I received four separate checks from Bestmark, deposited them and about a week later my bank says they are no good.
I called to see what the problem was and they say that I am no longer with them because apparently I used a business card for two different locations. Granted I did by mistake but I gave them the one I should have. But they say it's to late and now I'm out over $400. Is there anything I can do?

take them to small claims court.

Is it easy to do?

I'm in Texas - they're in Minnesota

yes. It is designed for claims under a few thousand
which yours is and for consumers so you dont need
a lawyer. In face, most states don't allow a lawyer.
In most cases the company will just settle because
it will cost them more to defend it then to just payout.
Cost to file is generally under 25 bucks.

Make sure you tell them if they refuse to pay
you will file a claim in court and perhaps they
will pay and avoid having to do it.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/18/2014 08:56PM by techman01.

In MN it would be a pain to go to small claims but you can sure try. They are known for this antic more than once. Also file to BBB.

Yea doing some research now and have come across several instances where they have done this before. Found at least 6 other instances. Thanks for all the info.

Hi Ibarra33,

what did you find out? what are those 6 other instances?

Ibarra33, what specifically did Bestmark tell you? Who did you speak with? Is your communication in writing? If there were any phone coversations with them, the company probably taped them. Are they alleging wrong doing of some sort on your part?

The company does read and post here. Maybe they will respond to shed some light on the issue.

ibarra (& others),

There is no reason we would withhold payment for shops that were legitimately completed. There have been instances in the past where we have had to cancel shops submitted that we could not successfully validate with the documentation provided and/or shops submitted with fraudulent activity, and in those instances we have notified the shopper(s).

As most of you know, an integral part of submitting a mystery shopping assignment is providing valid documentation of your visit to the establishment (receipt, business card, invoice, etc.). In the instance that the required documentation is not provided, the documentation is for the wrong date/time/location, the documentation is doctored, and/or the documentation has previously been used, we cannot validate the shop and send it to the client. This results in having to send another shopper to complete the shop.

Mystery shopping providers (and almost all other companies) have quality control processes in place to ensure that the information they’re gathering is reliable and valid. As our clients expect us to provide them with accurate and veritable data, we hold that same expectation with our shoppers. Our editing team goes to great lengths to contact shoppers to clarify/gather additional information required for a report, as an effort to save a shop so it does not cancel. In fact, it costs far more in time and resources to cancel and reschedule a shop than it does to "save" or use a shop.

ibarra, I have investigated your claim in our system and the payment for your shops were withheld due to circumstances of which you are very well aware, and you had been communicated with by multiple BestMark staff via phone and email regarding this issue. If you have further questions regarding your previous submitted reports, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Thank you,
BestMark, Inc.


ibarra33 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Yea doing some research now and have come across
> several instances where they have done this
> before. Found at least 6 other instances. Thanks
> for all the info.

Hmmm....

Unfortunately, we must pay for our mistakes. If momma doesn't get her money, we don't get her money. You are an IC. If you don't deliver, you don't get paid by the hour.

BBB has complaint against Bestmark.
Easy to find other unhappy shoppers.
Bestmark can easily say one thing and actually do another.....

We will probably never know how this plays out. If the OP did nothing wrong and correctly completed the four assignments, she should move forward to try to collect. If Bestmark cannot document that she did something wrong and cannot show that her reports and documents did not meet the guidelines, I'm guessing she will collect. From her post, it sounds as though there was a problem with her documentation.

>apparently I used a business card for two different locations. Granted I did by mistake but I gave them the >one I should have. But they say it's to late

If they received wrong documentation, and had to move fast to salvage the shop by scheduling another shopper, it might well be too late. They're not going to want to pay two people to do one shop.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/20/2014 12:07AM by Ishmael.

Yes, based solely on the OP's post, which provided little information, it does not sound as though all shops were correctly executed and reported.

Incorrect cards are an issue. But the other part to the puzzle is the checks pulled back..... they are not the fastest ever to pay so they sent pay THEN found the missing cards? And at that point the Op had sent correct ones.

Neither Bestmark nor the OP provided detailed information so the sequence of events isn't clear. Unless the OP returns to clarify and/or Bestmark posts additional information, it remains a puzzle.

At BestMark, as a mystery shopping provider, we walk a fine line between protecting ourselves from false accusation and protecting the confidentiality of internal interactions with our shoppers whom we value immensely. In this instance, this shopper indisputably perpetrated fraud. This was first brought to light when the client in question informed us that the associate who had been evaluated by this shopper and for whom an invalid business card had been submitted had not worked at the location for 6 months. Upon further investigation, it was confirmed that this was not a mistake but rather a pattern. Several BestMark staff members communicated with this shopper, both by phone and by email, and the hard evidence of his fraud was provided to him.

We know that 99% of mystery shoppers perform their shops honestly and earnestly. Unfortunately, we also are painfully aware that there are those “shoppers” out there who take short cuts and the only remorse they feel is when they get caught. These outliers create credibility issues for us as well as for all of the mystery shoppers who take their responsibilities seriously and understand the meaning of integrity.

We understand that this site is an open forum and applaud the exchange of ideas and advice. We will not accept, however, inaccurate accusations regarding our practices and procedures – particularly when the accusers are not required to substantiate their claims. We appreciate those contributors to this forum who look beyond the initial blaming and name calling and take these posts with a grain of salt. This shopper has been invited to contact us again to discuss the issue and understandably has not done so. In the event he would like to take the issue more public, we will be happy to tell our side of the story.

Thank you again,
BestMark, Inc.

I did about 22 different jobs for them. I made a mistake on one job by providing the wrong card. So they said all my shops were invalid.

Why did they send me four separate checks totaling over $400 if the jobs were done wrong????

You pay me only to put stop payments on them? Some jobs were from 3 months prior. Why did it take so long to discount them all? And from one mistake? I should proof, and even talked to a supervisor who basically encouraged me to lawyer up and sue them if I'd like.

Never felt so little in my life - as though I could not do anything to get paid. Yet I went all over the city for them and spent a lot of gas money and time doing the jobs. Those 22 jobs must have taken me at least 30 hours to do and complete and now for them to basically call me a liar and not pay me?

This is why I have posted my situation on this board - so others can know. Just google people not getting paid by them and you'll see.

And for them to say I can call them? I've tried with several people but I get no where. Basically I did wrong on they can't trust me with ANY of the jobs I have ever done.

"ibarra, I have investigated your claim in our system and the payment for your shops were withheld due to circumstances of which you are very well aware, and you had been communicated with by multiple BestMark staff via phone and email regarding this issue. If you have further questions regarding your previous submitted reports, please don’t hesitate to contact us. "

Really? Have had countless talks to no avail!

I'm going to call right now and see what happens - again.

Typical - the person I need to talk to isn't in - waiting for yet another call back - we'll see!

There are two sides to the story. Bestmark years ago denied adamantly changing reports to positive and had I had proof it was done. I saw the edited report on a bulletin board in the store. I read MY edited reported. So those quick to jump to Bestmark sides they are not flawless. My report was changed from a negative to a positive. I was not a store employee. The dates and times matched exactly from what I had entered. But magically the employee had passed with flying colors.

I have found at least six instances where Bestmark claims that someone used the same pictures and/or reports for different jobs. In turn they cancel the job, don't pay the individual, and get rid of their account.

I'm out $140 (35 for each ck that came back) + $400 in payments = $540 + my time + my gas money.......

Filing with BBB as well.

Keep up the fight. Just because they think they are a big company does not make them flawless.

It is unfortunate that BestMark must go to this level of detail to defend its actions, but in a follow-up conversation with the shopper it was admitted that the same cards were used for multiple mystery shops at dealerships. It was also admitted that business cards were provided that had no bearing on the associate who was supposedly evaluated and that names provided in the survey were derived from business cards previously scanned and saved on the shopper’s computer, not from the actual interaction.

The evidence has clearly shown this having occurred for at least 9 dealerships. In some cases identical business cards—many of which had unmistakable handwriting or physical markings—were submitted for 3 shops at the same location. It is our responsibility and commitment to provide veritable and valid information to our clients. When the validity of one shop is disproved, the validity of all the shopper’s work is effectively tarnished and compromised.

Nothing at this point can change the fact that the evidence has been provided numerous times to the shopper and that all shops for which the shopper had not been paid were cancelled. The evidence itself has been neither denied nor refuted by the shopper. BestMark has found this not to be a one-time instance of re-using a business card, but rather a clearly considered pattern of fraudulent activity.

Thank you again,
BestMark, Inc.

ibarra33 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I did about 22 different jobs for them. I made a
> mistake on one job by providing the wrong card. So
> they said all my shops were invalid.
>
> Why did they send me four separate checks totaling
> over $400 if the jobs were done wrong????
>
> You pay me only to put stop payments on them? Some
> jobs were from 3 months prior. Why did it take so
> long to discount them all? And from one mistake? I
> should proof, and even talked to a supervisor who
> basically encouraged me to lawyer up and sue them
> if I'd like.
>
> Never felt so little in my life - as though I
> could not do anything to get paid. Yet I went all
> over the city for them and spent a lot of gas
> money and time doing the jobs. Those 22 jobs must
> have taken me at least 30 hours to do and complete
> and now for them to basically call me a liar and
> not pay me?
>
> This is why I have posted my situation on this
> board - so others can know. Just google people not
> getting paid by them and you'll see.
>
> And for them to say I can call them? I've tried
> with several people but I get no where. Basically
> I did wrong on they can't trust me with ANY of the
> jobs I have ever done.
>
> "ibarra, I have investigated your claim in our
> system and the payment for your shops were
> withheld due to circumstances of which you are
> very well aware, and you had been communicated
> with by multiple BestMark staff via phone and
> email regarding this issue. If you have further
> questions regarding your previous submitted
> reports, please don’t hesitate to contact us. "
>
> Really? Have had countless talks to no avail!
>
> I'm going to call right now and see what happens -
> again.

ibarra33 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
....
>
> Why did they send me four separate checks totaling
> over $400 if the jobs were done wrong????
>
.....

I don't want to distract anyone from the main issues of this discussion, but I strongly suggest that no shopper ever use this argument. The only purpose it serves is to make it very clear to us why some MSCs take so long to pay us.

To the OP: All I can say is, if everything you said is true, take Bestmark to small claims court and go from there.

Something is screwy when Bestmark claims to have quality control processes in place, but somehow let nine shops go by with business cards that did not match the alleged employee/shopper interaction.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/20/2014 08:06PM by jrwb6e.

Nine? Really? Liars!



Note - Jobs were from November and December.....you mean to tell me that after so many months they finally decide to cancel them?

They are just afraid of me posting all this on any message boards I can find and reporting to the BBB.

You guys should have heard how nice and calm they were compared to the last time I spoke to them - they actually listened.

I'll won't get into any more details - way to much.....but of 22 jobs, they got paid for at least 19 - agent even told me so (he admitted it by mistake and I could hear someone in the background coaching him when his error occurred) .....I got nothing for neither the 22 or the 19 jobs.

They got paid - I didn't!

Liars! Who took money which was rightfully mine and they know it.....and they know I'm in Texas and they're in Minnesota so it's almost impossible for me to do anything without spending a lot time and money to recover.

Again - just google them and you'll see that it's not the first time they've done this.

Because of an issue that I had with Bestmark, I am not personally their biggest fan as they are the company which did refuse payment for a shop in which we had a shared responsibility for the error.


I totally understand how multiple shops with errors could have been accepted. There is more than one editor so it is likely the shops were edited by multiple people, so they would not have seen duplicate names, but when all the reports landed on the manager's desk and they were all for the same person or were for someone who no longer worked there that is when it can become obvious. I do see how it could take a while for this to happen, so that is not necessarily a red flag to me.

Bestmark claims the OP admitted that they submitted cards that did not match the interaction. I know that when people are angry or upset, they often misspeak. The biggest question for me is did the OP actually say this? If so, was it the OP admitting that there was a mistake in one shop? If it was a mistake in one shop and the OP has the correct documentation then I feel like the correction should be made. However, it is possible that there were multiple mistakes made and the OP may have said something which the Bestmark rep took as admission that they were playing fast and loose with doing the shops. If multiple errors happened, I understand Bestmark's unwillingness to believe the OP.

They have had numerous complaints against them with the BBB. File a complaint with the state attorney generals office against them. You also try to contact your local news station consumer advocates. Bestmark has had many people who have said many negative things about them on this forum. There pay is terrible and they are difficult to work with.