I became Silver Certified a few years ago - paid the fee and took the test, but did not join MSPA as a Shopper Member.

Last month, on a MSP job board, saw info and a link to join MSPA for free with code cert2013 (which is still posted on several MSP boards). The code is good through June 2013, so it says.

I referred someone to the MSPA site, and they have been allowed to register and login, but the code is not working. They are clicking on the Silver Certification test, and getting an error message, not allowed to purchase the test at this time.

Anyone else have this experience?

MSPA is offering free shopper membership (which evidently is required now for taking the Silver Cert. Test) but the free membership code is not working.

I believe the code is only good if you have already taken the test and are certified. The code they give gives you free membership for a year.
If you are not currently certified you pay the new fee of $20, and you are a member, and includes Silver testing.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/29/2013 05:28PM by Melissa13.

MSPA shopper membership is worth zilch! It is a lobbying group representing MSCs' interests, not shoppers' interests.

I signed up for the free account but never looked to see if it did anything for me that I couldn't do before I signed up.

Who are they lobbying for what?

its,
They lobby Congress and State legislatures to protect their industry, as they see it. For instance, many schedulers and editors are treated like employees but forced to remain independent contractors so that the MSCs won't have to withold taxes or pay any benefits. To protect that practice, MSPA has its member companies send fearmongering emails to their shoppers telling the shoppers that if the states or the Feds enforce current labor laws or strengthen the protections for people who should be employees under the law, they (the MSCs) wil be forced to turn us all into employees, thus cutting our pay and keeping only about 5 % of us on their lists, due to their increased cost per shopper. The MSPA is behind the push to get MSCs to require us to have EINs because they got some crazy legal advice to the effect that an EIN will someshow prove that we are ICs. (Not the case by any means! I have three degrees in Labor Economics and Industrial Relations, with a ton of labor law included to put behind that statement, in case anyone wants to know.)

Don't drink that KoolAid! Only a couple of MSCs have tried to require shoppers to get an EIN and the shoppers have revolted and made those companies back off of that requirement. Now they just say that those with EINs will get first preference. Even with that, they have too few shoppers willing to get EINs to begin to fill their jobs, so you really do not have to play that game to shop for them.

I was just reading in a photo business book the 20 signs to distinguish an independent contractor from an employee. I have to admit that, in some cases, it appears the MSC's are getting onto thin ice. I'll see if I can dig the list up and enter it here.

Jaames,
The regulations actually state that no one or two of the factors, alone, would necessarily be enough to change one's legal status; it is a case-by-case matter. Your tag line tells the tale, James. Often, companies ask their attorneys the wrong question and then wonder how they got into such hot water.

Case in point: MSC asks attorney, "Anything to prevent us from doing video on our shops?" Attorney sees that SCOTUS has said that video is fine and dandy, without being announced, as long as it is not done in such private places as bedrooms, dressing rooms, locker rooms, etc. Problem: no one told the attorney that audio will accompany that video. Audio recording is governed by state law, and as all good videographers know, 14 states require prior informed consent of all parites to the audio recodring. This actually happened when an MSC that was new to video work told me that they didn't need two party consent to do video shops in PA, which is a 2 party state.

This is all to say that any simple list of "tests" of ICA status, without a disclaimer that case law has long established that no single or even two item(s) automatically disqualify the ICA status. I have very, very, seldom seen shopper instructions that came close to the "edge" but I do know something about the conditions under which a lot of editors and schedulers work, and I have an educated hunch that more (and possibly many more) than one-third of them that are classed as ICs probably, under current regulations and case law, are really employees. BTW, I have been an IC for 44 of the last 47 years, in 5 different industries.

Most mystery shop instructions are fine, but there have been announced audits that push the boundaries of IC vs employee.

Having an EIN does not prove IC status any more than not having one establishes one as an employee. They are equivalent for tax purposes, the primary difference is that the EIN is not used on your credit report, so if the MSC's database gets hacked and you had your EIN there instead of your SSN, nobody is going to be opening any credit cards in your name since your credit history won't be reported under the EIN, which is why I use my EIN every time I can. I try only to give my SSN to actual employers paying W-2 wages, and banks. Anyone else gets my EIN if I can possibly put it on the application.

Anyone else get this email? Looks like there's no such thing as a free lunch

Attention Shoppers



Dear Shopper:



On March 4, 2013, MSPA-NA sent email invitations to all shoppers who had earned their certification prior to that date to become members of the association. To recognize the investment they took in their certification, MSPA-NA provided these shoppers a promotional code to activate their free 2013 membership with MSPA-NA.



It was recently discovered that this promotional code was shared publicly. Our records indicate that you used the code to activate a free membership with MSPA-NA, but did not complete and earn your Silver Certification. PLEASE NOTE: When you register with MSPA-NA member provider companies, you will not be recognized as a certified shopper. The membership code is not a certification code, and provider companies verify the codes for certified shoppers. Because Shopper Members of MSPA-NA are certified shoppers who have already paid for their certification, it is only fair to them, your fellow mystery shoppers, that you also pay for and earn your certification. MSPA's goal is to assist individuals in becoming successful as both mystery shoppers and independent business contractors. That must be done in the fairest way possible, treating all shoppers equally.



We encourage you to join MSPA-NA alongside member companies and other shoppers. The Shopper Member category of MSPA-NA is a new, growing and exciting program. After becoming a member of MSPA-NA, you will have:

Constant updates on legislation impacting your status as an independent contractor in today's economic climate
Access to "The Mystery Times" bimonthly newsletter with news and human interest stories about your fellow shoppers across North America
Access to the shopper social network, "The Listening Post," housed on the MSPA-NA website and only available to certified shopper members
Information to assist and grow your business as a mystery shopper
Access to the ever changing Shopper Member Only section on the website that will give you immediate access to new programs and services offered to shopper members through MSPA-NA
The opportunity to join forces with your fellow shoppers and mystery shopping provider companies to exchange ideas on growing and improving the mystery shopping industry.

Obtaining your certification is easy! You may click on this link, login as shown, and enter your credit card information for the $20 membership fee. Please do so by June 21, 2013, in order to maintain your active membership status with MSPA-NA. Once your fee is processed, you will receive an automated email response with a link to take the Silver Certification course. By completing the course, you will be on equal status with the other Shopper Members of MSPA-NA.



We look forward to your continued membership with MSPA-NA!



Thank you,



MSPA-NA Membership

This doesn't surprise me, because I thought all along it was only meant to be used by people who had a certificate already. I was surprised that it was working for people who didn't have one. Apparently they failed to put in a validation as part of the enrollment to be sure the code was only used by people who should have gotten an email inviting them to use it.

Good for them for finally figuring it out.

I'm not surprised either. That is pretty much what I thought. The code was sent to those who already had Silver Certificates. When the code was shared publicly on this forum, I figured the code would not be recognized if a non-certified shopper attempted to use it. I was very surprised when non-certified shoppers came back and said it gave them not only a MSPA membership but also a Silver Certification. The intent was not to award free certification that was not earned. It was to give a freebie membership to those who had already certified.

Granted, I think the Silver Certification is almost a no-brainer. I earned the Silver Cert in 2008 when I started shopping. Anybody breathing who has $15 (or is it $20 now?) can get the Silver Certification. Because it is so basic and the test is so easy, I see little value in it. I agree the best practice for MSPA might be to revoke the Silver Certifications that were not earned (they are not recognized anyway by the member MSCs) and allow anyone who wants to pay for and earn the certification earn it and then join. Even though I see little value in the Silver Certification, the idea that it would be awarded free of charge with no certification seemed rather appalling to me.

I know a lot of people think Silver doesn't do much, but I have noticed a marked increase in the number of Sassie shops I am allowed to self-assign since they fixed the glitch that kept Sassie from recognizing the certificates. I mean, like a tenfold increase in the number. I used to only see them for Postal shops, now I see them on nearly all the Sassie boards, including MSC's I've never shopped for.

And, I'm seeing higher-priced shops that I never saw before. And getting calls for high-priced shops I didn't used to get calls for. I got called today for an $84 shop I didn't think I qualified for. As a result of that call, I learned the qualifications had changed since I last looked and now I DO qualify for it. Can't say if I got the call because of the Silver certification or not, but nobody's ever called me before for something that lucrative.

But . . . certify or not, your choice. I'm glad I did it.

Yup. And I got gold in 2003. I do get emails from a few companies notifying me of shops in my area with a notation that they are contacting gold MSPA first before sending shop invitations to other shoppers. Shoppers who aren't certified don't know that because of course the MSC isn't telling them that. So yeah, it helps.

itsasecret Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I know a lot of people think Silver doesn't do
> much, but I have noticed a marked increase in the
> number of Sassie shops I am allowed to self-assign
> since they fixed the glitch that kept Sassie from
> recognizing the certificates. I mean, like a
> tenfold increase in the number. I used to only
> see them for Postal shops, now I see them on
> nearly all the Sassie boards, including MSC's I've
> never shopped for.
>
> And, I'm seeing higher-priced shops that I never
> saw before. And getting calls for high-priced
> shops I didn't used to get calls for. I got
> called today for an $84 shop I didn't think I
> qualified for. As a result of that call, I
> learned the qualifications had changed since I
> last looked and now I DO qualify for it. Can't
> say if I got the call because of the Silver
> certification or not, but nobody's ever called me
> before for something that lucrative.
>
> But . . . certify or not, your choice. I'm glad I
> did it.

The thing is, you don't know what you're missing until all of a sudden you're not missing it any more.