iBill hits a new low - can't save their own ass so they trash others

[BDBionic]

iBill News
Last Updated: Thursday 17 February 2005 at 5:19 PM U.S. Eastern Time


Company Update 02/17/05
Dear Clients,

We would like to update you on several recent events that have occurred at iBill.

On January 21st it was announced that Interactive Brand Development (“IBD”), a publicly traded company, had acquired iBill and began committing the resources necessary to return iBill to a respectable and profitable status. For your information, IBD’s assets also include a 36.5% stake in Penthouse Media Group, significant investments in broadband TV and interactive media properties.

IBD’s decision to acquire iBill was based upon a full understanding of the issues facing iBill’s business, and we are focusing our energies and resources on achieving a turn around at iBill both through financial settlement with our clients and exploiting our innovative and secure products for current and future business.

IBD has engaged a top-tier restructuring firm to oversee the day to day operations and management of iBill in cooperation with IBD’s senior executives. As such, IBD is confident that iBill will be managed with proper corporate governance.

As part of this turn around initiative, iBill obtained an initial $2.0 million investment on December 30. Based on the plan being established in conjunction with our consultants, iBill and IBD have arranged for additional capital injections into iBill above this amount with a view of supporting and growing iBill while it continues to resolve the effects of the September 16th events.

Over the last five months there have been announcements regarding the funding of past due amounts. One of the first objectives of IBD’s management will be to address this primary concern through an organized and cohesive plan. This plan will be rolled out in the next few weeks and will supercede any previous announcements or commitments. We expect to update you on this progress no later than March 9th, 2005.

As you may be aware, Cathy Beardsley, iBill’s President, has announced that she will be leaving iBill to pursue other interests. While IBD regrets Cathy’s departure we note that she chose both in the interests of iBill’s clients and employees to remain at iBill during the very difficult months of uncertainty while IBD evaluated iBill’s business. It is largely due to her efforts that IBD was able to feel comfortable in our ability to address iBill’s financial issues and complete this acquisition to the benefit of iBill’s clients. Over the next 30 days, Cathy will be working with IBD management to ensure the finalization of the First Data reserve release as well as the implementation of the Inteca trusted third party payment program for our European clients. She may also continue to work with iBill on a freelance basis going forward.

IBD recognizes that iBill’s clients have been through a difficult period caused primarily by events now rumored to be affecting others in our industry. Our experience in dealing with these same events has resulted in the implementation of the gkard debit card payment solution. This secure product has been tried and tested over the past several months to the benefit of many of iBill’s clients. As part of a new and strong organization, iBill stands ready to apply our experience and these products to existing and future clients.

Sincerely

Interactive Brand Development Inc.

People in glass houses, iBill. People in glass houses. What I see in that, besides this latest announcment essentially saying nothing more than that there will be a future announcement about a further announcement forthcoming, is iBill attempting to take a shot at other processors and suggest that iBill's not fucked - and withholding money from webmasters - as a result of their own incompetence, neglect and mistakes. Rather than pay people they owe money to, they choose to spread rumors instead.

And attempting to suggest that this IBD purchase is a good thing? And try and point out that IBD is publicly traded and has various media holdings?

Even after IBD withdrew it's appeal to AMEX, and is therefore set to immediately be delisted from AMEX because of a whole host of questionable practices (purchasing iBill being one of the reasons AMEX cited as not in the shareholders interest and thus worthy of delisting).

All this fluff and fodder and "announcements of upcoming announcments" from iBill are such a waste of some PR guy's writing time and word processor resources.

If ya wanna make an announcement people care about, tell em when the hell they'll get their money and quit trying to cloak your failures in window dressing while bashing other processors.

[Squirt]

So are you saying IBill still has monies outstanding with webmasters?

Are there a lot of people still owed monies?

[basschick]

squirt - where have you been!?!!?!? they owe most of their webmasters money, except for the very biggest. they owe virtually all affiliates they were responsible for paying out money, too. they've been making tiny payments to some webmasters, but are months late.

[Squirt]

Originally posted by basschick
squirt - where have you been!?!!?!? they owe most of their webmasters money, except for the very biggest. they owe virtually all affiliates they were responsible for paying out money, too. they've been making tiny payments to some webmasters, but are months late.

God I can't believe it's STILL going on! Are most people still sticking by them or have most left? :wtf:

Sorry for you guys affected.... we never know who's next either.

[Huskyhunks]

Everytime Ibill got in trouble, they smoked and mirrored their way out of things. Blaming this bank, those people, just as BD and Bass Chick pointed out. I can't believe they think that any webmaster would want to use their services again. It's just mind boggling.

As for the impact of what's going on, there are hundreds, if not thousands of livelihoods hanging in the balance. Alot of webmasters were forced out because of this. Ibill had problems from day one. They always talk a good game but this time it's over for them.

[Slade]

Unfortunately there still are a lot who are buying into the "they'll turn things around..just give them another month or so.."

Amazing what you can get away with using smoke & mirrors.

[tombarr]

Well I was just about to post this exact thread and saw it here already!

I have been calling my sales rep, and the sales manager at IBill for two weeks, always leaving messages after being put on hold for 30-35 minutes each time I strongly request to actually speak to a live person. However, NOONE at IBill ever returned a single call. IBill owes me over $48,000, small in comparison to others, but a substantial sum to me. Yet they refuse to even pick up the phone to talk to me? And they expect me to want to continue to process with them and forgive and move on?

I simply wanted to ask them about the money and reserves the First Data is holding. Since the US Domestic chargeback window is only 6 months, and March 16th will be 6 months since they shut off the IBill gateway, I was wondering if this meant that First Data could possibly release at least the money they are holding for US charges next month... Yet there has been no chance to ask this as IBill chooses to &**$ all over their clients and treat them as if they are a nuisance.

One would think that simple, honest communication with the people you owe money to would go a long way to instilling a little confidence in them for your ability to handle the situation. One would think that instilling confidence in your clients during your troubles would be a way to at least stem some of the client hemoraging (sp?) presently occuring. Obviously Ibill chooses not to treat us as people worth talking to, and thus, IBill, I am sorry to say, you are not worthy of earning our business again.

Smoke and mirror your way all you want, defer to the next comment about the next upcoming comment in the CMI all you want, just pay me my damn money!

[Huskyhunks]

Tombarr, I just can't believe that a company still solvent would treat it's clients like this and yes, $48,000 is alot of money to anybody !

I lost hundreds of rebills to the processor DMR (Web 800) back in 1999 and it was a huge momentum killer. I hope you are able to shake them down for the money they owe you or at least part of it and that your business can overcome this.

They have some cash. They have paid their $10,000 advertising bill (hush money) to **socket because they were gonna trash them up and down. Maybe that's what it's gonna take to get Ibill to cough this money up.

[tombarr]

HI HH

Yeah this is a momentum killer for a lot of websites, and obviously for our paysite as well. starting over with recurring members when they won't let you export your current members is a real bitch. we're back at only about 40% of what we were recurring 6 months ago with another processor, which totally sucks.

Kind of funny how mastercard and visa forced adult sites into third party processing arrangements when we would have been more in control and more solvent had we just been able to handle it on our own.

we'll survive, we have some large retail sites that are carrying the company, but i am really pissed that a company like IBill can get away with stealing from the small businesses that trusted them, and forcing them out of business does not seem to even faze them one small bit.

I like the NYT article that was posted in another thread. I can validate everything that was said in that article.

Article Link

[ponyboy]

they put a dent in me a big one!