Wow, LisaSTL. I voiced my opinion when I first had my payment/PayQuicker issues at the end of 2011. I just logged on to their web site and I am still active. I just have the e-mail notifications turned off.

On the downside, my weight range has increased since 2011. :-(

On the upside, I got a new car this year. :-)

LisaSTL,

I looked into this and found the original email string where this happened. It was before my time, but it looks like you were told that if you wanted to reconsider using PayQuicker and wanted to receive our emails again, that you could simply let us know, and we would reinstate your account.

If you would like to email me, I can forward you the string. Additionally, as that email stated, if you would like to reconsider getting a PayQuicker account, you can email me personally, and I will make it so that you can work with us. We certainly don't want to send you endless notification emails if you aren't going to be shopping with us, and deactivation is the only way for us to truly stop 100% of those emails. I can understand why the previous Scheduler felt deactivation was the course to take, as we would not want to spam you with shops that you have no intention of doing.

I'm sorry that you felt unfairly deactivated, but after reading the email string, I can understand why she did. Let me know if there is anything that I can do to help you. Deactivation does not ever have to be permanent.

MaryACE
Disbursements, ACE Mystery Shopping
mary@acemysteryshopping.com

As I stated, I never signed the new agreement because I had not applied for any shops. Like AustinMom, my intention was to wait and see how things played out, fully aware I would not be applying for anything. Ironically, another MSC who I work for more frequently did begin to offer PQ. Since they are the only ones I am still registered with who do, and they offer the option of checks, I never bothered. If I was still active with ACE I may have opened an account. I am just recommending anyone who is taking a "wait and see" approach also keep it to themselves.

Mary, I don't remember you, so I don't think you were with ACE when the switch was made although you may have been. I post this just as a history lesson to those who were not shoppers when the switch was made and do not know the events.

The switch to PayQuicker happened suddenly. As of mid-September 2011, in order to accept new assignments, all shoppers were required to sign a new ICA that addressed the new payment process. For those who performed shops in August and early September 2011, there was no notification before accepting shops that the ICA or the payment terms had changed. A couple of days after completing my final two shops for ACE (September 5 and 15), I read on this forum a complaint from a shopper who received a notice that in order to be paid for her already-completed ACE shops she must create a PayQuicker account.

What a shock! No one had mentioned PayQuicker when I accepted, performed, and reported either of my September shops. When I logged into my ACE account, I got the notice that, in order to accept new shops, I would need to sign the new ICA. I read comments on the forum, and I researched PayQuicker. I was not comfortable with PayQuicker's lack of track record and I did not like the amount of information I would be required to provide.

My ACE statement showed that I was owed $60, $30 each for two reimbursement-only shops. In October 2011, I received a PayQuicker notification that I was being paid $15.01, with instructions to register with PayQuicker. I communicated with Tiffany, both about my unwillingness to register with PayQuicker and the discrepancy in payment ($15.01 rather than the $60, which was correct on the ACE statement). Tiffany quickly canceled the PayQuicker payment and sent me a check for the correct amount, adding a friendly, pleasant e-mail.

To my knowledge, ACE willingly paid all shoppers by check who had accepted shops before knowing about the switch to PayQuicker. ACE only required that you make the request.

As for Canuck's question about why I don't care for PayQuicker, it would take a very, very long post to explain it all in detail. For anyone interested, I suggest you use "search" and read the discussions about ACE and PayQuicker. There are several very long threads and most posted between September 2011 and January or February of 2012. The concerns expressed in those threads by posters-smarter-than-me detail my concerns about PayQuicker better than I could.

I have NOT deactivated myself from ACE although I have not shopped with them. I love ACE and still dream that one day I will be able to shop for them again. That may be because I become willing to sign up with PayQuicker at some point. Or it may be that the volume of ACE's work makes an alternate payment method a viable choice.

You replied while I was writing my reply. I also have the email string and referred to it prior to posting here. I never asked to have emails stopped nor did I ask to be deactivated. I actually stated my intention was to remain active in the database as circumstances could change. The final email from ACE said they were not interested in discussing it further. If you do not have that one, I would be happy to send it along.

S2L, I was replying to what appeared a direct email to me about a shop they needed filled. I thought it best to explain why I could not help out at that time.

I appreciate the honesty from both of you.

I didn't arrive on the scene until April of 2013, so I wasn't around for the backlash after the switch to PayQuicker. I'm certainly sorry that anyone went through any hassle on our part, but knowing Tiffany, I'm sure she did her very best to take care of everyone.

Of course now, it's 2014, and we've been using PayQuicker a long time, with only sporadic issues here and there, which have been fixable - MUCH more fixable than issues we had with the previous system, I'm told. PayQuicker isn't perfect, but they have proven to be a good decision for us, so far.

We want ALL of our shoppers to be happy with our processes, but realistically, we get that not every shopper is going to be our biggest fan. I've seen the numerous complaints and arguments over time on this forum, but I still feel like we are doing everything we can to help our shoppers and clients be successful with what they do, and I'm proud to be part of the ACE team.

So again, rather than "PayQuickering" the forum to death any more, I'm going to get back to work. If anyone needs anything PayQuicker or ACE related, or even if you just want to say hello, please PLEASE contact us. We would much rather help you before emotions come into play. I would, for sure.

MaryACE
Disbursements, ACE Mystery Shopping

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/26/2014 05:40PM by MaryACE.

Dixiewhiskey,

Actually, the best person to ask about the reason for a shop being declined is not the scheduler. Erika, our scheduler, handles what you might consider the front end (scheduling, answering questions before shop submission). I deal with the back end (client responses, editing).

If you have any questions, please, e-mail me at jkcox@acemysteryshopping.com. I am more than happy to provide explanations from the client.

After reading more about Payquicker, I am concerned. I have only done one shop with Ace so far, and I don't like what I've read (after some research) about payquicker. I may have to let that payment (and this company) go until they offer other payment options as well.

Mmmagique, shoot me an email tomorrow when I'm back in the office, and we'll talk.

MaryACE
Disbursements, ACE Mystery Shopping
mary@acemysteryshopping.com

Both Ace and Clear Evaluation pay via PQ. I have not had any problems.

Keep this on mind about PayQuicker and the previous threads. The threads are primarily from 2011, three years ago. At that time PQ was new and many of us could find no independent information about the service or much feedback from anyone who had been using it for long. PQ also had many published fees that wouldn't have made sense for most mystery shoppers. My understanding is they revamped their fee structure at some point and now there is a history of established forum members using the service for several years.

And I might add, ACE pays the fee for one bank-transfer per month for every shopper through PayQuicker. So it is a completely free method to receive funds.

Thank you, Lisa.

MaryACE
Disbursements, ACE Mystery Shopping

I've found PayQuicker to be the same as PayPal. I've not had any issues with it.

I don't do a lot of shops for Ace but I will take payment any way I can, as long as I can turn it into cash somehow. (No gift cards unless they're to a store I actually do business with.) Once set up, Payquicker is no harder to use than Paypal. Use the same ID and password as you do for Paypal and you won't even have to remember another password. I have the app on my phone. I think I've done two shops for Ace. The first payment, it was a little weird requesting the transfer to my bank, I entered the wrong amount, then thought they had withheld a fee -- entirely my mistake. I contacted them for help, they told me what I had done and let me fix it without any fees. The second time I just withdrew the funds and never looked back; I just made sure I typed the right amount that time.

I'm all for anything that reduces eBay/Paypal's monopoly power a little.

Doesn't PQ automatically transfer the funds to your bank, if that's what you request?

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I don't know why they would. Paypal doesn't have that option. The number of transfers per month is usually limited. If you had several sources of income paying into PQ, that could result in a lot of transfers every month.

Since I only get Ace money through them, I just made the transfer after being told they had paid me. With Paypal, I sweep it out once or twice a month.

I just checked my account and you are correct. I misunderstood when I set it up and didn't realize it was a one-time thing. Thanks for clarifying it!

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