I performed a negotiation shop for RSG. When I could not get the salesperson to give me written quotes the way that RSG wanted them, they removed my shop from my log!!!! Luckily I printed out the form. They stated that I did not do the shop correctly. I did. To the letter. I explained to them that I can't force another person to give me what they want. I have not heard from them. Can I take a mysteryshopping company to small claims court if I know that I did the shop correctly?

You can try. Whether it will be productive for you is an entirely different matter.

I'm sorry to hear about your problem. I would forget about the court stuff and try speaking with them some more (possibly on the phone). RSG have been 100% fair with me so maybe this can be worked out somehow in a friendly manner. They are one of my favorite companies.

Of course you can take them to small claims court. You can also raise chickens and keep a cow for food and milk. Why would you want to? If you can't work it out with them, do yourself a favor and move on. Not worth the hassle. It would be a waste of your time, and time is money.

I ran in to the same issue where they would not let me take the quote with me. I asked if I could take a picture with my phone, telling them I really couldn't make a final decision if I didn't have the details to review. They allowed me to take the picture.

Thanks, MDavisnowell! I needed to laugh!

I am tired of moving on when mystery shopping companies refuse to pay for shops that are done correctly. This is the second time for me (1st with RSG). This should not be allowed. I tried speaking with RSG and the scheduler lied and stated that I turned it in late. I have the proof that I turned it in on time but RST project director refuses to look at it. They also removed the shop from my log. At least they didn't rate me a 1 - LOL!!!!

Maybe I will just report them to the BBB and MSPA. I will ask for mediation with MSPA just so it can be noted that if the client does not do what is needed for RSG to get payment, they will make up an excuse not to pay the mystery shopper. I was sooooo upset earlier - I was thinking Judge Judy all the way! LOL!

You would probably be better off with Judge Judy. BBB usually declines to act on payments not made to contractors. MSPA does not seem to be very effective at mediating nonpayment of its members to shoppers.

I can just visualize how it would go with Judge Judy....

Judge Judy at the RSG/sm7500 hearing: "Judge Judy: ...I eat morons like you for breakfast. You're gonna be crying before this is over. Now, let's get this case started!"

MSPA is not designed to help shoppers. It is a lobbying organization representing the interests of MSCs. Period.

post here and other mystery shopping forums.....that will at least get you some attention....

Also the BBB has no authority. They are a reporting organization. You report someone to them, they will send a letter saying "we heard a bad thing about you please fix it," but that's the extent of it. Other than that they'll just add the complaint to their database so that when someone asks the BBB about a company they can say we have X number or complaints about them.

You could go on JJ and depending on the day she is having, it's likely she will throw your case out. She does it all the time.

I dunno.. I've done 10 shops for them so far and there have been a few where there were no window stickers (just because some of the cars are just so brand spanking new on the sales floor) or two days ago where the saleswoman outright refused to give me quotes because it's a "bill of sale" (which it's not). I still got paid.

I just kept persisting and asked to speak with a manager. It took convincing to do but I got it. I don't really think you'd have a case to be honest.. the salesperson gave you a bunch of fluff, I wasn't there but I am sure with a bit more time, you could have got the quote or atleast an e-mail containing all the information. I'll tell ya something - I went to one shop in one end of the city who refused to give me a quote (see above) and then another shop at the other end that gave me it without me even having to ask! Again - salesperson fluff!

Have you asked them what you could do to rectify the matter instead of giving them excuses that the sales rep wouldn't give you the quote?

Sorry about what you are going through but I personally would try a different approach - not to take sides here but RSG have been very, very fair to me. You saying that they said you didn't do the shop right is a bunch of he said she said.. they may be very correct that you didn't do the shop right. I would try to talk calmly with the individual you are dealing with, if not that person, go the next higher up if you know who that is.

The reality is, the experience a person has with a company is based on who they are dealing with, and that goes for MSCs, sales, and even us. Although there is no case here worth going to court for, that does not mean he is wrong. As for the BBB, what you call ineffective is actually the opposite because if there are enough complaints, the business could land in a world of hurt.

As it is, MSCs HAVE to have a good reputation to survive with all the scams in this area, so it seems smarter for them to work it out BEFORE it escalates. People use google to find out about these companies, so there is a potential for loss of CLIENTS and contractors. If yelp reviews can destroy a company, then the BBB is worse.

This is about one MSC with a F rating, note the first line.
"BBB concerns with the industry in which this business operates.
One serious complaint filed against business.
BBB does not have sufficient information to determine how long this business has been operating.
BBB does not have sufficient background information on this business. BBB made two or more requests for background information from the business. BBB has not received a response from this business and/or has not been able to verify information received from this business."

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/17/2013 09:30AM by Delwilliams.

I did the negotiation shop and it is not easy, but if you persist and ask the right questions, you can get a quote. I negotiated for a car that was not yet released, but I persisted. The SA gave me a quote, but barely negotiated down because he said he can't give me a discount on a car that is not out yet....almost made sense. After 1/2 hour, I got him to go down $5K from $76,000, which was good enough for me. I took pictures of the prices with my iPhone, when he went off to "talk to the manager." I knew he was not going to give me the paperwork and I was right. I went back the second day, and it was obvious he was not going to lower the price any more. I left after 15 minutes and my report was accepted.

MDavisnowell Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Of course you can take them to small claims court.
> You can also raise chickens and keep a cow for
> food and milk. Why would you want to? If you
> can't work it out with them, do yourself a favor
> and move on. Not worth the hassle. It would be
> a waste of your time, and time is money.


IMO, that's some really bad advice. Again IMO, the non-paying MSC should at least be reported to the MSPA, and complaints filed with the Better Business Bureau. Other shoppers should also be warned by posting details of the non-payment on all MS forums.

Sometimes with RSG it takes real bull headedness. The last one I did, the salesman was really inexperienced and sent me to the website for information. That won't work. 3 days later, after I stressed we wanted all the options and the window sticker printed out, the sales manager got me the information. I told the salesman we ran spreadsheets comparing prices, because our money is very important to us and we want to see every cost. I also wanted the pay from RSG, it's good money for not a lot of work.

I have had a few occasions where the sales force refused to give me the written quote. I just asked them to write the quote on the back of their business card. That was accepted without any questions. Maybe you can remember that in the future. As a last resort, you do not have anything to lose.

You can even have them write the quote on a brochure. I believe that would probably fulfill the goals of the MSC. It's just a thought and I may be entirely wrong about meeting their requirements.

I did two shops for RSG. The first one went well, and payment followed very quickly. The second one, however, was a disaster. The account exec simply would not help me in filling out the extremely confusing audit form, despite my asking for help at least three times. In the end, the shop was accepted, but they reduced the fee. I will nto be working for them again.