In recent weeks, the drugmaker began telling many of its reps that some were overpaid bonus money this summer based on faulty IMS market-share data. The move has outraged some reps, who are being asked to return the money, although others apparently will now receive more than they were initially paid. Those crying foul say the decision is ruining morale; others say they don’t believe the reason given and that it may be a way to urge some to quit during a stretch in which cost-cutting is on the table.

“It’s one thing if your salary is too high one month and the company seeks the money back. You know, in that case, you were overpaid. On the other hand, we depend on them to give us our commission numbers and it is expected they are correct, especially given that they have four months to get it right in terms of corrections. Once the checks go out, I think it is unfair to expect money back. We all make life decisions such as: savings, college tuition, purchases etc. based on that check when it arrives,” writes one sales rep on CafePharma, where reps are venting their anger.

Another writes: “The wrong thing to do is to keep any unearned money through the company’s error. I know some will not like this, but keeping it is like getting too much change for a purchase and not giving it back. it’s just fundamentally wrong. Conflict resolution suggests that those overpaid consider the situation in reverse. You paid too much to the company for something / anything, wouldn’t you want your money back?” Reminder: CafePharma, which some describe as an electronic bathroom wall, contains only anonymous posts. We’ll assume, for now, these are only from reps.

Meanwhile, a Novartis spokesman in Switzerland writes us this morning that “IMS is to blame for this situation, and maybe other (drugmakers) are not being as transparent with their sales forces as Novartis. The bonus payouts have been delayed for a few weeks, from mid-November until mid-December, and we proactively informed the force to keep them aprised of the situation.”

UPDATE: Late in the day, an IMS spokesman sent us this statement: “IMS does not comment publicly on client matters. We are committed to delivering high-quality services and continue to communicate directly with our clients regarding any issues that impact their services from IMS.” In other words, IMS didn’t deny causing the problem.

This response also leaves open this question - whether other drugmakers suffered the same problem. Perhaps, one or more have. We’ve not done a survey yet. The Novartis spokesman, meanwhile, suggests other drugmakers aren’t being transparent. Perhaps, other drugmakers aren’t asking for bonus money to be returned? Or maybe Novartis massaged the data? In any event, sales reps are unlikely to be appeased.