My first Google Adsense cheque – an eventful journey

I finally have my first Google adsense paycheck in hand, just got it in the courier today, and I feel a sense of great satisfaction.

This journey from the time I signed up with hubpages and simultaneously with Google adsense has been quite eventful.

When all of us sign up with adsense, we wait and eagerly watch our adsense earnings. Some lucky few reach their first payout within the first year, and some like me have to wait a long while like a couple of years before they reach that first payout.

I had in fact totally given up even looking into my adsense account for my adsense earnings. It seemed impossible to me to ever reach that minimum hundred dollar payout by earning just couple of cents a day.

I read all the hubs that told me how I could get maximum earnings from adsense, I did whatever I could, I participated in the 30 hubs in 30 days contest and that really increased the number of my hubs and somehow my earnings with adsense too went up.

Sometime in December last year, I just thought of checking my adsense account to see how much I had earned. What I saw put me in a state of shocked delight! I had reached the minimum payout limit and Google had already dispatched my payment and sent me payment details and an airway bill tracking number.

So I eagerly put in that tracking number and I could not figure out why the status of my shipment said- ‘returned to sender’. It told me that my consignment had gone back to Google Hyderabad and had been picked up by somebody there. I thought this was a scam. Some thief was cashing my cheque…and all such terrible thoughts came into my mind. So I called a friend of mine, Shalini, who also writes for hubpages and who also earns money from Google adsense and she told me that it does take a while for the cheque to arrive, so I waited.

(Google adsense does say that a request to re-issue payment can be made after 60 days from date of dispatch, in event the cheque/payment does not arrive.)

Then I checked the Google adsense forums online and found that many more people had the same problem. Their consignment showed ‘returned to sender’ in the tracking status, lots of discussion, and not much help really.

So I called the local courier company that Google had used and raised the issue with them. The girl on the phone used the tracking number I gave her and told me that my consignment had been returned to sender on 31^st December and status was ‘person has shifted from the address!’ What! Ridiculous! I have lived here like forever and have no plans of moving anywhere in the near future, how could that be? Then I took up the matter seriously. I told the courier company that my cell phone number too was registered with Google, and my consignment would definitely have a contact number provided along with address, the girl checked and agreed that my cell number was indeed provided; and nobody had even called to verify if my address had indeed changed. I sent them a written complaint threatening to take serious action.

I am happy to say that the local staff at the courier company took immediate action. They took up the matter and co-ordinated with their branch in Hyderabad who in turn took it up with Google Hyderabad (that is where Google’s office in India is located) to request them to re-send the consignment (as it was one of their delivery boys who was in party mood on new years eve and had not taken the trouble to call and take directions!)

My check was delivered within a week. I am so happy to say that I have my cheque in hand, on the way to the bank! I now know what I am supposed to.

1) do check your adsense account at regular intervals, Google does not send you mail that they’ve sent you payment, that information is all in your adsense account.

2) Make note of the tracking number they send you and do track status of the consignment. And if there seems to be any problem there, just pick up the phone and call the courier company. It is a lot easier than trying to get in touch with Google online.

All is well that ends well. Thank you hubpages! Thank you Google adsense and thank you couriers! Here's is to the beginning and many more payout checks delivered uneventfully!