Sorry, this is long, but I'd appreciate anyone who could help with this exchange with 1and1's customer service

[wem]

I have a website hosted by them. I don't know much about websites and a friend built it for me and handed over the files once he was finished. I do know there is nothing on the website that links to 1and1...

Dear wem

We have recorded a sale generated through your affiliate account on 21.05.2012.
This order was made by the customer clicking on your banner or link. We are very pleased to credit you the commission for this sale. The following amount will be credited to your debit or credit card (Under the provision of reclaim through noncompliance with the minimum contract terms or violation of the commission conditions. Please check all the Affiliate Program Terms and Conditions in your Control Panel.)

Product Type: 1&1 Standard Windows
Credit entry designation: Affiliate Oneandone.co.uk - Commission 6
Credit entry number: ***
Date: 22.05.2012

Item Description Refund
11009 Affiliate Oneandone.co.uk - Commission 6 £ 15.0

----
Total amount: £ 15.0

In the case of a reclaim, we reserve the right to settle and debit the amount from your credit card.

In your personal control panel, you can get detailed statistics and an overview of the generated sales and credited commission. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact us: [email protected].

As you can see, it is very easy to earn money with our Affiliate program. We thank you for your cooperation and look forward to your next referral.

Your 1&1 Affiliate Team
www.oneandone.co.uk

Dear 1and1

I think this is probably a scam, but I am concerned that they have my email address and account number. Please could someone look into this for me?

Thanks,
wem

Dear wem

Thank you for contacting us.

The email is genuinely from 1&1. It is not a scam. The email explains about the Affiliate program. Each time a customer you?ve referred clicks that banner or link and signs up with us, we?ll pay you. Our automated tracking system ensures that you get credit for all new customers that originate from your website.

If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely,
1and1 person

Please could explain further about this, I haven't signed up for the Affiliate program, what card details have you used to credit the £15?

Dear wem

Thank you for contacting us.

We checked the information we have here in our end and it appears that there was a sign up made. A banner is integrated in your website and someone have clicked it and was redirected to the order site. However, you gained a commission for that. To check your commission, please log in to the 1&1 Control Panel (www.admin.1and1.co.uk). Click on the My Data link and you will find the Affiliate link there.

If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact us.

I haven't got a banner, I haven't signed up to anything. What details do you have of the website this banner is supposed to be on?

Dear wem,

Thank you for contacting us.

Once that you have an account with us, automatically you are able to have a banner and this banner links to a 1&1 Websites.

If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact us.

I HAVEN'T GOT A BANNER ON MY WEBSITE!

I'm am ashamed to say that was my last answer to them. It's so infuriating that they keep saying 'If you have any further questions...' when they haven't answered any of my previous questions!

Actually, I've missed out a step where I ask them to confirm which website it is so that I can check they haven't got the wrong details, but it just came back with all the same platitudes.

They think they have answered all your questions. The answers are: you have earned a commission because someone has clicked on a banner which is linked to your account. Everyone with a 1-and-1 account automatically has this facility to earn commissions, and the commissions are credited to the credit card they have on file for paying for your account.

If you post or PM the address of your website I will have a look and see if there is a link there you don't know about.

Thanks for getting through all that MrAnchovy - is it possible that this has all happened without my knowledge or consent then?

My website is here

They haven't answered all my questions - I also asked what card details they have credited it to (I know they are unlikely to be able to give these out, but they don't even address it)and what website they are talking about.

Oh, and I haven't been credited with £15.

Can't see anything there. It may be that this happened when the site was being set up, and the credit has gone to the person that did that because their credit card is still registered to the account? Have you asked them?

It could also be that someone else has mistakenly posted your affiliate id on their site. Try googling your ID.

You should be able to find out more details from the affiliate control panel see here.

Nice cakes BTW

Thanks, I ordered the package and let him have the log in details, so there's only my card associated with it.

When I log in I don't get any account or control panel tabs, beyond the normal hosting stuff, just the hard sell on the affiliate program, like I haven't signed up yet...

Probably worth explaining how affiliate links work.

As a 1and1 customer you are automatically signed up to their affiliate program and given a unique Affiliate ID. The idea is that you post banners or text on your web site, or in emails, with links that contain your Affiliate ID. If someone clicks on that link, when that person arrives at the 1and1 web site, 1and1 can see the Affiliate ID and if that person goes on to buy something, 1and1 give you some cash.

The key to this is the Affiliate ID. If your ID is 1234567 and there is a link somewhere on the internet with the URL www.1and1.co.uk/somepromotion?affiliateid=1234567 (that's not a real example, but you get the idea), when someone cliks on that link, 1and1 set a cookie on the visitor's browser that tracks commision on their purchases back to your account.

Note that many sites (Mumsnet for instance) pass external links through a process which strips posters' affiliate IDs out and adds Mumsnet's own IDs so they earn the commission. That's what 'redirectingat' does.

Thanks for that, I'm confident if I read it through another couple of times I'll get it

Really? If you log in at admin.1and1.co.uk don't you get a menu from which you can select?

Account -> Affiliate Program -> Statistics?

Sorry, lots of cross-posting because I am doing too many things at once

Ok, got it now. I was following the 'affiliate program' link on the main page. On my main control panel there is a long list of 'more features' in v small text with affiliate program at the bottom of it. It still doesn't tell me much, just has the fact that there has been one commission.

I'll just have to talk to them on monday. I phoned once, got put on hold for '30 seconds' - 5 mins later I hung up. Then called again and got told I'd have to speak to the billing dept who were closed til monday. Still some things that don't add up - no banner on my site, and no £15 in my account! Thanks for all your help.

Sometimes a credit will take a while to process, and may depend on the 'new customer' paying several months (if they have monthly fees) before it is considered valid (in case they sign up, pay 1st month, you get a credit, and then they cancel, never to use 1and1 [or whomever] again.

So a credit may be "pending" for a while. As MrA indicated, a banner might have been there before your site was put online (and a default "Website under construction" or " This domain is registered by a customer of 1and1 " may have been shown [where the link had your affiliate ID included] - so a click might have taken place between registering the domain / renting hosting space and getting 'your' pages on that webspace.

Do you pay monthly ? If so, could a chunk (or all) the credit have already been used for a month or two's payments to 1and1... it deduction taken from an credit in your 'account' before asking for debit using your CC/DC so you got some free month(s) ?