First of all, I am very happy to see that Nitrogensports are now going to (hopefully) handle this issue in a professional manner and of course I hope OP will get his money.
Still, please don´t hate me for that guys but I cant believe what some of you are posting - my 2 cents on this situation (based on how I understand what happened) can be found below. It may sound "hard" but that´s not my intention, we should always stay objective though. Again, I hope OP gets as much as possible out of this.
Also, the rest of my post still doesn´t change the fact that Nitrogensports could have handled the situation much better.
OP signed up under his friend´s affiliate link - they are also co-workers --> this is a
NO-GO and clearly
violates their Terms and Conditions (not just with Nitrogen but with
every affiliate program out there). And in my opinion this is not some shady term hidden deep in the terms to f*** up affiliates/players, it actually makes sense and is absolutely reasonable.
--> Nitrogensports are well within their rights to act the way they did by suspending both accounts as well as holding back payments. Basically, the fact alone that OP & Affiliate confirmed they are "related", is enough for termination.
Nitrogensports Terms and Conditions excerpts:Affiliate
Introduction
By using any of our promotional materials, or any information relating to our affiliate program, you agree to be bound by all the terms and conditions set out in this Agreement.
Volume Commission
Nitrogen Sports uses a volume based commission structure. All affiliates are paid 0.3% of wagers placed by their referrals. A wager is calculated as the lesser of the amount bet or the amount that can be won on a bet.
Disclosure
You shall provide truthful and complete information to us when operating as an affiliate of Nitrogen Sports.
Restrictions
You may not (a) market our website or place marketing materials where you are targeting those under the age of 18, on sites that promotes illegal activities, or when it violates intellectual property rights; (b) market in a way that may potentially confuse or trick a user or prospective user; (c) register as a user on behalf of any third party, or assist any other person to register as a user; (d) attempt to intercept or redirect traffic from or on any online Website or other place that participates in our affiliate program; (e) violate the terms of use and of any search engines or customer feedback forms; (f) attempt to market or promote our websites (or specific website) within territories which do not allow bitcoin gaming; (g) place marketing materials on any online Website or other medium where the content and/or material resembles or frames Nitrogen Sports in whole or in part could damage our goodwill or reputation in any way.
Commercial Use Only
Our marketing and affiliate opportunity is for commercial use only. You shall not register as a user or make deposits to any user account (directly or indirectly) for your own personal use and/or the use of your relatives, friends, employees, agents or advisors, or otherwise attempt to artificially increase the affiliate commissions payable to you or to defraud us. Violation of this provision shall be deemed to be Fraud Traffic.
Referrals
Self-referral is not permitted and is considered abuse of the affiliate program. Fraudulent affiliate accounts which are used for self-referral are subject to be permanently closed and funds retroactively debited for all fraud affiliate payments.
No Employees
Employees or consultants of Nitrogen Sports are not permitted to participate in the affiliate program or to use directly or indirectly any of the websites, other than in the course of your employment as an employee. Similarly, relatives and family members of employees are not permitted to participate in the affiliate program or to use directly or indirectly any of the websites.
Proper Use
You agree that you will not benefit from known or suspected traffic generated using unacceptable internet marketing practice or fraudulent procedures, whether or not it causes us or the user harm. Should fraudulent activity, knowingly or otherwise, arise from a person directed via your link, we retain the right to retract the commissions paid to you at any time. Our decision in this regard will be final and no correspondence will be entered into. We reserve the right to retain all amounts due to you under this agreement if we have reasonable cause to believe that such traffic has been caused with your knowledge.
Well, if they even found some sort of "collusion" / same IP / etc., it´s even easier for them to refer to their Terms and Conditions... As stated in my previous post here, it´s
NEVER a good idea to use a friend´s affiliate link - even if you ask the respective affiliate program in advance with them "approving" it - I have seen such cases where programs "changed their minds" at some point...
As a conclusion, Nitrogensports didn´t act the way they should by being transparent and coming up with clear statements. Blocking a customer´s support access and even sharing his private details... that´s a big red flag! I really hope they will pay what´s due in order to end this situation and so that everybody can learn from it and move on.