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Verified Merchant Program Rejection (again)

yournnonce
Just visiting

I was previously rejected with a vague "doesn't meet guidelines" reason. 
I changed nothing. Reapplied. 


Now the rejection reason is
"Account does not meet the brand reputation criteria for verification"

The email I received outlines brand requirements. I currently meet all of them, however my brand name included in the email is an old one that I changed earlier this summer. I removed a word from the end of my brand name.  I have no idea why they're using the old name or where it would show up, as its not on any of my accounts. 

I submitted a ticket, but based on communications here and a prior ticket, appeals are not a thing, so I don't expect to hear back with anything other than sorry re-apply in a month. 

I would love to use this feature. I don't understand what the hang up is or why the approval issues. 

4 Kudos
32 Replies
originalfilmart
Just visiting

I want to echo what others have said.  It is extremely disappointing that Pinterest invites businesses to apply and rejects them citing criteria not contained in any documentation about the program.

7 Kudos
yournnonce
Just visiting

Hi Brad, 
I've found myself in an unsolvable situation. 
My rejection reason is for brand requirements. Pinterest is using an old brand name for the VMP verification process "YournNonce Vintage" and it is being rejected for not matching my website or social media. (which is now YournNonce.) 
I updated my brand this year and have applied multiple times and gotten this rejection reason twice. 
I've gone through and double checked all my social media, website and pinterest. All of my account details are YournNonce, but The VMP rejection email still shows "YournNonce Vintage" as the merchant name. My billing details in pinterest say YournNonce, as does the profile info.

I'm at a loss of what to do. Everything on my end says YournNonce. 
I'm starting to think there is an error on Pinterest's end or cached data is being used instead of current. 

Any thoughts? 


 

2 Kudos
printolife
Just visiting

Thanks for your support. I revised the list of policies and have a question.
I have a claimed website and Etsy store. Also some products into another platform.
It infringes "Merchants must not be resale or consignment marketplaces"?
Thanks in advance.

2 Kudos
hmcclure2005
New member

Well Brad, that sounds like a pre-written canned response. Clearly there's a problem and your customers are reaching out to you for guidance. Saying that you know it's frustrating doesn't help. Perhaps offer "Tips" to troubleshooting your rejection for VMA would be a better way to handle a customer service inquiry. After reading your response, it makes me not care about Pinterest. I can't possibly fix something if I don't know what to fix. That's garbage.

4 Kudos
hmcclure2005
New member

What she said!

2 Kudos
janebartel
Just visiting

I am so glad I found this thread and I'm not alone. I was rejected in August for merchant guidelines issues and I could see that I had a couple of items that were out of stock on my website (I sell fine jewelry) So I removed them from my site and I also removed all of my old Pinterest pins from pieces that are no longer in my collection. This took quite awhile. I just reapplied and literally one hour later I get the notification "Account does not meet the brand reputation criteria for verification" Excuse me but my brand reputation is just fine! I am also sick of seeing the word "Rejected" on my business hub everytime I look at it. 

Very disappointed in Pinterest and I'm beginning to not care about being a "Verified Merchant" since it's all so vague and annoying. Also I'm seeing that their stats are all over the place in analytics. 

Thanks for letting me rant!

Jane Bartel Jewelry

6 Kudos
poppiwinkle
Just visiting

Hi @yournnonce 

The exact thing has happened to me. When Pinterest sends my "rejected" email, it's addressed to poppiwinkle paper products: which I probably had as a pinterest name long ago. But I have changed everything to poppiwinkle in my current pinterest account. Then I am rejected because my name (the old name they are still using) doesn't match my social media accounts.  

Sigh.

1 Kudo
glossgamebags
Just visiting

Same here! both times we have been rejected for different reasons

1 Kudo
poppiwinkle
Just visiting

I'm thinking there's nothing to do but wait for them to catch up with themselves & fix their issues.  I have sent several emails requesting assistance. They were ignored. I will keep in mind the issues that I have been able to fix & not repeat those mistakes. But I am not going to spend a lot of time & thought on getting verified at this point. I suspect at some point it will be easier. I'll try again then.

Best of luck to everyone! Let us know if anyone DOES have success.

2 Kudos
snugglesquilts
New member

I agree completely. I was just rejected for very vague reasons. It's ridiculous that there is NO contact person or a liaison that can help businesses get set up. I guess they don't think they need to help everyone as long as they get enough people verified, they'll make money. Who cares about the little guy. I am definitely thinking twice about spending any more ad money on this site.

3 Kudos