Hi everybody, I had a quick question on the shop that I see posted quite often for the $250 credit card shop then involves buying a piece of equipment and keeping it on your statement for at least 30 days. I have read and researched on this form about this and see some mixed reviews. There are some of these near me and I am looking at needing to buy a chainsaw for winter. Thought this might be a good idea as I'm going to buy something anyway but is this shop more trouble than it will be worth? Anyone have any experience actually doing this? Please let me know. Thank you

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/01/2017 05:29PM by Jere96.

I've done the $15 shops which are usually at the same locations as the $250 ones, but you just have to ask about credit.

They are interested if you are offered a particular bank's credit offering. If you aren't, you are supposed to ask about it specifically.

I've found some locations offer it as a branded (equipmnet mfg) card and others as a line of credit or loan from that bank. You might have to probe them a bit to see if they offer it as a branded card since they might know it by the card name not the bank that offers the card.

I also don't know if you could use a branded card to buy a chain saw since I don't believe the manufacturer's card I was told about sells them. That company sold lawn tractors, mowers etc. However, I could be wrong.

Also, some stores that they have on their list do not even offer that card. I tried three times to do one of these shops at different locations.

JASFLALMT,

I did one location that didn't offer financing through the bank I was required to ask about. It appears they accepted my shop in which I stated this. I haven't been paid for it yet so I'll have to see, but it wasn't rejected.

The biggest thing is they want to know what the retailer said when I asked them if they financed through XXX bank.

Jere96,

The nice thing is there was 12 months no interest financing on the card, if it's the same for the purchase cards, that might not be too bad.

So your shop was graded and accepted? That's good to know. The times I attempted to do those locations that did not carry the particular card I was told not to complete the shop.

That is so CHEESY. You went there and because they didn't carry a particular card you don't get paid? Such BS.

I had a similar one but you actually had to purchase a piece of equipment and return it as they were checking the refund process. HOWEVER one of the vendors DID NOT ACCEPT RETURNS! So you have to check these out thoroughly.

@JASFLALMT wrote:

So your shop was graded and accepted? That's good to know. The times I attempted to do those locations that did not carry the particular card I was told not to complete the shop.

I submitted the report on 9/6 and it's in received status with no remarks stating it won't be accepted.

I've had the worst luck with Ath. Maybe it's just me. I've applied for these jobs dozens of times, and never hear anything. For weeks the application status shows active but it's never assigned to me. Eventually the application gets deleted by them but the job is still out there. This has happened over and over with me. Weird!

Wouldn't do anything for ATH on a bet.

@DareWright wrote:

I've had the worst luck with Ath. Maybe it's just me. I've applied for these jobs dozens of times, and never hear anything. For weeks the application status shows active but it's never assigned to me. Eventually the application gets deleted by them but the job is still out there. This has happened over and over with me. Weird!

Likewise.

Sometimes I'll get assigned the next day, but those are usually for the bank visits.

For the $15 shops, I'll apply and they just sit out there and then are no longer available. I don't know if they were cancelled or assigned to someone else.

Next time I'll pick 5 for a route and get all 5 a couple of days later.

I just keep asking for shops but not counting on getting them.

I've done 6 shops in the last 3 months and got paid for them all. All banking or credit card related. They pay monthly through an outside service bill.com, and it can take up to a month and a half depending on timing of when the shop was done. They have been easy to work with and respond to emails and questions. Only once did I apply for a shop, never heard back, and noticed it disappeared from my shop after a week. Other than that everything has worked out great.

I have had the same luck with ATH. I can do (and have done) their $15 banks shops. But I have applied repeatedly for the $15 credit shop and ... crickets. I think since it is a lawn equipment shop they figure I don't meet the demographic they want. The irony is, after applying for those shops (and hearing nothing), my husband and I bought a zero turn from the other lawn equipment store that had both the $15 and $250 shops on ATH's list.

Yes I did 3, trying in spanish all of them. First 2 terribke and the third, even I apply for a certain card, knowing that your points go down everytime that you try to use your credit, finally mine wasnt that good because I was interacting with the banks computer and my phone. Unfortunately I never found any probe at my phone. Be careful and keep all your info in papers. Thats my best advice

I did the $250 credit card shop with them a few months ago and it went well, no problems. At the end of the time span that it required to send all the paperwork in since they wanted it to go through the first billing cycle, they paid me very promptly in full.

When I attempted one of those, there was nothing anywhere near my price range that could be financed. But the scheduler said that if I had gotten a business card, which I had, that my shop could be submitted for the $15 inquiry. Thought that was fair. I have done a few different projects and have been happy with my pay and their evaluation process. I find the schedulers to be helpful and responsive.

I did the $15 shop. The website didn't list the credit they were looking for so I figured they didn't offer it. Emailed the scheduler to ask about it. She said to go anyway. The person was telling me about their credit offers and I was thinking that it was going to be a short shop but then she said, "We also have xxxx but we don't use it." UGH! I had to ask about it. She had to go into the back to dig up the information on it. If a customer signed up for that one, the company would have to pay the bank in certain situations! No wonder they didn't offer it to their customers.

I've done nine of these $15 shops and I think only one suggested the bank in question. The others all suggested other financing companies.

One did use them for different manufacturers of equipment (mowers, tractors, snowblowers) I've said I'm looking for and/or had better deals with other companies.

One of the 9 said flat out they don't use the bank in question and that was only after contacting the finance department.

I have completed two of the $200-250 credit card jobs, and I received payment for both. However, there was a problem with the second one. The first job went smoothly. I applied for the credit card offered by the store I was assigned that was issued by a specific bank. I carefully followed all the steps in the guidelines and followed the payment cycle for one month, and then paid off the balance but left the card open. I thought to myself, who knows, I might want to shop there again someday.... On the second job, I emailed the mystery shopping company beforehand and advised them in detail I completed the same job previously at a different store and I had an open credit card issued by the bank. I was worried the credit bureau might decline me more credit. I specifically asked would it be all right to do the shop. I was told it would not be a problem. I visited the second store and followed the same procedures. The store did the instant approval verification, and told me I was approved for credit. I made the purchase and all was well at that point. A week or so later, I get a letter in the mail from the bank telling me I was already approved (from the first visit) and would not be issued another credit card. Well, it turns out that even though the first credit card had the first store's name on it, it was valid at the second store! Huh?! I called the mystery shopping company and was told I should have intuitively known that information. Really? I have a Sleep Number Bed credit card issued by the same bank as Dress Barn. Would I be able to use either card at the other store? I don't think so! Anyway, I started calling higher up to complain that I should not be responsible for the second store's charges because I had a detailed paper trail to document I had notified the mystery shopping company in advance and asked for approval to proceed - which I received. The MS company paid for the second job, and I subsequently canceled the bank's credit card. Needless to say, I am blackballed from all future jobs at this MS company. I did one small $15 job for them afterward, then nothing. The moral to this story is: make sure to cancel the bank's credit card after the job is done and you have been paid.