Many of you that are new here may not realize that crediting times for offers differ. They can vary from site to site, offer to offer, and even person to person. You're probably looking at the last part of that statement, and are wondering "how it's possible for crediting to differ from person to person." It's quite simple, actually.
Most people have a process they use to complete offers, and it's likely referred to as a "crediting guide." The reason for following a crediting guide is to ensure that you do everything in your power possible to make sure you receive credit for the offers you complete. Is this a guarantee that you will receive credit? The answer is "NO."
I'm sure there are a lot of widened eyes, and confused faces by now. But let me explain something else to you. If you will read the Terms of Service of any freebie site, you will notice something.
It is clearly stated that the site does not make any claim or guarantee that you will receive credit. The reason that this is so is because the sites ARE NOT the ones issuing credits.
These sites are powered by scripts, and crediting is automated. When you complete an offer it is credited to your account via postback. A postback is simply a communication between one script and another saying that an offer has been completed. If you complete an offer and it doesn't show up on your account, it's because of failed tracking. These scripts are very sensitive so the smallest error can cause an offer not to credit.
If your cookies get mixed up because you have been browsing offers on more than site, it may cause a break in the normal tracking of the offer. The script is unable to differentiate between where the cookie came from or even worse it has become corrupted. In either case, your offer will not credit.
If you have a firewall (every computer on Windows OS has one preinstalled), an antivirus program, a spam blocker, a malware protection program, or anything similar installed on your computer, you need to pay especially close attention to the configurations of each of these programs. They have been preprogrammed to react to certain instances, and completing offers will upset them to say the least. Why, you may ask? It's because of the most important component of completing an offer, the cookies.
When you click on an offer, that website places (or attempts to place) a cookie on your computer. See the problem? Windows OS has default security settings which are intended to block any incoming "intrusion" from an outside computer/network. You and I know that there is no harm in a cookie being placed on the computer, and that it is to track your offer completion, but your computer doesn't know. All that your system can tell is that some outside device is trying to access it, which is a BIG RED FLAG. This is why it is so very important that you check these settings and anything you think is related to these before completing an offer.
Next in line is the browsers being used and the configuration of them. You need to make sure you understand your browser and how it works. Sounds like a load of crap, right? I mean, who doesn't know how a browser works? Regardless of how you feel about it, there's more to an internet browser than just surfing the web.
You know how your OS comes preconfigured with all of those security settings, well, guess what? Consider your browser a mini-OS. Although on a lesser scale, it has security settings, too. And if you don't know what to do or how to do what you think you're doing, it can mean NO CREDIT. You may have tackled your computer's security system to allow cookies to pass-through, but fail to set up your browser properly, and you're back at square one.
After all of that, do you understand why crediting can very from person to person? Not all people will take the necessary steps to ensure they receive credit. People are impatient, hard-headed and stubborn, or just think they know it all. And on the brighter side of things, when people do choose to listen to instruction, they still make mistakes (it's a fact of life). So if your best friend does an offer and gets credited in 5 minutes, and you did an offer two days ago and still haven't credited for it, you can rest assured that you did something differently.
Now you've waited those two days for an INSTANT offer and still haven't gotten credit. You've got a charge on your credit card for the shipping and handling, and a confirmation email that your order just shipped from the warehouse. But still NO CREDIT. You're angry and frustrated, and your next thought is send in a support ticket "demanding that the site credit you for the offer." This isn't going to get you anywhere. If you have forgotten (go back and reread this post), let me remind you that crediting is automated.
You've decided that you are going to send your confirmation email in a ticket, and again, demand that the site give you credit. Even this is not going to get you anywhere. Let's say it has come upon day 4 and still no credit. A light bulb goes off in your head, and you submit an angry ticket, cursing at whoever responds to it, and yet again, demanding that the site credit you for the offer. This one is definitely not going to get you anywhere. It's going to get you NOWHERE and very fast. It shows a lack of integrity, maturity, and comes of as down right rude and unappreciative (of any effort the site was making to get your credit).
When you don't receive credit for an offer within a reasonable amount of time (2-3 days from when the offer should have credited), you need to take the necessary steps to try and obtain your credit.
The one thing that you need NOT do is contact the advertiser demanding credit. This will do nothing but cause trouble, and you won't get your credit either. Advertisers don't want calls about credits, and they shun the practice heavily. If you are going to call the customer service department of an offer company, make sure it's a concern about the product. The ONLY time you should ever contact customer service about an offer is if it's about the product you ordered and nothing more. In case you missed it,
DO NOT CALL THE ADVERTISER ABOUT YOUR CREDIT.
There is a process, and it requires certain things from you. Before attempting to file a manual credit request (MCR), you need to inquire as to whether the offer accepts and when you can submit one. You will find that less than 50% of all offers will accept a MCR. The offers that don't accept them are generally trial offers where only a shipping charge is required of you. There are alot of these offers around, so if you decide to do them, be aware of this fact.
Now, you have found out that your offer does accept MCRs. Here's what you need to do. First go to your email inbox and grab your FIRST confirmation email (if you do not have the original your MCR will be denied). Open the email and expose the "full headers". This term varies among email providers, and is also referred to as "message, email, or internet" headers. If you are unsure how to get the full headers from your email, follow this link for more information.
Message headers
Once you have that, copy and paste the headers and the entire confirmation email (text only) into a Notepad document. Save the document to your Desktop so that it's easily accessible, and make sure to name it accordingly. The reason you will want to do this is so that you have it on hand in the case that your MCR doesn't go through or you need to submit it via support ticket.
Most sites have a "credit request form" that you will need to use to submit your info to them. Make sure that you fill out the form properly. This is pertinent to acceptance and is one of the main reasons MCRs get denied. If the site provides you with specific directions for filing a MCR, please follow them. If you neglect to do so, and then your MCR gets denied because you did something wrong when filing it in the first place, there's a very very slim chance that you will ever see that credit (unless it credits on its own). In the case where you are required to submit your information via support ticket, make sure that you have everything on your first submission. If you don't, you are only delaying the process because the site won't forward your request if it's incomplete.
Once you have successfully submitted your MCR, now comes the hard part, the wait. MCRs take anywhere from 4-6 weeks to get some type of response, whether it be pending approval, denial, or approval. This is due to the fact that the advertisers have to review your account for which you are requesting credit, and then they have to sift through their records to make sure the credit is properly applied (look for fraud in other words). There's no need to open numerous support tickets asking for a status check. It doesn't speed things along. When you credit request has been answered, your account will either show the credit or it won't. If your MCR is granted, that's great for you. In the case that it's returned with a denial, don't fret or open a disrespectful ticket about the site scamming you. Once again, this type of behavior will NOT get you anywhere.
Remember the Terms of Service? "The site does not make any claim or guarantee that you will receive credit for an offer completed." The automation of crediting is the first part. The advertiser is the second part. When it all comes down to it, the advertiser is the one who makes the final decision about who gets credited or not. They are the ones paying for the offers to be completed in the first place. And they reserve the right to grant or deny credit at their discretion.
I'm sure their are a lot of mixed feelings about this opportunity now that these facts have been pointed out. But it's the truth of the matter. This is a totally legitimate way to earn some extra money online, and one thing you should keep in mind when completing offers is this notion:
"When no one gets credit, no one gets paid."
Do you see that? It means, simply put, we want you to get credit.
---Somethng else that I'd like to add, in case you