(warning:  I’m not happy here.  I’m venting.  I feel like they are trying to con me and force me to pay them money in order to stay on their network.  I’m also posting this because I have recommended well over 100 people use their service and most of those people read this blog.  I believe everyone I’ve sent to MerchantCircle has a right to see what they sent me - and my response)

I received this email from them today:

*********************

SUBJECT:  Increase your Google ranking: Become a Top Merchant 

Dear Wendy,

It has come to our attention that the business listing you recently created on the MerchantCircle network might not be a valid business. Please note, that we are very concerned with the accuracy of our directory and the integrity of our network. Therefore, our system has generated this email to determine the validity of your business and the accuracy of the information you submitted.

Our Terms of Service Agreement  specifically states that“[i]n consideration of use of the Service, you agree to:

(a) provide true, accurate, current and complete information about yourself as prompted by the Service’s registration form (such information being the “Registration Data”) and
(b) maintain and promptly update the Registration Data to keep it true, accurate, current and complete.”
(See http://www.merchantcircle.com/corporate/tos.html)

Thus, it is a violation to provide any information that is untrue, inaccurate, not current or incomplete, or MerchantCircle has reasonable grounds to suspect that such information is untrue, inaccurate, not current or incomplete. If we have reason to believe that the information you submitted is inaccurate or untrue— we have the right to suspend or terminate your account.

Accordingly, you account will be automatically terminated with in 10 business days, unless you respond support@merchantcircle to rebate this email.

Best Regards,

The MerchantCircle Team
MerchantCircle

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So I emailed them the following:

***************

I’m very confused.  Are you soliciting me or threatening me?  Or perhaps you are threatening me if I don’t upgrade to a Top Merchant status?

I’ve been asked about MerchantCircle by more than a few of the local businesses who belong to the networking group that I own here in the Tampa Bay area.  I tell them I’ve never had any problems, and never had anything bad to say.  I recommend they register and get their business in there.  But I have to say this email just went too far for me to ignore.  I will have to share this with my clients and my networking groups or I’d be doing them a disservice after recommending that they use Merchant Circle.

Here’s how I’m seeing this:

You send an email with the subject:  Increase your Google ranking:  Become a Top Merchant.

THEN You seem to be saying that you are concerned I’m not a valid business but you don’t request that I provide any proof to support that I am.

You also list a portion of your TOS, as if that says anything other than what would be considered a common sense issue.

Then you tell me you have the right to suspend my account…

I’m not even sure what this means, “Accordingly, you account will be automatically terminated with in 10 business days, unless you respond support@merchantcircle to rebate this email.”.  How do I rebate an email?

So which is it?  Are you going to tell me that in order to qualify as a valid business I need to upgrade to a paid account?

Pardon me if I seem a touch defensive, but you are threatening to cancel my account and there is no valid reason why, except (to me) it seems you want to force me to use your upgraded, paid service.

You KNOW I’m a real business because you have repeatedly called me on my business phone to verify my business is valid.

And while we are discussing your way of doing business…why do you submit, on your own, without my input or blessings, requests for connections to companies I’d never endorse or recommend and even some who are direct competition? What if there was a lawsuit barring someone from contacting another person or business and you just choose to send a request as if it was made by that business?  What if you just “connected” me with some thief or molester, known locally by all, and it looks like I’m endorsing them by inviting them into my network?

Maybe by doing this, you are just getting people to visit the site to accept these connections and all you are really doing is trying to boost activity to get the Google bot on the site more so you can “increase people’s google ranking”?  Or are you trying to get more people to click your Adsense ads?

It seems to me you are going to chase away more people than you will keep with this tactic.

I do hope you can answer my questions, and explain whether you were threatening or soliciting me, as soon as possibly so I can update my network members.  I look forward to your response.

Thank you,

~ Wendy Milonas

Graphic Design & Illustration, Website Development, Web Hosting
www.wendymilonas.com

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If anyone else sees this differently, I’d love to hear your point of view and offer them an apology…feel free to comment and share your point-of-view.

Thanks!

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 11th, 2008 at 9:06 pm and is filed under Wendy's Comments. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.