Beware of Monterey Mystery Shopping, BestMark and Marketforce

blanka · 2012-08-20T21:49:48+00:00

Stay away from these companies. They are frauds. They require a lengthy shop, then bullshit you that the form "needs more information" but they refuse to tell you what is missing. That was Monterey. Bestmark unilaterally withholds payment after the work was done and the form was sent. They are frauds. Never sign up with them. Marketforce rejects the receipt upload over and over, and you have to stand on your head to submit it. It took me 12 weeks to get paid, and I had out of pocket costs. Never do it..NEVER

Beware of Monterey Mystery Shopping, BestMark and Marketforce

September 01, 2012 03:50AM

rsa Wrote:

> It is my opinion and not necessarily the opinion
> of others here, that If Blanka/Dave feels that MS
> is such a scam, then they-she-him-it, should find
> some other part time work to do. The comments are
> not conducive to a positive work environment nor
> are they posed in such a manner that they would be
> helpful to a new shopper that actually can/does
> make money from these companies.

I totally agree. If Blanka/Dave does think that these honest companies are scams, he or she should consider some other line of work (More shops for the rest of us!). I have shopped for Bestmark, Market Force and Monterrey for years. I won't say that there have never been any problems or issues, but I have found employees at these companies to be people with a high level of integrity. There have been times when I have not been paid by Bestmark and Market Force. Sometimes it has been my fault. Sometimes I think it is theirs, but by and large, I think these are honest companies. Calling them frauds or scams seems unfair.

"Evolve thyself and lose all hate...." Orphaned Land

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More Discussions About BestMark (All Companies)

September 01, 2012 04:58AM

Hi, new to the forum. I've learned some new things reading the forum and enjoy it. I absolutely LOVE mystery shopping!

Has anyone had a problem with this Shadow Agency/Client Smart? I did an apartment shop for them July 19 and have yet to be paid. I've e-mailed them several times and I get no answer. Anybody??

Thanks,Linda

September 01, 2012 05:04AM

I have done MS for all of these companies and have always been paid. In fact I have a high rating with all these companies.

September 01, 2012 05:04AM

I don't know exactly how that company works, but many companies pay about two months after the actual shop.

September 01, 2012 05:18AM

Thanks for answering Richard, I'll wait a little longer then try to contact them again.

September 01, 2012 02:00PM

Never had an issue with Bestmark.

September 01, 2012 03:15PM

Richard94611 - Hello Richard - Some of us do make a living doing this, but I don't. For me, it's a really nice supplement and provides crazy money so I don't have to dip my savings for day to day expenses.

I haven't been involved in video shopping but I understand the money is better there. I investigated it a year or so ago, and got some wonderful help here on the forum from the video shoppers. You can do a search on "video shopping" and you'll probably pull up that thread, which will be chock full of goodies.

Video shopping appears to be extremely promising. I decided against it because of personal issues which had nothing at all to do with whether I thought video shopping was viable. I think it would be great, and anyone considering this seriously would be remiss not to include it.

Mary Davis Nowell. Based close to Fort Worth. Shopping Interstate 20 east and west, Interstate 35 north and south.

September 01, 2012 04:17PM

i have worked for Bestmark and Market Force. I always got paid.

September 01, 2012 04:37PM

I have worked for Bestmark and Market Force and both paid me on time and in full...except for Bestmark docking me $3...my fault for not reading the instructions correctly...not their fault. I like both these company and have found them to be fair.

September 01, 2012 04:46PM

Hi hon, edit out the restaurant name from your post...IC violoation.

robinv Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I just had a Bestmark shop rejected because I
> ordered the wrong drink at xxxxxx xxxxx. I goofed.
> I lived and learned. It won't happen again, I
> promise you that.
>
> Robinv

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/01/2012 07:58PM by JASFLALMT.

September 01, 2012 04:52PM

I think schekai has a problem understanding punctuation and perhaps has a problem with run-on sentences, judging from the incorrect placement of spaces and commas and the big run-on sentence of his/her post. I know Marketforce is rather lenient with errors, but if someone has a problem with their writing skills, there could be other issues (such as a good understanding of the English language) that prevented them from understanding guidelines and submitting reports properly. This could be schekai's problem...or maybe schekai is blanka?

MDavisnowell Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> schekai - Hello and welcome to the forum. Are you
> here to slam the company or are you trying to get
> help with the issues? I'm not taking sides here.
> I just want to know if you want help.
>
> If your purpose is to slam the company and say
> that they are a scam, OK, you have made that post
> and we hear you.
>
> If you want help and you will provide more
> information on what happened between you and
> Market Force, perhaps we can make some
> suggestions. Many of us shop for Market Force and
> are familiar with their jobs and procedures.

September 01, 2012 04:56PM

Personally, no. I had read once of a woman who lived in New York City who made a living out of it, but most of us do it for fun and freebies. As a stay at home Mom, for me it offers the opportunity to have a flexible schedule to be home with my kids after school, and I do not have to ask my husband for money when I want to do personal things for myself, such as getting pedicures and buying clothes. I can get the free massage from time to time, which is very nice. My husband doesn't complain that I can take him out to dinner for free fairly often, and no one in our household has had to pay for an oil change in years!

Richard94611 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Is there anyone around here who actually makes a
> living on mystery shopping, business inspections
> and merchandising ?

September 01, 2012 05:14PM

I find it interesting on this thread how people are defending these companies that rip people off , wow , yes they are scamms . BBB says so and so does some others I reported to

September 01, 2012 05:34PM

Please tell us what BBB says. I can tell you one very honest company, and that is Intellishop. (And, no, I don't work at Intellishop, I just do occasional shops for them, and the money always comes when it is supposed to come without me having to do anything.) I have also found Trandsource to be very good. I think what I will do later this weekend is go through my files and list the companies I have dealt with that have proven to be reliable. This past month I did a lot of shops and billed over $1,000, so I am definitely experienced, and I have been mystery shopping on and off for about five years.

September 01, 2012 05:44PM

Hello again Schekai -

This is an upshot for you.

That's an archery term meaning the final shot of the tournament.

Is there some way I can help you?

Mary Davis Nowell. Based close to Fort Worth. Shopping Interstate 20 east and west, Interstate 35 north and south.

September 02, 2012 12:54AM

Very interesting, since I checked the BBB website and there is nothing, NO reports against Monterey Mystery Shopping whatsoever. Please provide a link to the BBB website where you filed your report for us to review, if this is true. What other agencies did you report to? It would be helpful if you could provide some sort of proof. I can only go by my own experience, which is that I have always been paid and paid in a prompt manner. Pretty sure you are Blanka/Dave...

schekai Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I find it interesting on this thread how people
> are defending these companies that rip people off
> , wow , yes they are scamms . BBB says so and so
> does some others I reported to

September 02, 2012 03:13PM

I am quickly realizing that when people dont get paid, because; "I missed a small detail," "I did not see it in the guidelines," "the scehduler don't like me" or any other excuse they post for not preforming the shop correctly always crys scam or bad company. When in realty it's their fault for not doing the job correctly. At some point shoppers need to accept their fault. It would make better sense to teach the newer shopper by stating dont forget... (fill in the blank) or you wont be paid. One thing I have learned, some of the smallest details are usual the major focus points of a shop.

September 02, 2012 03:26PM

According to the BBB, Market Force has a rating of A+ and Bestmark is A-. It is interesting to note the lowered rating for Bestmark is because the complainant will not accept the resolution. The resolution offered was full pay for an audit which was not completed. It has been interesting reading the complaints and I can see which of them said virtually the same things here.

Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.

September 02, 2012 03:29PM

Blanka/Dave/schedkai is really grasping at straws here.
LisaSTL Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> According to the BBB, Market Force has a rating of
> A+ and Bestmark is A-. It is interesting to note
> the lowered rating for Bestmark is because the
> complainant will not accept the resolution. The
> resolution offered was full pay for an audit which
> was not completed. It has been interesting reading
> the complaints and I can see which of them said
> virtually the same things here.

September 02, 2012 05:21PM

It's also interesting to note that the BBB acted on many of the Bestmark complaints. I was under the impression that they generally disregarded business to business transactions, but I guess it varies by community.

While most of us know that Bestmark is not the most generous company, what better resolution can one ask for than to be paid for a shop that was not completed?

Reading the BB complaints actually makes me feel bad for the MSCs....

September 03, 2012 01:27AM

Has anyone shopped for a company named Work Smart not harder?

September 03, 2012 01:34AM

Have you tried to Google them? Sometimes that works if I try a search here and can't come up with anything. Another suggestion would be to start a new thread with the name of the company in the subject line. It would stand out more than having the question in this thread.

September 03, 2012 01:40AM

I have shopped for Market Force for almost five years (the very first company I signed up with!), and I only did not get paid once. That happened over two years ago, and I even though I performed the shop, I neglected to check the restroom. Instead of fibbing, I told the truth.

Hence, did not get paid. Did I complain? Of course not. IT WAS MY FAULT!

September 03, 2012 01:47AM

Well, just finished reading some of the posts - so far as a "Newbie" I have yet to experience any fraudulent MSCs. In fact most of my experiences have been quite good. I have had one or two issues with editors that do not respond to a question and when that happens I have just tapered off using those companies. I think communication is important and if I cannot get a response I feel I do not have a working relationship with that company.

Most of the companies I have worked for, so far have been good, fair and all schedulers have responded right away. The above-referenced companies I am familiar with however, one doesn't respond to questions and one really has too much work for very little pay and the last one I just started to do assignments with and do not feel that one size fits all. From reading posts on this forum one person may love a company while another doesn't.

I also believe that an antagonistic post does not enhance the really good information and experiences I have read on this forum. Fortunately, I can recognize this person is just plain angry at everything.

September 03, 2012 09:47AM

I think he was joking?
LisaSTL Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Have you tried to Google them? Sometimes that
> works if I try a search here and can't come up
> with anything. Another suggestion would be to
> start a new thread with the name of the company in
> the subject line. It would stand out more than
> having the question in this thread.

September 03, 2012 01:25PM

I don't know, Jas, could be. I've never been able to understand that anyway. The harder I work the smarter I get. Is that it? Oh, no, that can't be right.

Mary Davis Nowell. Based close to Fort Worth. Shopping Interstate 20 east and west, Interstate 35 north and south.

September 03, 2012 02:57PM

It probably was a joke and I was way too tired to get the punch line.

September 03, 2012 04:01PM

Whoa! This is scarey (and sad). Responding to such energy cannot be good for anyone. But absolutely loved the recipes! How about a permanent thread for recipes!!??

September 03, 2012 05:28PM

It occurred to me that many serious shoppers are serious about their food as well! Any connection with good focus and an intense attention to detail? I think yes.

September 03, 2012 08:58PM

Hello, lniemcz@aol.com. I can't answer your question and I was hoping someone who knew something would hop on it. You will get a response if you start a new thread and put the name of the company in the title line. When you slip it in on an already existing thread on another subject, sometimes it gets lost.

There is already a thread going on Shadow Shopper. Is that the same outfit?

Mary Davis Nowell. Based close to Fort Worth. Shopping Interstate 20 east and west, Interstate 35 north and south.

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Beware of Monterey Mystery Shopping, BestMark and Marketforce

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