I have messed up a few shops and not been paid, and have had a couple with out of pocket expenses that weren't reimbursed, but nothing huge yet thankfully.

I am just wondering if there are horror stories out there of losing large payments or reimbursements?

If I mess up a shop and it causes it to be rejected, I just do the shop again so I can at least break even. I have shopped the wrong time period and have forgotten to take a photo before mailing a package. I shopped the wrong car model once, but I was out only my time. I cannot think of any other rejections.

Many years ago, when I was a newbie, I accidentally shopped the wrong restaurant. It was a pizza restaurant and there was another pizza restaurant literally right next to it with a similar sound name. What are the chances?? It wasn't a complete waste of time since my partner and I still enjoyed a nice night out.

I shopped the wrong Rent-A-Center once. It was less than a mile from my apartment. I just pulled in and did the shop. Got the required business card, went home to fill out the report. Really didn't think too much about the "wrong" address on the business card. Got the rejection notice a couple days later. Yes, there were TWO Rent-A-Center locations on the SAME road, just a block apart. I'd lived in that city for almost 20 years and never noticed.

I have also driven 150 miles round trip to mail a second package after forgetting to take a picture of the first one. I've shopped the wrong time period; ordered the wrong item; and waited til the last day to do a shop, not realizing they would be closed on that day.

The shop that still p****s me off is a PO shop where the clerk did not offer me any options, just printed a label and slapped it on the package. I asked how he was sending it and was told Ground Advantage. I said, as the instructions told me to do, that I had wanted to send it Priority for the insurance. Well, evidently, GA has insurance (and tracking) same as Priority, so he refused to cancel the GA and change it to Priority. If I hadn't already paid, I would have refused to pay until he changed it, but no such luck, I'd already put the card in the slot. It was rejected even though I had followed all the instructions (except for sending it Priority) and I plead my case really strongly. I reshopped it a few weeks later. He again did not offer me any options, so I just told him I wanted it sent Priority before I paid. He was just as unfriendly on the second trip as he had been the first time, too. That clerk could have been retrained if the first report had been submitted to the client. You would think they would want to know!

I did a restaurant shop with EliteCX in May of this year and August of this year. When I asked about the reimbursements, they said that the ACH was rejected. They use Tripalti and so I checked my profile, and the routing number and account numbers were correct. I have e-mailed them and left voice messages. And at first, they said to check my banking information, but now I have not gotten a reply in a week. After 8,000 shops with over 20 companies, this is the first time this had happened.

Several years ago, I did 2 restaurants where I forgot to take pictures of the food. Nice evening out Reimbursement would have been about $90. In both cases, I just redid the shops. Can the reimbursement be used as a tax loss when I do my expenses for my taxes?

I did an Amazon store. I had a lot of areas I had to go to and encounters with employees. Pictures I had to take. I forgot to take one of the pictures so it was rejected.

@Insight wrote:

Several years ago, I did 2 restaurants where I forgot to take pictures of the food. Nice evening out Reimbursement would have been about $90. In both cases, I just redid the shops. Can the reimbursement be used as a tax loss when I do my expenses for my taxes?

I plan to! It's an expense of doing business

I had a couple of minor losses this year. I had a Post Office shop rejected because I submitted it after midnight. I had thought I sent it in the parking lot so not sure what happened, but as soon as I noticed it I submitted it the next morning. They rejected the shop for being late, which I thought was very unreasonable...dock me maybe, but just reject it when I have spent the money and done a correct report? Ugh. So I plan to claim that $12 as an expense.

I also shopped an incorrect convenience store, so that one is on me. I spent about $11, so I will deduct that too.

Recently I did a shop and forgot the exit photo. It was out of town and I was 30 minutes away by the time I realized it, and not worth going back for. Nothing out of pocket there, but it was a really aggravating, time consuming shop. Again, terrible service and too bad they wouldn't accept the report without the photo, but that was on me.

@Jnish1 wrote:

I did a restaurant shop with EliteCX in May of this year and August of this year. When I asked about the reimbursements, they said that the ACH was rejected. They use Tripalti and so I checked my profile, and the routing number and account numbers were correct. I have e-mailed them and left voice messages. And at first, they said to check my banking information, but now I have not gotten a reply in a week. After 8,000 shops with over 20 companies, this is the first time this had happened.

Wow, that's terrible.

@HoomanShopper wrote:

I shopped the wrong Rent-A-Center once. It was less than a mile from my apartment. I just pulled in and did the shop. Got the required business card, went home to fill out the report. Really didn't think too much about the "wrong" address on the business card. Got the rejection notice a couple days later. Yes, there were TWO Rent-A-Center locations on the SAME road, just a block apart. I'd lived in that city for almost 20 years and never noticed.

I have also driven 150 miles round trip to mail a second package after forgetting to take a picture of the first one. I've shopped the wrong time period; ordered the wrong item; and waited til the last day to do a shop, not realizing they would be closed on that day./quote]

Last year I had a Cricket Shop. I was so sure that I knew where it was and I went in and completed the shop. I got home and opened the report and looked at the business card and I had went to a Metro PCS!! Back in the car...at least I noticed before writing the report, LOL.

I can't believe you would drive 150 miles...I would have let that go.

I have only had one shop out right rejected, it was a Papa John's Pizza Shop. It was rejected because the Pizza Photo was too dark, well the photo looked just like the pizza I ordered and it tasted just as bad. I sure did write that off on my taxes.

I shopped the wrong rep, the wrong time period, the wrong computer store (Apple instead of MicroSoft), the wrong time period and even the wrong location. I have either redone the shop correctly, or have been paid anyways for the shop. I have always written any expense I had for an incorrect shop off.

I have done the wrong scenario for sonic. I have purchased the wrong items. I have shopped the wrong dates. Many stupid mistakes. Somehow, i got paid for all by contacting the scheduler and asking for help. Been lucky so far to get paid for my mistakes.

I definitely had one that I thought was so wrong and egregious that I spent a tonne of time trying to get it accepted. It was for a gas station convenience store. The stores were franchised and the receipt listed another address miles away (say 15 or so). I shared my google location for the whole day and maintained I could not have possibly been at this other location and the photos were of the correct location. No payment. It wasn't that much money but I had driven out of my way, bought food I wouldn't eat, overpaid for gas and no payment. All because the store had the wrong address in it's register (only the one inside not on the gas pumps) something I think they would want to fix...

I had a shop rejected because I ordered a beer and not a cocktail. I am still mad about it, because it was a not entirely clear in the guidelines and also, there were no questions about correct pours or anything. I was out about $100, because it was an experience shop.

I had a 5G Shop rejected when the dining room was closed for some reason, but they were taking to-go orders outside the front door. The company said I should have taken a photo to prove dining was closed instead of ordering outside.
I drove 50 miles to have lunch at Cracker Barrel with my wife that was rejected because we checked in 20 minutes before lunch time.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/21/2023 06:30PM by jgenad.

I had a UPS shop that was for the post office shops rejected once because i did it on a Sunday. I knew I could not do the regular post office shops on Sundays as they are closed but this one was open on Sunday. I do not usually do those non post office post office shops and should have checked the guidelines but just thought "great, they are open, lets go."
I had the ability to shop at a restaurant chain rejected once. It was a pick up shop. I was there on time. I was not allowed to go inside to pick up but had to wait in my car. I found out later that an entire wedding party of around 40 or 50 people had arrived without reservations before I got there and taken over their entire side room The kitchen was busy, the servers were busy, everyone was stressed. I called into the restaurant every 15 minutes for over an hour wondering how long it would be for my food to be delivered. One of those times it was the manager who happened to pick up the phone and told me about the wedding party. Finally my food came out. I never met the manager in person. The next day after I wrote the report the msc got in touch and said the manager recognized me from the report and they banned me from ever doing that chain again even though the manager had no idea what I looked like. Fortunately that chain went to a different msc after a few years so I can do it again.

Can you deduct the shopper fee as a loss in addition to what you spent out of pocket for taxes?

Since I am new and have only done 5 shops so far, I have nothing bad to report.........but I'm sure it's coming!

@Insight wrote:

Can you deduct the shopper fee as a loss in addition to what you spent out of pocket for taxes?

No, you can't deduct the shopper's fee that you missed out on as this is not an actual expense that you incurred.

@nolimitem wrote:

I had a shop rejected because I ordered a beer and not a cocktail. I am still mad about it, because it was a not entirely clear in the guidelines and also, there were no questions about correct pours or anything. I was out about $100, because it was an experience shop.

Ouch!

@Datagirl wrote:

I have done the wrong scenario for sonic. I have purchased the wrong items. I have shopped the wrong dates. Many stupid mistakes. Somehow, i got paid for all by contacting the scheduler and asking for help. Been lucky so far to get paid for my mistakes.

I seems some MSC's let little things slide through and others are sticklers. When I forgot the exit photo for a shop recently I emailed and asked if there was anything that could be done, before I bothered to submit the report. I didn't even get the courtesy of an email response. The shop was just canceled and I was put on PROBATION, lol. I totally understand that they couldn't make an exception, but why so rude? I had a laugh today though because the shop is still sitting there, and they struggle every month to assign it.

I had a Sonic rejected flat out because It showed I ordered two meals on one receipt. I asked for two receipts, but they put both on one receipt with the grand total on the bottom. That was when I was first starting out. Learned my lesson quickly.

@Lady Marius wrote:

I have only had one shop out right rejected, it was a Papa John's Pizza Shop. It was rejected because the Pizza Photo was too dark, well the photo looked just like the pizza I ordered and it tasted just as bad. I sure did write that off on my taxes.

OMG I forgot about Papa John's. It was many years ago when I had a flip phone, lol, and they wouldn't accept the quality of my photos. It really burned me because the pizza was terrible!

I went to the wrong 5 Guys once and of course had it rejected. In my mind I was certain I was going to X place in same city, but it was actually Y place in that city. Did you ever have yourself convinced of something that was totally wrong? It's a good thing to check the address before entering just to be sure.

I also shopped a large Best Buy that was located in the mall parking lot as a stand alone store. I was actually supposed to go to the Best Buy store that was within the same mall itself. I had no idea there was even one there.

@MsJudi wrote:

Did you ever have yourself convinced of something that was totally wrong? It's a good thing to check the address before entering just to be sure.

Yes my very first Chipotle shop. I was supossed to shop 2323 such and such street. I read it as 323 such and such street. Both are locations of Chipotle. Lucky for me that they were able to use my report for the wrong location, I then completed a shop at the correct location and was paid for that shop as well.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/21/2023 09:42PM by Lady Marius.

A company whos name I forget (and sincerely hope they went out of business) was paying $50.00 to ask prices for 6-8 hearing aids at an office. Receptionist told me I had to pay $95.00 to make an appointment to talk to someone and find out prices. I filled out report as best I could without the prices and it was rejected. I talked to the owner of MSC and was asked if I would get prices at a different location. Riiiight-- as if I would want to work for that company ever again.

I had a Sonic and a grocery chain in a little town about 40 miles from me I hadn't shopped before. Somehow, I don't know how, it turns out this little bump in the road town had 2 Sonics and 2 of the grocery chain. Yep, I shopped the wrong one of each.

My very first rejection, and deactivation.. I did a shop at a Norm's restaurant. Everyone in southern CA knows what Norms is, it's like a half step below Denny's with no fresh food at all. But my Grandpa used to like to eat there after Grandma passed. I had to take a guest, first time ever doing a restaurant shop. I took my son, who was much younger than he is now, and his girlfriend. The guidelines said to evaluate the restaurant as if it were an upscale restaurant. So I did. My narratives were concise, I explained all of the awful food, and the extra rude waiter. And that the waiter refused to give me my itemized receipt, and got his manager involved. All of it well written, college level essay.

The editor said, that Norm's isn't an upscale restaurant and I shouldn't judge them as such, but that is what the guidelines said. And the editor said that I should not have made a fuss over my receipt, but they weren't going to pay me without the receipt and the pics of the food, so I was supposed to just roll over and walk out without a receipt, and not get paid or reimbursed?

That was the question that got me deactivated. I refused to change my evaluation, and I questioned how I was supposed to get paid without a receipt after the editor told me that I should have just left when the waiter refused to give it to me.

I guess I didn't need to work for that company very badly, but they had some cool grocery shops at Cardena's that I REALLY wanted to do.

@Lady Marius The same happened with me and Papa John's Pizza. I took tons of pictures for backup. They all looked fine to me but were rejected. That shop was just a setup for failure! And the pizza was lousy!

One Papa John's Pizza shop (rejected for photo issue, can't recall exact details) was all it took for me. Never have done those shops again and the thought of eating their cotton bottom, red sauce, fake cheese food grosses me out.