Certified Field Associates Purchase Return Shop: Warning

My question to you is did you call your credit card company to put this into dispute? They are there to protect you? From the smallest purchase to the largest purchase. The vendor will definitely will pay attention to you. I wish you the best. This is certainly a 10 foot pole shop. You have my heart and soul on this one.

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If you haven't gotten rid of it yet, I would suggest a library, high school, or college. As a high school coach, I would LOVE TO HAVE A GIANT WHITEBOARD but alas I have a budget which goes to buses and uniforms and not very much else. Hope you get it gone!
@JennyFromTheShop wrote:

If you haven't gotten rid of it yet, I would suggest a library, high school, or college. As a high school coach, I would LOVE TO HAVE A GIANT WHITEBOARD but alas I have a budget which goes to buses and uniforms and not very much else. Hope you get it gone!

I have called schools, churches, charity and boys and girls clubs. No one wants to pick it up.

It's on Nextdoor, Letgo and Marketplace.

Hopefully this week someone contacts me.
@gbarnes wrote:

My question to you is did you call your credit card company to put this into dispute? They are there to protect you? From the smallest purchase to the largest purchase. The vendor will definitely will pay attention to you. I wish you the best. This is certainly a 10 foot pole shop. You have my heart and soul on this one.

The client refunded me in full last week.
Are you sure this is not a SCAM! I have not read anything about the Mystery Shopping Co. input, unless I missed something.
@shopper8 wrote:

Are you sure this is not a SCAM! I have not read anything about the Mystery Shopping Co. input, unless I missed something.

Nope, it is a legit shop from CFA. They worked back w the client to get the refund. They are still trying to recruit for it though. See my third or fourth posting in the string.
@foodluvr wrote:

@JennyFromTheShop wrote:

If you haven't gotten rid of it yet, I would suggest a library, high school, or college. As a high school coach, I would LOVE TO HAVE A GIANT WHITEBOARD but alas I have a budget which goes to buses and uniforms and not very much else. Hope you get it gone!

I have called schools, churches, charity and boys and girls clubs. No one wants to pick it up.

It's on Nextdoor, Letgo and Marketplace.

Hopefully this week someone contacts me.
Put an Amazon sticker on it, wrap it up and someone will steal it off your porch. tongue sticking out smiley
My condolences for accepting this job. I had a few of them popping up in my board and promptly ignored them all.
Agreed, I have seen luxury perfume shops from an MSC ($300+ out of pocket) where you are to return it to some address in the Northeast in order to be refunded. All this for $15-$25, can't recall which amount exactly. As a matter of policy I will not do purchase and returns, especially if I am on the hook for the purchase price. On the other hand another I did an assignment for another MSC that allowed me to buy luxury perspnal products up $175 reimbursement (with reimbursement but no pay) Since they were products I actually use I jumped on that opportunity! Glad things worked out for the OP.
They probably know nobody would take the assignment if they knew all the details upfront, as it should be. I find a lot of companies are deceiving. I have accepted jobs, and found out after accepting what the real details were. I quickly decline all jobs like this. I don’t like being tricked.
That's terrible. All that trouble for $10 fee?
And I thought I got ripped off 50 and $65 for bar lounge shops that they refused to pay because the location does not offer food. The MSC claimed that I "did not follow guidelines....."
This is mind boggling. To begin with, the client who wanted their employees to be tested by an outside company had to know the size and weight of the item. WHY would they suggest an item that would be so huge that the cost of returning it would be more than it was worth? This was THEIR choice, not yours, so why didn't they have a plan in place so you could return it? This shouldn't have been a surprise to them.. It just doesn't make sense-and the sad part is you got suckered into it.
Put the item up for sale. Surely, someone in the industry will buy it to at least get some if not all of your money back. What a crock. Hopefully, this will work out. I never do buy and returns. If a company wants something bought and returned they should provide the money to do so, before the purchase.
@BlueSkye wrote:

Put the item up for sale. Surely, someone in the industry will buy it to at least get some if not all of your money back. What a crock. Hopefully, this will work out. I never do buy and returns. If a company wants something bought and returned they should provide the money to do so, before the purchase.

I got all my money back from the client. The problem now is nobody wants this thing even for free! It's been posted for over a week on every site there is! my next thing is to call the salvation army and see if they want to pick it up!
Roughly where are you located? I have in-laws that are college level coaches. I could put the word out if you want.
@Nova2000 wrote:

Roughly where are you located? I have in-laws that are college level coaches. I could put the word out if you want.

Thanks however I had a charity pick it up yesterday! However CFA called me this morning asking me to do another one. I wasn't so nice to the scheduler when I told her she was out of her mind after my last experience to even think about calling me to do another one, much less for 10 bucks.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/19/2018 01:55PM by foodluvr.
HOORAY, Foodluvr!! I'm so glad for you that you got it taken off your hands!! Yeah, the MSC must be crazy to think you'd be willing to go through THAT again!!
@SunnyDays2 wrote:

Put an Amazon sticker on it, wrap it up and someone will steal it off your porch. tongue sticking out smiley
[www.youtube.com]

"Let me offer you my definition of social justice: I keep what I earn and you keep what you earn. Do you disagree? Well then tell me how much of what I earn belongs to you - and why?” ~Walter Williams
Definitely a horror story, glad you at least got paid, but your time was not and the hassle isn't right to say the least. Will you continue working for this MSC after this experience? I'd be very leary, and do not work for either of the two. Even experienced shoppers can get burned, lesson to all.

Live consciously....
@Irene_L.A. wrote:

Definitely a horror story, glad you at least got paid, but your time was not and the hassle isn't right to say the least. Will you continue working for this MSC after this experience? I'd be very leary, and do not work for either of the two. Even experienced shoppers can get burned, lesson to all.

I've been working for them for years, I just don't do a lot of work anymore because they are not paying very well. Given the shadiness of their schedulers on the phone, I don't intend to take any more shops via phone call. Once burned, twice shy. They just don't pay very well, it's not worth the aggravation. They also don't call that often so I know if they do call, it's probably something I don't want!
@Runnindemredlights wrote:

This is another reason I won't do a buy and return job. My first thought is I don't want to even potentially be on the hook for items I could accidentally ruin.

I agree. I rec'd emails for this project and even a call but am not interested, Sorry for the nightmare,
Different MSC and different client. The shop requires you to lease or purchase a phone or a service from one of the large retail suppliers. You are then supposed to cancel the service or return the item and get a refund. The guidelines say you must follow the return policy guidelines set forth by the MSC and the service provider. You will then be reimbursed "select" fees. Has anyone done this shop yet? There must be 50 of them within a hundred miles of me. I'm thinking 10-foot pole.
Good thing that you got full refund. I am not sure if the whole thing was worth the headache!? Client should put in guidelines that you will receive a 200-pound item, or something like that, so you can set your expectations. Thanks for the post, I was wondering about these jobs.
OP - So sorry to hear about your experience. This shop should not be offered to anyone in its current format.

Have you tried to ask to speak to someone up (mgmt) in the MSC chain about this ? The shop description was very misleading and an outright misrepresentation of what was entailed. They should reimburse you for all expenses related to this shop and make it up to you. Unlikely to happen but I would ask. I don't know how I could ever trust that company again.

It is stories like yours that turn me off to any shop of this kind. It is not worth the effort/time to spend $$$ and wait/hope to get your money back. If I'm going to be home I'd rather do a simple $3,4,5 phone or web shop and be done in 20 minutes.
GREAT video!

@iShop123 wrote:

@SunnyDays2 wrote:

Put an Amazon sticker on it, wrap it up and someone will steal it off your porch. tongue sticking out smiley
[www.youtube.com]

"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton
I'm on a purchase return project, but it's using the MSC's VCN. Once in a while, I have to use my own card, but not often. I haven't been doing it long, so we shall see. Nothing dramatic like our poor OP.
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