) or if you canceled, the cancellation email indicating the
date of your cancellation.

– xxxx. If still active, we would need you to log into your
account and print your profile page/billing history page showing
(current) date somewhere on the page or if you have canceled the offer,
we need the cancellation email showing date of cancellation.

Please send the documents to the following address:

Verification Department
13762 W. SR. 84 Suite 612
Davie, FL 33325

Or fax it to 954-653-9031 (Attention Verification Department)

Please do not reply to this email as the account this is sent from is
not monitored for incoming mail and you will not receive a reply. Please
use the contact form provided at our website.

Thank you,

Support”

So that is where we are. I’m copying and pasting the billing statement paragraph from above.

“Thank you for sending us your billing statements. After reviewing your
information, we see the statement you sent is a word document and we
need the actual (bank) billing statement with the account number blacked
out except for the last four digits and your name on the statement (bank
logo/letterhead needs to display as well).”

In order to do this, this member would have to approach their credit card company and request a new statement. They may not send “an actual (bank) billing statement” like Nuitech wants. If this member downloaded it from the credit card site, then that is an ACTUAL billing statement from the credit card company. Word document or not, it is a billing statement made available to all the credit card company’s customers and, therefore, should be accepted. A Word document can be easily manipulated, which is probably why many financial institutions and companies use files like .pdf. This is yet another problem that is out of their members’ control. First it was the members’ responsibility to get the sponsors to report back. Now, if a credit card or bank statement is in the wrong format, then members are required to send them another way. And how can they when the credit card company or bank must do it themselves? Surely the member wouldn’t want to risk making a fake copy to get paid.

Before the subject shifts, I’ll post Nuitech’s response regarding the DBA rule to clear up any confusion surrounding it.

Nuitech’s reply to a member, dated July 15, 2011:

“Thank you for your inquiry. Only one gift is allowed per year on a site
operated under the same company. If you qualify for a gift, you will
have to wait 12 months to sign up again for a site operated under the
same company.”

Only one gift per year per DBA. So once you have qualified for your gift, wait 12 months before registering again with that DBA. You can do other Nuitech sites in the meantime provided the DBAs on them are different. More on this rule and Nuitech can be found in the official T&C and DBA list: http://www.diyfreebies.com/official-tc-and-dba-list/

On December 1, 2010 Acquisis sent out a mass letter stating they where discontinuing The Reward Depot gift program. The termination letter and Acquisis discourse can be found here: Santa’s Sleigh… — I will post it once more, as there are recent concerns with this company.

“Dec 1, 2010

Dear ____,

Thank you for participating in the Reward Depot program.

The reward program is being discontinued. Please accept this letter as our formal notice of termination of The Reward Depot program, pursuant to Section 8.4 (End of Program) of the “Terms & Conditions” under which you registered.

Due to numerous issues including, but not limited to, widespread fraud and violation of program rules detected across our programs, The Reward Depot is unable to fulfill the original gift of a ::your gift here:: for which you registered. We would, however, like to thank you for your participation by offering you the enclosed $500 gift card.

Sincerely,

Customer Support,
The Reward Depot”

Acquisis is said to still be running a gift program even though they nixed The Reward Depot. I think they really did terminate their gift program, BUT it was the one under The Reward Depot. They probably are running another gift program under a new DBA or subcompany, which is why we keep seeing their sites. Its still a concern no matter the DBA or subcompany behind it. Acquisis can’t be trusted anymore. It began with the the scam of 2008-2009. Then there was the two billing statement rule, which threw everything into complete chaos; more scamming, and now they ignore e-mails. I’m afraid because of that, and the fact they started fresh and are carrying on like nothing happened with the old DBA. Anyone unfamiliar with Acquisis may research the new DBA info, wherever it is, find no ugly grievances, and lose money if burned by them. I’m taking matters into my own hands by searching for those vulnerable to Acquisis. Those who haven’t a clue as to who they are and what they’re capable of. I always Google to find people who are doubtful about this industry. Then I tell them what I know to help them make the right decision. You must be careful online. Through words and images we can be misled by faithless companies. It happens all too often, especially to those who’re inexperienced. If I can save someone from a scam it makes my day.

My stash from July-August…

All from MyView, ePoll, MyPoints and Toluna. MyView is a market research panel created by New York based marketing research firm Authentic Response Inc. I discovered them 5 months ago, and started earning points instantly. I earned the $50.00 and $25.00 virtual Visas in one month max! They send you surveys all day long, so you can do them while you check your mail. They don’t take up your time either. I also have a referral link for MyView if anyone is interested. And I made $25.00 in Target from ePoll, and $20.00 in Target from MyPoints. Then there was my $20.00 check from Toluna. I racked up $140.00 just by doing what I do everyday– shopping and taking surveys! If anyone is interested in becoming a member of these research panels and points program, MyPoints, please contact me at: diyfreebies@gmail.com.

*links ‘n such*

producttestpanel–

http://bigbrandrewards.com/kfam/index.php?lid=kfam_pubid_subid&add_offerid=add_offerid – offers unknown, no refs/$1,000.00 K-Mart gc + misc. gifts

http://bigbrandrewards.com/toysrus/index.php?lid=toysrus_pubid_subid&add_offerid=add_offerid – offers unknown, no refs/$1,000.00 Toys R Us gc + misc. gifts

http://bigbrandrewards.com/lowes/index.php?lid=lowes_pubid_subid&add_offerid=add_offerid – offers unknown, no refs/$1,000.00 Lowe’s gc + misc. gifts

http://giftcardrewardzone.com/kohls/index.php?lid=kohls_pubid_subid&add_offerid=add_offerid – offers unknown, no refs/$1,000.00 Kohl’s gc + misc. gifts

http://homeprojectrewards.com/lozzas/ – offers unknown, no refs/$1,000.00 Lowe’s gc + misc. gifts

http://giftcardrewardzone.com/walgreens/?lid=walgreens_1952_31108_127599532&add_offerid=97693551&addomain=rsgauge10.com&addomain_id=62&uniclk=true – offers unknown, no refs/$1,000.00 Walgreens gc + misc. gifts

http://myfreesportsgear.com/espn/?lid=espn – offers unknown, no refs/$1,000.00 ESPNshop.com gc + misc. gifts

http://myrewardadvantage.com/retumiyos/index.php?lid=retumiyos_12967_PF672&add_offerid=151441&addomain=rsgauge10.com&addomain_id=62&uniclk=true – offers unknown, no refs/$500.00 Ruby Tuesday or Red Robin gc + misc. gifts

http://mypopsurvey.com/employmentzas/ – offers unknown, no refs/$500.00 Visa gc + misc. gifts

http://giftcardrewardzone.com/gamestop/index.php?lid=gamestop_13326_[=afid=]&add_offerid=9468142&addomain=sbfollow10.com&addomain_id=61&uniclk=true – offers unknown, no refs/$500.00 GameStop gc + misc. gifts

http://giftcardblowout.com/amazon/index.php?lid=amazon_14053_[=AFID=]&add_offerid=763561&addomain=avcounter10.com&addomain_id=67&uniclk=true – offers unknown, no refs/$500.00 amazon gc + misc. gifts

http://giftcardblowout.com/visa/index.php?lid=visa_pubid_subid&add_offerid=add_offerid – offers unknown, no refs/$500.00 Visa + misc. gifts

I-Deal–

http://www.electronicssource.us.com/?session_id=e4345182bbed11e08605f64ba83e1266 – 10 offers, 1 ref/$1,000.00 Visa gc

http://www.electronicssource.us.com/?session_id=13adc2e0bbee11e09df01d4ca83e1266 – 10 offers, 1 ref/Macbook Air + $100.00 iTunes gc

http://www.electronicssource.us.com/?session_id=68f9611ebbee11e0a0361af5b7df804b – 10 offers, 1 ref/iPad 2 + $100.00 iTunes gc

http://www.electronicssource.us.com/?session_id=d1926c7abbee11e0a387234ca83e1266 – 10 offers, no refs/iPad 2 (choose from a variety of colors)

Nuitech–

http://www.myexclusiverewards.com/rd_p?p=205400&t=15107 – 10 offers, no refs/$1,000.00 Continental Airlines gift certificate

Can’t believe its August… This time last year the “Surf’s up…” blog was posted, and CRS are having twice as many problems as they did then. And it’s getting worse. I don’t quite get what is going on in their minds. But, I will save those CRS thoughts for a rainy day. I was recently approved on a $1,000.00 Visa site from I-Deal, and I’m ready for some more amazing deals! What is everybody else working on? Sorry my blog came so late. My messages are backed up, so please bear with me as I answer them all. Alrighty, if anybody has anymore questions or concerns, send them to me. In the meantime, enjoy the links and blog…

Bye for now,

wozniack

The night goes BANG with CRS discussion and utility bill request; confirmation of Robert Celsi’s involvement with well-known company + investigation of Nick Brown; Caivis’ office doors shut– for good? 4th of July link list… Prepare yourselves for one explosive night! Happy 4th of July!

Our next CRS discussion is about prize decreases, disqualifications, and a lack of response from customer service. The disqualifications for the LG washer & dryer gift happened back in April and members are still waiting for an answer from customer service. Why is that? CRS have replied to e-mails unrelated to the disqualifications, so I assume they read all incoming mail as to not miss any messages that aren’t about the disqualifications. Have they decided to only pay the $300.00 settlement? Or is there a specific reason for them to ignore their members’ concerns? Even if lawyers were assisting CRS with the LG washer & dryer investigation, should it really have taken this long?

In May, a letter written to facilitate this urgent matter was sent to CRS. The letter was disregarded, which says they are handling this on their own. If that is their choice I cannot stop them. There is nothing more I can do except counsel members, and provide them with the resources to take action. As of now, it is out of my hands as I have exhausted my efforts in trying to set this right. I’m sorry I couldn’t do more. I’m upset that innocent members were accused of defrauding CRS’ site and advertisers by way of Ms. Kyle’s classes. Some hadn’t even heard of her before receiving the disqualification letter! If this persists, you all may consider pursuing a class action suit, or working independently against them to collect your payment.

CRS have been paying members the full amount of their gifts, but months back there had been cases of lowballing. That stayed in the back of my mind as I watched how they were improving. Now members claim CRS are offering them less again. When companies do this it is often their bank account is low, or they simply are greedy by pocketing the rest of their members’ money. But sometimes they feel they’re right in thinking that the advertised gift isn’t as much as the member claims, so they offer them a lesser amount. Which may be true or untrue depending on the gift’s value. If for instance the company advertised an iPad on their site, but it wasn’t an iPad 2 so the iPad diminished in value. Then a member redeems their prize and CRS tells them their check is for $299.00 because it is an older model. I would side with CRS here as their site would clearly show an iPad, not an iPad 2 which should cost more. However, that is not what is going on. A member recently did a site for two Macbook Airs and is getting $1,000.00 less. Another member registered for a Dell XPS and Macbook site, and is only getting $1,100.00 since her link expired and Dave said she registered for “an iPhone or an iPhone and iPad.” On the redemption page it shows the Dell XPS and Macbook offer, and I believe her as I remember seeing this deal on better-gifts.net, the expired gift site.

In addition to the disqualifications, CRS sent a batch of e-mails to members requesting utility bill copies to obtain their personal information not found in the public records of 411.com.

Generated e-mail:

“Dear member,

This notice is to inform you that upon researching the accuracy of your registration information we have discovered that your mailing address/phone number does not reflect the public records of 411.com.

The terms and conditions of our site, which you agreed to upon your registration, state that:

“If you elect to register to use the Service, you agree to: (a) provide true, accurate, current and complete information about yourself as prompted by our registration form (such information being the “Registration Data”); and (b) maintain and promptly update the Registration Data to keep it accurate. If you provide any information that is untrue, inaccurate, or incomplete, Consumers reward solutions may in its sole discretion have grounds to suspect that such is the case, we have the right to suspend or terminate your account and refuse any and all current or future use of the Service (or any portion thereof).”

We ask that you please provide us (via email or fax) a copy of a recent utility bill in your name showing the mailing address/phone number you used to register for our site. Please provide us with this proof within 10 days of this email or your account will be disqualified for violating the aforementioned terms.

Thank you,

Customer Service”

They may just want a current record of each member’s name, address and phone number. But why wouldn’t our information be authentic when signing up? Are they worried some of us moved? Or do they really think we deliberately gave them false information? OR is this a way for them to stall since they haven’t replied to members after they fulfilled this request? I consider everything before me though I don’t think this is a stall tactic. As for their unresponsive nature, that is unacceptable; they should have resolved this months ago. Wish I had the answer to what they have been doing all this time but I don’t. I can’t understand why these “investigations” have taken so long. I will repost the resources from August’s entry for quick access to the information for those wanting to take some sort of action.

Ministry of Attorney General in Vancouver, BC

800 SMITHE ST
Vancouver, British Columbia V6Z 3B7, Canada
Tel# (604) 660-8789

1125 HOWE ST
Vancouver, British Columbia V6Z 2L7, Canada

1311 COMMERCIAL DR
Vancouver, British Columbia V5L 2T3, Canada
Tel# (604) 660-6828

Better Business Bureau of Canada: http://www.bbb.org/canada/

Internet Crime Complaint Center – An FBI/NW3C partnership: http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx

Anyway, I know I said Robert Celsi couldn’t possibly be with CRS but, well, he is! My hunch led me to the confirmation below despite Dave not recognizing the site registered to Robert Celsi. Just because Dave didn’t recognize the site doesn’t mean it did not belong to CRS. I can prove that Robert Celsi is with CRS based on my findings which I will present to you now.

In my quest I found this blog: http://www.2freelaptops.net/author/admin/ — Couldn’t help but wonder if the author was with CRS, because who would set up a blog solely for CRS links, and go so far as to use the top of 2freelaptops.com, a CRS site, as a banner for it? So I ran a Google search and it took me to a page showing Robert Celsi as the owner of 2freelaptops.com AND 2freelaptops.net. Would he, could he, be the blogger?

Google search page:

2freelaptops.com’s layout:

gift page: http://www2.2freelaptops.com/SplashPage.aspx?g=d6ca350f28e74aa1bb13bdf7cf274027&nn=vgjrc2mrxf&se=01

2freelaptops.net blog layout:

blog link: http://www.2freelaptops.net/author/admin/

Taken from the official company and address list:

6-6150 Highway 7 STE# 220
Vaughan, ON L4H-OR6

Note the famous Vaughan, Ontario CRS address in the whois!

2freelaptops.com was the site I did to earn my 3 grand. So that alone makes it pretty obvious to me that Robert Celsi is with CRS. It is possible that Dave hadn’t seen freenewprizes.com before, which is why he said “Does not look like one of ours.” Below is another site just like 2freelaptops.com except the page background is green and you only get one laptop.

freelaptopsdirect.com’s layout:

gift page: http://www2.freelaptopsdirect.com/SplashPage.aspx?g=c5e96e08dbaf4e98ba32fec51f61e011&c=9445&se=01

I have reposted the whois info for Robert Celsi as it contains the Austin, TX address. In case anyone forgot, Robert Celsi, from CRS, was the registrant for brandnewprizes.com that had a Texas address.

Again, there is Nick Brown. gift50.com linked to a CRS site, but I’d like more proof that Nick Brown is CRS to avoid any mistakes. We know the Rockefeller Center address was CRS and it was a NY location, so there may be a connection to Nick Brown. Nick Brown has his own lead generation company, Best World Media: www.bestworldmedia.com — Could he be running these sites on his own, and is in no way tied into CRS? Or is he on a text messaging job CRS put him on? There is a wealth of information on him, and I must credit this blogger: http://fixedgear808.blogspot.com/2011/04/gift50com-spammertelemarketer.html — I will paste a written portion from Duane’s blog to ours so we learn more about him. But first, take a look at the screen shot of the contact page, and please view the whois again.

This telephone number is on Nick Brown’s whois info as well as in his contact information for Best World Media: (646) 338-8558.

Now read this from Duane’s blog…

“The (646) 338-8558 phone number given has been called by some one who read this blogpost (see comments section) and the people answering claimed to have no knowledge of GIFT50.COM, so I advise against calling them, as an innocent party may be involved. The owner of the website may have either entered a false number in their registration or has since changed their number to avoid complaints from people angry over being textspammed.”

I pray he didn’t register with some random number that just so happened to be somebody else’s! Wish we knew whether the number was never his, or that it was at one point. Why wasn’t it removed from Best World Media’s contact page? I can see someone forgetting to update their domain registrar, but your own company web site? How does he receive his business calls? This unsettles me.

Domains owned by Nick Brown: AidTest.info, bestworldmedia.com, Gift90.com, giftcard2.com, Money600.com, outsidecathin.info, ViewMyNewsCore.com, AidPeril.info, ScatHin.info, BareAid.info, EastAid.info, AquiVed.info, MONEY500.COM, LAPTOP55.COM, MONEY600.COM, gift50.com, and over 100 other domains.

I collected the domains from Duane’s blog as well: http://fixedgear808.blogspot.com/2011/04/gift50com-spammertelemarketer.html

Not sure what to make of Nick Brown. He’s a textspammer, we know that much. And gift50.com links to a CRS site by Robert Celsi, so shouldn’t that automatically put him in the CRS category? Should I close this case by putting Nick Brown with CRS? I have tried to close it but something is pulling me back…I need to keep going. This case will remain open until the investigations are done.

Alright, we have another DIY… Please read my write up below on Brightfire, LLC., and President Ivor Clarke to get acquainted with the company and man behind it’s operations.

Ivor Clarke, President of Brightfire, LLC., established Brightfire, a technology startup that has built tools and processes to increase effectiveness in affiliate advertising and e-mail marketing. In 2009, Brightfire won an eBay auction for a personal video recorder blog called PVRblog which they paid $12,110.00. Through Brightfire’s DBA, Great Hills Media, a gift program is maintained. Mr. Clarke was once Program Manager at Microsoft, and brought compelling user interface design to software products as President of Simple Factors, based in Boulder, Colorado. He was also product lead for Net Monitor and Capital Thought, where he managed the development and design of multiple web-based applications. Mr. Clarke then served as Vice President of Product Development at Skylist, and was Director of Development at Datran Media. His spare time is spent hiking and skiing in the Colorado Rockies. Ivor Clarke is from East Thetford, Vermont. He studied Information and Decision Systems at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Next, let’s take a look at one of Brightfire’s gift sites…

gift page: http://mygiftcardspot.com/

full policy from mygiftcardspot.com:

entity search results:

Great Hills Media, LLC., the company name in the policy, is what led me to Ivor Clarke of Brightfire, LLC. Great Hills Media, LLC. must be a DBA for mygiftcardspot.com. The entity results link together Ivor Clarke and Great Hills Media, LLC. I asked them about their gift program, and will post their reply as soon as I get it. This might be another one we can test! Below are the Brightfire addresses.

Brightfire addresses:

PO Box 3109 #31365
Houston, TX 77253-3109

9020 N. Capital of Texas highway Suite I-380
Austin, TX 78759

ARG Insider is back with a Caivis update. Read what he has to say.

ARG Insider, “You will be happy to know that Caivis closed down their Colorado office last month and has laid off all the people who worked in that office, including the VP of Technology for the promotional marketing/freebies division.”

ARG Insider, what about Caivis’ main office in Washington, DC? Will it be closed? I doubt it with XL Marketing Corp/XL Education Corp under it’s belt, which doesn’t ease my mind as the gift program can be fully executed again. Did anyone else who was part of the freebie division work out of New York? There are New York connections, so it seems likely for those in that division to function out of New York as well. As thrilled as I am to hear that their Colorado office has shut down, I am leery. It would take nothing for them to restart it again. Even after all the lay offs they could hire a new team. I’m willing to bet Steinberg would hire an ex-employee or two to help him out, too. If you wouldn’t mind, could you answer a few more questions?

An anonymous person performed a site search for me since I was busy. Their results are below for your review.

“and the results are:

prizevenue.com their biggest site is still running. the home page is a $500 visa gift card to help the economy

prize1online.com became some on-demand research website but the URL is still the same
however the prize1online.com/status webpage is still up and running but they took the CS email down

thegiftit.com same story as prizevenue.com even the same gift
i found another gift from them: http://www.thegiftit.com/HJKhm61dd8684?sud=CD120455 its 5 offers for a sarah palin book

mfl-rewards.com still running. main site is a disney dvd package

mfl-center.com is still running and the main gift is a apple ipad
here is another gift for $100 in grocery money http://www.mfl-center.com/JR05761dd8641?sud=1391

the status pages except for prize1online are all operating like normal

also i found a few of their gifts being advertised as recently as the end of last year confirmed and possibly april of this year. the sites were points2shop type of websites so that is legit advertising”

Would you know why these sites are still up? Do you know when they’ll be taken down? How can we be sure that Caivis isn’t pulling one over us? That is all for now. ARG Insider, thank you for giving us an update. And a big thanks to the anonymous person for searching out the Caivis links!

mmmm, look at these savory deals…

*4th of July link list*

I-Deal–

http://www.e-consumergift.com/?session_id=d5ed32e09f7511e09edfe729b8df804b – 8 offers, no refs/$250.00 supermarket gc of your choice (Visa option)

http://www.grandsavingscenter.com/?session_id=09c32a2ca03c11e09d7dfbeaa68cb92e – 10 offers, no refs/iPad 2 in color of your choice

http://www.myrewardscenter.us.com/?session_id=6874c350a03c11e0b0e9da815407cece – 10 offers, no refs/$500.00 Visa

http://www.consumerresearchbureau.us.com/?session_id=c33bf2b8a03c11e09e420b355407cece – 10 offers, no refs/$500.00 Visa

http://www.consumergiftcenter.us.com/?session_id=f9f0094ca03d11e0a9b748cfa68cb92e – 10 offers, 1 ref/$500.00 Applebee’s gc

http://www.consumergiftcenter.us.com/?session_id=34a506c8a03e11e0aef91b825407cece – 10 offers, 1 ref/$500.00 Ticketmaster gc

http://kohlsgiftcard.giftcertificatedelivery.com/form/iframe/35716/6634/?&ref=35716 – 10 offers, 1 ref/$500.00 Kohl’s gc

http://www.officialsurveypanel.com/?session_id=a2ab87bea03e11e0846e90d1b7df804b – 10 offers, 1 ref/$500.00 Visa gc

http://www.publicsurveypanel.com/?session_id=d14840c6a03e11e0a2227441a83e1266 – 10 offers, 1 ref/$500.00 Visa gc

http://www.publicsurveypanel.com/?session_id=1f19c734a03f11e0b2be1d2ca83e1266 – 10 offers, 1 ref/merchant gc of your choice

We’ve covered a LOT of ground so far; new companies, new CEOs, new sites, new deals, everything NEW! Such remarkable progress we have made. However, the main issue at hand are the CRS disqualifications and the lack of decent DIY deals. There haven’t been any $300.00 check reports, so they haven’t mailed the settlement money to members. Seems like they would have done that, OR made the decision to pay those not connected to Ms. Kyle’s classes by now. Will try to be have a positive outlook on all this as hard as that is. I’ve just been disappointed at the way things have turned out. I hope it gets better.

I am proud to announce our FIRST DIYfreebies donation!!! cannmj1, from our forum, donated $40.00 to DIYfreebies.com. Let’s give him a round of applause!! From all of us at DIYfreebies.com, we say thank you. No matter how big or small all donations are appreciated by DIYfreebies. Have a happy 4th of July everyone! Be safe, and have fun!!

Bye for now,

wozniack

Welcome to DIYfreebie’s 3rd annual anniversary blog! There is a lot to celebrate tonight; LeaderMarkets, LLC. and CEO Jim Vines make their debut; unidentified DIY company and new names– who are they? Celebration link list and more! Grab some champagne, and get ready for a spectacular night…

Hi everyone. It is my pleasure to present the 3rd annual DIYfreebies anniversary celebration blog! Tonight we celebrate not only this blog, but the progress we’ve made and the positive changes we have seen by legitimate networks. One of the most memorable moments was unveiling the “Canadian company.” After RewardStream’s acquittal, the “Surf’s up…” blog finally introduced CRS. There and then we learnt the names of those in office, and much has been accomplished since that discovery. Learning who the Canadian company were was key to helping unpaid CRS members with their gifts. My annual favorite is: More fun with the 2011 Ad-tech convention and The Marketers Ball; Best Buy vs. CRS + 3K proof pic; Consumer Gain FAQ clarification. Step inside… My Ad-tech write up, $3,000.00 check proof pic, and CRS storytelling made for a fun and fabulous blog! Other favorites include: “Santa’s sleigh…” from December, “Easter bunny introduces…” from April, and “ARG bombshell is dropped, Part 1.” The annual highlights: Giving the “Canadian company” a name, and ‘ARG insider’ dropping the biggest bombshell DIY has ever seen!

I cannot say how long this will last, but I’m not quitting DIYfreebies anytime soon. When I express how happy I am to still be writing, I really mean it! This blog is a joy to me as I am able to reach millions worldwide from one spot, and be heard out by major companies and individuals who I wouldn’t have had the opportunity of speaking to. It also has given me the ability to help others near and far with their rewards. It definitely has been a learning experience, and I couldn’t think of a better use of my free time. Here’s to another year…

LeaderMarkets, LLC. is a performance-based online advertising and customer acquisition network with an annual revenue of $1 to 2.5 million. Jim Vines, CEO of LeaderMarkets, has been helping media buyers and planners budget their direct-marketing dollars and increase ROI since 2005. His business offers a wide range of top-performing offers, real-time online tracking and reporting, 24 support and more. Through LeaderDirect, a division of LeaderMarkets, a gift program, coupon, sweepstakes and survey opportunities are offered to consumers. LeaderMarkets’ software publishing company, Site Central, LLC., created Hyper Wiper, an internet history erasing program in 2004. Site Central also offers car quotes, car auctions, criminal and law resources, a mystery shopper program amongst other misc. services. Jim Vines went to school in Alabama before settling in New York. He graduated from Jefferson Davis High School in 1984, then Auburn University in 1989.

Now we know the company, let’s get down to business! Nuitech’s lead gen network is Leadmark Advertising, Inc., and since LeaderMarkets sounds like Leadmark Advertising, I decided to ask them directly if they were Nuitech.

My initial e-mail, “from xxxx@xx.com xxxx@xx.com
to info@thefreelaptop.com

date Mon, May 16, 2011 at 1:30 PM
subject Leadermarkets, LLC. — question…
mailed-by xxxx.com

hide details May 16 (2 days ago)

Can you tell me if you are related to Leadmark Advertising, a corporation that maintains a gift program under the name Nuitech? I don’t think you are, but your company name sounds like theirs as it is Leadermarkets, LLC. I just wanted to know as I keep records of companies that offer gift programs, and I didn’t want to confuse yours with somebody else’s.

Thanks,

me”

LeaderDirect’s reply, “from LeaderDirect jim@pingserve.net
to xxxx@xx.com

date Tue, May 17, 2011 at 5:04 PM
subject RE: Leadermarkets, LLC. — question…
mailed-by pingserve.net

hide details 5:04 PM (17 hours ago)

No, we are not part of Nuitech.

Best regards,
LeaderDirect”

LeaderMarkets signed their name as LeaderDirect, which is a division of LeaderMarkets, LLC. From now on they’ll be referred to as LeaderDirect, please commit that to memory. Didn’t think they were Nuitech but I wanted confirmation. Their gift site doesn’t display the typical cancellation limitation you would see at the bottom of a Nuitech site. A cancellation limitation is only mentioned in their T&C. Below are the LeaderDirect and Nuitech screen shots for our review.

LeaderDirect site:

gift page: http://www.thefreelaptop.com

Nuitech site:

gift page: http://www.onlinerewardcenter.com/rd_p?p=204185

LeaderDirect has these clickable links at the bottom of their site: Check Gift Status, Terms & Conditions, Privacy Policy, Unsubscribe, Contact Us, Example of Sponsor Offers. Nuitech has: Check Gift Status, Help, Privacy Policy, Terms & Conditions, Unsubscribe, Contact Us. All the important ones are present on each individual company’s pages, though two links on both of the pages are unique; “Help”, “Example of Sponsor Offers.” I noticed something else when viewing the Example of Sponsor offer page; it looks like the bottom of an I-Deal site! Take a look.

Bottom of LeaderDirect’s “Example of Sponsor Offers” page:

url: http://www.thefreelaptop.com/silver/

Bottom of I-Deal gift site:

url: http://www3.gizmodepot.us.com/?session_id=cad65cb0817f11e0ad4c1c68a83e1266

Everything from the “SUMMARY OF PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS” on down is exactly the same. Not saying it is I-Deal, because companies have used layouts and wording that was nearly identical to another network. Just that part is like I-Deal. The T&C and policy are different, however. Perhaps LeaderDirect viewed other companies’ gift sites for an idea of how to write it all out, but used their own wording. Or maybe the policy and terms pages are “generated”, then the companies rework the pages by adding their own content. Anyway, this is a new DIY network for us! We need payment reports now. I’ll post their addresses for our reference.

LeaderDirect addresses:

53 Prospect Park West, Suite 4C
Brooklyn, NY 11215
United States

7 East 8th Street
STE. 362
New York, New York, 10003

532 Laguardia Pl
New York, NY, 10012-1428

We have another DIY. The individuals names that I am about to present to you are with an unidentified company. Dave denied ownership of a site tied into the unknown company. So the company cannot be CRS, nor can the two men be working for CRS since Dave did not recognize the site, and they’re in the registrant info for the mysterious gift sites. This company owns both newfreeprizes.com and freenewprizes.com as shown in the whois info, btw.

My e-mail to Dave, “From: “xxxx@xx.com”
Sent: Mon, 25 Apr 2011 15:36:51 -0400
To: svcacct@freegiftgroupdirect.com
Subject: $1,000.00 Wal-Mart gift…

Hi again,

I was considering doing this site but wasn’t 100% sure that it was yours?
The link:

http://track.freenewprizes.com/SplashPage.aspx?g=64fae0c995c14a1196f175886bed1ca8&nm=01onarq2jexp&s=&se=03&se=03

Could you please let me know?

Thanks,

me”

Dave’s reply, “from Svc Acct
reply-toSvc Acct

to xxxx@xx.com

dateMon, Apr 25, 2011 at 6:33 PM
subject[3A8-154889D3-C1CE] $1,000.00 Wal-Mart gift…

hide details Apr 25 (1 day ago)

Does not look like one of ours.

Dave”

whois info:

freenewprizes.com’s layout:

freenewprizes.com’s policy:

gift site: http://track.freenewprizes.com/SplashPage.aspx?g=64fae0c995c14a1196f175886bed1ca8&nm=01onarq2jexp&s=&se=03&se=03

I found the web site for I Marketing Survey Stop which was in the whois info: www.imarketingsurveystop.com It linked me to the following…

Looks much like a CRS domain; we examined them last year: http://www.diyfreebies.com/september-surprises-with-diyfreebies-com-forum-consumers-reward-solutions-and-new-connections-acquisis-issues-new-links%e2%80%a6/ — Also, the e-mail in the whois brings me back to CRS’ whois information.

whois info:

stewartfotheringham@yahoo.ca. Same yahoo.ca extension as the unidentified company: imarketingsurveystop@yahoo.ca. Not trying to make a CRS connection, I’m just pointing that out. So who is the other individual that Robert Celsi is linked to? Well, people are receiving text messages about Wal-Mart gift cards. By visiting GIFT50.com and using an approval code, members have the opportunity to earn a $1,000.00 Wal-Mart gift card. One of the text messages, “Congratulations! You’ve been choosen to recieve a $1,000 Wal-Mart Gift Card! use appoval code: Giveme visit:GIFT50.COM”

whois info:

GIFT50.com directs you here: http://track.brandnewprizes.com/SplashPage.aspx?g=f43dd9fb151f426f8a2225c26152b0bc&nm=014havx2mqx0&s=gift50&se=04 — And guess who’s name is in the whois info?

brandnewprizes.com’s policy:

Robert Celsi. freenewprizes.com, newfreeprizes.com, and brandnewprizes.com have the Austin, Texas address with his name as the registrant. Then there is Nick Brown who has gift50.com registered to him, and that links you to brandnewprizes.com. What does this mean? Should this be a concern? As long as these companies pay us it really isn’t that big a deal what they do. Its just nice knowing who we’re dealing though. What’s maddening is the gift site layouts are like others, then you’ve got the unique names and addresses. Argh! If there’s nothing I love more it’s a good investigation, so I’m on it. Will look into this some more tonight.

Remember the Nuitech’s new manager cracks down… entry from March? If not, you may want to read it first. More members are having problems with offer reporting, and something should be done about it! I will post what a member has allowed me to share, as it may draw a clearer picture of what is going on.

member, “from member xxxx@xx.com
to”diyfreebies@gmail.com”

date Tue, May 17, 2011 at 8:41 AM
subject Nuitech offer
mailed-by xxxx.com
signed-by xxxx.com

hide details May 17 (11 days ago)

Hi Woz, I started a Nuitech bailout offer and several of my offers are not crediting. I emailed them and provided my credit card statement including all charges. They won’t manually credit. They asked me to contact all the companies myself . I’m surprised by this. I have emailed several of them and have received no response. Have you ever had this happen ? I would think they should credit them with my credit card statement. I’ve included their response.

Dear member,

Thank you for your inquiry. According to our records, at least 6 offers
(Netflix, Grant Fund Finder, Ultimate Facial, Discover Card, Video
Professor and Valu Pass) have reported on your account. If you have
already completed all 10 offers required, please contact the merchants
and request they report (directly) back to our company.

anonymous”

me, from wozniack diyfreebies@gmail.com
to member

date Fri, May 20, 2011 at 4:23 PM
subject Re: Nuitech offer
mailed-by gmail.com

hide details May 20 (7 days ago)

Hi member,

I am sorry for your trouble with Nuitech. This is a major concern as members have had problems getting the sponsors to report back to them. In March’s entry, a member had difficulty collecting additional information from their sponsors: http://www.diyfreebies.com/nutechs-new-manager-cracks-down-on-verification-process-and-discussion-americanprizepanel-com-who-are-they-link-list/ Either the sponsors fail to respond, or cannot supply you with the information needed it seems.

Could you tell me which sponsors failed to respond to you?

Thanks,

wozniack”

member, “from member xxxx@xx.com
to wozniack

date Tue, May 24, 2011 at 8:35 PM
subject Re: Nuitech offer
mailed-by xxxx.com
signed-by xxxx.com

hide details May 24 (3 days ago)

Hi, The offers that didn’t credit so far are BOMC2 , gamefly,age invisible, I don’t have my papers close by there was another one. I’ve heard back from 2 stating they cannot help me and to send my welcome email as confirmation. Nuitech says they can not put them through manually. I’m probably going to have to do 3 replacement offers. This offer has cost me a lot more than any other offer i’ve done already. It’s definitely been a hassle. I’ve sent my credit card statement and they won’t accept that as proof either. Before they have. I don’t get it. It’s not our fault the offers don’t show up as reported. I’m hopeful it will work out. Have you started any new offers lately ?

anonymous”

me, “from wozniack diyfreebies@gmail.com
to member

dateWed, May 25, 2011 at 12:03 PM
subjectRe: Nuitech offer
mailed-by gmail.com

hide details May 25 (3 days ago)

member,

I’m sorry about the trouble you’re having. This is exactly why I felt so strongly, and had written about this issue 2-3 months ago. Nuitech needs to remove the offers that their members are unable to obtain a valid report from. You can try copying and pasting Nuitech’s reply, and sending it to the sponsors. Tell them a welcome e-mail will not suffice, and that you need a valid report from them for Nuitech. Which two stated they could not help you?

As for me, I haven’t started any new offers yet. Was wanting to do Nuitech, but they’re too hard now, as you know. I just don’t want to have to do replacement offers on top of the offers I have done for every page. After you receive your gift from Nuitech, would you mind if I shared your experience for my blog readers? I will leave your name anonymous. More people should know about this, especially newcomers, before doing Nuitech to avoid going over their limit. I understand that they must crack down on fraud, but not accepting bank/credit card billing statements is a little much. They should request a second charge showing members did not cancel for 30/60 days. That would be good enough. This offer reporting issue is going to get old fast as more members go through it. The sponsors aren’t helping at all, and Nuitech still insists on the same report that the sponsors aren’t giving! I’m surprised there aren’t more complaints about this, because I have only had a handful of people complain about it in e-mail/PM.

I’m still deciding on my next freebie. I was going to use my “freebie stash” to test company sites like Ifficient and WinHundred, but the offer pages are either messed up or there is a lack in offer variety. After speaking to Sean McCormick of Ifficient, I feel that if anything seriously went wrong with my gift he would help me personally. He went out of his way to work out the technical problems with his company, and wanted my help by contacting me, so that speaks volumes. Ifficient might be a good DIY choice for you if you are able to do them. If I can’t site test right now I might do an I-Deal console site, if they haven’t bumped the requirements already.

Anyway, sorry for talking so long. It may be worth doing what I said above by contacting the sponsors with Nuitech’s reply, stating they cannot put them through manually. Let me know what happens.

Good luck!!

wozniack”

member, “from member xxxx@xx.com
to wozniack

date Wed, May 25, 2011 at 7:45 PM
subject Re: Nuitech offer
mailed-by xxxx.com
signed-by xxxx.com

hide details May 25 (2 days ago)

Thanks for the link to the post relating to nuitech somehow I missed it. Funny thing is Gamefly emailed me back and told me they were sorry they couldn’t help with this issue so they were giving me a month free. Then I received an email from nuitech stating Gamefly had sent an inquiry on my behalf and it was credited. Huh ? Bomc2 has been good as far as replying and saying they’re looking into it so hopefully they’ll follow through. Age Invisible sent back that they couldn’t help me through email but to call them directly so I did and they said they couldn’t contact nuitech on my behalf but they would resend my confirmation email for proof. I forwarded that info to Nuitech today hopefully i’ll get a response. Hopefully I only end up doing 1 replacement offer as i’m hopefull bomc2 will work out. I really couldn’t believe they wouldn’t accept my credit card statement as proof. I understand their cracking down , but it isn’t my fault the offers aren’t showing up. I told them I didn’t think it was my job to contact the sponsors as there’s obviously a flaw in the system why they’re not crediting. Feel free to use my info on the site. I’ll also forward the other reply to you. I’ll let you know how it turns out.

Thanks !

member”

member’s message to Nuitech, ”
From: member
Subject: Offer Credit
To: “Nuitech”
Date: Thursday, May 19, 2011, 7:54 AM

Hi, I’ve contacted the companies to receive credit .I feel that it isn’t my duty to contact these companies as I trusted your site to work properly in crediting my offers. I have all documentation for my offers and provided my credit card statement verifying my offers. I received the following email from Emusic and they feel my welcome email should suffice for their affiliates. I completed all required offers and I hope this will be resolved quickly so I can receive my gift. Is there a manager than can look into this ? Included is the response from Emusic. I also included my welcome email.”

Thing is, the manager is the new head hancho and is responsible for this offer reporting issue. I don’t see it easily being worked out unless the company’s requirements are met.

What eMusic told this member, “Hi member,

Thanks for contacting eMusic.

The customer support staff of the partner company associated with your offer will be able to assist you with status on your reward.

If you need confirmation from eMusic that you successfully registered with us, just forward your welcome email from eMusic to the affiliate company. This should serve as sufficient proof that you have registered with eMusic. If you do not have that welcome email then we can reply confirming your activation. This way you can forward this correspondence to the company affiliated with your promotion.

We apologize for any inconvenience this issue may have caused.

Regards,

Bruce – Customer Support”

eMusic offered a welcome e-mail, which is not what Nuitech wanted. This goes back to what I said about them needing to screen offers before putting them on their sites. Or they should talk to the sponsor directly, telling them that they must report back to their company. If that happened, we might not have this problem now. The sponsors think welcome e-mails are acceptable because Nuitech never said they were not. Offers like Age Invisible and eMusic may force people to do unnecessary replacements in addition to the offers they already done. Not to mention the expense of having kept Age Invisible or eMusic for 30/60 days, as per the rules. However, I cannot fault the sponsors as they weren’t told what to do. The manager should have been sure that ALL sponsors could supply more than welcome e-mails before putting the new requirement into effect, IMO. Nuitech are a great company, but they need to act on this before they lose quality members.

Thank you, anonymous, for allowing me to share these details with my readers. I just wanted to caution everyone with these complaints before they start their first or next Nuitech site.

$25.00 more to Sears, and $150.00 to amazon!! Thanks, MyPoints. (:

Drink to these awesome deals…

*celebration link list*

Nuitech–

http://myrewardsvault.com/LP/prom-195198/5218f316b3.php?a=1711-NBCID11531SID179008&ce_cid=0006jJ4zTWKf1ja9vQ7oEW3KZe000000&dp=179008 – 6 offers, no refs/$250.00 Coke or Pepsi gc (Visa option)

http://www.superbrewards.com/rd_p?p=191955&c=33112-sr_100multirestgc_emc_t01&a=170912&uid=721576380&c1=&c2=&c3= – 3 offers, no refs/$100.00 restaurant gc of your choice

http://yourgiftzone.com/LP/catalog-17064/931af58357.php?aid=3207-PK&a=[=AFID=]&ce_cid=000JvD4tVGez1ja9vQ6PrQvPNu000000&dp=%5B%3DAFID%3D%5D – 6 offers, no refs – $250.00 Soap.com gc

http://yourgiftzone.com/LP/catalog-17144/10112bde2b.php?aid=3207-PK&a=[=AFID=]&ce_cid=000Ja14tVGez1ja9vQ6PrQvPY8000000&dp=%5B%3DAFID%3D%5D – 6 offers, no refs/$250.00 Weight Watchers gc

http://yourhotgiftzone.com/LP/prom-189554/ef9280fbc5.php?a=1681-MBr&clickid=000I134v9oxB1ja9vQ5YDdboB3000000&ce_cid=000I134v9oxB1ja9vQ5YDdboB3000000&dp=CD2251 – 8 offers, no refs/$500.00 Chili’s gc

http://yourhotgiftzone.com/LP/catalog-9019/d5438e5893.php?aid=1681-MBr&a=CD2251&ce_cid=0000wB4v9oxB1ja9vQ5YDdboEj000000&dp=CD2251 – 6 offers, no refs/$250.00 gas card or supermarket gc of your choice

http://www.worldgiftrewards.com/rd_p?p=198383&t=10139&c=&a= – 8 offers, no refs/$500.00 Coach gc

http://yourgiftzone.com/LP/prom-204596/94f6d7e04a.php?a=2985-DMP&ce_cid=000hZl4u1Bbl1ja9vQ5YDdbpUE000000&dp=%5B%3DAFID%3D%5D-%5B%3DSID%3D%5D – 8 offers, no refs/$500.00 merchant gc of your choice (Visa option)

http://yourgiftzone.com/LP/prom-190619/f9995e4c8a.php?a=2985-DMP&clickid=000cUt4u1Bbl1ja9vQ5YDdbqpb000000&ce_cid=000cUt4u1Bbl1ja9vQ5YDdbqpb000000&dp=%5B%3DAFID%3D%5D-%5B%3DSID%3D%5D – 8 offers, no refs/$500.00 Staples gc

http://www.rewardaisle.com/rd_p/?p=304316&t=16105&c=49787-raskatingstars250gc_728_hibrand&a=SUBID – 6 offers, no refs/$250.00 supermarket gc of your choice (Visa option)

http://www.onlinerewardcenter.com/rd_p?p=207999&c=49152-orcsallybeauty250gc_728_hibrand&a=PEERFLY – 6 offers, no refs –

I-Deal–

http://www.gadgetcenter.us.com/?session_id=e71c9d4c83f211e0bb9d8f725407cece – 10 offers, 2 refs/laptop of your choice

I hope you guys had fun at our anniversary party! How many years has it been now? It began June 16th, 2008… Wow, can’t believe it has been three years. That is amazing! I have to thank the members, companies, and blog wizards for contributing in their own way to make this site successful. I truly am grateful for all the help, and couldn’t have relied on my writing abilities alone. 2011 has been great, and I’m looking forward to what’s next in DIY… I’m on the prowl for more links, so please be patient as I update the list.

Also, if you want to donate to the blog, please contact me instead of going through the “donations” button on our site. We are having complications with Paypal at this time, and it is best for me to give you another Paypal address. I’m saying this since we had a donation offer come in, and so that nobody’s money is sent back to them. I can be reached at diyfreebies@gmail.com. Thank you!

Take care,

wozniack

May showers us with rain and bolts of lighting this vile month! CRS delivers cease and desist order to blogger, and sends out disqualification letters; company finds flaw with “Consumer(s)RewardSolutions”; ZOOZ Solutions, Ltd. and customer loyalty program introduced; link list. Stormy weather ahead, wear your raincoats!

Lawyers sent a cease and desist order to bargain blogger Melanie Kyle. Ms. Kyle taught a number of “DIY classes” for a check in the amount of $2,400.00, the value of an advertised gift by Consumers Reward Solutions. They demanded the ceasation of these classes, and she heeded the warning. However the classes ended, school is still in session since her students were issued disqualification letters on April 8, 2011. Members who had absolutely nothing to do with the teachings of Ms. Kyle were issued the same letter as well. I will present to you the disqualification letter members received to explain all this further.

Disqualification letter:

“Dear Consumer,

This notice is to inform you that your account with ConsumersRewardSolutions has been disqualified.

It has come to our attention that you participated in an organized effort led by http://savingmoneyintoledo.com and Melanie Kyle to defraud the Website and its advertisers.

Specifically, you paid Ms. Kyle approximately $25.00 to: (a) tell you which Sponsor Offers are the “easiest” to complete; (b) “teach” you how to sign-up for and subsequently

cancel those offers; and (c) remind you via email when it was time to cancel.

The Website is marketing to bona fide consumers that are genuinely interested in trying the products and services made available throughout the Website, especially those on

the Sponsor Offer pages. Neither the Website nor its advertisers will accept individuals who complete offers and immediately cancel them for the sole purpose of obtaining the

reward. Such activity jeopardizes the entire model for well-intentioned, legitimate consumers and will not be tolerated.

You will receive a check for $300.00 in full and final settlement of this matter, which should overcompensate you for any charges to your credit card for Sponsor Offers

completed through the Website, as well as the fee you paid to Ms. Kyle. Further, you are not eligible to participate in any other websites owned by ConsumersRewardSolutions.

If you have questions or believe you are receiving this message in error, please contact us at svcacct@consumersrewardsolutions.com.

Thank you
consumersrewardsolutions”

Now the question… Did they send the letter to nonparticipants as well to avoid payment to legitimate members? This is what I think. They sent out the letter because its easier to send letters to everyone instead of winnowing out those at fault. And really, there is no way for them to know who attended these classes without asking the blogger. If CRS has strived to pay their members and added a cancel limitation to continue doing so, then they most likely are not scamming. But all companies are capable of seizing the opportunity to deceive no matter how wrong it is. On the legal side, the company may not want to start a war by beguiling legitmate members. You can’t accuse someone of something they never did. The best way–and possibly the only way–of ruling out those caught in this rattrap is to compile a list of names and e-mails of every student for CRS to scrutinize. Those not on the student list would be absolved. Ms. Kyle is cooperating with us to resolve this matter with the company, and we’re very appreciative of her efforts. I hope they’re receptive to our ideas and are willing to cooperate as well.

Did CRS hire an undercover “student” to collect all this information to fuel their suspicions? Because I doubt anyone under Ms. Kyle’s teaching would have told them directly as that would expose their offer cancellation activity and e-mail reminders. The company did the right thing though by stopping this once they found out. Online “classes” for freebies hurt CRS’ business model, and risked causing a partial downfall of a paying company. In this case, I think CRS has the upper hand based on the classroom curriculum and Ms. Kyle’s teaching methods. This isn’t an assailment on Ms. Kyle per se, but her actions that precipiated a radical change within the company. You can teach someone how to successfully complete a DIY site without giving away too much information. A line was crossed by instructing members to cancel offers prematurely, and sending e-mail notifications of when to cancel offers. Members should cancel offers on their own as it is their gift site. Any newcomers in her class may suffer for their erudition from these classes, as they may violate another company’s rules by defrauding offers if they think it’s OK. Early offer cancellation is forbidden, and is not tolerated by most DIY networks. Those are my reasons for siding with CRS. Put yourself in their shoes. CRS see their $2,400.00 gift advertised through a “class” giving fallacious information. If they don’t stop it, they lose revenue and their company’s gift program starts to crumble. A cancellation limitation was smart on their part to prevent anymore malicious practices. I would have done the same thing.

I understand Ms. Kyle probably didn’t realize the negative impact this could have on Consumers Reward Solutions and it’s members. I’ve been in the hot seat before and it isn’t very cozy. So I will accept that a mistake was made, and will not press this issue any further. What matters is that she has owned up to it, and is doing something about it. I’ll keep you guys posted on what happens next.

As for the cancellation limitation, it appears everyone has to abide by the new rule whether they signed up before March 16th or not. I will just copy and paste what a member has allowed me to post. Below is the back and forth correspondence between a member and Dave. I was sent this April 4, 2011, so there may have been changes in the company since then.

From member to me:

“I asked Dave and he did mention that even if you have signed up before march 16th the 30 (2 offer) limit still applies to offers after that date.They also seemed to have taken down quite a few of the offers that would extend past the 30 day period also and replaced with a few 7 day 10 days offers. However, from what I can see with these other sites a lot of money can still be made.

What I was concerned about was I had asked him about the offers I completed and a few of them did not show up as completed so I’ll need to send in confirmations. Is that normal? I’ve done a few sites before and referral, however not crs before.

I guess that can be disregarded for now, he sent me another e-mail basically stating he was not sure and to ask him again in a week.

2nd E-mail
We have an investigation going on currently. Can you email me in a week and I will be able to answer correctly.

Dave

From: member
Sent: Sat, 02 Apr 2011 00:52:41 -0400
To: Svc Acct
Subject: 30 day limit

1st E-mail
New rules will apply for all.

Customer service

From: member
Sent: Wed, 30 Mar 2011 07:49:09 -0400
To: Svc Acct
Subject: Offer Question

If I signed up before the new rules were in effect, any offers I do now will the rule still apply to me?
member

Maybe the wording confused him, he said today he will be finding that out in a week. So, you may want to contact him next week as he will know for sure then. I explained to him in the second e-mail that I signed up before the march 16th, and that’s when he said that he would get back to me.”

On April 19, 2011 I asked this member for an update. Their response is below.

me, “from wozniack
to member

dateTue, Apr 19, 2011 at 12:49 PM
subjectRe: CRS question
mailed-bygmail.com

hide details Apr 19 (5 days ago)

Sorry to bother you again. But could you also let me know if you have to keep your offers for 30 days? It seemed to me by what you said on the forum that maybe Dave wouldn’t hold you to the newly adopted 30-day rule, but I am not entirely certain about that. Its hard to get a definite answer from Dave, sometimes you must guess!

Thanks again,

wozniack”

member, “from member
to wozniack

dateTue, Apr 19, 2011 at 3:44 PM
subjectRe: CRS question
mailed-bygmail.com
signed-bygmail.com

hide details Apr 19 (4 days ago)

Not a problem at all. I asked him if I needed to keep them 30 days and he referred me to the rules..even though I signed up before they were in place. He hasn’t directly answered the question, but I’m just going to keep them 30 days.

I asked him about my offers again 3 days ago and he said:
We can do it manually.
I will need all email confirmations sent to this email address.
Please number them and try and send all at the same time.
Also, Can you send me the link of the offer you completed.

Dave

So, I sent him the confirmation e-mails for the third time. One of the companies didn’t send a confirmation e-mail, so I cannot even login to view my account.

I wish he would say Yes or No to the 30 day rule.”

Albeit no “Yes” or “No” answer was given, Dave refered me to the gift rules as well, and made it pretty clear that everyone must go by the 30-day rule now. I’ll share with you all what he said to me.

His initial response after I asked him about it:

Dave, “From: Freegiftgroupdirect
Sent: Mon, 04 Apr 2011 20:18:52 -0400
To: xxxx@xx.com
Subject: [106-152811CB-25E3] Site questions…

Hi me,

We are in a transition time right now and I can answer that question correctly.
Can you email me in a week and I will have the answer for you.

Dave”

My reply a week later, “me”
Sent: Mon, 11 Apr 2011 16:19:38 -0400
To: Svc Acct
Subject: Re: [106-152811CB-25E3] Site questions…

Hi again,

I will just copy and paste what I sent you last week in hopes that you can
answer.

“I noticed a 30-day rule cancellation rule on a gift site I signed up for a
few months ago. Does this apply to me even though I registered before this
change went into effect? The site I signed up for:

http://my.amazingfreerewards.com/SplashPage.aspx?g=4bda295b3b08490a918363500f589ed2&nm=01oggfq2urxy&se=01&se=03&se=04–

Also, could you tell me how long I have? I should have about 2
months
left on the Gucci gift card site since we are given 180 days total. I
waited a while on this one for new offers to spring up before I did it. How
often are new offers added to your pages?”

Thanks,

me”

Dave, “from Svc Acct
reply-to Svc Acct

to xxxx@xx.com
dateWed, Apr 13, 2011 at 5:55 PM
subject[106-152811CB-25E3] Site questions…

hide details Apr 13 (10 days ago)

Hi me,

All gifts moving forward will be under our new rules.
Please read them carefully and if you qualify for another gift, then go ahead.

Dave”

For those still interested in CRS, please see the write up on their gift rules below.

Consumers Reward Solutions– Best known as the “Canadian company”, Consumers Reward Solutions offers mega deals for trying and buying consumer products. Offers must be completed within 180 days of registration. Do your offers all in one sitting, then you must keep all but 2 offers for 30 days. Once your 30 days are up, send customer support your offer confirmations for approval. Each sponsor must provide written verification of your offer completion to CRS. Following CRS’s receipt of such verification, CRS will send an e-mail message to you asking you to confirm your delivery address where your gift will be shipped. Qualification time varies by sponsor, but may be in excess of 30 days. You may even be asked to sign a release form to obtain your gift. Sign and scan your form, then send it to customer support for approval. You have 90 days from date of qualification to satisfy the fulfillment instructions. Please allow 6 to 8 weeks for shipment.

On the subject of CRS, I need to address a very important matter. In August of 2010, I presented this blog: Surf’s up… In that blog, I’d written this paragraph, “There’s more. Bear with me. There is an omitted ‘S’ in “consumers” when pulling up their company, but this screen shot will confirm that whether or not an ‘S’ is in “consumers”, it is the same company. They go by both so there are no mistakes. This knowledge also proves that the above complaint is really about them.” — That was false. I received a message from Shane Crawford at ZOOZ Solutions Ltd., stating that ConsumersRewardSolutions is NOT also ConsumerRewardSolutions, as ConsumerRewardSolutions is a customer loyalty program and not an internet marketing company with a full-fledged gift program that ConsumersRewardSolutions maintains.

Shane Crawford’s comment:

“Hello,

I am with ConsumerRewardSolutions.com (without an S on Consumer), and we are not happy that you are posting false information about our company.

Above quote:
“There’s more. Bear with me. There is an omitted ‘S’ in “consumers” when pulling up their company, but this screen shot will confirm that whether or not an ‘S’ is in “consumers”, it is the same company. They go by both so there are no mistakes. This knowledge also proves that the above complaint is really about them. ”

This is false, we are in no way affiliated with the ‘problem’ company. It would seem that we have chosen a poor domain name, after reading the problems people have been having with this other company. (ConsumersRewardSolutions.com)

If you have any questions for me, you can contact me through our website http://www.consumerrewardsolutions.com

Shane”

My reply, “Shane,

I apologize for the mix up regarding your company. It was not done intentionally, your company was mistaken for ConsumersRewardSolutions. I take full responsibility for this mishap, however. I removed the part with your company name as well as the image that accompanied it. In my upcoming entry, I will tell members that your company, ConsumerRewardSolutions, is NOT ConsumersRewardSolutions. The name can very easily be confused with the Canadian company, ConsumersRewardSolutions, so everyone should know who is really who. I’m sorry this upset your company, that is not the purpose of this blog.

To everyone reading, myself and Shane communicated via e-mail and all is well. I feel really bad about this, and will work on clearing up this matter in May’s blog.

wozniack”

ConsumerRewardSolutions and ConsumersRewardSolutions can easily be mistaken for one or the other; however, these are separate companies. It is hard to tell with the letter ‘S’ being the only difference but there is one. What makes it more difficult is both companies are in Vancouver, BC! And they’re blocks away from each other– what are the odds??

ZOOZ Solutions, Ltd., a global web application provider since 2004, was founded by Shane Crawford, President of ZOOZ Solutions, Ltd. In 2006, ZOOZ Solutions built a web application for the pet food retail market apropos rewards management. The web site was remodelled to magnify the company’s diversity in catering to any business, not solely the pet food sector. Retailers have used this trusted program since early 2007, the year ZOOZ Solutions, Ltd. was incorporated. ZOOZ Solutions still develops web sites in Vancouver, BC, though their priority is ConsumerRewardSolutions. ConsumerRewardSolutions has helped small to medium-sized businesses to national chains offer rewards loyalty programs for their customers. Short list of their happy clientele is as follows: The Valley Feed Bag, Inc., Pet Solutions Supermarket, Anipet.com, Rocklin Family Pet Shop, Mr. Pets, The Pet Store. ConsumerRewardSolutions is constantly evolving and adding features to streamline their products, making them a convenient, cost-efficient tool for any business.

In the reports below there is one for ConsumersRewardSolutions in Largo, FL, and one in Vancouver, BC.

BBB reports: http://westflorida.bbb.org/find-business-reviews/name/consumers+reward+solutions/

The first BBB report takes us here:

Consumers Reward Solutions
11350 66th St
Largo, FL 33773

url: http://www.bbb.org/west-florida/business-reviews/incentive-programs/consumers-reward-solutions-in-largo-fl-90079815

I discovered the Florida connection last year but thought nothing of it. But the e-mail shown is definitely CRS since they’ve replied to members under that address!

The second BBB report takes us here:

ConsumersRewardSolutions
765 101 1001 W Broadway
Vancouver, BC V6H 4E4

url: http://www.bbb.org/mbc/business-reviews/prize-promotions/consumersrewardsolutions-in-vancouver-bc-1244384

This report has all the Canadian company info laid out for us. Company and registrant name (CRS, Elise Petri…), gift sites, Broadway address, etc. It’s them. Shane Crawford also denied any tie to the Largo, FL BBB report. Small details in lettering and BBB reports are often overlooked and become a big issue. I liken this to the RewardStream confusion last year: http://www.diyfreebies.com/2010/07/ — Address and domain likeness combined CRS and RewardStream, and I do not want that happening again. My apologies once more to the President of ZOOZ Solutions, Ltd., Shane Crawford. These things happen more often than not.

Received $225.00 in Sears gift cards from MyPoints. I have to wait until the $25.00 gift card arrives before I can post a pic. The two cards shown are each $100.00. MyPoints gave me 12,494 and 9,483 in bonus points for shopping with their “new merchant double points”, so that’s over $150.00 in free gift cards! The bonus points were like a gift as I only made two purchases, and I got back double that amount. It really pays to be part of a points program, and its fun watching your balance grow!

The other image is of my Pyrex potholder. I was surprised at the size and quality of the potholder– it was much larger than I thought it would be! Pyrex sent me a letter as well, but my camera could only capture so much with the potholder in the way, lol. I found the free Pyrex potholder freebie in a bargain blog: www.itsallfreeonline.com/free-pyrex-potholder/ I love browsing bargain blogs because you never know what you’ll find. I scan them daily, and have well over 50 links bookmarked. Last month I redeemed a coupon for a free container of Lofthouse Cookies. If you join Lofthouse’s cookie club you get a coupon for free cookies on your birthday: http://www.lofthousecookies.com/contact/contact.aspx — What I’d like to know is, do you receive a free cookie coupon annually, or is it just a one-time thing? Anybody know?

*links ‘n such*

Consumer Gain–

http://giftpile.net/G/landing?campaignId=3530&subcid=12173530Taa13e1b369e3823#cid=3530#sid=52#vid=1748 – offers unknown, no refs/$1,000.00 check

http://giftpile.net/G/landing?campaignId=3761&subcid=44#cid=3761#sid=147#vid=1920 – offers unknown, no refs/check value of Macbook Pro

http://giftpile.net/G/landing?campaignId=3763&subcid=44#cid=3763#sid=147#vid=1752 – offers unknown, no refs/$1,000.00 check

http://giftpile.net/G/landing?campaignId=3762&subcid=44#cid=3762#sid=147#vid=1758 – offers unknown, no refs/check value of Dell laptop

http://giftpile.net/G/landing?campaignId=3626&subcid=128240&email=&ref=10003#cid=3626#sid=81#vid=1760 – offers unknown, no refs/$1,000.00 check

http://giftpile.net/G/landing?campaignId=3737&subcid=33826#cid=3737#sid=149#vid=1815 – offers unknown, no refs/$1,000.00 check

http://giftpile.net/G/landing?campaignId=3764&subcid=44#cid=3764sid=147vid=1750#sid=147#vid=1750 – offers unknown, no refs/$1,000.00 check

http://giftpile.net/G/landing?campaignId=3531&subcid=12173560T34aee2b2a38ab44#cid=3531#sid=52#vid=1754 – offers unknown, no refs/value of 2 Apple iPhone 4′s

http://popular-gifts.net/G/landing?campaignId=3668&subcid=11357.13564&uid=OmDXIF8gv41pRv3bheoqDlJlPlPjGjf4#cid=3668#sid=143#vid=1690 – offers unknown, no refs/$1,000.00 check

http://giftextraordinaire.net/G/landing?campaignId=3533&subcid=agqeg#cid=3533#sid=105#vid=1769 – offers unknown, no refs/$500.00 check

Ifficient–

http://worldrewardsnow.com/giftpage.aspx?gid=2&pubid=49301&subid=49301_preview&SID2= – 13 offers, no refs/$1,000.00 check or Home Depot gc

I-Deal–

http://gadgetcenter.us.com/?session_id=e6257ea4705111e0be4996455407cece – 10 offers, 1 ref/Dyson DC25 animal vacuum

Nuitech–

http://myexclusiverewards.com/rd_p?p=206244&t=15388&c=&a=16015 – 6 offers, no refs/16gb iPod nano with multi-touch technology

If you need a reliable loyalty program for your customers look no further than ConsumerRewardSolutions: www.consumerrewardsolutions.com If you need a web application ZOOZ Solutions, Ltd. can help: www.zoozsolutions.com — Shane Crawford at ZOOZ Solutions, Ltd. changes how you connect with the online world through innovative ideas and creative designs to promote your business.

Well, that’s all folks. We’ll see how the disqualification situation pans out with CRS. I guess they are still “investigating” matters. Found a bunch of Consumer Gain links for those who haven’t done them yet. The Ifficient link is there for testing purposes, if anyone wants to try. I cannot at this time due to a lack of offer variety on the last page. The sites I registered for worked perfectly, btw; that is a good thing! Will continue to add more links as I go, so you may want to check back in.

Bye for now,

wozniack

The Easter bunny has a lot in store for us this month, so much he is dropping carrots and eggs! Josh Blumenfeld, CEO of WinHundred, LLC., makes his debut as company behind mystery domain; CRS adopts 30-day cancellation limitation; Ifficient answers our questions; Easter link list. Hop on over…

More on americanprizepanel… When you visit www.americanprizepanel.com, the link changes to www.storefeedbackrewards.com. I clicked the Privacy Policy and Program Rules on the page. The policy shows “StoreFeedbackRewards.com”, and the Program Rules show “americanprizepanel.com” at the top. The Program Rules URL and tab content confirm the link connection with the following: bar content: AmericanPrizePanel.com – Program Rules; link bar: http://www.storefeedbackrewards.com/page/programRules?linkSource=landerFooter. I think it’s the same site, just the domain has changed with the Privacy Policy displaying “StoreFeedbackRewards.com.”

americanprizepanel.com Program Rules:

americanprizepanel.com URL and bar content at the top of the Program Rules page:

After finding complimentarygiftcards.com in my extensive research, I visited the site and the link became “www.storefeedbackrewards.com.” There may be more domains linking to the same site. complimentarygiftcards.com led me in the direction of the company behind americanprizepanel.com. And guess what? It isn’t Consumers Reward Solutions. CRS recently adopted a 30-day cancellation limitation, and I noticed that americanprizepanel.com wasn’t updated to reflect that change. We’ll go into the CRS cancellation limitation later but I wanted to point that out.

complimentarygiftcards.com 120-day rule:

The bottom of the page reads, “All program requirements must be completed within 120 days of the date of registration.”

gift page: http://ikeagiftcard.giftcertificatedelivery.com/form/iframe/10885/6841/?&ref=10885

CRS’ 180-day rule:

In the gift rules, under #3 Sponsor Offers, reads, “In order to remain eligible for your gift, you must complete all of the sponsor offers that require you to sample and purchase products of interest within 180 days of signing up for our service.”

Gift Rules url: http://track.freezinger.com/Rules.aspx?p=9f4458b54b8d4ad998fdd29886b4eaf7

complimentarygiftcards.com URL and bar content at the top of the Program Rules page:

Notice the difference? complimentarygiftcards.com clearly states “All program requirements must be completed within 120 days of the date of registration” whereas CRS gives members 180 days, which makes me believe that CRS are not running these sites. And again, the Program Rules URL and tab content confirm a link connection with the following: bar content: AmericanPrizePanel.com – Program Rules; link bar: http://www.complimentarygiftcards.com/page/programRules.

See that small image of the Wal-Mart gift card site? Isn’t that similar to the americanprizepanel.com site we found? Well, they must be connected if complimentarygiftcards.com pointed to “www.storefeedbackrewards.com” which is tied into americanprizepanel.com. The whois information below the image gives the location of the company, so we know it is not Consumers Reward Solutions. Read the write up on CoverClicks, LLC. and CEO Josh Blumenfeld to learn about the company. americanprizepanel.com is under the management of WinHundred, LLC. Please commit that to memory as that is now what we’ll call them.

Fresh out of college in 2001, Joshua Blumenfeld embarked upon CoverClicks, LLC., making it the world leader in the internet marketing and lead generation industry. The company’s revenues propagated largely by 1250% under Mr. Blumenfeld’s leadership. Once a small-scale shop originating in the Bronx, now a corporate giant serving America’s heavyweight industrialists and direct marketing companies such as, BMG, Ford Motors, Publisher’s Clearing House, Advertising.com, Traffix, Inc., Galt Media, Adteractive, and Jackpot.com. Coverclicks welcomed its first sweepstakes site WinHundred.com, which is WinHundred, LLC. Joshua is also CEO of AffiliateNetwork.com Marketing, LLC., the internet’s primitive affiliate network. AffiliateNetwork.com is the market leader in online media distribution for advertisers, publishers and affiliates. Prior to these ventures, Joshua documented the lives of five students from the University of Wisconsin on a reality-based web site known as Starfields.com. He studied Business Management and Entrepreneurship, and earned his BBA in 2001 from the University of Wisconsin. And he rose to the top as a congressional staffer for U.S Senator Chris Dodd.

We know their company, let’s get to know their sites. The requirements, and lack of a contact and status page as discussed in our last blog, is what bothers me the most. Their IKEA site looks more reliable compared to what I am about to show you. I guess it is the overall look and feel as some buttons are missing. But the content should be examined because it doesn’t add up.

Winhundred site examinations…

layout:

content, “†ConsumerSurveyGroup.com is owned by WinHundred LLC., a New York Limited Liability Company. WinHundred LLC. operates this promotion. You must earn at least $500 with ConsumerSurveyGroup.com before you can receive a 40GB iPod Photo. ConsumerSurveyGroup.com will mail the 40GB iPod Photo to you within a reasonable time after you have accumulated at least $500 U.S. currency in your account. An opportunity to earn the money is available after completing your registration. You have not won a prize. This is not a sweepstakes. USPS and others logos Copyright and TM 1999-2004 their respective owners. with all rights reserved worldwide©. USPS and no other trademark or copyright owner has endorsed this promotion, nor are they affiliated or connected with this promotion in anyway. This promotion is sponsored exclusively by ConsumerSurveyGroup.com, a web site owned by WinHundred LLC. WinHundred LLC. is an independent company and is not affiliated with USPS or any other trademark or copyright owner featured on this web page. By signing up, you agree to our terms and to receive commercial advertisement emails from WinHundred, our partners and our affiliates per the privacy policy (revised 5/10/2004 – click here to review) and terms (click here to review).”

gift site: http://join1.winhundred.com/forms2/landing_pages/maxmoolah/zip_registermain_call.php?prize=40GB+iPod+Photo&amount=500&affil=ptph&wid=ptph&source=ptph&sid=NOPOP&ref=12208

“You must earn at least $500 with ConsumerSurveyGroup.com before you can receive a 40GB iPod Photo. ConsumerSurveyGroup.com will mail the 40GB iPod Photo to you within a reasonable time after you have accumulated at least $500 U.S. currency in your account. An opportunity to earn the money is available after completing your registration. You have not won a prize. This is not a sweepstakes.”

Why is there a $500.00 earn limit? They clearly stated it isn’t a sweepstakes, so it isn’t that. Do they mean that if a member satisfies the required amount of offers that they have reached $500.00?

layout:

content, “†You must earn at least $800 with MaxMoolah before you can receive a Laptop Computer. MaxMoolah will mail a cash prize to you within a reasonable time after you have accumulated the minimum dollar amount in your MaxMoolah account and claim your cash gift per the terms and conditions. An opportunity to earn the money is available after completing your registration. You have not won a prize. This is not a sweepstakes. USPS logo Copyright and TM 1999-2004 USPS with all rights reserved worldwide©. USPS has not endorsed this promotion, nor are they affiliated or connected with this promotion in any way. This promotion is sponsored exclusively by MaxMoolah, a property of WinHundred LLC. WinHundred LLC is an independent New York limited liability company and is not affiliated with USPS. By signing up, you agree to our terms and to receive commercial advertisement emails from WinHundred, our partners and our affiliates per the privacy policy (click here to review) and terms (click here to review).”

gift site: http://join1.winhundred.com/forms/registermainlaptop.php?wid=mlap&affil=mlap

“†You must earn at least $800 with MaxMoolah before you can receive a Laptop Computer. MaxMoolah will mail a cash prize to you within a reasonable time after you have accumulated the minimum dollar amount in your MaxMoolah account and claim your cash gift per the terms and conditions.”

Another earn limit. I understand it now, but why is the IKEA site we looked at totally different from these? Normally a company applies a list of the same rules for each and every gift.

layout:

content, “†ConsumerSurveyGroup.com is owned by WinHundred LLC., a New York Limited Liability Company. WinHundred LLC. operates this promotion. You must earn at least $ with ConsumerSurveyGroup.com before you can receive a . ConsumerSurveyGroup.com will mail or PayPal to you to purchase the to you within a reasonable time after you have accumulated at least $ in U.S. currency in your account. An opportunity to earn the money is available after completing your registration. You have not won a prize. This is not a sweepstakes. USPS logo Copyright and TM 1999-2004 USPS with all rights reserved worldwide©. USPS has not endorsed this promotion, nor are they affiliated or connected with this promotion in anyway. This promotion is sponsored exclusively by ConsumerSurveyGroup.com, a property of WinHundred LLC. WinHundred LLC. is an independent company and is not affiliated with USPS. By signing up, you agree to our terms and to receive commercial advertisement emails from WinHundred, our partners and our affiliates per the privacy policy (revised 5/10/2004 – click here to review) and terms (click here to review).”

gift site: http://join1.winhundred.com/forms/zip_registermainlaptop.php

“You must earn at least $ with ConsumerSurveyGroup.com before you can receive a . ConsumerSurveyGroup.com will mail or PayPal to you to purchase the to you within a reasonable time after you have accumulated at least $ in U.S. currency in your account.”

Way more confusion. First of all, there is no gift card amount, lol. Secondly, Paypal is involved?? I don’t even know what they’re asking due to the missing words in both sentences. After accumulating the required amount of funds, are they saying they will send us cash or Paypal for purchasing the offers? Just a guess. I think the corrections haven’t been made yet on this site. We should hold off on Winhundred until we can get in touch with them, and there need to be payment reports.

CRS now displays a cancellation limitation on all their sites. This change went into effect March 16th, however, members who registered before the effective date weren’t bound to the 30-day rule. Below is what a member asked Dave regarding the cancellation limitation.

member, “Dave,
Hi, I noticed that you updated your gift rules today, March 16th, and added a
cancellation limitation. I was just making sure that any sites signed up for
prior to today follow the old gift rules as the new ones say
they are effective on 3/16. Thanks in advance.

anonymous”

Dave, “”member,

You are correct.
I am finding out for you about the other ones.
I will let you know once I know.

Dave”

His words, “I am finding out for you about the other ones” are obscure; shouldn’t ALL the sites be that way if you signed up prior to March 16th? It does sound like he means that members are exempt from the new rule since he said, “You are correct”, however. I will ask this member if Dave ever got back to him.

Now for more questions and answers…

Dave told a member that we CAN do more than one site annually provided the gifts were different. I will copy and paste his responses to him below.

member, “Dave,

I’m interested in doing another offer. I completed my stuff last year and just got paid a few weeks ago. Can I do another offer? I was told I could as long ad it was a different site. Can u confirm that? Also, can u give me some links to tour other sites? Thanks.

anonymous”

Dave, “Hi member,

You can do another site as long as it is different than the one you already got paid paid on.
I have no access to the links from here. Sorry.
Dave”

member, “Dave,

Does that just mean I can’t do consumer reward solutions? But maybe I can do free gift group direct? Thanks for your help.

anonymous”

Dave, “member

Yes, That is correct.

Dave”

member, “Dave,

Do u also handle direct survey solutions (freezinger.com)? It looks like one of your sites?

anonymous”

Dave, “member

Yes, That is one of mine.
Dave”

This same member had a wonderful CRS experience that he allowed me to share with you all…

member, “from member
to wozniack
date Wed, Mar 2, 2011 at 11:47 AM
subject RE:
signed-by xxxx.xx

hide details Mar 2

Woz,

Just want to let you know, I finally cashed in on the offer and received my gift from CRS. They seemed to follow the same protocol as some others had mentioned. Once I was cleared for the gift and signed the waiver, I was told to wait 8-10 weeks. When I got about a week out I was told that he was having trouble getting the gift card but would send me a $1000 check. I’m happy to say that he finally did, I cashed it and it finally cleared. Just thought you would want to know. Thanks for all the help.

anonymous”

me, “from wozniack
to member
date Fri, Mar 4, 2011 at 12:25 AM
subject Re:
mailed-by xxxx.xx

hide details Mar 4

Hi,

That’s great news!! I love hearing that. I received my check for 3 grand on February 28th. I was lucky to be able to do a bigger site before they tore it down. Would you mind if I shared your good news in next month’s blog? I promise to change your name to “anonymous” for your protection and privacy. I’m so glad there is a happy ending.

Thanks for telling me, and enjoy your profit!

wozniack”

member, “from member
to wozniack
date Fri, Mar 4, 2011 at 9:07 AM
subject RE:
signed-by xxxx.xx

hide details Mar 4

Woz,

Absolutely! Especially if it will help some others. Three grand? That’s crazy. I’m going to get one of those sites you sent me about getting an ipad next. Hope there’s no problems there. You have any other tips on some good sites? Some pretty good rewards and reputable sites? Thanks.

anonymous”

There was some concern about CRS lowballing members, and if you haven’t heard already, it is not true. Below is the e-mail a member sent me which set off the alarm.

Member, “From: Svc Acct
Subject: [100-14B6483D-EDF4]
To: xxxx@xx.com
Date: Thursday, March 3, 2011, 1:37 AM

member,

our supplier is telling us that your gift is on back order. (Not sure how long?)
I can replace your gift with a check in the amount of $1500.00 USD and you can use for anything you like.
The check will be a bank draft and will send it registered mail the third week of March.
Let me know.

Dave”

It appears everything is alright, and the member will be receiving her gift for the full amount of $3,000.00. I told her to tell Dave that $1,500.00 wouldn’t cover the cost of two Macbooks, and that she was mislead since they weren’t giving her the advertised gift amount.

Her reply to me explaining what happened, and she copied and pasted Dave’s reply:

“Hi, I’ve included the info from my latest email from dave. I filled out a new release form and hope to have a reply today. I thought it was strange he asked why I didn’t tell him it was the 2 macbook offers in jan. I assume he knows that. Hopefully i’ll get the full 3000 as he stated ! Thanks so much, member
from dave
Why wouldn’t you let me know that way back on Jan 05/11?
Here is the correct form. Can you fill out and resend back to me?
I will double the amount for you. $3000.00 USD”

My check cleared, btw. No problems at all. Make sure you guys are at home because your check is signature required. I might do one of the sites I tested since I locked them in before March 16th. I have 180 days for each gift but I need to do them asap so there are no issues in case they remove them. Thanks to the anonymous members for your willingness to help others with your correspondence with Dave.

Caivis has new domains: www.prize1online.net – www.prize1online.com

The .net is a gift site that is identical to prizevenue:

The .com is a survey site:

prizevenue:

Notice anything unusual? prizeavenue and prizeone both have promo boxes. Do promo codes really exist for gift sites? Hm. Not a major discovery, I just felt like mentioning prizeone in case no one had seen it.

A member had questions about Ifficient, so I asked them for him/her. Below are the questions and answers!

member, “So I saw that ifficient limits gifts to one per household per year – but is this per site or just w/anything related to ifficient period? Does ifficient have different dba’s similar to nuitech that could each be completed independently? The terms don’t seem to specify; but they definitely specify different sites/titles governing the various offers – for example WorldRewardsNow.com or GiftCertificateDelivery.com. Do these all fall under that 1 yr umbrella since each is governed in common by ifficient?”

Ifficient customer support, “On Thu, Mar 3, 2011 at 6:15 PM, Fulfillment wrote:

Hi me,

The limit is one gift per household for both GOR and WorldRewardsNow.com. We do not operate giftcertificatedelivery.com.

Thank you!”

Their second respond to me (I sent two messages)…

“Hi me,

There is a limit of one gift per year per household. The availability of the cards will dictate if a card or cash card will be shipped. Either way the value will be consistent with the advertised amount.

Thanks,
GlobalOneRewards.com”

Please let me know if there are anymore questions about Ifficient. I will pass them along.

More free money in the mail! I worked out a crediting problem with support regarding a purchase in September, and MyPoints rewarded me 33,000 points. I cashed out on two Wal-Mart gift cards for $35.00, and $50.00 to Target. Next month I am going for $200.00 to Sears, and should have enough for $50.00 in amazon. Point incentive programs are worth it if you shop online. My bank also has a “double rewards” program, so each purchase is 2 points per dollar. Your points expire in 3 years, but the numbers can soar within that time period. I’m close to earning free gift cards on Memolink, too. I’ve been a Memolink member since 2002, and they’re my favorite points program. If anyone wants my MyPoints or Memolink referral link, just ask and I will send it right over. The rewards are great!

Check out these sweet deals…

*Easter link list*

Nuitech–

http://myrewardsvault.com/LP/catalog-13440/e6cc48e3a8.php?aid=1711-NB&a=71111&ce_cid=0006jJ4u8A5t1jGguT0iloUILE000000&dp=71111 – 6 offers, no refs/$250.00 Domino’s Pizza gc

http://myrewardsvault.com/LP/prom-194502/63dfdeb1ff.php?a=1711-NB&clickid=000oCj4u8A5t1jGguT0iloUIM3000000&ce_cid=000oCj4u8A5t1jGguT0iloUIM3000000&dp=71111 – 6 offers, no refs/$250.00 Pizza Hut gc

http://myrewardsvault.com/LP/prom-186628/5bca8566db.php?a=1711-NB&clickid=0001zL4u8A5t1jGguT0iloUIND000000&ce_cid=0001zL4u8A5t1jGguT0iloUIND000000&dp=71111&amp%3Bc=156762 – 6 offers, $250.00 baby store merchant of your choice

http://www.consumerincentiverewards.com/rd_p?p=309304&t=16837&c=50795-ciripad2_728_hibrand&a=25662 – 9 offers, no refs/iPad 2

http://www.consumerincentiverewards.com/rd_p?p=302416&c=49325-cirjerseynbastore250gc_728_hibrand&a=PF16280 – 8 offers, no refs/$250.00 NBA Store gc + basketball jersey of your choice

http://yourgiftzone.com/LP/catalog-16454/02e656adee.php?aid=1651-MB&a=57252&ce_cid=000q4j4tXgr91jGguT0iloUJbm000000&dp=57252 – 18 offers, no refs/Macbook Air + $40.00 Skin It gc

http://www.consumerincentiverewards.com/rd_p?p=304042&t=15857&c=&a=57252 – 8 offers, no refs/Samsung Galaxy Tab

http://www.premiumholidayoffers.com/rd_p?p=302718&t=13363&c=&a=57252 – 10 offers, no refs/$1,000.00 Best Buy gc

http://personalcashbailout.com/rd_p?p=186635&t=10208&c=&a=1651-MB&clickid=0000Qd4tVMlp1jGguT0iloULnI000000&ce_cid=0000Qd4tVMlp1jGguT0iloULnI000000 – 10 offers, no refs/$1,000.00 check

http://www.consumerincentiverewards.com/rd_p?p=206149&t=15382&c=48377-cir2ipodtouch_728_hibrand&a=43452 – 9 offers, no refs/2 iPod touches

http://yourgiftzone.com/LP/catalog-7960/f6a673f094.php?aid=1651-MB&a=43452&ce_cid=0000CB4uZtdx1jGguT0RyusRhr000000&dp=43452 – 6 offers, no refs/$250.00 gas card of your choice

http://www.onlinerewardcenter.com/rd_p?p=302911&c=49349-orcgamestop500console_728_hibrand&a=PF18942 – 9 offers, no refs/$500.00 Gamestop gc + gaming console of your choice

http://www.consumerincentiverewards.com/rd_p?p=306884&t=16352&c=50140-cirnintendo3ds_728_hibrand&a=61318 – 6 offers, no refs/Nintendo 3DS

http://www.coolpremiums.com/rd_p/?p=306631&t=16338&c=txt_030&a=1674 – 10 offers, no refs/Motorola Xoom

http://www.consumerincentiverewards.com/rd_p?p=197085&t=13727&c=45533-cirnintendodsixl_728_hibrand&a=37364 – 6 offers, no refs/Nintendo DSi XL

We’ve given americanprizepanel.com a name– WinHundred. I wanted that out there before they were mixed up with CRS, Nuitech, I-Deal or some other company. My next step is finding one of the CRS sites I locked in before March 16th. If I can do one more with no strings attached that would be super. I’m backtracking to find out which sites I registered for as I cannot remember. The link list will be up within the next few days. I advise everyone to NOT do any of the Acquisis sites in my old entries as they aren’t trustworthy. A few people have which is why I am restating this. I-Deal, Nuitech, Consumer Gain, and even CRS are safe right now, so do them instead. I’m working round-the-clock to catch up on my messages, so please be patient as I have e-mails, forum PMs, two blogs, and site comments to answer. Have a happy and blessed Easter. See you next month.

Take care,

wozniack

What an exciting month. 2011 Ad-tech convention, rock legends and The Marketers Ball; Best Buy vs. CRS , Elise Petri name change? + CRS proof pic! Consumer Gain FAQ clarification; Ifficient, and more!

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

Hello everyone. I have a lot of news to share. americanprizepanel.com– who are they? Help us find out; Nuitech’s new manager cracking down on verification process and discussion; link list. It’s a double blog this month, so get ready to have some fun!

We have americanprizepanel.com. Are they legit, or are they not? I see similarities between americanprizepanel.com and Consumer Gain, CRS and Nuitech. Did they steal from each company to form their own gift program? No contact information nor a check status page is found, and their sites are unaccomplishable with only one visible offer page. They are a privately registered company which complicates uncovering the truth about them. I have to agree with what a member sent me below regarding americanprizepanel.com

“americanprizepanel – stay away. i signed up to look at it and after 100 survey pages they finally get to the offer page and it looks just like the canadian site but there is no link to get to the rest of the offer pages. the website looks like it stole a little from ideal, consumergain and the canadian websites. no contact info, private info for who.is, program rules look stolen from another website, wozniack i think we here are looking at a classic scam/fraud site. that is my opinion. if this company wants to look legit, um they have a lot of work to do, lol.

see ya
anonymous”

This member is right on target as you have no access to the other offer pages. How and who do you contact for account questions and prize redemption? I registered with americanprizepanel.com, and I will take you on a detour page by page…

americanprizepanel.com gift page:

No “contact us” link at all. This raises a red flag.

americanprizepanel.com registration page:

Look familiar? The registration page is identical to CRS, the Canadian company.

americanprizepanel.com survey pages:

The big “Step 2″ button and surveys on all the pages are like CRS, even the progress meter. Anyone remember there being a “Special Offers for ::members name::” on a CRS or Consumer Gain site? I remember seeing it but I’ve only done CRS once, and it has been 3 months since.

americanprizepanel.com offer pages:

Consumer Gain offer pages:

The offer pages are what resemble Consumer Gain. Where are the buttons for the remaining offer pages? This site can’t be completed without them. If this site had offer page buttons, would those buttons mimic Consumer Gain as well? Also, the “Last Steps” image is the same as Consumer Gain.

Wording at the bottom of a CRS registration page:

Wording at the bottom of americanprizepanel.com’s registration page. Perfect match?

For further examination, please see our “Cupid’s arrow…” entry, as it contains screen captures of CRS sites, which can be compared to americanprizepanel.com. Of course americanprizepanel.com is a “perfect match” for CRS and Consumer Gain, but Nuitech as well. Let’s review americanprizepanel.com’s terms…

Taken from americanprizepanel.com’s Program Rules:

“To obtain the gift for this promotion you must: 1) register with valid information including e-mail address, shipping address, and phone number; 2) complete the survey; 3) complete at least 2 Silver, 2 Gold and 4 Platinum Sponsor Offers (offer availability will vary); 4) be a US resident 18 or older; 5) not cancel your participation in more than a total of 2 Sponsor Offers within 6 days of the Sponsor Offer Initial Transaction Date (the Cancellation Limitation). You can receive the gift at no cost by completing free trial Sponsor Offers and/or by following the Refer-A-Friend program requirements; otherwise some Sponsor Offers may require a purchase to qualify. Upon completion of all Program Requirements, your gift will be shipped to the shipping address you provided. Limit one gift per household per year. Void where prohibited.”

americanprizepanel.com’s front page:

“SUMMARY OF PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS. To receive the reward you must: 1) be a U.S. resident at least 18 years of age or older; 2) Register with valid information; 3) Complete the user surveys; 4) Complete the following reward offers: 2 Silver, 2 Gold, and 2 Platinum offers (Available reward offers will vary. Some reward offers require a purchase. Credit card offers may require you to activate the card by making a purchase, transferring a balance or taking a cash advance. 5) Follow the redemption instructions. All program requirements must be completed within 120 days of the date of registration. Allow 6-8 weeks for delivery. Limit of one (1) gift per household. No cash redemption value. Please read the Program Rules for complete program details. Your information will be shared with our marketing partners. Please read the Privacy Policy for more details.”

gift site: http://www.americanprizepanel.com/aseg-144?trkSessID=94050823

Now I’ll copy and paste from Nuitech’s terms for comparison:

“For this promotion, Survey – Do you play Angry Birds? – iPod Touch or iTunes Gift Cards, you must complete a total of 8 offers as follows: Page 1 (Silver) – complete any 2 offers; Page 2 (Gold) – complete any 2 offers; Page 3 (Platinum) – complete any 4 offers to get your gift.

To “complete” each Sponsor Offer, you must complete the exact number of Sponsor Offer Requirements as indicated on the Site, the Sponsor must report to us that you have successfully completed their offer (Sponsor notification typically takes 4 weeks), and you must not exceed the Cancellation Limitation set forth below.

You must complete the required number of Sponsor Offers within 60 days following the Program Sign-up Date, and all the steps in the Program Requirements (including the mailing-in of your Gift Redemption Voucher) must be completed within 180 days of your Program Sign-up Date. To remain eligible and qualify for program offers, you must use the same personal contact information that you provided during registration when making purchases.”

“CANCELLATION LIMITATION: You will not be eligible to receive a Gift in this Promotion if, within 30 days of your Sponsor Offer Initial Transaction Date, you cancel your participation in more than two Sponsor Offers you have completed as a part of the Program Requirements. If you were invited by a Refer-a-Friend Offer, you can’t cancel your participation in any Sponsor Offers within 30 days of your Sponsor Offer Initial Transaction Date (the “Cancellation Limitation”).

Refer-a-Friend Offers – If presented with Refer-a-Friend offers, you may choose to invite friend(s) who must complete the required number of Sponsor Offers as stated in the Refer-a-Friend email sent to your friend(s) which in turn will generate a Sponsor Offer completion towards your Gift. Refer-a-Friend Offers may require multiple friends to complete the required number of Sponsor Offers in order to generate a Sponsor Offer completion as stated on the Silver, Gold, and Platinum Refer-a-Friend Offer pages.”

gift site: http://www.consumerincentiverewards.com/rd_p?p=306558&c=50068-cirangrybirdssurvey_728_hibrand&a=%SUBID%

I only selected the important sections of Nuitech’s terms for our review. As you can see, americanprizepanel.com has a cancellation limitation and Refer-a-Friend program like Nuitech. Their requirements for the Refer-a-Friend program aren’t listed, so I cannot fully scrutinize it. But let’s look at the rest. Nuitech gives members 60 days for offer completion, and 180 days to satisfy all other requirements. With americanprizepanel.com, the program requirements must be completed within 120 days of registration. The print doesn’t state a 30/60-day offer completion time limit, it just says 120 days for “all program requirements”, hm. Although the terms of both companies are different, they are a lot alike. americanprizepanel.com may not be affiliated with the aforementioned companies; these companies may serve as only the motivator for the erected gift program. Kind of how Nuitech were influential in Channel Clarity’s company terms. What happened to them anyway?

I have the old screen shots of Channel Clarity’s policy and front page. Channel Clarity is still a working company. Their gift sites are down, but their policy page remains in tact: http://www.rewardscenter.net/privacy.php Check out the comparison shots between them and Nuitech in this entry, “Anniversary gala…” My post also delivered two payment reports. Channel Clarity is more like Nuitech despite americanprizepanel.com having a Refer-a-Friend program. Channel Clarity has a cancellation limitation, and members are given 60 days to complete offers and 180 days to satisfy all program requirements. Of course, Nuitech also has 30-day rule sites, so I guess that is one of the few differences. Channel Clarity’s terms: http://www.rewardscenter.net/terms.php

The point in dredging up Channel Clarity is to show that a company can copy another without being connected. Channel Clarity and Nuitech aren’t one, but share many of the same qualities. americanprizepanel.com show lesser qualities by having a 120-day rule instead of making it 180 days. But does having a Refer-a-Friend program make up for the 180-day rule americanprizepanel.com doesn’t have? Does this mean americanprizepanel.com has just in much in common with Nuitech? Well, one thing is for certain, Channel Clarity and Nuitech both offer ways to contact them while americanprizepanel.com does not. The lack of a status page, and offer buttons make it impossible to finish their gift sites, too. Its fair to say Channel Clarity has more of a likeness to Nuitech than americanprizepanel.com.

Speaking of Nuitech, our anonymous member from January wrote in again. There had been complications with their Nuitech gift. In case your mind is unclear, you may want to read this first: “Ringing in the New Year…” This member shared some information with me that may be helpful to all of you, so I will pass it on.

member, “from member
to diyfreebies@gmail.com
date Fri, Feb 11, 2011 at 6:38 PM
subject Nuitech verdict finally in….
mailed-by xxxx.com

hide details Feb 11 (12 days ago)

Hello and Woooo HOOOO,

Well I am happy to finally be able to tell you I just got the “approval” from Nutiech today! They really did run me thru the ringer! After in sent in my verification paperwork they sent another email stating I had to supply them with additional stuff. I was calling back sponsor offers and requesting they email this and that with dates etc. It was a bit much. When I called them to discuss all this “extra” information the woman said to me, “you have done gifts with us in the past right ?” To which I replied, “yes, but I have never had such an issue providing paperwork!” She then stated that she had a new manager who was really cracking down if you will on the verifications due to people signing up and then just canceling everything. Seriously, do they think everyone is going to keep everything they try?!

Have a great weekend!

member”

My response, “from wozniack
to member
date Tue, Feb 15, 2011 at 7:12 PM
subject Re: Nuitech verdict finally in….
mailed-by gmail.com

hide details Feb 15 (8 days ago)

Hi,

Congratulations on the approval!! That is terrific. I wanted to do them, even with the old rules now in place, but it seems like too much of a hassle. Acquisis was bad enough even though they paid me last year. So the additional requirements were to collect more information from the sponsors? Offer confirmations wouldn’t suffice? Would you mind sharing with me the e-mail Nuitech sent you regarding this extra information. I’d like to see it. I understand their need to “crack down” on members breaking the cancellation limitation, but they should have a better way of doing it. Would you mind if I shared these details with members in my upcoming entry? I’m sure they’d like to know what they’re getting themselves into. Some sponsors don’t get back to you, or can’t be reached. I know this first-hand as I tried contacting one on a referral site a long time ago. So if that happened to a member, they might have to do a replacement on an offer they couldn’t obtain “extra information” from.

Thanks,

wozniack”

member, “from member
to diyfreebies@gmail.com
date Mon, Feb 21, 2011 at 10:41 PM
subject RE: Nuitech verdict finally in….
mailed-by xxxx.com

hide details Feb 21 (2 days ago)

Hello,

Sorry for the delay in getting this to you….

Dear XXXX,

We will need to see the initial charge from Childrens Book of the Month
Club. We will also need 2 of the following:

*First charge from Equifax
*Second charge from Credit Report.com
*Proof of cancellation or current membership from Disney
*Second charge from Rapid Reading

If you have any questions please call the Verification Department at
(954)653-9350 or fax the missing information to 954-653-9031 Attention
Verification Department. Our Customer Service hours are Monday-Friday
8:30 – 5:00 pm EST.

Please do not reply to this email as the account this is sent from is
not monitored for incoming mail and you will not receive a reply.
Please use the contact form provided at our website.

Thank you,

Support

When I called them to discuss these I stated that Equifax never had a “first” charge because the first 30 days are free. In other words..can’t cancel on day 30. For Credit Report the first 7 days were free then I was charged for the next 30. Well since my original auto-cancel email never arrived in my inbox, when I called to request it again it was a Jan date verses a Dec date. Again….these are automated and then ABSOLUTELY will not manually email or fax or snail mail anything showing your actual cancellation date. They will only confirm verbally. So Nuitech was wanting a charge for the Jan date…. Disney can only mail you a letter so that took 2 weeks after my third phone call to them requesting it. And lastly, for Rapid Reading I had to call them and they did send me an email stating that I was offered and 10 day trial extension and then called back to cancel….otherwise even though I was withing the Rapid Reading cancellation limitation..I would not have been for Nuitech. This one was a stretch in my opinion, but I was able to get them to provide me with the proper documentation. Whewww!

Made it by the skin of my teeth! I have yet to check out that link you referred to …hopefully tomorrow

member”

My response, “from wozniack
to member
date Thu, Feb 24, 2011 at 7:44 PM
subject Re: Nuitech verdict finally in….
mailed-by gmail.com

hide details 7:44 PM (6 hours ago)

Hi,

Thanks for sharing their response with me. What a pain this must have been! Nuitech now makes members run marathons, and the race to the finish line is very stressful. I wouldn’t want to go through all that unless the payout ratio was really good. I’m so happy you qualified for your gift!

Would it be alright if I shared our recent correspondence with members so they’ll have an idea of what Nuitech are like now? I’ve had a lot of people asking about them since they haven’t done them in a while, and there are the newcomers who I wouldn’t want trapped in this complicated web unless they fully understood what was in store. I will refer to you as the anonymous member from 2 months ago; most people will read the old entry to see how your problem started. And this new info can be a follow up to that, as well as serve as an eyeopener for members who are thinking about doing Nuitech. I’m not keeping others away from Nuitech, I just want them to be aware of what is going on. I wouldn’t want them to have the trouble you had, and not know how to go about it!

Thanks,

wozniack”

member, “from member
to diyfreebies@gmail.com
date Thu, Feb 24, 2011 at 8:20 PM
subject RE: Nuitech verdict finally in….
mailed-by xxxx.com

hide details 8:20 PM (5 hours ago)

Hi Woz,

That all looks good to me! I will do them again at some point but it is good to let people know they need to keep or be sure to get EVERY piece of documentation including screen shots and terms and conditions. I want others to have a good experience as well.

member”

Nuitech aren’t wrong for tightening the verification process, they should. But it has become increasingly difficult for members to get their gifts. My concern is if a member can’t get the additional information from the sponsor, and they are DQ’ed as a result. That wouldn’t be fair, and Nuitech should remove those type of offers. This reminds me when Acquisis denied a member credit for stamps.com, but the member wasn’t able to supply a charge for that offer since the first month was free. Members are at the mercy of the company when this happens. There should be an “offer screening” before they allow the offers on the pages. We need a to know which sponsors provide this additional information, and which ones do not before we complete any offers. For Nuitech–or any other DIY network–to find that out, they would have to ask the sponsor questions and/or hire a tester to report back. The problem is most DIY companies won’t waste their time, they’d rather the member deal with the offers they sign up for.

We can apply this member’s experience to our own by saving every ounce of information. Wouldn’t want anyone caught in something they couldn’t get themselves out of. Nuitech are a legitimate company that requires an extra push to succeed. Thanks, anonymous, for enlightening us once more. So great hearing the good news about your gift.

*links ‘n such*

I-Deal–

http://www3.gizmodepot.us.com/?config=7349 – 8 offers, no refs/PS3 Move + Sports Champions bundle

http://www3.gizmodepot.us.com/?config=7385 – 8 offers, no refs/Nintendo 3DS

Nuitech–

http://myrewardsvault.com/LP/prom-189961/c6862d63b1.php?a=1711-NB&clickid=0001Rr4tVAH11M.nnS76wE16io000000&ce_cid=0001Rr4tVAH11M.nnS76wE16io000000&dp=150752#back – 8 offers, no refs/$500.00 Sunglass Hut gc

http://myrewardsvault.com/LP/prom-190420/0e999d31b2.php?a=1651-MB&clickid=0001TD4tVPAj1M.nnS76wE16RP000000&ce_cid=0001TD4tVPAj1M.nnS76wE16RP000000&dp=25835 – 8 offers, no refs/$500.00 Petco gc

http://www.ultimatefashiongifts.com/rd_p?p=302562&t=15899&c=txt_030&a=25662 – 6 offers, no refs/UGG boots (assorted colors)

http://myrewardsvault.com/LP/IKEA_250/?a=1651-MB&clickid=0000Bj4tVPAj1M.nnS76wE181z000000&ce_cid=0000Bj4tVPAj1M.nnS76wE181z000000&dp=25835 – 6 offers, no refs/$250.00 IKEA gc

http://myrewardsvault.com/LP/prom-188197/6c7de1f27f.php?a=1651-MB&clickid=0000Ad4tVgZN1M.nnS76wE189S000000&ce_cid=0000Ad4tVgZN1M.nnS76wE189S000000&dp=35710 – 8 offers, no refs/$500.00 Carnival Cruise Lines gc

We’ll have a double blog this month. This is only the first half of March’s content. So much info to get out there– americanprizepanel.com, Nuitech, Consumer Gain, CRS, Ifficient! Please see the “More fun…” entry for the second half. Until then, I will produce the link list and answer your questions on DIY.

See you soon…

wozniack

Cupid is pointing his arrow this month, and has already struck several networks; U.S. locations are a love match for CRS; Ifficient site malfunctions and gift program details; Consumer Gain’s major rule change; Valentine’s link list, and more!

We’ve compared the similarities between the New York City, NY and Campbell, CA sites to Consumers Reward Solutions, so what now? Well, a member inquired about brandprizecenter.com, so like any other site I investigated it. The policy had the same New York City, NY address. So I registered on the site in order to be found in CRS’ system. If Dave could find where I signed up for brandprizecenter.com, then the NYC and CA addresses are CRS. In addition to the NYC address proof that is about to unfold, the Campbell, CA address registration, survey and offer pages are much too similar to not be CRS.

whois info:

gift site policy:

gift page: http://select.brandprizecenter.com/SplashPage.aspx?g=cf2bf18aa12e48e998ab846a2b656467&nm=01lggfv6kqx1&se=03

The correspondence between Dave and myself gives us confirmation on the NYC, NY address…

Me, “From: me
Sent: Thu, 13 Jan 2011 23:56:19 -0500
To: Svc Acct
Subject: Re: [11E-148AFF62-207F] Having a problem

Hello,

I had a question if you don’t mind. Could you tell me if I’m showing that I
signed up for this site? brandprizecenter.com I wanted to make sure I was
in the system before completing any offers. Pretty sure I signed up using
this email : xxxx@xx.com

Thanks,

me”

Dave, “On Mon, Jan 17, 2011 at 7:11 PM, Svc Acct
wrote:

Hi me,

It shows a bunch of different gifts and no offers completed.
Will this be your second gift request?
Our rules state only one winner per house hold per year.

Dave”

Me, “From: me
Sent: Mon, 17 Jan 2011 23:17:36 -0500
To: Svc Acct
Subject: Re: [11E-148AFF62-207F] Having a problem

Hello,

I thought that since I did the laptop site last month (Dec), that I would
qualify to do another site? wouldn’t the laptop site be considered done in
2010 since I finished it before 2011?

Thanks,

me”

Dave, “from Svc Acct
reply-to Svc Acct
to xxxx@gmail.com
date Tue, Jan 18, 2011 at 11:48 AM
subject [11E-148AFF62-207F] Having a problem

hide details Jan 18 (9 days ago)

You can only qualify if it is a different site and different gift.

Dave”

Him saying, “It shows a bunch of different gifts and no offers completed” tells me it is a CRS site. I took a screen shot of the site, and the drop-down menu displays several gift card choices. That must be what he meant by “a bunch of different gifts.” He was right about “no offers completed”, too, since I never did any. Also, he never said “You aren’t showing up at all” like before after I tested him on a site unrelated to CRS. Our other e-mails are present in case no one knows the “One winner per household per year” rule.

Now let’s compare the registration, survey and offers pages between CRS and the Campbell, CA address…

Campbell, CA registration page:

CRS registration page:

Campbell, CA survey page:

CRS survey page:

Campbell, CA offer page:

CRS offer page:

Even the offers are the same! That makes me believe even more in a connection. Same registration, survey and offer pages + same offers = same company, right? The offers are lined up in the exact same order, too.

The official company and address list will be updated with the two U.S. locations, and the one in Vaughan, ON.

CRS addresses:

6-6150 Highway 7 STE# 220
Vaughan, ON L4H-OR6

Rockefeller Center
1230 Avenue of the Americas 7th Floor
New York City, NY 10020

1999 S. Bascom Avenue
Suite 700
Campbell, CA 95008

Let’s talk about giftcertificatedelivery.com real quick. People have mistaken giftcertificatedelivery.com for a DIY company. I thought this myself until reading the tiny print, “To directly access the advertised promotion above, please click here.” It’s positioned after the reward advertisement, and first sentence on the site. Once I hit “click here”, I was taken to a Nuitech site. giftcertificatedelivery.com touted a $250.00 Wendy’s gift card while Nuitech offered one to Burger King, lol. The urls have wording that suggests they categorize their advertisements; this one starts with “fastfood.giftcertificatedelivery.com”

giftcertificatedelivery.com advertisement:

url: http://fastfood.giftcertificatedelivery.com/form/iframe/33723/6544/?&sid=1&ref=33723

Nuitech site:

gift page: http://fastfood.giftcertificatedelivery.com/form/iframe/32424/6544/?&sid=PF21610&ref=32424

While investigating the domain more of these sites surfaced, and took me to another I-Deal gift, Ifficient, and Nuitech sites. Their disclaimer at the very bottom states, “GiftCertificateDelivery.com is an advertising service made available to merchants and vendors (“Third Party Providers”) that want to provide end users with an opportunity to apply for their products and/or services as featured on this website (“Featured Products”).” They simply advertise for companies like I-Deal, Ifficient and Nuitech, they don’t manage a gift program.

Ifficient are changing the direction of their Fulfillment Department, and are repairing site errors. I can’t get a message to their support via their contact pages across multiple sites, and a message sent to one of their e-mails bounced. I’m thinking it is more technical at this point than support just refusing to respond. I will post my recent correspondence with Sean McCormick from Ifficient to help answer some questions about the company’s gift program.

Me, “from wozniack
to xxxx@xx.com
date Fri, Jan 28, 2011 at 12:07 AM
subject Hi…
mailed-by xxxx.com

hide details Jan 28 (1 day ago)

Hi there,

I tried customer support first, but they haven’t been answering so I thought I’d ask you. Had two questions about your gift program, as myself and a few others were interested in doing the sites available. Do you ship checks, or the advertised gift cards? This is a big question as members like knowing up front what they’re actually getting. Consumer Gain advertises gift cards but has been shipping checks. Do the gift values exceed $1,000.00, or are they in the $500.00-$1,000.00 range? That’s all I wanted to know.

I sent a message to remove@globalonerewards.com, and the e-mail bounced back. Wasn’t sure if this was a result of the site being under construction, or if it is some sort of error.

“remove@globalonerewards.com
The recipient’s e-mail address was not found in the recipient’s e-mail system. Microsoft Exchange will not try to redeliver this message for you. Please check the e-mail address and try resending this message, or provide the following diagnostic text to your system administrator.”

I also sent a message through the worldrewardsnow.com contact page, but haven’t heard back yet. I wanted to bring this to your attention in case this is more of a site issue. Is it possible the messages are getting lost in transit due to a system malfunction? Hm, just me thinking here… I’m sorry to bother you with this. Answer at your convenience.

Thank you for your time,

wozniack”

Sean McCormick, “from Sean McCormick
to wozniack
date Fri, Jan 28, 2011 at 10:49 AM
subject Re: Hi…
mailed-by xxxx.com
signed-by xxxx.com

hide details 10:49 AM (13 hours ago)

Hi -

Let me find out where that customer support number is routing to.

We actually give the preference to receive either the check or gift card.

They are all $1,000.00 right now.”

Sean McCormick is working diligently to fix things around Ifficient, so let’s give him some time. I like the option of choosing between a check or gift card, that is cool. I will include Ifficient links in our Valentine link list. Please read my write up on them below before getting started.

Ifficient– All offers must be completed within 180 days of registration. It is recommended that you retain information that proves you completed the sponsor offers, as this may be helpful if a sponsor(s) fails to notify Ifficient that the required number of offer(s) is satisfied. Following Ifficient’s receipt of such verification from the last of the requisite number of sponsors, Ifficient will prompt you to confirm your delivery address where your gift will be shipped. The qualification time varies by sponsor, but may be in excess of 30 days. Once you qualify for your gift, you must fulfill the instructions within 90 days from the date of qualification. Submission after 90 days does not meet the conditions for eligibility, and Ifficient will not be obligated to award the member. Fulfillment based on a completion of redemption instructions after 90 days is at the sole discretion of Ifficient. Only one gift is permitted per person per twelve month period. There is a limit of one gift per household. Please allow 6 to 8 weeks for shipment.

Consumer Gain updates… They are responsive, which is good. Their gift pages do often malfunction, but they are a legitimate company with the best customer support I have ever experienced. I asked them about their “two gifts per lifetime” rule, and it is now only one gift per lifetime. I will post their response to me below.

“Hello,

We have changed the amount of gifts a member can receive in their lifetime to one gift because we now send out primarily $1,000 gifts as opposed to $500 gifts.

Most members complete offers towards the $1,000 gift nowadays, so we’ve limited their receipt to one.

Regards,

Member Services”

Everybody please make note of that. Also remember that passwords are case sensitive. If anyone is having login or site errors, please contact me at: diyfreebies@gmail.com, and I can assist you further.

I got two surprises in the mail! My $25.00 Wal-Mart gift card from Essential Savings, and my $25.00 Target gift card from epoll arrived. Essential Savings is an offer I did on my first CRS site. I had the gift card in hand in under two weeks. Epoll is a survey panel I participate in. I earn about $50.00-$70.00 in gift cards annually, which isn’t bad considering its free. I didn’t save my epoll letter, but I snapped a pic of my gift card and took a screen shot of my activity summary. I’m also part of Toluna and National Survey Panel. With Toluna, you can test everything from toothbrushes to iPads and keep the products! The more surveys you complete, the more checks you earn. Anyone else love surveys? I fixed the XBox + Kinect bundle link in last months blog, btw. The old link kept directing us to the GPS gift. The XBox link is back up in the New Years entry.

*Valentine’s link list*

Nuitech–

http://myrewardsvault.com/LP/catalog-14701/3c59dc048e.php?aid=2781-AP&a=1717&ce_cid=000lVx4tW9XF1jlnWU8wns8rWm000000&dp=1717 – 6 offers, no refs/$250.00 Bed Bath & Beyond gc

http://ikeagiftcard.giftcertificatedelivery.com/form/iframe/10885/6841/?&ref=10885 – 10 offers, no refs/$1,000.00 IKEA gc

http://consumergiftcards.com/rd_p?p=199734&t=13993&c=&a=16015& – 10 offers, no refs/$1,000.00 Best Buy gc

http://www.consumergiftcards.com/rd_p?p=185612&c=txt_090&a=381001&hid=865358193 – 6 offers, no refs/$250.00 Jiffy Lube or Pep Boys gc

http://consumergiftcards.com/rd_p?p=176977&t=5913 – 6 offers, no refs/$250.00 Marshall’s gc

http://www.consumergiftcards.com/rd_p?p=95193&t=11485 – 6 offers, no refs/$250.00 merchant gc of your choice (Visa option)

http://www.consumergiftcards.com/rd_p?p=185615&c=txt_060&a=381001&hid=865358355 – 6 offers, no refs/$250.00 KB Toys gc

http://www.consumerincentiverewards.com/rd_p?p=306558&c=50068-cirangrybirdssurvey_728_hibrand&a=%SUBID% 8 offers, no refs/64 iPod touch w/plush toy or $400.00 in iTunes gcs w/plush toy

http://www.superbrewards.com/rd_p?p=201448&t=14484&c=46942-sr_7eleven250gc_emc_g01&a=1009391 – 6 offers, no refs/$250.00 7-Eleven gc

Ifficient–

http://worldrewardsnow.com/giftpage.aspx?gid=1&pubid=124833&subid=124833_footer&ref=10001 – 13 offers, no refs/$1,000.00 check or Target gc

http://amazongiftcard.giftcertificatedelivery.com/form/iframe/10885/6843/?&ref=10885 – 13 offers, no refs/$1,000.00 check or amazon gc

http://www.newestrewards.com/ – 13 offers, no refs/$1,000.00 check or gc of your choice (Visa option)

Consumer Gain–

http://upicktheoffer.com/G/landing?campaignId=3259&subcid=1717#cid=3259#sid=70#vid=1411 – offers unknown, no refs/$1,000.00 check

Thanks, jasoneggleston, for destroying our forum spam, and for helping prevent future attacks. I am deeply sorry to everyone who witnessed such graphic material. Thank you for your patience while we restored the forum. jasoneggleston is a moderator over at GiftCardCove.com. His username is ‘geturdeals’ if you have questions or need help buying, selling or trading gift cards. The neighborly staff are helpful, and I wish nothing but the best for their site. Check them out: www.giftcardcove.com

My CRS check should arrive in March, so I am pretty excited. Trying not to get my hopes up since my last big check didn’t work out so well (Brandarama), but it’s hard not to when it’s over 2 grand. I’m starting an Ifficient site, but not until after moving next month. Hopefully I-Deal produces more non-referral deals this spring and summer. In the meantime, we have CRS and Ifficient since Acquisis is out, and I-Deal’s offers aren’t so great. Nuitech is alright, but I prefer doing them with the 6-day rule in place. And unfortunately, Consumer Gain is only one gift per lifetime now. If I-Deal’s XBox + Kinect promotion is still going next month I might consider it, hm… Alright, let me know if you guys have any questions. Will be working on the link list tonight!

Bye for now,

wozniack