so IBill's gonna pay... well at least partially for now.

[tombarr]

Dear Client,
iBill is pleased to announce that we have reached a settlement with First Data regarding unpaid Reserve Releases and the unfunded transactions for September 16th to September 22nd 2004. In addition, iBill is also committed to paying 100% of the balance of payments owed to clients. To find more information on both please log in to the Merchant Info website at http://www.ibill.com/merchantinfo/login/login.cfm.

To accept the First Data Release and the iBill settlement information please log in to the Merchant Info website and choose “First Data Release Information” and follow the screens to initiate the process.

For any questions or concerns regarding the FDMS settlement, please contact either your Account Manager or iBill’s Client Service department at support@ibill.com.

[tombarr]

addendum to the agreement information;

it appears that IBill wants us to agree to give them until March 29, 2007 to complete payments on money owed outside of the FDMS processed funds, with the first payment not due for another Year, and then only 50% to be paid, with the balance payable in 2007.....

Not sure how i feel about this at all.

[CBLCasey]

I wonder what these guys are trying to pull. Visa can only hold funds for 6 months, so why does Ibill need 2 years?

[tombarr]

the visa funds from FDMS are now in their 7th month.... and they are being released by this agreement called "Limited Release" The funds from September 24th onward are from gKard and I'm not sure how that works. Further it also appears that IBill is trying to force agreement on both payments, The FDMS reserves payment agreement, as well as the balance over 2 years payment, and it appears that you can't accept one with out accepting the other.... that's a crock if you ask me....

[LavenderLounge]

Where did you read where it said payments in 2007?

[tombarr]

i'm going to post all of the information from the IBill CMI here...regarding these payouts...

Over the past several months iBill and our customers have endured a difficult period. As you can see with some of the recent announcements, we are now in a position to move forward. In addition to First Data releasing, directly to iBill clients, funds it was holding for Visa reserves and transactions processed during September 16-22, 2004, iBill is offering settlement of funds that iBill owes up to March 1, 2005 for US transactions and February 15, 2005 for gkard transactions in conjunction with our overall restructuring efforts. The offer represents a more significant recovery of the funds owed than would otherwise occur without a settlement in place. The objective is to provide as much of a settlement to our customers as is economically possible and to position the company to move forward in a positive manner with our customers. The iBill settlement will provide you with a high overall payment relative to the amount owed. As part of the new direction, iBill has implemented programs to pr ovide you with secure payouts in the future. Our goal is to offer you and your customers high quality processing services while separating financial payouts to independent third parties to ensure timely and consistent payouts going forward.


And here is the agreement for the FDMS reserves

LIMITED RELEASE
This Limited Release ("Release") is given by [merchant name] ("Releasor") to Internet Billing Company, LLC, a/k/a/ iBill, a limited liability company organized under the laws of the State of Georgia, Media Billing, a New York limited liability company, Interactive Brand Development, Inc., a Delaware corporation, PHSL Worldwide, Inc, a Florida corporation, First Data Merchant Services Corporation, a Florida corporation, (jointly and severally "Releasees"), in consideration of the payment of the aggregate sum of [$ iBill settlement amount] (the "Settlement Amount") by iBill.

Releasor hereby completely and forever waives, releases and discharges Releasees, and each of them, and their respective parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, shareholders, members, agents, directors, officers, employees, and consultants and their successors and assigns, from any and all actions, causes of action, suits, whether arising in contract, tort or at law, debts, sums of money, accounts, reckonings, covenants, contracts, controversies, agreements, promises, damages, judgments, obligations, claims, and demands whatsoever, in law or equity, known or unknown, suspected or unsuspected which Releasor and its parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, agents, directors, officers, employees, successors and assigns ever had, now have or hereafter can, shall or may, have, arising out of, or resulting from, directly or indirectly, the processing of merchant vendor transactions by Releasees, or any of them on or prior to March 1, 2005 for U.S. transactions and February 15, 2005 for gkard transactions except that the foregoing shall not release iBill from its obligation to pay the Settlement Amount.

Releasor waives and relinquishes the rights and benefits afforded by Section 1542 of the Civil Code of the State of California, or similar law in any other jurisdiction, which reads as follows:

"A general release does not extend to
claims which the creditor does not
know or suspect to exist in his favor
at the time of executing the release,
which if known by him, must have
materially affected his settlement with
the debtor."

Releasor represents warrants and agrees that it has thoroughly read and understands the terms of this Release, that it is accepting this Release agreement freely and voluntarily, upon his best judgment and solely for the consideration described herein.

[tombarr]

And here is the agreement that gives IBill 2 years to pay back the money they processed and withheld from us AFTER the FDMS contract ended:


Print This Page
Please print, sign and mail to:
iBill, Attn: Legal Department, 2200 SW 10th Street, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442
Dear Clients:

Today iBill announced that it is making a payment to its clients of $41,600,000. The payment is comprised of $21,600,000 in cash and $20,000,000 in Secured Notes.

iBill Recent History
On January 21, 2005, iBill was acquired by Interactive Brand Development Inc. ("IBD"). IBD spent nearly seven months negotiating the iBill transaction. After considerable and contentious deliberations, IBD elected to complete the acquisition based on its belief that iBill, as a pioneer on the Internet, has great potential despite a historical capital deficit.

Since the acquisition, only 60 days ago, IBD has taken dramatic corrective steps. IBD engaged one of the leading turn-around advisory firms in the United States. The firm evaluated the cash, the financial statements, the operations and most all aspects of the business and delivered its findings to the IBD board of directors. Based in part on these recommendations, the management of IBD has implemented a series of measures to stabilize the business and to position it for future growth. Most importantly, IBD has successfully made critical arrangements with both former and current third party processors; including: (i) a written settlement agreement with FDMS to release certain funds held since September 16, 2004; (ii) a written agreement with its EU processor to release funds held since December 14, 2004; (iii) arrangements with M2 to process Gkard Secured payments independently and make direct payments to clients, which occurred on March 15.

The Result
Gkard Secured payments are CURRENT and on cycle.
EU credit card payments billed thru ICC/ECB will be CURRENT by the end of April
FDMS funds are being released.
iBill is on the road to recovery and fulfilling its responsibilities again.
Note Payable
In addition to the successful implementation of the above, under IBD's direction, iBill has committed to fund the balance of the payments owed to clients in the form of a Note. The combined programs will provide significant and immediate cash payouts together with a long-term financial commitment by the company. The form of the Note Payable is below. Each Note Payable is guaranteed by iBill and will be redeemable for cash plus 3% interest paid in arrears from March 29, 2005. This Note Payable will be subject to an amortization schedule of 50% of the face amount plus accrued interest payable in two installments on March 29, 2006 and March 29, 2007. After you ACCEPT the terms of this note, please print and mail a signed copy of this note to iBill. When iBill receives the signed copy of your note, an executive officer will sign it and the note will be mailed back to you for your records. Participation in the plan will be cutoff after April 26, 2005. iBill may choose to defer the issuance of the Note Payable for those clients who are currently on Do Not Pay status, or who have a credit balance.

Misconceptions
Contrary to popular myth, no one at iBill or IBD has absconded with funds. The fact is that new capital has been injected into iBill. IBD is conducting a comprehensive audit into all 2004 transactions. No one at iBill has compromised credit card data and the credit card data remains secure. Understandably, extreme frustration has lead to sometimes emotional conclusions. In some cases, business competition has inflamed inaccurate rumors.

The Alternatives and Consequences
In collaboration with its turnaround advisors, IBD evaluated all possible options, including a formal reorganization of iBill under Chapter 11 and reached the same obvious conclusion each time; anything other than a cash and Note Payable plan would likely result in iBill closing its doors. If, after nine years in the industry, iBill was forced to shut down, our analysis is that client recoveries would be severely compromised. Clients could eventually only receive pennies on the dollar; pennies recovered after several years. As a result, we arrived at this plan. IBD feels that this is the only viable alternative to the unnecessary losses and delays which would result from a formal reorganization of iBill under Chapter 11.

The plan is a structured settlement with defined terms. It is not negotiable. You do, however, have the right not to accept the plan. IBD is critically aware that one size rarely fits all; and in this circumstance it is likely even more the case. However, IBD is seeking to avoid what would otherwise be inevitable through a formal reorganization where substantial loses would occur. Under our plan, participating clients receive 100 cents on the dollar today (though not all in cash upfront).

We appreciate the support clients have shown iBill. We hope we have reciprocated by demonstrating decisive action in our first 60 days of leadership.

Interactive Brand Development, Inc.

Note Payable

FOR VALUE ACKNOWLEDGED AND RECEIVED, Internet Billing Company LLC, a Georgia limited liability company, ("Maker" or "Payor") promises to pay on or before March 29, 2007, to the order of xxxxxxxxxxxxx., a Corporation corporation, ("the Holder" or "Payee") the sum of: xxxxxx.xx, reduced by any chargebacks or adjustments, as agreed to by the parties with interest at the rate of Three Percent (3%) paid in arrears from March 29, 2005. This Note Payable will be subject to an amortization schedule of 50% of the face amount plus accrued interest payable in two installments on March 29 2006, and March 29, 2007. After 90 days from the execution of this Note, Maker at its discretion may elect to convert the note into a Secured Convertible Note. Such Secured Convertible Note will have identical amortization provisions as the Note Payable.

Presentment, demand, notice of dishonor and protest are hereby waived, and the parties hereto assent to indulgence of the Payee without waiver by the Payee of any of his, her, or its rights hereunder.

The Maker of this note reserves the right to pre-pay whole or in part of this note prior to maturity. Should the note not be repaid at or before the due date, then the note shall accrue interest at the highest possible legal rate permitted in the State of Florida.

Internet Billing Company LLC

Acceptance:

The undersigned Holder/Payee does hereby acknowledge that they have read and understood, in its entirety, the “Limited Release” and that said “Limited Release” represents the full and final satisfaction of all claims due and owing from First Data Merchant Services Corporation and Internet Billing Company LLC, with respect to the particular claims described therein. The Holder/Payee further acknowledges that any and all sums due and owing to any and all affiliates will be satisfied solely by the Holder/Payee and not by First Data Merchant Services Corporation or Internet Billing Company, LLC. Finally, the Holder/Payee accepts the validity of the Note Payable enumerated herein and understands that it represents full and final settlement of a claim.

Accepted by:



___________________________________
Signature of Note Holder/Payee
Dated: 4/12/2005 Accepted by:
Internet Billing Company LLC


___________________________________
Signature for Internet Billing Company LLC
Dated: ____________________________

Print This Page
Please print, sign and mail to: iBill, Attn: Legal Department, 2200 SW 10th Street, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442

[tombarr]

Now the question poses itself...

Ibill has neatly arranged the agreements for both the FDMS reserves payout and the Promissory note payout on the same page, and you have to agree to both at the same time. The page is setup so you cannot agree to one and not the other...

How can they force you to agree to two separate transactions on the same page... ? We have a disagreement with the amount owed to us on the 2 year Promissory note, yet we don't disagree with the FDMS payout amount. Yet we cannot move forward with the FDMS payout without accepting the promissory note..

Is this fair? Is this ethical? Is it even legal to strong arm us into accepting both agreements?

Maybe I'm reading it wrong, but it sure seems that way to me.

[basschick]

i'll tell ya how i feel after reading all that - sceptical, angry and i also sort of laughed.

for one thing, most people aren't taking legal action against ibill on the off chance they'll get paid. now they claim it could take two years, how many people will hold off just in case?

these people are using us as an industry - i know some people they owe substantial amounts of money to. only a few have gotten any payments, and they were small and quite late.

ibill seems to me to be trying to stay out of criminal court while keeping most of our money. the way bankrupcy court makes people do this is to give everyone a percentage of their money to get started - no excuses, no bullshit. their problems should not be OUR problems. they owe many people tens of thousands of dollars - if i owed this, i'd have to pay or declare bankrupcy. let them do the same.

[Squirt]

so IBill's gonna pay...well at least partially for now

I read all your posts in this thread and the release Ibill wants you guys to sign. Even though I'm not an attorney, I'm very concerned.

They state very clearly on the agreement that if you sign it, you waive the right to sue them for ANY damages! Plus they want to wait until 2007 to pay all monies owed?

I would check your statute of limitations regarding time limits to sue in cases like IBills, when a merchant doesn't pay. I'd suspect the deadline is two years.

They state "Contrary to popular myth, no one at iBill or IBD has absconded with funds. The fact is that new capital has been injected into iBill. " Yet they don't have enough money to pay debts SO the amount of "new capital" they've been "injected" with isn't enough to keep them out of default with their current customers.

They also state "In collaboration with its turnaround advisors, IBD evaluated all possible options, including a formal reorganization of iBill under Chapter 11 and reached the same obvious conclusion each time; anything other than a cash and Note Payable plan would likely result in iBill closing its doors." So they are saying either their customers sign these notes, promising not to sue and giving IBIll TWO YEARS to pay debts, or their only other option is to claim bankruptcy - NOT GOOD!

Remember one thing.. a corporation exists for one reason, to make a profit. Ibill hasn't held your money for two years.. it SHOULD NOT take them two years to finalize a few months of debts with it customers. The math doesn't work out.

I guess that they are trying to see how many people they can get to bite with this agreement, like Acacia did, and depending on the response, they will either go forwar, or go Chapter 11, as they stated their only two options are. I say goto small claimes TODAY, file your claim before they go Chapter 11, get a different processor, and hope for the best. Don't be afraid of court, they've heard it all, you are owed money and it's every citizens right to have justice and not be used by greedy corporations! My .00002 cents worth.

[Squirt]

I would be cautious of ANY COMPANY that wants you to sign an agreement voiding your right for them to pay you monies owed. Their track record isn't good and they want you to "trust them" with all of their broken promises to date, AND have no recourse if they break their word again? WTF! :err:

[basschick]

let's look at it a little differently - as if ibill was one person instead of a corporation. we'll call him bob.

1. bob doesn't have enough money to pay his rent and his bills so

2. he borrows money to pay part of his bills, and to help him get a new warddrobe to look for work but

3. he only borrows 1/10th of what he needs.

now, bob has a job that already isn't sufficient to pay his bills, which is why he is late on all of them. he hasn't borrowed enough money to pay his bills off, but only enough to pay part of them.

he offers his landlord and his phone bill 10% of what he owes them. he owes all other debtors a smaller percent, and tells them he will pay them back within two years. but during that time, he has the same monthly expenses he had that didn't allow him to pay his bills in the first place, and he has the same income he had when things went wrong. yes, he's hoping to get a new job, but that may not happen.

when you look at it this way, can you really believe ibill will make good? bob here couldn't get a loan at the bank, and he would be evicted for non payment right after his utilities and credit cards were turned off.

[Squirt]

let's look at it a little differently - as if ibill was one person instead of a corporation. we'll call him bob.

1. bob doesn't have enough money to pay his rent and his bills so

2. he borrows money to pay part of his bills, and to help him get a new warddrobe to look for work but

3. he only borrows 1/10th of what he needs.

now, bob has a job that already isn't sufficient to pay his bills....

Ok good analogy Basschick but I think you’re being insensitive. Can we look at it from a Gay perspective?

Steve has a sugar Daddy to pay all his bills, but things go wrong when the sugar Daddy wants him to be a top... so Steve’s sugar daddy is gone.. meanwhile:

1) Steve has to go out and buy this seasons outfits, goto the clubs, and make all the usual social appearances ( the bathhouse, high school gym, and gloryholes )

2) He borrows money from his mother, who hasn't told her husband their son is Gay, so she only has access to a limited amount of funds. He's using the money for a new wardrobe, to hook another sugar Daddy and buy expensive cologne ( the latest Calvin Klein fragrance ).

3) So Steve only nets 1/10 of the funds he needs..

Now Steve has a job in retail but he only works there for discounts on big name designers, the money he makes isn't enough to pay his bills, only the phone, health club, and porn site memberships. He immediately charges back his five most expensive porn site memberships to save for a rainy day.

He offers his landlord and phone guy a blowjob in return for favorable payment arrangements. He succeeds. He owes all other debtors a small percentage and thanks God he took the unemployed option with all his loans and credit cards, he purposely gets fired from his job so he can get unemployment and have CC insurance pay his monthly bills for a year while he looks for the perfect sugar Daddy BUT during that time he has the same monthly expenses he had that didn't allow him to pay in the first place.. and the fat married landlord and closet case phone guy both want kinkier and kinkier sex, and Steve doesn't know if he's up for that. Steve's wanting to get another Sugar Daddy but doesn't know if that's going to happen soon as he just turned 22 and is over the hill in Gay years.

When you look at it this way, can you really believe Ibill will make good? Steve here couldn't get a Sugar Daddy in time, and he would be evicted for not putting out more with the landlord, right after his utilities and credit cards were turned off because he couldn't resist maxing them out durring the sales season this year! :gossip:

[basschick]

*LOLOLOLOL*

ibill has yet to offer anyone i've heard of sexual favors in lieu of payment. it would certainly be more than most of us are getting from them now

steve has more to offer than ibill, although it's not money - as long as you can give him a credit card, and are satisfied with less-than-kinky sex, steve can deliver for a new sugar daddy.

in fact, i think we'd all be better off hooking up with steve rather than ibill. at least we get oral sex!

[MWCren]

I'm taking their deal, and hoping for the best. I got a new processor last fall and have ibill's GKard as part of my cascade billing. They have been paying GKard transactions on time through a third party, and that is very encouraging.

My thoughts on the 2 year payout is that its better than nothing. As one of the little guys that got squeezed hard with the entire situation, I learned a valuable lesson about having all my processing eggs in one basket. I had resigned myself to the idea of never seeing the money, expecting a Chapter 11 filing, and receiving a debtor claim form from the bankruptcy court. I can't afford to hire an attorney in FL to sue them, so I'm one of the many that has been hit hard.

The first data release seems to be a good step. The GKard payments are a good step. If the cash infusion they claim to have received is used to pay revshare past due and current check rebills, then I can live with that.

I still have a lot of unanswered questions about the entire situation, but I'm trying to move past ibill, and at this point, something is better than a sharp stick in the eye.