To begin with, is it unethical for a consumer advocate to have a Referral List?

To answer this question, you need some basic background. ReferralList.com is an advertising arm of Troubleshooter Network, Inc.

The Troubleshooter Network produces a nationally syndicated radio show called “The Troubleshooter Show” and a website in connection with that show at Troubleshooter.com. We also provide a Consumer HelpCenter that takes emails and phone calls from across the country from people with consumer problems.

Our operation has been responsible for helping hundreds of thousands of consumers recovering millions of dollars in cash, merchandise, exchanges, refunds and services.

Troubleshooter Network, Inc. is also a media outlet for the dissemination of consumer news, views and opinions.

All of our services are provided free of charge to consumers.

Tom Martino owns this media outlet and is also an employee.

All major media outlets – Radio, TV, Newspapers, Magazines and Internet Sites accept advertising.

All media outlets need advertising to exist. It is a fact of life. And ALL media outlets disseminate news and information on a variety of issues including consumer affairs.

 

So are you saying the acceptance of advertising dollars is unethical for all media outlets?

Yes it can be unethical … IF the outlets let advertising dollars slant their editorial opinions, news, features and coverage of major events.

 

How can we be sure that you and other media outlets are not slanting news content, features and editorial opinions to serve advertisers?

The only way to tell is by their performance.

We here at Troubleshooter Network go far beyond other media outlets in dealing with advertisers as you will learn by reading below.

I can also tell you we do not have a giant corporation with upper management pressuring us to cater to advertisers.

 

Do you know for a fact that media outlets cater to big advertisers?

I can tell you from personal experience they do.

I wrote a column for the Rocky Mountain News and was told not to write about the car business and car dealerships because they spend millions of dollars a year on advertising.

I worked as a TV Reporter for KCNC News-4 and was told not to cover certain stories about the Denver Broncos and other major sponsors.

I know other so-called “business” newspapers that do special features on businesses that spend a lot of money on advertising.

KUSA-TV charges people for featuring their products or services on the air.

KMGH-TV has a so-called “Expert's List” that promises their experts air time on news shows and does no background checking other than the Better Business Bureau. They also do no checking as to the level of knowledge of their experts.

If major media outlets tell you they are not influenced by big advertisers – they are lying to you.

 

Why is using one of your advertisers better than simply getting a name from a newspaper or magazine ad or a radio or TV commercial?

Traditional media outlets do very little or nothing when it comes to checking out potential advertisers. Almost anyone can advertise so long as they pay the bill.

ReferralList.com is the only media outlet that has a system for checking backgrounds of all advertisers and for monitoring their performance.

 

Does this mean you guarantee all of your advertisers?

No. No one can. But we do more than any other media outlet .

All of our advertisers start out with a clean record and have promised to abide by strict standards. But anyone can change at any time.

We differ from other media in that we attempt to minimize the possibility of selecting someone “bad”. We do this with background checks and constant monitoring.

If anyone does fall below our standards, we immediately remove them from our list and fight for you in trying to get the problem solved.

 

How do you check advertisers?

At ReferralList.com our background checks include the Better Business Bureau, Civil and Criminal Court Records, Credit Reports, Suppliers, References and proprietary search methods exclusive to us.

We also interview advertisers in an effort to get a “feel” for how they do business.

 

How do you monitor advertisers?

ReferralList.com monitors performance by collecting consumer feedback and by listening to other advertisers on our Referral List. The pride advertisers take in the Referral List brings out the “Watch Dog” in them. If they believe someone on the list is not performing to our standards, they will be the first ones to “blow the whistle”.

Consumer feedback is collected on a form provided at ReferralList.com or they simply call our HelpCenter.

When a complaint is received on an advertiser we contact all parties concerned and attempt to arbitrate a settlement acceptable to the consumer.

We also monitor the number of problems advertisers get in relation to transactions. If there are too many complaints – even if they solve them all – we still remove the advertiser.

 

What happens if a consumer is not happy with the results of your arbitration?

No matter how hard we try to please consumers … there will always be a few cases where consumers are unhappy with the outcome. But keep in mind … this is the only form of advertising that even gives consumers recourse of any kind.

During our arbitration process we gather information from all sides and seek opinions from other professionals in similar fields. After our fact finding mission, we discuss the problem with our staff and come up with what we feel are acceptable solutions.

At times, consumer demands are unrealistic and we simply do not agree with them. At other times Advertisers seem unwilling to bend and to go the extra mile to help their customer. In these cases we use our best judgment to determine what we think is fair.

If an advertiser does not solve a problem to our satisfaction they are removed from the list.

If the consumer is unhappy with the outcome of our arbitration process, they can take the matter to civil court.

 

If advertisers pay you money, won't you tend to side with them?

No. We have no reason to do that. We have absolutely no problem filling “vacancies” on our Referral List. And we also turn down many potential advertisers who want to be on our Referral List because they do not meet our standards.

There is simply no reason to cater to companies that don't measure up. Eventually, that would ruin the integrity of the entire Referral List and destroy our business.

 

I've read newspaper articles about some consumers that were unhappy using your Referral List. Shouldn't that concern me?

It should concern you as it concerns me. And here's why it concerns me:

Out of the thousands of advertisers on our Referral List we get less than one hundred complaints a year. Out of those complaints do you know how many consumers usually go away dissatisfied with our recommended resolutions? An average of five per year.

So why is it that a newspaper only writes about those?

Is it to cast an unfair negative light on what we do because they can't measure up?

And how do they justify criticizing our performance, when they take absolutely no responsibility for their own advertisers?

We are proud of the service we provide and will continue to “break the mold” when it comes to innovative Consumer Advocacy Marketing.