Memolink Continues to Shaft Members

November 4, 2003 · 27 comments

The Memolink program, which has a bad reputation for ridiculous delays in sending prize redemptions, continues to show that their reputation is well-deserved.
A reader here was kind enough to pass along the email he received from ML after inquiring about a long-overdue redemption — a Webcertificate he redeemed for in mid-May that still has not arrived. In their response, below, Tim Stephens of ML Customer Support says that the prize will be sent “in the next couple of months.” Excuse me? It’s been 5.5 months already!! Then they have the gall to request that he not send any more emails on this matter until December?!
Is there any other rewards program that treats its members so shabbily? And continues to be in business??
Click MORE for the full text of the letter from Memolink.


—– Original Message —–
From: norepliesplease@memolink.com
To: xxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.COM
Sent: Tuesday, October 28, 2003 5:53 PM
Subject: Memolink has responded to your submission
>
>
> Your Request:
> Almost 10 weeks now since my WebCertificate was supposedly sent for
redemption, and still nothing (and no reply to my last inquiry either).
What’s the deal?
>
> Memolink’s response:
> Dear xxxx:
>
> Thank you for your email. Unfortunately, our summer orders have been
delayed. We know this disappointing news, but rest assured you will
receive
your prize(s). Please understand that we are working hard to ship
these
prizes in the next couple of months. We will be sending you an update
regarding your prize order(s) and when you can expect them to arrive.
This
update will be sent to your email address around Dec. 1, and will
include
information on prizes that have been filled and prizes that are not yet
filled from earlier this year.
>
> Memolink is growing rapidly and we are in the process of upgrading
our
prize fulfillment and fraud protection processes so that 2004 prize
orders
are handled in a much more timely manner.
>
> Again, we understand your concern, but we ask that you refrain from
sending emails regarding these prizes until you have received our
update in
December. Have a nice day.
>
>
> Sincerely,
> Tim Stevens
> Member Support
> Memolink, Inc.
>
>
> If you have any other questions or concerns, please use this link:

http://www.memolink.com/custserv.cfm?action=view&ID=xxxxxx

> ——————————————————————-
> PLEASE NOTE: Email replies to this message will be ignored. Please
use the
link above to respond to this message.
>

Share this:
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Plusone Digg Stumbleupon Email

{ 27 comments… read them below or add one }

Ray November 5, 2003 at 6:06 pm

Well that is odd, I must say. I’ve had to wait long periods of time to get my gift certificates from Memolink, but I have always got them. Sure the slowness sucks, but at least they do pay them out. I currently have $150 worth of GCs to Media Play sitting at home waiting to be used thanks to Memolink.
All I know is that it is very easy to earn points w/o spending money, and they do deliver the prizes…just maybe not as fast as some people would like…

Reply

Jann Edwards November 7, 2003 at 10:20 am

I have always received my Webcertificates from Memolink…sometimes in a short while, sometimes after a year and many letters to them. I will hang in there with Memolink.

Reply

Whitney November 16, 2003 at 6:57 pm

I agree, and will hang in with Memolink. It takes a while – a long while, in some cases — but I have always gotten the gift cards.

Reply

mary November 17, 2003 at 6:55 pm

only 5.5 months. last time it took me 8 months but i got my webbie. i have always gotten paid and last time because i was so long in getting paid they gave me a gold membership for free for 6 months. it gives 10% extra points on everything.

Reply

robin November 22, 2003 at 4:18 pm

yeah ive been waiting over a year for my reward and they put me on the gold membership for 6 months but what differencce does it make to make 10% more if you dont get paid out for it. if anyone wants to start a group mailing,boycott, or petition count me in.

Reply

LORRAINE November 23, 2003 at 12:34 am

I’ve been waiting 3 months. And I have not received any type of response to my requests.

Reply

cat November 26, 2003 at 10:23 am

i got my gift card after only 3 months of waiting! i guess i’m one of the lucky ones.

Reply

Jeff December 16, 2003 at 5:31 pm

Just been informed by memolink that it’s going to take 12-16 weeks to process (From the previous 6-12 weeks). With my 16 weeks ending on Jan 5, I’m sure I’ll get something else saying that the holidays got them busy etc…blah blah blah…I think they’re a terrible organization also.
but hey – you get what you pay for. use mypoints or any other service for that matter. this has got to be the worst.

Reply

Joseph December 19, 2003 at 11:19 pm

Excuses, excuses! Been waiting 6 months for ordered and filled prizes. It is one excuse or another. Now the ordered and filled prizes have been cancelled and I have been given a memogold membership to compensate. Now it is reorder and supposedly wait 6-8 weeks. I am sure it won’t happen. I think it is all a scam. I think a class action lawsuit for breach is a good idea.

Reply

Rebecca January 3, 2004 at 4:47 pm

Hi all!
I just stumbled across this site. I have sent in numerous letters to Memolink, and have received a host of replies back, much like Becky’s letter. I can also relate to Joseph. They have been doing the EXACT same thing to me, regarding two prizes! Both prizes were canceled, and my points were refunded. All I could do was just order more prizes; I’m still waiting on them.
No matter how many letters I send in, it just doesn’t seem to do the trick. If anyone wants to see these letters, I will gladly copy & paste, or e-mail them to you. My work e-mail is : wozniack6@hotmail.com

Reply

mike January 7, 2004 at 9:10 pm

ive had the same problem , out of all the prizes ive earned , around 8 or 10 only received one , a 10 dollar red lobster gift card , ive emailed many times with no response, other web rewards like freedvds . com , have been very fast with my prizes , until i receive my prizes i will no longer waste my time with the triva and visiting web sites , sorry memolink i dont have time, i wish they had a snail mail address, i would like to write them a long letter !!!!! maybe then id get results!

Reply

marg January 14, 2004 at 12:07 am

Hit memolink where it hurts. Start contacting the advertisers.

Reply

ANNIE January 29, 2004 at 9:57 pm

MEMOLINK IS IN THE MIDDLE OF A MAJOR LAWSUIT IN PENNSYLVANIA FOR NON PAYMENT TO ANOTHER COMPANY THEY DO BUSINESS WITH(FOR LIKE $75,000.00). I USE TO BE A LOYAL MEMBER BUT I AM THROWING IN THE TOWEL. THEY OWE ME $80.00 WORTH OF CERTIFICATES AND I GET NOTHING BUT NASTY E-MAILS FROM “HENRY BULLIS”-CUSTOMER SUPPORT WHEN I ASK ABOUT THEM. HERE IS THE ADMINISTRATIVE CONTACT INFO.
MARK MARIN
MEMOLINK INC.
7596 W JEWELL AVENUE SUITE 101
LAKEWOOD CO 80232
PHONE 303-727-9807
IF YOU WANT TO READ MORE ABOUT THE LAWSUIT JUST DO A SEARCH FOR MEMOLINK. I THINK IT WAS ON THE 2ND PAGE.

Reply

Becky January 30, 2004 at 10:17 am

Not to defend Memolink (perish the thought!) but the lawsuit was filed in ’97 and ML lost it in ’99. It involved a printing contract they had that they claim was breached. It was a long time ago and I doubt it has any bearing on why folks aren’t getting paid now.
Memolink’s latest (as of 1/04) can be read here:
http://www.lurid.org/compare/archives/000332.html#000332

Reply

Shirley Kuske April 16, 2004 at 9:05 am

Memolink has promised to send a gift card last December still haven’t received it call several times and been promised it will be here but nothing yet

Reply

Jennifer Daley May 28, 2004 at 1:09 pm

I traded in my point sept/03 for 25$ gift cert. to walmart and on may 28th, 2004 still havent received anything. they did email me crap about the advertisers not paying them so they cant fufill their end. but they say they are catching up slowly. I feel like its alot of crap too.

Reply

Veronica June 11, 2004 at 9:56 am

Below is something I received from Memolink six months ago. I have tried to contact them and they bury their website and email addresses. Currently their prize fulfillment website is offline(?!) I don’t want to let them off the hook and I’m thinking of some good, old-fashioned corporate activism by notifying each and every client of their’s about their sham dealings. I have been trying for over a year to get even one redemption. Until I see it, I too will claim that the people defending Memolink are probably company sponsored.
From: prizeupdate@mailapp1.memolink.net
Reply-To: prizeupdate@memolink.com
Subject: Memolink Prize Update
Date: 23 Jan 2004 13:44:23 -0700
Dear Veronica,
We are truly sorry that you have not yet received your prize. After three years of struggling with late prizes, we are still in the same position.
You have likely heard more than one reason from Memolink as to why your prizes have not been delivered. Although we have had some problems with our fulfillment system and old technology, the underlying problem has still not changed. We are still recovering from the “Dot Com” fall out dating back three years. Memolink is a small company of less then 20 people, and although we have tried many different ideas, and several new marketing strategies, it is a constant struggle to purchase $1.5 million dollars worth of prizes for which we were never paid by advertisers. The good news is, we have slowly knocked out $1 million of that prize debt in the last two years, and those prizes have been shipped! The bad news is, we still have quite a bit more to cover before we are completely caught up, which we feel will be sometime in the next 12 months.
As many of you are aware, Memolink, unlike many of its competitors, still honor the points you earn, even when we’re not paid by our advertisers. Other point programs are known to reverse the points you’ve earned when they’re not paid by advertisers. We’ve always felt that our policy was a better approach as we didn’t want to penalize our members for something they had no control over. Recently, the economic climate for Internet companies has improved. The resurgence in our economy, the positive trend in online commerce and the failing of less stable rewards programs (our competitors) are all positive signs for Memolink.
We do keep up with the buzz on the message boards. The most common statement made by Memolink members is they just want us to be honest about their prize orders. Frankly, we want to be honest. We will no longer put a soft-cushion on our excuse, or give you a date that your prize will arrive. The truth is, we aren’t sure. We have many loyal members that come to our site each day to complete offers worth many points. These members keep us in business and will be rewarded – they will receive their prizes. We also have many loyal members that come to our site each day and participate in only “free point offers” that don’t bring in revenue. We are happy to provide these free offers, but this has caused an unforeseen financial strain that may need to be corrected if prizes aren’t caught up soon.
What’s our solution? We have created a new prize delivery arrangement that will allow us to take many things into consideration before shipping the
prize to a member. This arrangement is designed to deliver prizes first to candidates that will come back and earn us the most revenue, enabling us to ship ALL prizes quicker. We would like to say again, all the prizes that have been ordered will be delivered, but we will not be able to give you a date at this time. After testing this delivery method, we hope to better predict when your prize will arrive, but we won’t be able to do so until we see how well it works. Suffice it to say, if you complete revenue generating offers on Memolink (shopping, credit cards, clubs, etc.), both old and new prize orders will be given some priority.
The MemoGold program was launched to select members to show our appreciation to those who have stuck with us over the years. We will keep the system in place and current Memogold members will still receive other benefits of having an upgraded account, but the accelerated prize shipping won’t be reintroduced until we have our prize shipments back under control. Once this has happened, we’ll be launching the MemoGold program in full force and we can concentrate on giving it the attention it needs to be the best elite program on the Web!
You have continually asked us for forthright and honest answers. We are doing this for you today, even though it may not be the answer you want. We have confidence that this is the best solution, and quite possibly the ONLY solution, if we want to get out of this three year prize shipping deficit.
We welcome your feedback – but understand that we are unable to answer all emails regarding specific prizes at this time. While we are working through this new prize plan, we will be concentrating on prize organization, and emails related to specific prizes may go unanswered until we know where we stand. All other questions related to your account will be handled as quickly and as accurately as possible. Without hundreds of prize questions daily, we hope to give more attention to other Member Support issues.
We appreciate your understanding. Please know we are doing the best we can to rectify this situation as soon as possible. When this new strategy proves successful, and we are able to ship all the prize requests, it will mean a new beginning for Memolink, and a fresh start for its loyal members!
Unlike others in the industry, we’re not looking to take the easy way out. We will pay off all prizes while continuing to enhance the point earning opportunities and services available to you on Memolink.com.
Memolink has been in business since 1994 and will celebrate its 10 year anniversary this June. We’re looking forward to another 10 years in
business and hope that you’ll continue to be a loyal member.
Best regards,
Memolink Member Support Team
IS THIS A LOAD OF CRAP OR WHAT?! MyPoints is a far better company and that’s where I’ll be spending my money ($$$)!

Reply

Stella July 4, 2004 at 1:26 am

I’ve never got anything from them. been over a year now

Reply

Brian August 1, 2004 at 3:58 am

Mypoints.com rules! when i turn in my points i get my prize within less than 2 weeks. i got a $10 Walmart giftcard in just 4 daysMemolink.com is a joke and half, and after “10 yrs of business” and they can’t get their act together–then something is really wrong and i’m outta there. oh i never received anything from them ever. i have received things for years from mypoints.com without any hassle whatsoever. they also write back immediately to any inquiries. use BRIANMCB2 as a referral name and i think we both get extra points if you sign up there. you won’t regret it at all. that site is awesome. memolink sounds like fraud. period.

Reply

Johanna January 5, 2005 at 7:20 pm

I have been waiting for two years and nothing from memolink. I think that goes beyond “slow” to “getting shafted.”

Reply

Rose Lantagne January 7, 2005 at 9:59 pm

I have been waiting for a year for a Gift certificate. To date, nothing. And to top it off, when I go to Memolink now, I login ok, click on a link, and it just goes back to the login page.
Is anyone else having this problem?

Reply

Ken June 6, 2005 at 4:02 pm

I have been waiting 9 months for two $10 gift certifcates to Outback Steak House. Memolink says they sent them but I never received them. Henry Bullis of Memolink support indicated they were probably lost in the mail, however Memolink will only send them again when they receive them back from the Post Office. I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau online. I also joined the boycot Memolink program at http://www.gptboycott.com/submit.php
Memolink is already on their watch list and with a few more complaints and they will be on the boycot list.

Reply

jen July 14, 2005 at 7:34 pm

Is anyone having problems getting on the site?? I think they just shut down with out notifing anyone!!!!!

Reply

Anonymous July 23, 2005 at 3:41 pm

Please dont send any more bullshit email. Thank you. Take me off your damn email list NOW>

Reply

Kevin August 31, 2005 at 1:38 pm

Memolink sucks!!!
I’ve been waiting for 4 months for 2 gift certificates. All I get from memolink is run around & bullshit.

Reply

al September 2, 2005 at 8:00 am

can someone explain how memolink works to me? email me at my email, i would much appreciate it.

Reply

Sally October 12, 2006 at 2:21 pm

I noticed Rewardtv likes to shaft people too… anyone else have this problem? seems their site malfunctions quite often. I have sent 2 emails without any response after months.

Reply

Leave a Comment