Smartbox debt enrages pub hosts
Furious hosts have rounded on interactive TV service Smartbox, demanding to know exactly when and if they will be paid.
The Morning Advertiser has been inundated with calls from Smartbox customers reporting that they are owed hundreds of pounds by the company since revealing three weeks ago that the company was experiencing "growing pains" and had stopped paying licensees, blaming "technical issues".
It has promised to pay hosts all the money they are owed.
Alarmingly, even a licensee put forward by Smartbox as one who had benefited from the system told the MA she was owed £750.
I haven't been paid either - they asked me not to say anything, but why should I keep my mouth shut when they owe me £750?Josie O'Reilly Warwickshire's licensee.
Josie O'Reilly of Warwickshire's Plough and Harrow in Leamington Spa won £500 in a Littlewoods Pools promotion run through Smartbox.
"I haven't been paid either - they asked me not to say anything, but why should I keep my mouth shut when they owe me £750?" she said.
O'Reilly must fork out £381 a month for three years for her two plasma screens and 28-inch TV and is meant to be paid £50 a week by Smartbox.
"I won the competition through my hard work. I only take £4,000 a week and have to pay £1,000 rent, so the money I'm owed is a big deal to me," she said.
Despite Smartbox's promise to pay up, many licensees are pessimistic after previous disappointments.
"I've had a cheque for £600 bounce three times," said Mark Humphreys of the Good Measure in Caldicot, Gwent.
"I've cancelled my standing order but ultimately I think I will have to continue paying the lease. I am not holding my breath about payment."
Other hosts confirmed similar bad experiences.
Smartbox saysSmartbox managing director Kate Venables said: "There have been technical issues with the system's display log which has meant that it is taking longer than expected to confirm which venues are compliant.
"We are working to resolve the delays faced by licensees as a result of this problem to ensure that payment can be processed as per their broadcast agreement.
"I would like to take this opportunity to assure licensees that they will get paid."
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