Re: Freeman Group ?

I shopped the [cafe chain] for them and it took almost 6 months to get paid after many e mails and promises. They did pay a bonus however for the long wait.

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More Discussions About Freeman Group (All Companies)

Glad you got paid...better late than never....and [cafe chain] isn't a greatt cost (out of pocket) like a hotel reimbursement. Had you read this forum about Freeman, just wondering why you did it.

Live consciously....

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No they are still months behind with payments.

Irene_L.A. Wrote:
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> Glad you got paid...better late than never....and
> [cafe chain] isn't a greatt cost (out of pocket) like
> a hotel reimbursement. Had you read this forum
> about Freeman, just wondering why you did it.

And you are wondering why? You were all set to sign with them. I have a hard time figuring out which way the wind blows at your house.

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“Lying in bed would be an altogether perfect and supreme experience if only one had a colored pencil long enough to draw on the ceiling."
~Gilbert K. Chesterton

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I did the shop since I snowbird between Florida & Connecticut. I used the shop to get me from the south to the north for a night stayover. But I will not do any other shops for them in the same area. Even if they didn't pay me it wouldn't be a loss.

jazzy,
You might want to take the client name out of your post, as you have an ICA.

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.

Irene_L.A. Wrote:
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> Glad you got paid...better late than never....and
> XXXX isn't a greatt cost (out of pocket) like
> a hotel reimbursement. Had you read this forum
> about Freeman, just wondering why you did it.

Probably because it was convenient for personal or family reasons. Just a few weeks ago, even knowing their payment record, you accepted a shop with them because your family would enjoy the restaurant. I was pretty surprised when you accepted the shop with all that has been posted on the forum about them. But you canceled shortly after that. I have no problem with people deciding they want to work for Freeman, as long as they know up front what the payment problems are (and hopefully, the regular posters here all know, and, if someone decides to take a shop anyway, we won't have to hear about how long it is taking). I feel bad, though, for the newbies and/or those who have not been tuned into this forum or Volition and take a shop NOT knowing what their payment problems are.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/17/2012 11:56AM by AustinMom.

AM, I thought about it, but did not accept the shop...went on my own $$.,Never worked for them.....

edited to add, we saw Lisa Rinna (Dancing with the stars) and her two daughters and husband Harry Hamlin (gorgous), had a fun time, it was Molly's 20th B-day, went for her, she loved it. No harm in "thinking of taking a job" right?

Live consciously....

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/05/2010 08:49PM by Irene_L.A..

I did two shops for them during the first half of this year and have not yet been paid. Also, I found their forms and instructions to be archaic. It looked as though they hadn't been rewritten for years. They seemed to be written for people who were completely new to computers.

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

Warning: This User Has Been Banned or Is No Longer Active

Has anyone been folowing the tons of shops that have not been taken by any shoppers for this poor paying company. They have shops that are overdo to be done. A huge list of other shops with a due date of 9/13 has come and gone. They moved those shops up to a due date of 9/17. What makes them think that an additional 4 days to sign up for a shop is going to change anything?
If they haven't gotten the message yet about no one wanting to do their shops based on how they pay, they deserve to go out of business.

Jazzy Jan how large was the bonus for having waited 6 months for pay?

This company sounds horrific. It has been in my Favorites file for months. I've never logged on and never will. As soon as I finish this post I'm deleting them. Thank you everyone for sharing.
Is there a thread for discussing Occupational Hazards of MS, such as only being able to write in the past tense or noticing every one's height, hair color and style ?
Have a good night!

huskie9 Wrote:
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> Has anyone been folowing the tons of shops that
> have not been taken by any shoppers for this poor
> paying company. They have shops that are overdo to
> be done. A huge list of other shops with a due
> date of 9/13 has come and gone. They moved those
> shops up to a due date of 9/17. What makes them
> think that an additional 4 days to sign up for a
> shop is going to change anything?
> If they haven't gotten the message yet about no
> one wanting to do their shops based on how they
> pay, they deserve to go out of business.

New shoppers sign up every day, and I suspect that if Freeman keeps their jobs available, unsuspecting newbies will fall into their jobs. Others, who plan to be traveling and spending money anyway, are taking some of the shops (Volition has an interesting thread about Freeman also) so they are probably getting their jobs done....... and then the shoppers receive late payment.

and then the shoppers receive late
> payment.

If they get any payment at all.

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

Yes, it's really too bad. I don't feel bad for those shoppers who KNOW they won't get paid until very late but choose to take a shop for their own reasons; I feel really bad for newbies who don't know. And Freeman's late payment has gone on for a long time ..... will there come a time when they don't pay at all?

AustinMom Wrote:
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> Yes, it's really too bad. I don't feel bad for
> those shoppers who KNOW they won't get paid until
> very late but choose to take a shop for their own
> reasons; I feel really bad for newbies who don't
> know. And Freeman's late payment has gone on for
> a long time ..... will there come a time when they
> don't pay at all?

I wasn't even a newbie to mystery shopping and I still got pulled in. I was happy because I thought I had found another company for which I could do hotel/motel shops. At least that is what they had available around here. I did two and have yet to be paid. I should have checked this forum first, I guess.

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

And unless they have changed their policy, the 'bonus' for late payment is $5. As an 'interest' rate that is not too bad if the amount owed is small . . .

I received payment today for jobs completed in April and May. All amounts were as previously agreed and each included the $5 bonus. A phone call and an e-mail were made to nudge things along.

Lame, I'm glad you posted that...had I done the original shop for them, I would have been paid (eventually), but because of this thread I spent my own $ and won't be repayed....oh well, live and learn!!

Live consciously....

I sent emails to two addresses included in the instructions with the shops that I did. I sent these emails over a week ago and have received no response. They owe me close to two hundred dollars for two shops.

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

Ok, I am glad that I am here to be vented on. I did not criticize anyone. I just said that u know FG past so if u want to do the hotel shop do it but be careful. If I do a shop and do not paid for it thats life. This work is for a pt work and I enjoy doing it.

Everyone that is owed money should read NorthTexas post.

Live consciously....

I am still owed over $600.00 from The Freeman Group and have yet to be contacted by them about payment. Everyone that I had contact with either quit or simply doesn't work there any longer. The email that I was told to use for inquiries works bbut no one ever replies. Any idea on how to contact them in regards to getting paid?

The very first subject on this very thread is "Are you owed money by the Freeman Group?" See that for the information.

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.

I think it is safe to say Freeman won't be recovering from this latest fiasco. That's too bad since they owe me $97.00. I feel worse for those of you who are out even more. I spoke with a friend of mine who is owed several thousand dollars this weekend. Needless to say he's hurting even worse.

I filed a BBB complaint a couple months ago. At the time their BBB rating was a B+ I think. I looked on the BBB website this morning and it is now an F. Since August 31st they have 14 complaints that they have not responded to. Prior to August they had none that I am aware of.

My inclination is to contact the hotel company directly at this point. I know we aren't supposed to do that, but I feel the hotelier should be responsible at least for my out of pocket expense. If (and I suspect they did) they paid this to Freeman, I want them to cooperate with the authorities on having Bill Freeman arrested for fraud.

Can anyone think of a risk of me contacting the hotelier at this point?

Shopping since 1995; full-time since 2009. Blogging about shopping on www.myfrugalmiser.com.

I would suspect that in most cases when shoppers have been owed money for an extended period, the clients have already paid Freeman for the shop and the money was allocated to other shoppers, or business expenses.

You contract was with Freeman and the hotels and/or restaurants do not owe you anything, as far as I am concerned, but I think it's still fair to contact them and let them know that Freeman violated their contract with you. It's important that all hospitality companies understand the nature of who they were doing business with.

It does appear that 'bubble' has finally burst with Freeman's attempt to delay shopper payments and use them as operating capitol.

The saddest part is that in corporate bankruptcy, I would guess that Bill Freeman will have his personal assets protected. Meaning; When the company goes BK and has nothing left, nobody gets paid, except Freeman himself and all of his employees that took paychecks the entire time shoppers were being stiffed. If I was looking into legal action toward the company, I would do some research on the corporate responsibility regarding co-mingling reimbursements with operating capitol...

Do they use paypal or pay by check? Anne

annelehman Wrote:
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> Do they use paypal or pay by check? Anne

They dont pay, thats the problem.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/15/2012 10:21PM by audrialyn30.

What I meant is they may owe me money too; if they were supposed to pay by paypal, they're not on
the record. I have had some problems with record keeping for my work, and this forum is inspiring me to be better organized. I did a motel shop for Freeman Feb. 2011. Anne

I actually called and spoke with [popular cafe chain] this morning. They were very kind and apologetic and said that they are no longer doing business with The Freeman Group. I am in the process of speaking with the Dallas television stations and hope to get this out to the public so that no other unsuspecting shopper gets stiffed. Can anyone see the jobs that they are currently offering? I commented on Facebook about their practices and have been blocked from EVERYTHING!! It would be in their best interest (and appease people just a little!) if they would even answer the phone or return their messages. Even my high schooler knows that hiding doesn't make the problem go away!

jomc Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> Can anyone see the jobs that they are currently
> offering? I commented on Facebook about their
> practices and have been blocked from EVERYTHING!!
> It would be in their best interest (and appease
> people just a little!) if they would even answer
> the phone or return their messages. Even my high
> schooler knows that hiding doesn't make the
> problem go away!

They (Freeman) don't have any jobs listed on their Sassie board for the entire US or Canada and I have checked every few days out of curiosity. Which probably isn't good news since they have no income coming in to pay for shops that are outstanding. Unfortunately I think their days are numbered and alot of people (including me) will be out a lot of money.

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