I have shopped for a company for three months and have not been paid. What can I do?

What company???

You call your scheduler, then the billing dept, then write a letter to the CEO, if you don't get results. You are a self-employed contractor, so the next step is a letter from your lawyer, then Small Claims Court. That's what I do in my primary business.

What company, and what is their pay schedule?

I did a restaurant shop and was supposed to be paid in 90 days. I thought that was too long, but I had just started in Mystery Shopping and was not aware that this was not S.O.P. After 120 days I had still not been paid and my E calls and E Mails to the company were going unanswered. I went to corporate headquarters of the chain and lo and behold I received an E Mail the next day telling me the check would be sent to me the next day. Unfortunately, I cannot recall the name of the company. I will post if it comes back to me.

Gee, Phil, it sounds like either JC & Associates or Service Sleuth, though to be fair, Sleuth has paid pretty much like clockwork after 90 days. It is JC that I seem to communicate with virtually every shop because "Paypal messed up" or "The bonus comes separately" etc. Freeman is also in the "note to self--remember to ASK for payment" category.

Cynthia, I know of no MSing companies that specify a pay period longer than 90 days so you need to get in touch with them. As Sneakers pointed out, start with an email to your scheduler if you know who they are. If it is jobs you report on the SASSIE system I would go back to the shop log and contact them through the Help/Contact link with the oldest shop. Chances are you will get a return email and you can then continue the email conversation of "What is your pay cycle? When am I likely to see payment on the other jobs I did in [the same month as your oldest shop]." And if you are uncomfortable with the wait, there are plenty of other companies to work with.

The only company I know of that has recently "shut its doors" is Datatron, where I suspect payment will not be forthcoming short of lawsuits.

Infotel is notorious for taking over 90 days to pay........your shop info drops off their site after 90 days and many times they have not paid. Many shoppers have complained it has taken up to 6 months to get paid. I quit working for them a couple of years ago and they do restaurants.

Send them a GeoCache box and tell them to put the money in and return it to you.

Bugspost you are right it was Infotel. I used to get E Mails from them all the time, but no longer since this incident. I just wonder how long companies like this can continue to treat us like this. Has anybody put out a list of companies that treat mystery shoppers so cavalierly?
Flash I signed up with JC but have not accepted any assignments yet. Looks like I wont be accepting any.

JC is reputable.....I have worked for them over 3 years now.
I like their restaurant shops because they are FLAT fee not just reimbursement like other restaurants.
Their audit form is pretty straightfoward
...they are very clear on their pay schedule and always pay but if you do a shop beginning of month....you might not get paid for 75-90 days....
...course...do shop at end of month......you see it in about 60 days. Point is you get paid for all your shops during a particular month at same time
i.e. July shops paid between sept 15-oct 10. They pay via paypal.

this is their pay schedule: My May shops were paid on 7/30.

January Evaluations – Paid Between March 15th - April 10th
February Evaluations – Paid Between April 15th - May 10th
March Evaluations – Paid Between May 15th - June 10th
April Evaluations – Paid Between June 15th - July 10th
May Evaluations – Paid Between July 15th - August 10th
June Evaluations – Paid Between August 15th - September 10th
July Evaluations – Paid Between September 15th - October 10th
August Evaluations – Paid Between October 15th - November 10th
September Evaluations – Paid Between November 15th - December 10th
October Evaluations – Paid Between December 15th - January 10th
November Evaluations – Paid Between January 15th - February 10th
December Evaluations - Paid Between February 15th - March 10th

Who is JC and what types of jobs do they have. Flash do they have jobs in NY area?? Is it strictly auditing jobs, and do they have alot of jobs available. What is the actual website.Can you let me in on alittle information on them,It cant hurt knowing about another company that may have some jobs in my area, 11757 NY. Thanks

JC and Associates........here they have a major restaurant chain. I believe in other parts of the country they have bank shops. It looks like right now...just some restaurant shops in NY. They have not posted their Sept shops yet.

[www.jcandassociates.com]



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/11/2008 04:56AM by bugspost.