The MSPza said on their facebook page that the Freeman Group is not going bankrupt. They said they are aware of their payment problms. They als advises shoppers to be patient because payment was forthcoming. Thoughts?

I'm going to quote the post, because I find it so absurd, upsetting, and hypocritical. The payment policies by Freeman are indefensible, IMHO. They are months behind in payments to what seems to be virtually every shopper. At what point does the level of understanding expire?

From MSPA Facebook site.......

MSPA: In the interest of promoting correct information on one our member companies, the Freeman Group is not going bankrupt. The staff at MSPA HQ is aware that some shoppers are awaiting payment for completed assignments with this company.
Please be patient; it will come to you.

Shopper: I have a quick question. I am not one of the shoppers awaiting payment, however, I would like to ask, what happens when a company does not honor the agreement they make with contract employees (pay on time)? Just curious. Thanks.

MSPA: It is within the association's Code of Ethics for members that shoppers must be paid. There is a certain level of understanding for late payments and it varies from case to case.
Thank you for asking!

Thanks for posting the MSAPA response to late shopper payments, Steve:

"MSPA: It is within the association's Code of Ethics for members that shoppers must be paid. There is a certain level of understanding for late payments and it varies from case to case. "

I guess the next question should be to request that the MSPA define their level of understanding for late payments. Is there actual criteria for the case by case determination?

I share your opinion and can't improve on your wording: absurd, upsetting, and hypocritical.

MSPA loses credibility with me for allowing these companies to remain a member.

Just remember that the MSPA was formed with the purpose of promoting the interests of MSCs and not of shoppers. Its
self-policing" tends to be aimed at how one MSC treats other MSCs, not how they treat their IC or employees.

walesmaven Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Just remember that the MSPA was formed with the
> purpose of promoting the interests of MSCs and not
> of shoppers. Its
> self-policing" tends to be aimed at how one MSC
> treats other MSCs, not how they treat their IC or
> employees.


Understood, but then why institute a policy you won't enforce? If being months behind on thousands of dollars to potentially thousands of shoppers for years does not violate the policy, I can safely say it's the most nonsensical policy I have ever encountered.

Why put up a FB site for shoppers? The offensive part to me from all this is that they pretend to be some sort of advocate for shoppers, while being completely self-serving. It also begs many other questions:

How can the MSPA be so assured that Freeman is not going BK?

I would prefer the believe that Freeman is on the verge of bankruptcy, scraping to get by each month, unable to pay their dues to the MSPA and utilizing the generosity of others to stay in business. If they are paying their employees, MSPA dues and are financially solvent, they should have their MSPA membership revoked for unfair business practices.

Steve,
That's just it. The MSPA does not care about unfair business practices unless the damaged party is an MSC. Are you really surprised at their statements being hypocritical? Their assurances to shoppers began it smell long before the EINs stank up the place, lol.

The way is sounds here is not "some of their shoppers", its all of its shoppers. They make it sound like it only a few of us shoppers that has money due.

Words escape me...

A "certain level of understanding" when it comes to late payments?

That they would use their influence in the mystery shopping world to issue this statement in the first place blows my mind and certainly takes away any shread of credibility that they might have had left in my mind.

Who within the MSPA is in charge of this Facebook page and what are they thinking? That they would even play in the game of "assuring" payment is unethical and just plain stupid on their part.

next their going to tell you that franchise compliance is msc of the year.

Based on the sentence, "The staff at MSPA HQ is aware....," I'm led to believe there is just one person running the whole shebang.

Bottom line is Freeman has been doing this for years. MSPA knows this. MSPA is corrupt and obviously does not stand for shoppers. Any money, in my opinion, that you send them for "certificates" is only in their pocket. Unethical and they can defend themselves on this forum if they dare.

I just saw a shop posting on Volition for Private Eyes (www.privateeyesonline.net), which at the end says to sign up for their top clients, one of them Freeman Group. Is Private Eyes legit, as well as the rest of their companies?

[jobs.volition.com]

B Business Solutions [shopper-businesssolutions.archondev.com]
Freeman Group [www.sassieshop.com]
Select Information Services [selectinformationservices.clientsmart.com]

cgruning,
Are you asking if the whole list of MSCs at the volition site is legitimate? In spite of animosity on the part of some here towards volition, no one disputes that its list of companies is "legitimate." In fact, most MSCs listed there are also listed on this forum's list of legitimate companies.

I have not recently taken any jobs through Private Eyes, so have not followed their repuation. And I am not affiliated with any company or forum as a rep.

cynb Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Bottom line is Freeman has been doing this for
> years. MSPA knows this. MSPA is corrupt and
> obviously does not stand for shoppers. Any money,
> in my opinion, that you send them for
> "certificates" is only in their pocket. Unethical
> and they can defend themselves on this forum if
> they dare.


My two cents.

Every shopper is out on a limb alone. You are responsible to make your own decisions and respond to separate companies. Once a company does not makes payments for work performed, one must decide if further work should be done when monies are due. I put a limit on such things. That protects me and gets me moving to the next opportunity.

What I do not understand is how cynb can write "MSPA is corrupt." I cannot see that point of view. I have attended one or two of their meetings and specifically went to see if mystery shopping was a viable way for me to make a living. The people there were just like you and me. They attend conventions in their preferred area of commerce and look for companies they can attract into their business. They are NOT corrupt. They are business people. When companies fail, they fail. It happens all the time. I don't see that MSPA is corrupt.

MSPA provides the list of companies for me to seek work. I do not leave that parameter. At least they have a first line of defense for me. They are legitimate companies - at least when they join the MSPA.

As a shopper, be responsible and DO NOT WORK for companies that do not pay in a timely way.

And please don't blame the greater organization for trying to make a legitimate business for the rest of us. Would any of us had the means to provide this board for shoppers to communicate?? I think not.

sail2sunset

sail2sunset Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
Would any of us had the means to
> provide this board for shoppers to communicate?? I
> think not.

Do NOT think for a moment that THIS board is somehow provided to you by the
MSPA!

OK Flash. I'll bite. Who sponsors this Board?

I was only asking about Private Eyes since they are scheduling for a company that it's well known has not been paying.


walesmaven Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> cgruning,
> Are you asking if the whole list of MSCs at the
> volition site is legitimate? In spite of
> animosity on the part of some here towards
> volition, no one disputes that its list of
> companies is "legitimate." In fact, most MSCs
> listed there are also listed on this forum's list
> of legitimate companies.
>
> I have not recently taken any jobs through Private
> Eyes, so have not followed their repuation. And I
> am not affiliated with any company or forum as a
> rep.

The MSPA was formed by the MSCs and operates totally for the MSCs. They absolutely were not created to make a legitimate business for us.

This forum was formed by JacobJ and operates for the shoppers. Thank the mystery shopping gods, it has nothing to do with the MSPA.

While the MSPA may or may not be corrupt, the cavalier attitude toward member companies continually violating their contracts for years and years certainly is a corrupt practice.

cgruning,
Private Eyes is a legitimate scheduling company, accoding to posts here and on other forums. Why not do a search on the name?

Thank you Lisa. I do better with data responses and not outbursts such as "MSPA is corrupt." I appreciate your reponse and information.

cgruning Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I was only asking about Private Eyes since they
> are scheduling for a company that it's well known
> has not been paying.
>
>
You also asked the identical question on another thread. Your question is answered there.

sail2sunset Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> OK Flash. I'll bite. Who sponsors this Board?

It is owned and operated by Jacob Jans, who to the best of my knowledge does not have a Mystery Shopping Company, nor is he a member of the MSPA. He does operate a blog and I am reasonably sure has at some time been a mystery shopper, though I don't know if he still does so.

Forums just need to have someone willing to take the time and set them up and then babysit them. Sometimes they can make a little money off the Google ads to help pay the electricity if they are providing their own server. There are free sites out on the web where you can set up forums and not even worry about the electricity to run your own server.

OK Flash. You know your stuff, I'm convinced. Plus I notice you have posted 12,189 times on this Board. You must be a VERY old man! Hah!

I respect your experience and thank you for the info!

mspa is an industry trade association and like any other associate it's going to go to bat for it's member companies no matter how wrong they may be. However, because of the unique industry they are operating in, the mspa loses any legitimacy in shoppers eyes because of the way they handle things.

I am careful about word choices. The word 'corrupt' with regard to MSPA really took me by surprise. I have a much more lenient opinion of them.

cor·rupt/kəˈrəpt/
Adjective:
Having or showing a willingness to act dishonestly in return for money or personal gain.

I guess if you want to focus on the word "personal" there could be an argument.

I don't know how familiar you are with the MSPA and would like someone to verify something for me. I was under the impression that Franchise Compliance remained a member in good standing until very recently. As a new member of the forum I highly recommend you use the search function to find the threads on Franchise Compliance as they are another company who owes shopper thousands and thousands of dollars.

This whole thread came about because of the MSPA's own remarks regarding a company which continues to ignore contractual agreements and the loose interpretation of their code of ethics. I'm not sure how supporting multiple companies who fail to pay shoppers for years on end translates into anything ethical.

audrialyn30 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The MSPza said on their facebook page that the
> Freeman Group is not going bankrupt. They said
> they are aware of their payment problms. They als
> advises shoppers to be patient because payment was
> forthcoming. Thoughts?


My thoughts are I don't give a rat's ass what the MSPA has to say when they don't take legit complaints about their members violating their membership ethics agreements seriously. They talk a good game but I've rarely seen any real, viable action when it comes to MSC/scheduling company issues. Why would now be any different?

I do shops for so many companies and this is the worst as far as pay. They have NEVER paid on time. I am still trying to get paid from February shops. You have to keep bugging them to get paid, it's ridiculous.