ArticleMarketer.com stole money out of my Paypal account and refused to give it back — Let me tell you how it happened.

Article Marketer is an article distribution service that I used to use last year.  I was pretty happy with the service, but they discontinued their service last October and split into two different services:  ContentCrooner.com and DistributeYourArticles.com

Now I use DistributeYourArticles.com… the service is pretty okay, and I pay a separate monthly fee for it.

So here’s the rub on how they ripped me off…


After Article Marketer discontinued their service in October, they turned around and charged me their yearly fees on two different accounts on February 28, 2010.  Total amount charged was about $130.

Thinking this must surely be an honest mistake, I contacted Article Marketer through Paypal’s dispute resolution process.  Here is the entire transcript of what was said:

  • 3/15/2010 15:29 PDT – PayPal: Buyer escalated this dispute to a Claim.
  • 3/15/2010 15:29 PDT – Buyer: This service no longer exists. Article Marketer closed it’s doors on October 13, 2009 and I should never have been charged again after that date. Feel free to check their website at http://www.articlemarketer.com and you’ll see that they’ve canceled their service. I did have a subscription for this service over a year ago when the service was still running. When they shut their doors, I assumed that the subscription was canceled too… apparently it wasn’t because they charged me again. I have since found the subscription in my account and canceled it, but that doesn’t negate the fact that they have charged me for a service that isn’t actually available. In addition, I tried to resolve this dispute with them, but they denied my claim. Please issue a complete refund as soon as possible. Thank you for your help!
  • 3/15/2010 15:18 PDT – Seller: Hi Chris, Our refund department denied your request. I made a mistake when looking at our records and I misread the date. That payment was made over a year ago, but still being used to being in the year 2009, I thought it was a recent payment. I apologize, but you don’t qualify for a refund with a payment that is that old.
  • 3/13/2010 17:36 PST – Seller: No problem. :) I’ve forwarded your request to our refund department. You should have your money in a few days. :)
  • 3/12/2010 16:44 PST – Buyer: I didn’t realize that I needed to cancel a subscription for a service that no longer exists… I thought that would automatically happen at your end. I have now canceled this account. I appreciate your attention to this matter.
  • 3/12/2010 14:20 PST – Seller: New update. :) Before we can process the refund, we need you to cancel your subscription here at PayPal. We’ve sent you an email to the address associated with your Content Crooner account explaining how to do it.
  • 3/12/2010 14:10 PST – Seller: After looking over your claim, you qualify for a refund. :) I’ve notified our refund department, and you should have your money in a few days.
  • 3/12/2010 13:33 PST – Seller: The buyer originally signed up for a an annual subscription with Article Marketer (AM), an article distribution service — Subscription #: S-5KG596183C2608234 on 2/28/2006. His renewal date was 2/28 on each following year as he continued to pay for annual subscriptions up until 2009. When the buyer signed up, he agreed to Article Marketer’s Terms of Agreement that his billings would be handled on a recurring billing basis. The below paragraph is just one paragraph that refers to the recurring billing: “Recurring subscriptions automatically renew on the billing date until canceled through your PayPal account. If you would like to cancel your Article Marketer subscription, login to your PayPal account. You will find complete instructions in the PayPal help system. Type “How do I cancel my subscription?” into the PayPal help system search box. You may cancel your subscription through your PayPal account at any time without refund.” Since the beginning of October when Article Marketer split, the decision they made was to split the company into two companies, Content Crooner and Distribute Your Articles. The buyer’s account was transferred to Content Crooner at that time and was notified via email on November 2, 2009.
  • 3/3/2010 13:34 PST – Buyer: This service no longer exists. Article Marketer closed it’s doors on October 13, 2009 and I should never have been charged again after that date. Feel free to check their website at http://www.articlemarketer.com and you’ll see that they’ve canceled their service. Thank you for your help!

After these defunct subscriptions were initially charged, I went back into my paypal history and found that there were two subscriptions still active for Article Marketer… I assumed that when they dissolved their service that they would cancel subscriptions on their end.

Apparently I was wrong… so I went in and canceled these year old subscriptions.

That doesn’t change the fact that Article Marketer charged me for a service that they no longer offer on a subscription that should have been invalid and then refused to refund my money.

PayPal’s Response

No joy — They’re letting Article Marketer keep my money!

PayPal was not able to resolve this case because the item in question was
virtual or intangible. We are not able to adequately investigate payments
for intangible items, services, licenses, or other digital content. Because
of this, PayPal has not taken any action at this time. We do keep track of
buyer complaints, though, and have noted your dissatisfaction in the
seller’s account. Sellers who consistently are subject to buyer complaints
are investigated.

Thank you for your cooperation with our investigation.

Sincerely,
Krista

Protection Services Department
PayPal, an eBay Company

What Can You Do To Protect Yourself?

I personally think this is completely ridiculous and unscrupulous on the part of ArticleMarketer.com and I think Paypal has a very bad policy about intangible services.  In this case, the service was never delivered and the company had no intention of delivering the service… seems pretty cut and dry to me.

So how can you protect yourself against a situation like this?

  1. Don’t do business with ArticleMarketer.com in ANY way.  They’ve proven themselves to be unscrupulous.
  2. Don’t use PayPal to pay for ANY intangible service… That includes ebooks, virtual services, and anything delivered digitally.  Us a credit card instead.
  3. Keep a close watch on your current subscriptions.  If a subscription service stops offering the service, be sure to go into your account and cancel the subscription yourself.

Hopefully this ridiculous situation will help someone else avoid getting taken advantage of too.  If you happen to have any latent subscriptions to Article Marketer, be sure to find them and cancel them immediately!

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