Paid ads & Ethics

Can I get my money back?

[ChrisXenon]

I run an online shop in the UK.
I purchased some ad space on a UK website - £300 for a 3 month display of a small ad, following assurances from their ad sales rep that the site does a very good job for its advertisers.

Several weeks in, I have come to understand that the site area where my ad sits receives 77 visits per day, and my ad gets about5 clicks a day.

At this rate, the average cost of a sale will be £67!

I feel that any website area with 77 clicks per day should not be selling ad space, and I'm working with them to get my money back. They have offered to double the ad run time to 6 months - lowering my cost per sale to "only" £33.

Their company represents disabled people. I was hoping for a moral stance here, but they "Can't" refund the money because "we are all bound by a contract".

Anyone got comments - am I unreasonable here?
Has anyone successfully retrieved money in this way?

Thanks,
Chris

[Andrew Thomas]

>>Anyone got comments - am I unreasonable here?

Not unreasonable, but if you have signed a contract, depending on what is says you are probably stuck, and wont get your money back?

Did you ask them how many hits they get before you paid or signed the contract?

If they gave you false material you may be in with a shout, other than that i think there is no way out. Just dont get caught a second time

[brotherhood of LAN]

Chris,

good for future reference perhaps? You should have made your side of the bargain clear as well as asking them to state what their expectations of your ad were

IMO, you could say to them "I wouldnt mind X amount of clicks for my amount and we could settle for that"

You say you get 5 click thrus a day? Thats about 150 over the three months? £2 per click?

You could always re-approach them saying that their statistics were misleading...ie you expected bigger volume

[ChrisXenon]

Brotherhood,

I discussed this ad very carefully with their ad sales person, who actually said the words "I guarantee you'll do very well with this ad". I asked her if that was a money back guarantee, but she said no. I asked for a free trial of a day or so, but again she declined (I have offered this service to my advertisers).

I am asserting that her assurances were unfounded since traffic is 77 visitors per day, and that this constitutes misrepresentation of the fact.

They have offered to double the ad run time - from 3 to 6 monhts. This brings down the average cost of a sale from £50 to £25 - still not what you'd call a tantalizing offer.

I'm now in dialogue with the CEO. He came out of the blocks trotting out the same drivel as the ad sales person. "Unfortunately we can't..." etc., but through polite persistence and letting him know that I'll take whatever legal steps are necessary, he's showing signs of softening.

He says no other advertiser has complained. Well, that's Britain for you. Have another cup of tea and try to pretend it didn't happen. One of the things I mentioned I might do is to contact all of his advertisers, invite them to share their experiences of advertising with them, and see what we learn.

To be honest, it's not about the money now, it's about being shafted. I don't like it, and I'm not going to walk away from it.

Anyway, I hope this will be of interest to anyone who has had money taken by misrepresentation of the facts in advertising. It's very much a "pay your money and hope" situation these days, but there's no reason why it has to be. Free trials and payment per click will drag it all out in the end.

Chris