adBrite Bounces Check to Partner as Company Approaches Shutdown

Shawn Farner -

We covered the adBrite going out of business story this past Monday. adBrite, an independent ad exchange, was attempting to sell itself but couldn’t find a buyer. As a result, the company announced it would cease operations on February 1 and sell off any remaining assets.

Unfortunately, it seems like parts of the company have already shut down.

According to Eliza from the Style Dragon, a style website based in the UK, adBrite was late getting the website’s last check out. When that check was deposited into a bank account, it bounced, leaving Eliza with a €25 bank charge as a result.

“All in all, and given the situation, I would have rather not received any cheque at all, would have preferred adbrite to be honest about their financial situation and then, at least, I would not have had to pay €25 for the privilege of having a cheque from them bounce,” Eliza stated on the Style Dragon website.

“Much better to not receive money than actual to end up losing more money because of dishonest dealings.”

While adBrite does allow you to get in touch through a form on its website, email addresses and phone numbers are completely absent from the site. This makes getting in touch with the company difficult — especially if you have the same payment issue as the Style Dragon. Should your check bounce, as well, try using this form to get in touch with someone at the company. But hurry, as adBrite’s doors will close for the last time tomorrow.

A search of Twitter revealed several adBrite partners worried about whether or not they’d get paid. One partner did not receive his payment for the previous month at all.

adBrite’s own Twitter account has been quiet since January 17, 11 days before the company announced its plans to shut down.

It’s sad enough that adBrite is shutting down, displacing 26 employees and leaving some websites without an ad company. But it’s even more sad that the company can’t seem to meet its financial obligations to its partners. When you see that the company was infused with a $5.4 million Series D round less than a year ago, in May 2012, it makes you wonder exactly how much trouble the company was in.

We’ve put our own request for comment in to adBrite, but given the company’s situation, we’re not optimistic that we’ll hear back. If we do, we’ll let you know.