Jet99 - A Scam Afterall! (Please do NOT Remove!)
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Rehoboth Beach, DE
Programs: AA ExPlat; Marriott Plat: Hilton Gold
Posts: 831
Jet99 - A Scam Afterall! (Please do NOT Remove!)
Read the below message that was just sent to me for Jet99. I now believe the whole damn thing to be a scam!
Dear Jet99 Member,
I'm writing to update you on our credit card processing issues with our
processor, (Paysystems), and how this effects commissions, pay numbers,
and Jet99 business.
In case you were not aware, anyone who was attempting to make a credit
card payment since 9:00 AM Friday August 6, 2004 has been unable to do
so. This had nothing to do with Jet99, and was totally out of our
control.
Before I get into the details and hopefully bring clarity to this
situation, I want everyone to know that Jet99 is financially secure and this
speed bump will not negatively affect any of our members financially
nor will it stop us from continuing with our business plans.
I hope you will appreciate the effort that it took to bring all this
together, and I hope this answers many questions that have been asked as
well as those that have not yet been asked. Additionally, I appreciate
the time, interest and effort you will have put in to read this as
well.
To help you navigate this long message I broke it down into sections as
outlined below:
1. Credit card processor
a. Paysystems tells us what really happened
b. Jet99 explains how it is going to move forward
2. Commission Payments to members
a. The pay run on August 10, 2004
b. Concerns about Pay Number Adjustments
c. What to expect in the future
3. Jet99 Business
a. Mazumah Partnership Change Announcement
b. Companion Tickets
4. Questions and Answers
a. How to ask
b. What to Expect
c. Time Frames
----------------------------
1. Credit Card processor
Question: So, what happened to Jet99's ability to take credit cards?
Answer: Here is what we know:
This credit card issue is very broad, as it affected over 2000
companies world-wide and Jet99 just so happens to be one of them. Here is what
our credit card processor "Paysystems" had to say:
"IMPORTANT NOTICE : myPaySystems Forced to Terminate its Internet
Billing Account (IBA) Services Effective Immediately
Dear myPaySystems merchant,
Due to circumstances beyond our control, we must terminate our
myPaySystems Internet Billing Account (IBA) services. This unfortunate
situation is due in part to, restrictions imposed by the VISA/MasterCard
association on processing of Internet credit card transactions by third
party billing companies, and, our acquirer Pago eTransaction Services
GmbH/Deutsche Bank, suspending our accounts and accelerating the termination
of our IBA processing capabilities.
All merchants currently processing through an IBA will no longer be
able to process transactions and we are forced to give notice that
effective immediately, August 9, 2004, your myPaySystems IBA Agreement is
terminated. Further, as per section 9.3(e), notice is given that all funds
must be held pending risk review of each account. At this time no
release schedule is
available, as each case attracts its own risk profile. There are also
external factors which require final determination. Once we ascertain
the resolution of your risk scenario, your funds may be released in the
normal course.
Question:
How does this affect Jet99 and what is Jet99 going to do now?
Answer:
The main affect is a delay in accepting credit cards again, and
negotiating with Paysystems as to when we will receive the money from paid
memberships.
Fortunately, Jet99 had already been working on a better quality
solution for the volume of credit card transactions that we process. Our
plans were to make the move to the new processor as we began Phase II of
our business.
We are very happy that we were pro-active in establishing this other
banking relationship ahead of time and within 24 hours of receiving the
notification from Paysystems we had already begun testing our new credit
card processor, and found that everything was in order.
We expect to be accepting credit card payments by August 23, 2004 at
the latest. We need to integrate the credit cards with our databases, and
business partners.
2. Commission Payments to members
Question:
Why was the pay run on August 10, 2004 much smaller than we expected
and the Pay Numbers only change 28 positions?
Answer:
The main issue surrounds Paysystem's shutting down credit card
processing only four (4) days prior to what was to be thousands of people
paying. No-one could have chosen a worse time for this to happen.
In addition to halting credit card processing, Paysystems states that
they don't know when we will receive monies from all customers who
charges transacted between July 26 and August 6, 2004. They say their money
is on hold; therefore our money is on hold.
Since Paysystems is holding all credit card transactions from July 25th
forward, we only paid commissions based on funds we received via
'online checks' which accounts for only 3% of our gross transactions.
Rather than not pay commissions at all, we chose too pay our members as
promised. The calculation of commissions was solely off the Activations
from checks. And since this is only 3% of our business the end result
was a very small pay run and Pay Numbers only moved slightly.
Question:
When does Jet99 expect to have this Paysystems situation resolved?
Answer:
We hope to have clarity within the next two weeks, but this again is
out of our control. We have been in constant discussions since Friday
August 6, and will be flying to meet at their offices in Canada, next
Wednesday August 18, 2004. We attempted to fly out and meet them on 8/10 or
8/11 and they declined the meeting due to lack of information on their
part. We will report back to everyone on August 19th or 20th.
Fortunately we have done good business with them and we don't foresee
any issues, other than what exists in there negotiations with Pago
eTransaction services and themselves.
Question:
Will members be paid commission on these payments that were not paid by
Pay Systems?
Answer:
Yes, when we receive the money. When we are back from Paysystems on
August 19, 2004 we should have a much better picture and will update
everyone by August 20, 2004. We have followed all rules, and we believe all
the money should transfer to us. We just need to know when and how, so
we can offer clear communications and not speculation.
Question:
When will the next commission run be?
Answer:
This is based more on when we start accepting credit card payments. As
of last evening 8/11/04 we began taking INTgold as well as established
a mail in check form. Again, as we have stated above, we will announce
details on August 19th or 20th after our meeting in Canada with
Paysystems.
3. Jet99 Business
Question:
What was stated on the Conference call about Mazumah Partnership
expanding?
Answer:
Jet99 took this negative situation and accelerated negotiations with
Mazumah to enhance our payment processes as well as increase the value of
our Jet99 membership to our members. We will announce the details in
the next couple days.
As previously stated, all Jet99 members existing and new will receive a
basic Mazumah account. This will begin as soon as we begin accepting
credit cards again.
Question:
Did this credit card system issue affect Jet99 sending Companion
tickets as promised?
Answer:
No. The companion tickets began shipping 8/11/04. The majority have
already our fulfillment center.
Question:
Will any other Jet99 business plans be delayed due to this situation?
Answer:
At this time, we don't foresee any additional delays in our business
plans. We see no reason to delay closing of this Introductory Test flight
on August 31, 2004 and begin our normal 7 day test flight as described
on our website.
If anything should arise we will make the appropriate announcements.
The company has cash on hand and the monies held by the credit card
processors is money the business could manage without. We just want to be
able to deliver all goods and services as promised to everyone who
thought they paid Jet99 for memberships.
4. Communicating with Jet99
Question:
I still have questions, what is the best way to reach Jet99?
Answer:
To receive the most prompt replies, you should email your questions to:
mailto:[email protected] (for customer support) or
mailto:[email protected] (for all issues regarding Activating or
Enrolling memberships)
Question:
How long will it take for me to have an answer to my question?
Answer:
Please allow 1-2 business days for response. We also answer questions
sent to us on daily conference calls.
I hope this addresses the majority of your questions and concerns. Of
course if you have any additional questions or concerns please email
them to us so we can continue to support all your informational needs.
For those of you who read this far, I sincerely thank you for your
interest and taking the time to learn more about Jet99.
Sincerely,
Philip Tarazi
President, Jet99

