DateApp.com was a great idea of an affiliate program that would let anyone, and I mean anyone, start an online dating service.
Owner/president (or whatever) of DateApp.com is John Cataldi, address and contact information here...
All you needed to do was purchase a domain name and let them host the dating service domain you had registered..
You create the basic design of your dating service affiliate site from the available templates from DateApp.com and then just start promoting it! They complete the service with their network of other affiliates so you have a ready-made dating service complete with thousands of members.
An easy way to make money when the online singles business is generating more than US$600 MILLION dollars expected for 2007.... maybe A LOT MORE!
But, the key to making money is getting paid by the managers/owners of the affiliate service.
AND DateApp.com DOES NOT PAY!!!
As of October 11 2007 they owe me US$883.23 !!!
I have to admit, they did pay me once, in 2006, for the money I have made to that point... but they haven't paid me since and I'm supposed to promote my dating service but not from using any of the commissions I am supposedly making because THEY AREN'T PAYING ME FOR THE SALES AND MEMBERS I BRING IN!
Since I started with DateApp.com dating service software/affiliate program I have had 84 paying members subscribe to the service of which I was to make a 50% commission. I started with DateApp.com in April 2006.
Here is a screenshot of the visitors/members and subscribers I have (to date: Oct 11 2007):
This is a screenshot of my account showing the amount they owe me (notice that they did pay me once in 2006 and that there is NO credit card charge backs recorded here):
Another great feature of DateApp.com software affiliate system is that you can also create your own dating service affiliate network. So, you can sign up other websites and make money from them promoting your website. Sounds like a Golden Goose, doesn't it? But remember, you only EARN MONEY IF THEY PAY YOU. And DateApp.com HAS NOT PAID ME!!
Here is a screenshot of the webmasters I have signed up to promote my dating service (I don't think they're getting paid either.):
All these websites promoting a dating service and it's likely that THEY WON'T GET PAID EITHER!!
This goes beyond stealing from only me but DateApp.com contributes to a bigger fraud, in my mind, because they recruit me to make them money, they recruit me to recruit others to make them money and none of use GETS PAID!!
Here is a screenshot of what they owe me to date (Oct 11 2007) They owe me US$883.23 !!!
I did speak with John Cataldi a couple of times on the phone, once in August 2007 and once in October 2007. Both times he promised me that the 'finance manager' would contact me about payment. His name is Ken Morris.
Here's a screenshot of our email exchange:
Can you believe that my single affiliate website had a refund rate of up to 30%?? But, if I check my DateApp.com affiliate statistics then I see NO REFUNDS WHATSOEVER!! No dating service ever has such a refund/chargeback rate as that. They wouldn't be able to take credit cards for long is this was the case. But, I have to wonder, why am I not getting paid, even if the difference is 30% of the $883.23 they owe me?
And here is an email exchange from August 2007 when I first became concerned about DateApp.com not paying me my commissions. I have no excuse for not going after them sooner for me to get paid other than I was involved with other personal business (I have been diagnosed with "Ocular Melanoma" [ a cancer behind the eye] in July 2006 and am still recovering from "Proton Radiation" that I received in October 2006):
Yes, this is what they have paid me to date: US$ 681.63 and As of October 11 2007 they owe me US$883.23 !!!
There was a time when this was a viable company. But obviously not anymore, I think. Here's the screenshot:
Comments from exchanged emails October 17 2007 starting with me sending out this one below:
To which John Cataldi of DateApp.com replied:
Of course I replied and the ball is back in John Cataldi's hands.
Now, I want you, dear reader, to keep in mind that John has so much as admitted he owes me, or rather DateApp does, the noted affiliate commissions as I have shown from the affiliate manager section of my account.
There are questions that abound about DateApp and the suspect promise this service holds for people that want to make money in the online dating industry.
Why is the DateApp.com contact information not updated on their website?
Why are they not living up to their promise of "prompt monthly payments"?
Why have they de-activated my affiliate account without notifying me? That is a contractual contradiction and they owe me 30 days notice along with whatever revshare I would have earned? Right?
If DateApp has a refund/.chargeback rate of less than 1% as claimed on their website, http://www.dateapp.com/commissionstructure.html , why are they telling me different?
Why have they not ever notified me of "suspicious activity" on my white label website?
And why have there been NO records of refunds on my account?
Sorry John, just removing me as an affiliate does not shut me up.
I am waiting to get paid!
Update: October 19 2007
John Cataldi left me a message promising to show me the charge back paperwork in reference to my account. "I stand with bated breath". It really doesn't matter what he shows me, he handled this affiliate partnership in darkness and dishonourably. I deserved much better than this. Now I just want to get paid and end this matter, not as much as he does though. This has brought shame to him and his company because they attempted to deceive me about my affiliate earnings since I first contacted him about getting paid back in August 2007.
Update October 26 2007
John Cataldi has been playing an availability game with me. I admit, I was unavailable from Monday October 22 until Thursday October 25 in the afternoon. I have a good excuse, I was away getting my fourth quarterly cancer check up (I was diagnosed with Ocular Melanoma on July 4 2006) but I don't know what John Cataldi's excuse is for not emailing me the paperwork that 'supposedly' shows the charge backs on my affiliate account as a good reason why they have still yet to pay me. John, I know you're going to read this, meetings or not, you have to contact (email or phone) and pay me. Enough is enough, don't you think??
Update October 30 2007
Well, not is is almost past a week since John Cataldi said he'd talk with me. Of course I haven't been sent the documentation that shows, supposedly, the credit card chargeback's my dating service accrued. And I still have yet to be paid. As you can see the lastest emails will show him making himself unavailable and/or delaying talking with me, and I think it's because he just doesn't want to pay me. An a funny side-note, a DateApp competitor offered to bonus me the $883.00 that DateApp owes me if I will promote their service instead. Of course I no longer work with DateApp since they (against our affiliate agreement) have terminated my affiliate account and I no longer have access to it. So, if anyone wants to find a really great white label dating service check out www.DatingB2B.com . Here's the two latest emails:
I told John that he can call me at 3pm ET. And by then I expect to have this long promised documentation as well as the money he owes me in my PayPal account. 3 simple things that I've been after since August 2007. We will see how this pans out.
October 31 2007 6:00pm EDT
Well John, you did it to me again. Yesterday (October 30 2007) you called me on my phone and told me that this whole business of what you owe me and when I'd be paid would be completed today, when you would call me approximately 3:00pm EDT.
John, I waited by my phone. You did not call. You did not email me. You did not send your supporting documents about what you say you owe me, even though the amount is spelled out in my affiliate account screenshots. You owe me US$883.23 STILL!
John, I feel that you are not taking my complaint seriously. I feel that you are not being honest with me. John, in the almost ten years I've been earning my living from affiliate programs I have never, ever been treated with such disdain and unconcern. Obviously my issues will end when you pay me. I will not stoop to your level of deception but if anyone else wants to contact you about my issue or problems they have with DateApp.com and/or you in a business matter, they can call John Cataldi at: 404-849-0065.
November 5 2007
I had an interesting conversation with Ken Morris, apparently he is in charge of affiliate records and payments. He confessed to me that HE IS RESPONSIBLE for the lack of accurate record keeping for DateApp.cpom. He told me that he was never trained on the DateApp.com affiliate program and never entered any refunds or credit card charge backs into the system. So, as an affiliate I invested my money into promoting THEIR BUSINESS and, as things would turn out, they NEVER intended to PAY ME nbecvause their reciords were never accurate, so I am told. I don't really believe it.
As I was promised to have the proper documentation in MY HANDS last week, and I am still waiting, I am quite positive that DATEAPP.com and the staff, management, etc., have CONSPIRED to defraud me from my justly due commissions.
If you carefully read the AFFILIATE AGREEMENT you will see that they are responsible for reporting REFUNDS AND CHARGE BACKS within 24 hours, or a reasonable time period. THEY never showed any sort of corrections in my affiliate account. THEY are just trying to dodge the bullet of having to pay me any commissions at all!
Well John, what do you say now?
You know what I want. I want to get paid! I want your stupid business-worm-like tactics to end. Geesh, if your business was profitable AT ALL, then you wouldn't have affiliates jumping ship left and right. You wouldn't be trying to GIVE your stock away. You wouldn't be on the hunt for DateApp.com investors because the money would be braking down your door. And you wouldn't have a self-serving accountant-like person taking the blame for YOUR errors. Ken Morris doesn't need to take the fall here. Not for you. Come on John, be the MAN here. Talk rationally to your business people and PAY ME. One can only wonder what is happening there at DateApp.com.
Is the ship sinking? Are the rats trying to get out with whatever they can? Talk to me John! Can you really keep feeding me the "charge-back" speech? Does DateApp.com even have the money to pay me (or any of the [whatever is left] affiliates?
Instead, you have the only unprofitable dating service online. What else could it be.... geesh, you owe me $883.23 !! You can't tell me that DateApp doesn't have at least that much in their bank account.
John, call me and pay me. NOW!
November 9 2007
Could I be more pissed off??
Today I received a letter from Kenneth B. Morris about the supposed 'credit card charge backs' and the delinquency of paying me my money owed to me. The letter explains the lack of business discipline, or the need to fraudulently withhold affiliate commissions, that I have encountered while being a DateApp.com affiliate. You can view the letter by clicking here... or what the hell, it'll just be below this sentence. Afterall, you've read through this whole page, why make you click again, right?
So tell me, does this explain why I am not getting paid? And why when Ken Morris says they are "crediting my account" am I being debited the charges? Read the letter again, it makes no sense. And also tell me why it took more than 10 months for them to tell me that my affiliate account was being abused by "person's unknown"? Are John and Ken actually accusing me of credit card fraud by stealing credit cards and buying memberships to my own dating service? Albeit back ended by DateApp? Does that make any plausible sense?
And to add insult to injury, here's a copy of the supposed "credit card charge backs" that were traced to my affiliate account:
Do you see something that I missed? Where, WHERE does the statement show that my affiliate account was responsible for this chargeback? Other than my name being printed on the paper there is no identifiable way to track this back to my affiliate account.
Am I being lied to?
By an international Internet Dating Service Provider?
It's certainly what I think.
Is DateApp so hard up that they have to try to get out of paying me my commissions of $883.23?
Is any of what they are saying even believable, or supported, by the "evidence" they have provided me?
Are even their excuses plausible?
John, pay me now, let's not drag this out.
I think I've been more than patient and you've been more than condescending.
Let's not try to get Kenneth Morris to do your dirty work any longer.
Just pay me and I can end this page/website/bad-business-relationship.
December 2007
Well John, et al, since our last phone call it seems evident to me that:
1) you won't pay me what I know you to owe me
2) you won't even pay me what you think you owe
3) my only redress will be through the court system so I am looking into suing you. Now then, since you broke our affiliate agreement first, but cutting off my membership without the required notice as per our agreement made when I first signed up to be a DateApp.com affiliate, I am no longer bound by those rules. I will be suing you in BC.
John, et al, watch your mail!
Robert Lee.
I want to get paid what I earned!
So, as you can tell, if you've made it this far... I am STEAMED about getting the run-around for the money that is owed me. John Cataldi has repeatedly lied to me about having someone contact me about getting paid what is owed me. And that's just not cool. As of October 11 2007 they owe me US$883.23 !!!
I do a lot of affiliate business. This "Internet Business" requires that a partnership is made on an email and sometimes a phone call, not even a handshake!!
Internet marketers partner with people hundreds, thousands and even continents away.
If there is no honesty in this business we will all suffer.
I have been told by others in the affiliate business that I should just redirect my affiliate dating website to another dating service. I would, but what happens to the 84/87 paid members? Would they still access their accounts or would I end up stealing from them? Even though I have not received any money in the last 12 months?? I am in a corner of responsibility, not like John Cataldi... It seems to me...
If you are suffering from DateApp.com not paying you commissions, email me. I'd love to hear your story and maybe add it to this website. As of October 11 2007 they owe me US$883.23 !!!
Oct 29 2008 - UPDATE: Nothing to say, they still owe me my money!
Regards,
Robert Lee, Last Updated: October 29 2008
This website, screenshots and all, copyright 2007 Robert Lee. All copyrights and trademarks used need only with my own consent because these are business records of my partner/affiliate contract with DateApp.com. I have recorded only personal business information herein, no trade secrets other than the facts that have been reported to me. Feel free to link to this website and warn others.