Hello All.
I completed a shop at the end of November. I received a very good evaluation and I received the shopper fee payment for the shop. The charge for this shop should have been reversed on my credit card. I contacted the company that contracted me for this job on January 1st. I still have not received the reversal, although at one point I was told that the charge was being reversed and I should be seeing it on my credit card. Approximately 2 weeks later I was advised that there was a change in management and they were working to get the charge reversed. Their communication with me has been spotty at best and I have also copied top management on my many emails.
I am wondering if anyone could provide guidance on what my next steps should be. This is a reputable company and I have been very surprised with their handling of this issue.

So let me understand your real problem is a credit from the clients store location with which you shopped? Not sure how that would involve the MSC? They cannot control what happens in a store. That would go up thru normal customer service at the store and then corporate and being a mystery shopper really would never have to be mentioned. Plus you can contact your credit card company and dispute the charge, they then remove it and charge it back.

The charge is a hotel stay. The charge was to be reversed within a week.

Not to nitpick, but the title of your thread is misleading. This is about credit reversal. You have been paid for the assignment from what I understand.

I have been in this position a few times and can offer this:

#1; Understand that that sometimes things go awry and the MSC is not always in control of the situation. If they are communicative with you, work with them to allow them a resolution within a reasonable amount of time. I personally feel like 90 days to handle a financial mistake is enough. Check with them weekly to make sure they are aware of the situation.

#2; Once the time has passed, advise management that your agreement with them was not upheld from their end, and ask that they personally reimburse the charges, with the agreement that you will return the reimbursement if the charge eventually reversed. Make sure that you document any interest charges incurred and have them reimburse those as well.

This approach has always been successful for me. Handling the situation calmly and professionally will most likely improve your reputation with the MSC if you want to continue working with them.

Untimely reversal of hotel expenses is a pet peeve of mine. I allow a few extra BUSINESS DAYS beyond the standard approximately 10-15 BUSINESS DAYS we are advised to wait for reversal on. I send the appropriate note to the scheduler (or appropriate department) at that time. They communicate with their hotel contact and respond to me that they are investigating and to wait YET ANOTHER SEVERAL WEEKS for the hotel to correct. That is the part that ticks me off most. Don't you love when they tell you to be patient and wait a few more weeks while you keep carrying several hundred dollars of shopper operating expenses, including interest and fees, as well as diminished credit on behalf of work you perform for them? I don't understand why after this unsuccessful reversal the MSC tells you to wait a FEW MORE WEEKS!. Why not three business days? Yes, I have addressed this several times and the response I received was interpreted with resentment towards me for complaining.

You did not name the hotel client so naming the MSC is not a problem. Would you like to name the MSC? If you have truly followed up as I expect you have I would expect naming the MSC on this site for this circumstance might be helpful in getting action.

One of the interesting things that I have learned from being a shopper is about how to get the best results from a complaint. In the past, I would approach complaints with anger about the situation. Once I became a shopper and had to lodge complaints that I was not invested in (a.k.a. calmly and professionally), I noticed they I often received a better result. The employees were not the cause of the problem and appreciated me not directing ire at them.

I think this can be applied to the above situation as well. The MSC staff did not directly cause the problem and are probably doing what they can to resolve it. Explaining nicely that you cannot afford the extended charge, or feel that them paying you back any interest incurred is fair. Demanding it immediately will probably have your request treated with less importance, and emailing them daily will probably result in you never receiving an assignment again. Posting details of the experience on a public forum while the company is working with you to resolve the situation would probably also generate a negative response.

If you value your relationship with the MSC, why not treat them like co-workers and shoot for an amiable resolution? A few years ago I had a $4,000 charge that stayed on my card for months. The MSC apologized and reimbursed all of my interest expenses when the charge was finally resolved. I continue to work for them and have received some great assignments that I would not have had if I went to war with them over the charges.

I am not sure what I said in my original post which portrayed my communication with them as being angry and unprofessional.
My correspondence has been professional. Also, I made a point of not disclosing the company as the point was not to "out" the company but rather seek advice on how to handle the situation.
Thank you everyone for your input.

@bverba05 wrote:

I am not sure what I said in my original post which portrayed my communication with them as being angry and unprofessional.

My last response was in regards to emm2131's obvious anger about the situation. I was not implying that your responses were not professional

An addition to my above comment. Yes! Always a civil presentation for a problematic situation. Give them time to act and respond. None of the replies(including mine) insinuated you were anything but professional.

I am saying I think that after waiting a month for the promised 10 -15 business days for hotel reimbursement that it is reasonable to expect priority attention. Being told to wait a few more weeks(start waiting 10- 15 business days all over again??) at that time is unacceptable to me.

Steve...I have been politely denied the same reimbursement you have been provided by 2 sources several times. I am happy to hear you were successful. It is fortunate for you that you have the resources to carry several thousands of dollars of debt for several months in support of your MSC. I cannot afford to find myself in that situation. Waiting months for hotel reimbursement is not a term I signed up for when I accepted my assignment.

This resource...this forum...can be used in a positive, proactive way. I am saying that if "communication is spotty at best" and you have had no response from Mgmt and have reason to believe that this may become protracted....why not gently poke them here if all else is not producing necessary response? It has been known to work!

Hello Steve! I am Eileen ..EMM2131. I appreciate your input and experience. I am familiar with what you share on this site.
I reviewed my comments. There was no anger in my response. Perhaps capitalization was misinterpreted but intended to be emphatic. I capitalized the terms 10 to 15 business days and periods of time in order to share usual terms for reimbursement that I agree to for hotel reimbursement. I wanted to clarify general expectation and timeline for hotel reversals, although each MSC has its procedures. The original poster said the reimbursement was" to be reversed within a week." I was trying to be emphatic that reimbursement is actually up to three weeks for a timely reversal. When it doe not show up at 15 business days....three weeks...we let them know. After confirmation we are told to wait all over. I am actually being supportive of MSC and also supporting the poster's expectations.
No anger. All I said was it was a pet peeve to be told in effect to go to the back of the line and wait the full reimbursement period all over again after one has already waited patiently for one month. Best wishes!