Pay day loans at a certain large mystery shopping company pay very well. I normally get $75-$100 each time. (they start at $45 but I wait until they go up in price.) But it seems that NO ONE wants to do them- they are easy, quick and pay well. I do not understand why more people don't do them? (well I do sort of, concern about credit rating: my FICO has not been affected whatsoever). Just make sure you follow the instructions and pay it on the exact date it is due. So why don't more people do these shops? Just curious. (there are other mystery shop companies that only pay $20 for a similar payday loan- I won't do those. I tried to do one and was given an incorrect scenario (leave a prepaid check) but the shop did not take checks as the scenario said and so I was out my time due to incorrect/outdated instructions. Dealing with that $20 mystery shopping company was a nightmare- would not answer emails, excuses for the incorrect scenario ("the client gave us the wrong information", etc.) I wont do those shops that only pay $20 for a payday loan. There is only one company (that I know of) that pays the higher fees and that is the one I deal with.

you actually take out a loan? how much interest do you pay? is that reimbursed?

how long has it been since you did this? it may take some time for it to affect your credit score....a few shops probably won't...but i would be afraid it would eventually catch up to you.

is PayDay Loans the name of client or type of biz?

The fees and interest are high. Some companies do hard checks, some just soft. Most do not report the loan, unless you do not pay, so it does not help your credit score. Many of the company's send out your contact information so you risk getting spam calls down the road.

Sorry I should have put this in the Mystery Shopping forum - not a Mystery Shopping Company forum. I have done the payday loans for about 2 years- it did not affect my FICO. Yes they pay the quite high interest fees- last time it was almost $100 interest fees on a $350 loan I took out for 2.5 months. Yikes! But I got the shopper fee of $100 and the interest was paid by the client. Two years and about 7 shops and still no affect on my credit. The guidelines say "this loan should not affect your credit but if it does contact the client to have it addressed." The shops are intermittent though- they have tapered off lately and I have not seen one for a couple of months.

I do two of these a month. ( with 3 different MSC)
never once showed up on my credit report.
Never once seen a credit check form these companies
All fees and interest are reimbursed

I used to snap these up all the time but I was cut off from them after there was a shop where I was given incorrect information and could not actually do the expected scenario because state laws changed here and that loan was no longer offered. I bumbled through as best I could with the only loan option they had left but ended up violating one requirement that ended up in conflict with a different requirement. Due to the ambiguous terms, I was able to argue my way out of the shop being rejected and I did get paid, but they cut me off from them after that and I no longer see them on the job board at all.

Some people don't like them because many are in rough neighborhoods. Others are worried it might affect their credit.

They absolutely DO NOT effect your credit.
And yes, most locations are in bad neighborhoods but not all of them.
Ive seen some pretty upscale areas have a payday loan store tucked away.
Many people live beyond their means

There is one near me, but I hesitated to do it because it would look funny for me to request a loan since my paycheck is a decent amount. Is that a correct assumption?

it sounds like payday is type of shop not name of client so please list which company does these shops.

Deleted because of personal attack


Mod note: Please be respectful of all members even if you do not agree with them.

MSNinja if the MSC I did them for does them in your area, there is an **extremely high likelihood** you are already signed up with them. So probably that one doesn't do them where you live. (Apply a little logic to that, go look at the list of MSC's, and you'll figure that out.)

But there is more than one MSC; I don't know who the others are. I think I've seen them but don't remember where.

@jackaroe wrote:

1) MSNinja
How DARE .......

You're across the line, jack..... I'm hoping others besides me reported your post. There are better ways to decline to state which company shops XXXX. despeakes did just fine. I don't think anyone would notice if the text in your post was deleted.

A good question is: how many times must a forum member be moderated for abusive behavior toward others before he is deactivated? Something to think about ......

what do we do to get that person deactivated? i didnt even see his latest attack but i am getting pm's saying that he attacked me. like i said earlier nice welcome to forum.

added - thanks to the nice people who messaged me. i dont even know who that person is & i was not asking him for anything. some people are so self absorbed they think everything in public forum is about them. good grief.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/10/2015 05:33PM by MSNinja.

Payday loan shops do not pay well in my area.

They always go up to $100 plus in my area, and they sit there forever, but I can't do them mainly because I don't have a pay stub. I'm sure many other shoppers are in the same boat, which is why the shops sit there. One scheduler suggested I use my bank statements as proof of income, but I'm not sure how that would work out.

mystery2me
there is one MSC that gives a link to print a fake pay stub
There shops are rarely bonused.

Most of the payday stores will accpet bank statements as proof of income also

So you show them a bank statement without any money on it? Otherwise, why would you need a loan?

No. You show them a bank statement to show the direct deposits from your job, or to show a stream of self-employed income coming in. But ... if those direct deposits are from mystery shopping companies, that can be a problem.

If you go to the website for the particular loan company you will be shopping you can find out there exactly what documentation you need to bring with you.

I'm a little edgy about the idea of falsifying a paystub, even with the blessing of the MSC. You are actually getting a loan and it is actually in your name and under your SSN. Even though you know you will pay it back ... I'm not sure it's legal even on a mystery shop to lie about your financial circumstances when actually obtaining a loan or credit. Lie all you want to find out the terms and negotiate, but actually getting the loan is another matter.

Likewise you could probably fake a bank statement. Not sure you should even if you could. Generally those loan docs have a "under penalty of perjury" clause on them.

If you do not have the documentation in your own right that would qualify you for this loan, I do not recommend you try to do the shop. But discuss it with the scheduler.

Keep in mind, while we are shopping, we are just another customer. Then we go home and become a mystery shopper writing a report about what happened while we were just another customer. If something goes south with the shop, and your report is rejected, you have no recourse to the MSC if some law got violated while you were just another customer.

So pick your lies carefully here.

I did several of these and would do more if they showed up. There was one a few months ago that was up to $60 but I decided to wait and see if it went higher..someone else snatched it.
For those who asked about working and getting a loan...I have a full time job but just told them I had a payment due I could not meet until the next pay period when I got my check. My loan was a payday loan so a max of two weeks. The interest, although a great huge percentage only worked out to about $30 for two weeks. Someone who needs to fix their car so they can get to work or some other story like that is willing to spend $30 rather than lose their job. They should not ask why you need the money so just have a back story ready if you feel it is needed.
And I also saw what seemed like the same deal from another company for $12. Although the job itself was easy, taking the time for getting everything together and having to make sure you returned the money on time is not a $12 job in my world.

Since you have to return to pay back the money (on some shops) you need to value these like a purchase and return.

I wouldn't go to one of those places for $12. Probably not less than $25 for a simple scenario like cashing a check. I think the cheapest I've done a loan shop was $45 because I was driving right past it.

I don't do them because I don't have a paystub and I'm self-employed. Too complicated. Plus a lot of my money goes to PayPal, not a bank.

I'm only registered with a couple companies, but I haven't seen any of these in my area. Guess I'll keep registering!

I don't do them because I read that in the UK, payday loans are now a factor considered when people apply for mortgages, and it's likely to become common practice in the US as well. Even if paid back on time, payday loans are evidence of suboptimal money management. Since I'm not a homeowner, but would like to be one in the future, I don't want to screw up my future financial records and interest rates.

@MPorter3112 wrote:

I don't do them because I read that in the UK, payday loans are now a factor considered when people apply for mortgages, and it's likely to become common practice in the US as well.

Nah, I doubt that. The US gubmint needs all the gimmicks it can to keep money flowing, so they will try to remove all barriers to unqualified wannabe homeowners getting saddled with mortgages if they can.

I forget what I read not too long back pointing to that...something to the tune of late payments on your credit report beyond X months in the past not being used against a potential borrower. Hey, a credit free-for-all! Why haven't they thought of that before?

I used to do these too. The company cut me off. I'd be curious to know else does them as no one has mentioned a name of the Client.

@dspeakes wrote:

I used to snap these up all the time but I was cut off from them after there was a shop where I was given incorrect information and could not actually do the expected scenario because state laws changed here and that loan was no longer offered. I bumbled through as best I could with the only loan option they had left but ended up violating one requirement that ended up in conflict with a different requirement. Due to the ambiguous terms, I was able to argue my way out of the shop being rejected and I did get paid, but they cut me off from them after that and I no longer see them on the job board at all.

Some people don't like them because many are in rough neighborhoods. Others are worried it might affect their credit.

The only payday loan shops I've done were for Service Sleuth. I don't do them anymore for the following reasons:

1. The report is rather narrative-heavy and involves scanning several pages of the agreement.

2. They only pay $20, and rarely get bonused more than $5.

3. You have to return to the place to pay back the loan, so essentially it's making two trips for $20.

4. You always have to ask for a $200 loan. At my location I'm certain that they're onto me.

Edited to add: 5. This msc takes awhile to pay.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/11/2015 04:48PM by Phoebe70.

I've seen payday loan shops with Service Sleuth and with Market Force. I have never done one so I'm not use at all on whether they are "worth it" or not.........

I've actually done two of those with fees, one for $75 and the other for $150. Successful shops but won't do them again even if they did not affect my credit standing. There were pages to download and the usurious fees were incredible. I really liked the shop fees but having that extra money (loan) which was actually not mine was too tempting. Payday loans could be addictive.

The interest is more than the credit card charges. They are usurious. Better to keep the loan aside and pay it off. The charges are reimbursed after over 60 days. With the fee, the loan amount and the interest charges, you will have a sizeable amount for a mystery shop. But they are not yours. Only the shop fees are yours. The interest charges, you have to pay when you pay the loan, but they are reimbursed.

Once the principal is spent, it will be a cycle because reborrowing would entail paying the interest as well, which this time will not be reimbursed. So, don't reborrow.

I've done a few of these and the last time, because I had proven myself to be such a good and, oh yes, responsible customer, the interest rate, IF I paid back on the due date, was ZERO. I thought that might be a sign that I should go play the lottery.

(heart)