Read through the most recent topics and can't believe I didn't see a discussion on this shopping company. I must be the only one having trouble getting paid by them. I am owed for 10 shops going all the way back to Aug 29, 2016. They have always been slow to pay but did eventually pay. This time however seems to be a different story.

The first of December I emailed the CEO re payment for that shop that I had done in Aug that I was still awaiting payment for. She immediately replied (as she has always done in the past) and told me it was in the stack at the accountant's office to be paid. She then added that all the shops through November would be paid before Christmas as they wanted their shoppers to have Christmas money. This mean payment for 9 shops for me.

To make a long story shop, I still have not been paid and I was expecting at least some of this money before Christmas. These shops require that you use up to $40 of your own money to do them. After several months it puts a dent in the budget when you haven't been paid. I have sent her several emails to which I have received no reply (contrary to before).

Does anyone know what is going on with this Company, Integrity Consultants". Have they gone "belly up" and I just need to write this approximately $500.00 off as a loss?

Please post. I am so anxious to hear something.

JB

JB,

Payment has already been processed for you to allow for receipt by Christmas as promised. Keep in mind our payment policy, and when contacting us, please allow us until the next business day to return your call/email.

Mod note: Mystery shopper's name has been removed and replaced with initials, which is how the shopper described themselves. Please do not use personal information such as names, addresses, email addresses and telephone numbers without the information owner's prior consent

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Kelly Truelove, CEO Integrity Consultants, L.L.C.
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I contacted by email on Monday the first time and never got a reply. Then late Tuesday without a reply. This is Thursday afternoon. One of these shops was done on Aug 29th which I believe is way past the payment policy which is 45 days after shop is accepted. Tomorrow is the last banking day before Christmas so guess I should expect it to hit my paypal account tomorrow. Then will have to transfer to my checking account - too late for Christmas.

JB

The most recent email I have from you is from yesterday, 12/22. Prior to that your email from earlier in the month had a response time was less than 2 hours. Your experience with us spans years, so you are aware that we're very accessible and prompt with email communication. You're also very welcome to call the office anytime, and I'd like you to invite you to do so in the future. Online venues such as this are not appropriate for conflict resolution, per our social media policy. Additionally, and as I believe I've explained to you before, you're misinterpreting the payment policy which includes payment processing within 45 days of shop acceptance by the client, not by the shopper or our quality control team. Should you have any further questions, or require further assistance, we're available to you via email, telephone, or the website contact form. Please note that we will be closed 12/24-12/26 for the Christmas holiday.

Kelly - What a bunch of hooey! So, the "client" accepts the shop late, or is it your company that sends it late?
And how does 12/22 even get close to your 45 day limit on a shop done 8/29.

And throwing an unpaid shopper under the bus because the shopper posted here and you consider this site to be in the "social media" stew....well, that's just 'rubbish', as my sainted Scottish mother used to say!

And "Call the office anytime....." LOL!

Excuse making is NOT your forte!

This will be my last reply to this topic. Firstly, there is no issue to resolve, and second, Integrity Consultants does not debate with contractors in social forums. Discussing specifics about clients and programs, especially with unnamed contractors, in public online venues and social media forums is not appropriate. We're happy to answer general questions and provide a certain level of assistance to our contractors via social media, but due to the nature of contracts with both contractors and clients, anything more specific is to be addressed offline. It's also true that timeliness is generally a factor when assistance is requested, and that can't be assured via online forums. These policies have been in place for years and have also been posted on our own social media pages, so this should be no surprise to our contractors, and these policies aren't likely to change in the future. We have a clear conflict resolution policy in place and a very clear ICA. Any legitimate questions should be directed to me via email at kellytruelove@integrityconsultants.us, telephone at 636-451-6132, or the website contact feature at [www.integrityconsultants.us]. Merry Christmas, folks.

@IntegrityKelly wrote:

Integrity Consultants does not debate with contractors in social forums. Discussing specifics about clients and programs, especially with unnamed contractors, in public online venues and social media forums is not appropriate.

I don't shop for Integrity Consultants, but, as an amused bystander reading this, I will comment. Integrity Consultants does not debate with contractors on social forums? I agree it is inappropriate, but that is exactly what you are doing, Kelly. Ten months ago you also debated on this forum in a similar manner:
[www.mysteryshopforum.com]

What's especially similar is that in both cases, this one and the previous, you revealed the name of the OP although the OP was posting anonymously. In both cases, the OP's name was removed by a mod with a notation that your post was inappropriate. Many of us who do not work for Integrity Consultants will judge the company based on your posts.

Well she said in her last post "This will be my last reply to this topic." I guess you won't get a response, LOL.

@JASFLALMT wrote:

Well she said in her last post "This will be my last reply to this topic." I guess you won't get a response, LOL.

It's okay. I didn't post because I wanted a response. I posted to make a point that I hope Kelly gets. If she gets it, she definitely won't respond.

Ditto! Still waiting for August payments. No reply from emails. No returned phone calls. Sad!!

Keep trying! The squeaky wheel gets the oil. Right now I'm only owed for Nov & Dec which I guess is reasonable. Got paid for my Aug shop on Dec 24th.

@jbliven Have you gotten paid for your Nov shops yet? Trying to debate if I should reach out yet or not.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/24/2017 04:40PM by Clinton Maryland Shopper.

I have worked for Integrity and have always been paid when their pay period states. I do hope everything will be straightened out.

Edited to show a change of mind.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/25/2017 08:13PM by Irene_L.A..

@Irene_L.A. wrote:

I have worked for Integrity and have always been paid when their pay period states. I don't think it fair to air this out on the forum, for those that do not have a problem, it hurts the company. Please take your grievances to the company. I do hope everything will be straightened out.

It appears the OP attempted to resolve the issues privately but was ignored on multiple occasions. It wasn't until after posting here was a reply given. Based on the link that @roflwofl posted, this isn't the first instance that the company has been non-responsive and slow to pay. It's good that you've had only positive experiences but you shouldn't tell others not to use all of their resources at their disposal.

The only person who is "hurting the company" Integrity Consultants Shop would be Kelly. Her responses made them look bad.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/24/2017 03:38PM by eyelove2shop.

I don't believe that I'm airing any grievances if that's who you are referring to. I just want to have a better understanding of the payment process. 45 days after shop acceptance I get, but what is the normal or average time frame for shop acceptances? That will help me better understand when is the appropriate time to reach out .
I have nothing negative to say. Kelly was helpful and responsive to me before when I've contacted her previously.

Honestly, I used to schedule for Integrity Consultants and everything I've seen from Kelly, she is fair to contractors. While I no longer schedule for her company, she is accessible and approachable. I'm not saying you're lying because I don't know the situation, however, if it was me, I would exhaust every opportunity to resolve the issue with the company/person before complaining publicly.

It would probably be a good idea to arrange a time where you could speak with her via telephone and address these issues, especially considering that other companies do read this forum and it may put a negative light around your name with other companies going forward.

I'm only speaking from experience, as I have burned a lot of bridges in the past by airing my grievances publicly. Once a bridge is burned, it's next to impossible to repair that bridge.

Jbliven - Definitely not reasonable, considering your post was dated 2/20!!! Did you get paid yet?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/24/2017 07:21PM by winemaker.

I don't understand the point of discouraging forum members from posting about a company that may be paying outside of their stated guidelines.

This is one of the few platforms we have for keeping MSC to their word. I would want all schedulers, MSC owners and anyone else in the industry to know that not paying within guidelines results in bad press...meaning that they would take the issue seriously. Attempting the squelch valid complaints just perpetuates these kind of issues.

If you have a positive payment experience, please post it as well and then readers can get an honest perspective on how extreme an issue may be.

@SteveSoCal wrote:

I don't understand the point of discouraging forum members from posting about a company that may be paying outside of their stated guidelines.

This is one of the few platforms we have for keeping MSC to their word. I would want all schedulers, MSC owners and anyone else in the industry to know that not paying within guidelines results in bad press...meaning that they would take the issue seriously. Attempting the squelch valid complaints just perpetuates these kind of issues.

If you have a positive payment experience, please post it as well and then readers can get an honest perspective on how extreme an issue may be.

I posted about Intellishop not paying me, and got many negative response's about what a stellar Co. they are....of course we should expect to get paid for a job done. My experience was it didn't help, and may have other companies not want to work with you. Fair, no, but the forum doesn'a always stand up for you, my point being, get hold of the owner and hash it out, better for all. I am on the side of the shopper about payment, just not always about how to go about resolving it. Cirrus was another one, and they are still stiffing shoppers.

Steve, Cirrus was one of my first jobs, you know the ten foot pole furniture store, so i had no clue about the company. intellishop I had worked for successfully for several years, until they lied about the dealership and stiffed me...had no idea they would do me in...naive yes, but I learned. I am now so select, I'm retiring.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/25/2017 08:18PM by Irene_L.A..

Okay, well, so much for trying to help someone by using my own experience. I guess let them learn on their own and just keep my mouth shut.

I will post that I have always been paid on time in the past by Integrity Consultants, both as a scheduler and as a shopper. As a shopper, there were even a few instances where I was paid earlier than I expected.

I don't know, maybe I'm just lucky, as there have only been two companies that attempted to stiff me out of payments for shops I completed. One deactivated me after I complained publicly and the other I chose to deactivate myself after I went through the hassle of being paid. Both are companies that are on most people's "can do no wrong" list of MSC's. Can't complain about either of these companies without getting trounced by the "forum elite", so why bother.

I don't think there's a single company out there that hasn't pissed off a shopper here and there, or is capable on no wrongdoing...but there are some which have been proven and serve a something of a yardstick for us to measure by.

If you tell me that you had a problem with Intelleshop or Cirrus, I'm going to believe you because those companies are known for being problematic/cheap. If you tell me that they intentionally are not paying shoppers and/or trying to scam people, I'm most likely going to side with the MSC because they have been proven to eventually pay if you perform the shop correctly and jump through the right hoops. Are they companies I would choose to work with based on the feedback I've seen here?...no way! That's the point of why feedback here is a good thing.

Integrity Consultants is a small company without a lot of feedback, so some shoppers may still be trying to figure out if it's a safe bet to take a shop with them. I have met Kelly in person, spoken to her about her shops and read her input to the forum. I believe she's trying to run her company in a forthright manner, but I also think it's a small and potentially not well-capitalized business. These are the MSCs that are more likely to go bust and stiff shoppers. When a MSC takes the attitude of squelching any public discussion, has a combative tone on the forums, put obvious emotion into business decisions by deactivating shoppers for leaving honest feedback, have repeated payment concerns or start continually paying outside of guidelines...that's when I put a company on my 'Do Not Shop' list. Some shoppers may be having good experiences with them but this industry it too fraught with stories of shoppers getting stiffed for me to take those chances when I don't rely on MSing to make a living.

No! Kelly says she will not pay me for my November shop because I posted on here in December inquiring if anyone else was have trouble getting paid from Integrity Consultants. She didn't like that so she is not going to pay me for the shops I did in November and December.

fWell this has failed for me. Kelly at Integrity Consultants says that this forum is Social Media and if you post on here you will be deleted as a shopper and she does not have to pay you for shops she owes you done in Nov and Dec before I posted here the week of Christmas simply asking if anyone else was have trouble getting paid by them. I did finally get paid for my shops from June through October on December 24th. At that point I decided they were a "no shop company" for me for the future so I have not perform any shops since then.

However, since I had not been paid as of this week for my November and December shops, I did send Kelly a private email asking if I was going to be paid for my November shop when her checks went out the end of this month. Apparently this upset her and she replied that I would not be paid for this shop or my December shop because I had violated their Mystery Shopping Agreement by making the post in December and I was being dropped as a shopper. Being dropped doesn't bother me as I had already dropped them but not being paid for shops done in good faith prior to the December posting does bother me. These two shops required money spent on my part in good faith that I would be refunded for this expenditure - approximately $70 at stake here.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/25/2017 06:14PM by jbliven.

Steve, this is social media and if you post here you are violating your Independent Contractor's Agreement. At lease so says Kelly Truelove with Integrity Consultants. I have done two shops for her before my first posting and she refuses to pay me based on that fact.

@jbliven wrote:

No! Kelly says she will not pay me for my November shop because I posted on here in December inquiring if anyone else was have trouble getting paid from Integrity Consultants. She didn't like that so she is not going to pay me for the shops I did in November and December.

WOW! If this is true, that someone who posted on a mystery shop forum about late payment will now not be paid for work that was accepted by the company BECAUSE OF POSTING ON THE FORUM, this is a reason to avoid Integrity Consultants.

The OP's post was somewhat inflammatory, containing his interaction with Kelly and the response he received and ending with a question "Does anyone know what is going on with this Company, Integrity Consultants. Have they gone "belly up" and I just need to write this approximately $500.00 off as a loss?" So, I can see how Integrity Consultants might have been distressed to see this on an open forum available to anyone with an internet connection, including potential shoppers and clients. I would understand deactivating him. We've seen plenty of MSCs who deactivate forum members who post about their company on the forum. But to deny payment because of his posts on the forum?

If the OP's claim of nonpayment because of posting on the forum is true, I suggest contacting the MSPA. Integrity Consultants is a MSPA member, and Kelly Truelove is listed as the contact point on the MSPA site.

Here is a MSPA link to file a formal complaint against a MSPA member: [www.mspa-na.org]

I would file that complaint. I would also contact the MSPA Board members. Here is a link to the MSPA Board members: [www.mspa-na.org]

Thank you for the links. This is definitely true. I could post a copy of her e-mail to me. She told me that because of the Dec posting, the Nov and Dec shops were being invalidated and I would not be paid for them. She says that according to the Contractor Agreement, she is within her rights to deny payment for shops done prior to the offense.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/25/2017 06:38PM by jbliven.

Have you gone back and re-read the Contractor Agreement that you signed? What is your interpretation of the prohibition on posting proprietary information on social media? I would think that posting a copy of her e-mail to you would definitely be a violation of the Contractor Agreement. Rather than plead your case here on an open forum, why not file a formal complaint with the MSPA, at the same time contacting all board members, and let her peers determine whether Kelly is justified in withholding payment because of the specific posts you have made thus far on social media.

Please keep us posted.

@SteveSoCal wrote:

I don't think there's a single company out there that hasn't pissed off a shopper here and there, or is capable on no wrongdoing...but there are some which have been proven and serve a something of a yardstick for us to measure by.

If you tell me that you had a problem with Intelleshop or Cirrus, I'm going to believe you because those companies are known for being problematic/cheap. If you tell me that they intentionally are not paying shoppers and/or trying to scam people, I'm most likely going to side with the MSC because they have been proven to eventually pay if you perform the shop correctly and jump through the right hoops. Are they companies I would choose to work with based on the feedback I've seen here?...no way! That's the point of why feedback here is a good thing.

Integrity Consultants is a small company without a lot of feedback, so some shoppers may still be trying to figure out if it's a safe bet to take a shop with them. I have met Kelly in person, spoken to her about her shops and read her input to the forum. I believe she's trying to run her company in a forthright manner, but I also think it's a small and potentially not well-capitalized business. These are the MSCs that are more likely to go bust and stiff shoppers. When a MSC takes the attitude of squelching any public discussion, has a combative tone on the forums, put obvious emotion into business decisions by deactivating shoppers for leaving honest feedback, have repeated payment concerns or start continually paying outside of guidelines...that's when I put a company on my 'Do Not Shop' list. Some shoppers may be having good experiences with them but this industry it too fraught with stories of shoppers getting stiffed for me to take those chances when I don't rely on MSing to make a living.

It's not up to me to say whether I like the policies of a MSC or not. Either you agree to follow them and become a shopper or you don't agree with them and you decide that a MSC isn't worth completing assignments for. At the same time, the policies are agreed to when you decide to become a shopper. Even if you don't like the policy, if you agreed to them, you're bound by them.

Complaining until the fiery depths below freeze over will not make a bit of difference if you said "I agree". I don't like a certain MSC's policy of taking 120 days (or longer) to pay (and having to chase down people to get paid). Guess what? I don't shop for that company. Do I care if anyone else chooses to? Not really, doesn't affect my bottom line in the least.

Integrity Consultants has their policies, just like quite a few other MSC's have theirs. If you disagree, you're better off not shopping for the company instead of saying something after you've already done assignments for them and violated one of their policies, which you agreed to up front.

I honestly find Dante's comments interesting. I'll give my experiences with Integrity.

I first started shopping with them in Feb 2015. They got a contract for a client in my area that I had shopped before for a previous MSC. I did 4 shops for them in Feb and 2 in March. The Feb shops were near the end of the month and I was paid a bonus for 2 or 3 of them. I found the reports to be easy and the pay to be very fair. One of the bonuses was quite generous. I also found Kelly to be very friendly. At the time I was less well capitalized than I am now and the Feb shops totaled a bit over $200, which was a lot of money for me. 45 days after the shops came and went and I did not receive payment. I emailed Kelly and she replied that payment would be due in the next few days and I would see it soon. Sure enough the following week I got my payment. Ok, so far so good but to me the payment was a week late. When it got time for the March payment I was on a month long route (in CA I think) and honestly wasn't worried about it. Plus I was curious as to how long it would take to get payment. So I just let it sit. The payment for those was, to me, 2 or 3 weeks late. So no big deal, wasn't worried about it. Then Dante started scheduling for them and asked me my opinion of the shops, Kelly, and the company. So I replied honestly. I liked Kelly, I liked the shops, I thought payment was fair, it was always late. So Dante gives my feedback to Kelly, who reaches out to me, and explains that it was not late. After some discussion I learned that her clients don't always "accept shops" in the same time frame most do. Apparently they send all of their shops for the client I was doing work for at the end of the month and they were "accepted" in the first week of the following month. She did apologize for the confusion and at least for that particular client updated the instructions to include this information. So far so good.

Then a shopper who is a mutual friend of both Dante's and mine was doing a route in the general area I lived in at the time. The shopper did a lot of work for Dante when he scheduled for GfK and Dante wanted him to pick up some of the shops for Integrity while he was in my area. I was led to believe by the other shopper that Dante asked him to ask me about the shops. So I again replied honestly. The food is fantastic, the shop is pretty easy, but watch out for the reimbursement, and then explained the payment policy. I did this because I knew that particular shopper was very tight on cash and it would have affected his cash flow. He declined the shops based on my feedback, for the very reason I gave it. He couldn't afford to wait that long for the reimbursement. A couple of days later I can no longer see shops on their job board. I checked for several months in a row. Nothing. So I emailed Kelly and asked if the shops for that month had been posted or picked up because I was interested in doing some but didn't see any on the job board. Suddenly after her reply the next day I could see shops again.

A month of two later, after Dante was no longer working for them, I mentioned that after the shopper declined the shops I was no longer able to see shops on the board. He denied that it was him and replied that it was Kelly. Honestly I have no idea who did it and don't care. I love the food and have no problem with the shops. I don't even have a problem with the payment policy. But I have not done another shop for them because a, it appears they have been paying late even by their own policy, and b, the drama is just not worth it. I'd rather just buy the food myself.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/26/2017 05:17AM by bgriffin.

@jbliven wrote:

Steve, this is social media and if you post here you are violating your Independent Contractor's Agreement.

To clarify...I don't work for Kelly. Never have, and have no agreement with her company. I met her, discussed the types of assignments she had, and decided it wasn't really of interest to me.

As far as the vindictive behavior on her part goes; I concur with roflwofl. Bring this to the attention of the MSPA.

Your initial post disclosed nothing about the clients or the shop particulars...only that it was nearing 120 days our from your shop and you had not been paid. Arbitrarily setting a date that a shop was accepted by a client as a start point for when a 45 day payment cycle begins is not only unprofessional, it's not industry standard and leaves so much room for a MSC to delay payment that it's basically unethical.

Second, ICA's are not ironclad, so I even if the language in it specifically applied in this instance and permitted ex-post-facto penalties on completed shops, I think any court would have a good case for ruling against the MSC if the work had already been completed and accepted.

Lastly, @IntegrityKelly, please show a little of that integrity that you so proudly attach to your name and pay this shopper what they are due. It's your right to drop them as a contractor, but you must have enough business sense to realize that penalizing a shopper for asking a question about overdue payments in a forum does nothing but make you look vindictive, and drive shoppers away from your company. It cannot possibly be worth whatever is due to this shopper for you to allow your company to be associated with such abhorrent and non-industry-standard behavior. If you read this and feel like your actions are still justified, I would urge you to speak to some of your peers for perspective. This is neither professional nor ethical behavior if what jbliven posted is true....

(Edited for typos)

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/26/2017 03:29PM by SteveSoCal.