Hi all!

I've only been lurking for several months now (due to being harassed on here via private messages from companies for my posts). I am poking my head up again because a company I have been working for for a couple years bounced a check and I wanted to A) warn other shoppers that may work for them, and find out if this has happened to anyone else recently. Maybe the company is in trouble and I should not do any more shops for them? Maybe they will contact me on this forum to resolve the matter? I have contacted my bank and also this company via email as soon as I found the error (about an hour ago) and will update when I get responses. The company is Service With Style.

Hope you are all doing well. Please let me know if you know of anything to do with this MSC.

Thanks!

What did they say when you contacted them? Keep us posted. This sounds serious.

The last one they sent me bounced today. Contacting them tomorrow.

Oh my

Thanks for the heads up.. I will be staying away from this company!

I was asked not to mention names, but got a PM from someone who reached them by phone and they said they were "aware of the issue" and would reissue checks. I have not heard back via email. I'm going to call if I don't hear soon. I am happy to know it wasn't personal. I was imagining all kinds of scenarios, like they ended up not being happy with a shop and stopped payment or something crazy and unprofessional (which I've seen some companies are very passive aggressive like that). I will see how this pans out before doing any more shops for them, though. I have some scheduled for October and won't be doing them if I'm not paid before then.

Oh brother.....red flags, red flags...thanks for the heads up.

I once had a huge million dollar big name lawyer bounce a check to me. Sometimes they are just accounting errors or written on an old account. I'm sorry it happened to any of you.

I spoke with Ellen today regarding the check they sent me that bounced yesterday and she said they were aware of the problem and they were very sorry and that Rhonda would get another check in the mail today. Fingers crossed that it's good! I have enjoyed doing shops for them and getting $70 checks regularly. This is the only problem I have had with them. I'll be keeping a very close eye on them from now on!

Remember that NSS had a similar problem a while ago and it was resolved with everyone getting paid. I have since been paid for 15 shops from NSS. A bounced check does not necessarily mean there is a systemic problem with the company. Lets see how it is resolved.

if there was a bounced check fee make sure they pay that too

I did my first shop for them August 31st. Can someone share with me their pay cycle? I tried to look on the website but the website is down. Looking on their Facebook page I notice someone else saw that it was down a couple days ago.

I have only performed one shop for them on April 12, 2013 and I got paid by check on June 19, 2013...68 days later. Keep us posted.

Checks? They still do checks? In Canada I get paypal; that can't bounce. Is there an option for Americans to get paypal?

ISpyForYou Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hi all!
>
> I've only been lurking for several months now (due
> to being harassed on here via private messages
> from companies for my posts). I am poking my head
> up again because a company I have been working for
> for a couple years bounced a check and I wanted to
> A) warn other shoppers that may work for them, and
> find out if this has happened to anyone else
> recently. Maybe the company is in trouble and I
> should not do any more shops for them? Maybe they
> will contact me on this forum to resolve the
> matter? I have contacted my bank and also this
> company via email as soon as I found the error
> (about an hour ago) and will update when I get
> responses. The company is Service With Style.
>
> Hope you are all doing well. Please let me know if
> you know of anything to do with this MSC.
>
> Thanks!

About six months ago I completed three restaurant shops for them over a three week period. They were all $5 plus $40 reimbursement shops.

The 60 day pay period elapsed and I had not received payment. After the payment was 10 days past due I then emailed SWS twice and they didn't reply.

The third email I sent was rather nasty, and I threatened to place a contractor lien against the establishment that was shopped, etc..

They then replied and advised me that the check would be in the mail soon. The check did arrive about three weeks later than the contract agreement states, but the check did clear.

Again, that was about six months ago.

I have done seven restaurant shops since July for SWS. I was paid mid September for 4 shops done July 20th - 28th. Check cleared just fine. Hope that keeps up since I have about 20 shops scheduled with them in October. Fortunately, they are not restaurants so I won't have any out of pocket expense.

Just curious, ShawnS...can you really place a contractor's lien on a MSC or were you just bluffing?

(heart)

Update! So, I received a response from Rhonda saying they were taking care of it and I just needed to send a copy of the bank debit. I did screenshots of the account and email from the bank explaining that it was NSF. I don't receive paper statements, so this better do. I will see how fast I get a new check and if that clears without issue. Otherwise, they will have some canceled shops. I agree that getting checks is very old fashioned in this day and age, but many companies still do this. I would prefer PayPal or direct deposit like the big MSCs use. This company also takes way too long. 60 days. Again, outdated bookkeeping methods!

I would also love to hear of the contractor's lien in case this happens again. I wasn't sure what my recourse was. I've had to get really creative with deadbeat MSCs to get paid before and was already brainstorming.

stilllearning Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Just curious, ShawnS...can you really place a
> contractor's lien on a MSC or were you just
> bluffing?
>
> (heart)


Haha Yeah, I was mainly attempting to get someone to reply after the first two emails went unanswered, just to see if they were still in business.

In MT, a contractor can place a lien on any property that they performed service on and didn't receive payment in an attempt to recover unpaid invoices. Auto mechanics can do the same against a vehicle.

I have no idea if a contractor lien would be allowable for mystery shopper...in theory it sounds like it may be?

Thankfully, SWS fulfilled their end of the deal, just a bit overdue. They are great to work for, hopefully they can continue to keep their heads above water.

This was v-e-r-y inventive, especially since a contractor's lien is exactly what you state. I am going to keep idea this filed away for future reference.

Kudos!

And thank you!

(heart)

Shawn S. Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> In MT, a contractor can place a lien on any
> property that they performed service on and didn't
> receive payment in an attempt to recover unpaid
> invoices.
>
> I have no idea if a contractor lien would be
> allowable for mystery shopper... in theory it
> sounds like it may be?



I highly doubt it. In our case, the property where we perform our service isn't the entity we have our contract with. They have nothing to do with us being paid, at all. Their only contract with with the MSC, just like us.

Yep, what she said.

It's different in some states, but where I am if you are not paid, your contract is incomplete and thus void. Then, you may do what you wish with the information you have gathered since you were just a pedestrian. You could contact the client to let them know their MSC bounced checks. You could post on FB or Yelp or Twitter, etc. It's such a different world now. The internet.

You can always take a company that doesn't pay you to Small Claims Court, or whatever it happens to be called in your state. In NY, it's Small Claims, in PA it's Magistrate's Court, and probably called different things in different states. In some places, if you sue in Small Claims Court and the defendant doesn't appear, you may automatically be awarded the amount you're suing for. Whether or not you'll get paid is another question!

I think some states may have minimum limits on how much you can sue for in Small Claims, and I know there are maximums. I had a freelance client who owed me a relatively small amount of money, but which I needed to collect because I had to pay a graphic designer, on a job. After numerous phone calls and e-mails, I wrote her a certified letter, stating that if she didn't pay, I would file against her in Magistrate's Court. Lo and behold, I got the check in the mail less than a week later. Sometimes, as Shawn says, just the threat of legal action will shake the $$ loose! You hate to do it, but sometimes it's the only way to get action.

I have a new check in my hands. It's cut from a different account. Let's hope this one sticks!

Crossing my fingers for you... I hope they are covering the NSF charge from before!!!

My check to replace the one that bounced was to be mailed out no later than last Saturday. I'm in FL and they are too. As of today (Thursday), still no check. I called and it has not been sent yet. I was assured that it would go out in the morning (Friday), another week since I called the first time. I have enjoyed shopping with them in the past, but this is bullshit!

This is one of the worst companies to work with. It takes at least 2 months to get paid when they aren't bouncing checks and the report takes at the very least 45 minutes to enter and is ridiculously repetitive.

trainwreck58: You now have two posts and both are to bash a company. Do you have anything positive to contribute to the forum?

Both of trainwreck's posts are reporting a negative thing about two different MSC's, but I wouldn't call them "bashing". Both complaints sound legitimate, and the nature of the two complaints are echoed by many others. It's human nature to inquire about problems/difficulties. And neither post seems overly negative or spiteful, like some we've had here.

How is it "bashing" to complain, along with others, about bounced checks and/or late payments? And how many of us complain about (and hate!) repetitive reports? As to the other post, well, it seems others have had similar problems there, too.

That said, it would be nice to hear from you otherwise, trainwreck.

The other posts for this company are all about the bounced checks. Trainwreck is complaining about how long it takes to get paid. What does there ICA say about payment. 2 months is not a problem if that what the ICA says. He also complains about the reports taking 45 minutes and being overly repetitive. That does not make them an awful company. There are many other companies that have reports like this. To say that they are one of the worst companies because of this is bashing in my book. If he was a lurker who had decided to vent about these companies I would agree, however, he just joined on 10/3 and immediately had 2 negative posts.