I GOT PAID JUST NOW. I RECEIVED A PAYPAL NOTICE THAT CIRRUS PAID ME FOR BOTH JANUARY AND FEBRUARY. THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR YOUR HELP AND ADVICE!!!! Has anyone else had trouble getting paid by Cirrus? I performed an apartment shop for them in January and one in February. I was told last week that my January shop would be processed last Sunday. I still have not received payment. I did perform two emergency shops for them after called and asked me to do so. They promised to pay me right away and they did. But now I've read several reviews calling them a scam and people saying that they were never paid by them. I did not read these reviews before I shopped for them. I did look them up on the MSPA website to make sure they belonged, and they are a member. I thought that was a good enough check. What can I do if I don't get paid? Do I have any recourse? Can I complain to MSPA? It's not enough money to file a breach of contract action against them. What about reporting them to the better business bureau? Any thoughts or information would be very welcome.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/08/2017 12:18AM by CLfromTexas.

This is an old story, sorry you didn't read all reviews on the forum first. I think you should report them, won't be the first time. Good luck.

Cirrus has been known as one of the slowest payers in the industry. I don't recall a lot of issues with no pay, although it seems most shoppers have to chase payment. Just because a payment was being "processed" on a certain day doesn't mean it won't take another 10 days to two weeks to reach you, regardless of the payment method. Some companies really drag it out as long as possible.

Just an FYI, MSPA membership does not guarantee a company to be anything other than one that has paid it's dues. MSPA is a trade organization created by and for the mystery shopping companies. There are good legitimate MSCs who are not members while there are member companies who have had issues with non-payment of vendors and remained in good standing for far too long.

To clarify, the statement above is not a MSPA bash. Simply an explanation of who they are and their primary purpose. Most MSPA members are upstanding companies and, unfortunately, it is not really the MSPA's job to police their members.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/07/2017 06:21PM by LisaSTL.

You may want to report to BBB. They do get involved and contact the MSC I think. I know when researching companies I look up the BBB reports and I see back and forth between shoppers and the MSC. I see some companies that have lousy reviews/issues so I stay away from those companies.

Does anyone know if Cirrus is individually owned? Does anyone know the name of the owner, CEO, or manager?

Take a look at their website under 'About' and 'Our people'

I have done more than a few shops for Cirrus. The pay is slow and I have had to chase payments. However, I have always been paid immediately after making contact - generally within a day through PayPal. I have had to send my invoice again on two occasions. (Note: Did you fill out their invoice and send it to them as a .pdf?)

I do continue to shop for them when the bonuses make it to a level of my liking. Because of the slow payments and having to chase payment three times, I don't work for them unless they are paying a bit more than what other MSC's are paying for the same work.

I have never thought that they were a scam.

Cirrus Marketing Intelligence is listed as a MSPA member. Their listed contact is Monnie Howard, (888) 899-7600. I would call Monnie and ask for help.

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] I would contact them and let them know what is going on. It may or may not get you paid, but it would certainly raise awareness among Cirrus's peers in the MS industry. And I'm sure the MSPA members would not be pleased by the impression the nonpayment gives of mystery shopping companies.

I have done only a few Cirrus shops owing, mostly, to their very slow payment. I treat them professionally. The day after the payment is due, I send them a "This is a friendly reminder. You are now past due in paying. Please pay your outstanding balance immediately to ensure your continued creditworthiness." Next I send them a message, "Your account is past due. Despite a previous reminder, your payment has not been made. You are now on credit hold; any further services must be paid in advance until you have fully paid your past due balance." Next comes the, "Despite our repeated notices, your account remains seriously past due. Unless payment is made immediately, we will have no alternative but to report your past due status to credit bureaus and to turn this matter over to our attorneys for collection." I suspect my messages fall entirely on deaf ears, but it simply seams wrong not to let them know that they are acting contrary to norms. Eventually, they pay.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/07/2017 10:57PM by Rousseau.

Cirrus takes four months or longer to pay because they feel shoppers do the work in their spare time. That's what they told me when I asked why they take so long. I haven't done shops for them since.

You have to submit an invoice AND chase your pay 4 months later. They are not worth shopping.

I just received an email from Monnie Howard after I contacted her about this. She replied that she was processing both my January and February jobs. Then she said that she should could not find the invoices that I submitted twice. So I forwarded the email string to her showing my invoice submissions and my conversation with an office person stating that my January invoice would be processed. Monnie also said that she would delete me from the Cirrus email system. This is a horrible way to do business. I can't imagine anyone continuing to shop for a company when they have to chase them down for payment. There are too many other companies out there that pay on time every pay period. I wish I had read the reviews before I signed up with Cirrus. I won't make that mistake again. But at least she replied to my email. I will update this thread if and when I get paid.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/08/2017 12:11AM by CLfromTexas.

After contacting Cirrus' owner, Monnie Howard, I got paid for both of my outstanding shops today. I have edited my original post to reflect this update. Thanks to everyone that helped me. It wouldn't have happened without you and this forum.

If you are so inclined, you can edit the subject line when you edit your first post. I'm still wondering why they deactivated you since others have mentioned chasing payments without any retaliation from Cirrus.

Is deleting a person from the MSC's email system the same as deactivating? Either way, it's a petty response from a company owner.

She did not deactivate me. I logged in to see. I deactivated myself after logging in. But she did stop emails to me. I think it's because I posted on this forum and was very stern in my email to her. Instead of just submitting another request for payment, I told her that I was very upset. I said that I had read bad reviews and was worried. I also said that if I did not get paid that I would hold Cirrus accountable and would keep after them until I did get paid. I think she did not like my tone. I don't care. I did not plan to work for Cirrus again. I just wanted my money. I did not rant or rave. I did not threaten. I did not use any inappropriate language. I was just very blunt. I did not want to have to keep this up for months on end. I did write a reply email thanking her and suggesting that she review her company's payment police since I had read so many bad reviews. I suggested that shoppers would rather work for companies that paid them on time for their hard work and with whom they could build good business relationships. She will probably ignore that advice. I'm sure she considers herself very successful, and maybe she is, but I also said that mystery shoppers are the backbone of these companies. If no one will work for her, how is she going to stay in business? Reputation is everything.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/08/2017 01:59AM by CLfromTexas.

Sometimes it just feels good to walk away with a smile while tossing that match over your shoulder.

I thought about your quotation while writing that email. I'm sure that I did not teach anyone to sing lol.

@CLfromTexas wrote:

...I'm sure she considers herself very successful, and maybe she is, but I also said that mystery shoppers are the backbone of these companies. If no one will work for her, how is she going to stay in business? Reputation is everything.

I checked to see how long Cirrus has been around, and was shocked to find out the company was started in 1993--about 24 years ago. How does such a disreputable, scheming company stay in business so long? As I wrote that sentence, it occurred to me that another business person, famous on a national scale, also got ahead in life by not paying his contractors. Being unscrupulous has monetary advantages.

I checked the BBB, and Cirrus has an A- rating. Someone filed a complaint against them just 2 weeks ago. [www.bbb.org] Plus, it looks like Cirrus spells "independent" with an "a"." Just one more thing that's annoying about them. :/

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/08/2017 02:29AM by ChrisCooper.

I generally prefer a more moderated approach... If there were a known scam artist (as recently discussed in a different thread), that's one thing. However, I am not so sure that's the situation with Cirrus. We do see complaints on this board about their payments being delayed and needing to be sought. What we don't know is whether this happens continuously, or just more frequently than normal (and prompting more complaints here). We also only have posters' word for the situation. I wonder how many late payments are due to not submitting their invoices - a procedure that they have clearly established. I know that I submitted invoices, so that certainly doesn't answer everything. So, we must wonder why the payments are too often missed, delayed, etc.

To suggest malfeasance, however, is a reach. I suspect that they simply have an invoicing process and payment process that it a bit too convoluted and needs to be streamlined. It certainly is a bit bulky from our end with the invoices. However, it could also be that they have cash flow problems (in my area their shops do not get picked up particularly well and pay lower than other MSC's offering similar shops). They could have staff overwhelmed with too much work. And, yes, there could be incompetence somewhere within the organization and/or an attempt to defraud shoppers. We just don't know. On this board, we do not have the ability to diagnose the inner workings of any MSC. The way I see it, I can work with a group with some sort of internal struggle, disorganization, whatever, so long as they are not intentionally attempting to steal from me. I have not see this.

I agree with reaching out to the company and asking for payment. I agree with going to MSPA and/or the BBB if attempts to receive payment fail. I agree with sharing frustrations with other shoppers so as support one-another. But, to go after their integrity or honesty seems a bit rough - unless we have evidence that they have process in place that are intended to set shoppers up to not be paid. Until that time, I suggest we be reserved in our approaches.

The other reason we should all be more reserved in our approach is that folks talk to one another. People move from company to company. If you burn a bridge too badly with one company, you could be burning it with others without even knowing it.

The problem with your assertion about streamlining the process is the number of years they have been in business. More than enough to have figured it all out. They may not be intentionally trying to defraud, but they certainly have no compunction against making shoppers work for their money twice. If shoppers need to contact them for payment, what happens to the shoppers that don't?

@MFJohnston wrote:

I suspect that they simply have an invoicing process and payment process that it a bit too convoluted and needs to be streamlined. And, yes, there could be incompetence somewhere within the organization and/or an attempt to defraud shoppers.

I was paid on Friday for my January shop after contacting the CEO. I was told that my invoice was being processed and it should hit my PayPal by Tuesday. I too stated that I was concerned about payment.

I guess I was too assertive and was told my account would be deactivated. I received a payment within minutes via PayPal and am so happy to have that put behind me. I had already "deactivated" myself, by not taking anymore jobs from them.

My history with this company leaves a sour taste. I shopped during a time when the payment period got longer and longer. I never had the courage to wait to see if I was paid without prompting.

@MFJohnston, why the love for this company when you offered to pay someone else on a different thread to sue another company? Several earlier threads about Cirrus have stated from multiple MSers that the company has stated they intentionally do not pay and wait for the shopper to notice and contact them. The reasoning has been: 1) many shoppers won't notice they didn't get paid; 2) many shoppers will feel it isn't worthwhile to chase a small payment; 3) most shoppers are MSing for the fun of it, and don't need the money. Now the company owner is deactivating accounts of those who successfully chase their payment. All the above satisfies my definition of dishonest.

I would not call it love. I am just saying that their payment issues might not be an intentional attempt to cheat shoppers.

There is a difference between what I have seen from Cirrus and what I saw from Tom Callaghan. With Callaghan there are actually some court documents citing issues - not just with his shoppers, but with his clients. MSPA has intervened on multiple occasions to pressure him to payment. With Cirrus, every documented complaint has been remedied - reasonably shortly after it was filed. With Callaghan, there is clear evidence that he is/was intentionally not paying shoppers. With Cirrus, there is documentation of slow payments and having to chase payments. However, in every story I've read, the person who has posted the complaint, has eventually been paid. Shoppers have accused them of intentionally not paying, but I have not seen evidence behind those accusations other than the frustrations of an unpaid shopper.

That being said, we don't know how many folks never speak up and never get paid. It could be close to zero. It could be many. Any guesses on our part is mere speculation. There is no doubt that there is some sort of internal issue that makes payment from them inconsistent. However, we do not have the evidence to suggest that it is malfeasance vs. incompetence vs. under-staffing vs. systemic procedures vs. financial struggles. As I've said, I don't work for them unless they are paying more than the next guy as I do not like the long delays in payment, the invoicing or having to chase payment. I have always been paid in the end.

My suggestion to take a more moderated approach is more about common sense than it is about my opinion on Cirrus. I met the president of a local MSP yesterday and, while we chatted, I realized just how many connections there are between the different groups. We hear of folks on this board moving from company to company and often working (as employees) for multiple companies at a time. We hear of one company taking over another. Etc. I can certainly understand wanting to not shop for Cirrus and expecting to get paid for the work you do. However, there is no reason to be harsh or confrontational in your approach. Consider: If Cirrus' issue is financial, it would be very foreseeable that another company acquire them - potentially including their employees. If that other company were one with whom you enjoy working you could find your bad relationship with Cirrus brought over to that other company, potentially losing work for you. Or, what if the person your go after at Cirrus is best friends with a project manager at your favorite company? Etc.

@ChrisCooper wrote:

@MFJohnston, why the love for this company when you offered to pay someone else on a different thread to sue another company? Several earlier threads about Cirrus have stated from multiple MSers that the company has stated they intentionally do not pay and wait for the shopper to notice and contact them. The reasoning has been: 1) many shoppers won't notice they didn't get paid; 2) many shoppers will feel it isn't worthwhile to chase a small payment; 3) most shoppers are MSing for the fun of it, and don't need the money. Now the company owner is deactivating accounts of those who successfully chase their payment. All the above satisfies my definition of dishonest.

I agree that they should have had plenty of time of figure out streamline any processes. However, how many companies in our history have gone under for failure to do something so simple?

Yes, I do wonder how many shoppers never get paid. I really do. However, until we know that it is a problem that extends beyond this board and a few complaints to the BBB, it's all conjecture. It could be correct conjecture, but we really don't know. All I am really saying is that there is a difference between suspecting a company is intentionally stealing from shoppers and being able to prove it. Until it can be proven, I prefer to take a more moderated tone. And, no, I would not blame anybody for choosing not to shop for them.

@LisaSTL wrote:

The problem with your assertion about streamlining the process is the number of years they have been in business. More than enough to have figured it all out. They may not be intentionally trying to defraud, but they certainly have no compunction against making shoppers work for their money twice. If shoppers need to contact them for payment, what happens to the shoppers that don't?

@MFJohnston wrote:

I suspect that they simply have an invoicing process and payment process that it a bit too convoluted and needs to be streamlined. And, yes, there could be incompetence somewhere within the organization and/or an attempt to defraud shoppers.

My payments were slow too. I was given a link to the FAQs on their website. The payment schedule is there at the bottom. Shoppers get paid every 90 days. They "start" processing payments on the last day of each month. I think they go in alphabetical order so if your last name starts with a Z, it may be a week or two into the 4th month before you get paid. Luckily I'm closer to the front of the alphabet!