On Hold

How NOT to lose your Freebie Account


2007-08-17 08:57


"On Hold" - probably the two most feared words in the Incentivized Freebie Website community. What does it mean? Well, to put it briefly, it means that despite any offers you've completed or people you've referred, you're not getting your prize. While many people think that putting people "on hold" is a way for Incentivized Freebie Websites to make money, in fact it is the legitimate companies' way to prevent the fraud which is becoming more and more rampant in the community. So how can you prevent going on hold in the first place, and what should you do if somehow you DO end up on hold?

The most important thing to do when signing up for anything, be it an IFW, and offer, or a car loan, is to read any Terms and Conditions before agreeing to anything. So many people skip this step when it's likely the most important one. The terms and conditions of an incentivized freebie website can answer most of your questions about the company's policies. Here are some common rules that people overlook :

  • One account per household. They aren't kidding about this, IFWs will cross-reference the IP address you use to access your account with other users. Make sure that you are the only person at your IP address signing up for this IFW, and don't check your account from public places. Don't try to create more than one account at a site, or you will lose all your accounts!
  • You may only complete each offer once. Keep track of any offers you do, because you may NEVER repeat an offer, even for a different IFW.
  • You may not sign up using a proxy (including AOL). Because proxy IP addresses can be used to try to hide a user's real IP, people sometimes try signing up via a proxy to create multiple accounts. You will get caught if you try this! Some ISPs such as AOL use proxy IP addresses and are therefore not allowed on IFWs.
  • Do not give your referrals "walkthroughs". Incentivized Freebie Websites want each member to complete the site independently. You are not allowed to tell someone what offer to do or use your credit card for their offer. Be especially careful of recommending offers to friends, because if all your referrals complete the same offer, you may be accused of "walking through" your referrals and be placed on hold.
  • Frauding the site or offer in any way. Despite the high percentage of people who get caught, people continue to try to fraud the freebie sites and offer companies by using false information, stolen credit cards, signing up for offers and immediately cancelling, etc. 99% of these people get caught. There's absolutely no reason to fraud when it is so easy to get your freebies legitimately.

If you exercise common sense and follow the Terms and Conditions of both the IFW and the offer, you will not be placed on hold. But what if you missed something in the rules, or you're placed on hold for some unknown reason, what should you do then?

The first thing you should do if you go on hold is take a deep breath. It's not the end of the world. There is a slight chance that you can recover your account if you truly did not do anything wrong, but you will only be able to do so if you handle the situation calmly and with maturity. Writing angry messages or swearing at the support staff will only worsen your chances of being taken off hold.

Review the IFW's terms and conditions. Did you follow their rules? Check to see if the IFW has listed WHY you are hold in your account status. If you are still puzzled, contact the IFW's customer support and request information. Do not demand to be taken off hold, just ask if you can find out why you were placed on hold. If you did break the terms and conditions of the IFW it is very unlikely that you will have the hold removed. However, if there was a simple misunderstanding, such as a typo in the information you entered, you may be able to ask politely if they could reconsider your case. Remember that the IFW is under no obligation to remove the hold, so being patient and non-aggressive is your best option.

If you cannot have the hold removed, it is not the end for you. There are many IFW networks and you can try another one. Bear in mind that if you go on hold at one site, you will be placed on hold for all sites on that network. Additionally, some IFW's share information so there is a chance that you will be placed on hold elsewhere if you were found to be committing fraud.

Hopefully you will never be placed on hold, but if you are, remember that you are working on a free gift, which should be a bonus for completing offers that you are already genuinely interested in. If you follow the information on FreebieScout.com, and the Terms and Conditions of the sites you join, you should never have to deal with going on hold.


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Comments

2007 December 12, 13:22 Zach wrote :
i know that referral trading is illegal but personal experience tells me that as long as you do different offers each time the company (trainn in this case) does not care just as long as you dont help your account but hey i will do one for you if you do one for me it works


2007 December 13, 00:12 FreebieScout.com wrote :
Referral trading is not illegal. It's a widely accepted method of obtaining referrals. Many site owners themselves trade referrals on other sites.