Hi CravingCakes. Can you please involve me in any resolution as well? She owes me several hundred dollars in shops conducted over the last few months. I would be more than happy to participate in taking this to small claims court or more.

I was finally paid on a few shops I did last Fall after posting that I would contact the burger client they had, to inform them of my dealings with this MSC and their lack of payment to their IC's. I assume that prompted this sentence.

"As a reminder, everything in regard to the shops you do for my company is between you as an Independent Contractor and SCS. Within the agreement you signed with my company, all matters regarding the SCS shops, should be directed to SCS and not ever with any of the clients. Please direct all questions or concerns regarding your work, payments or shops with my company, to me directly. "

If I wasn't out so much money I would find it hilarious that she is trying to use her contract to enforce our behavior while at the same time not actually paying us. I'm pretty sure that paying us was also in that agreement that we signed. I'll give her a couple months to try and clear this up otherwise Katy is going to find the only job that she can get in this industry is going to be on the wrong side of these secret shops.

.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/11/2020 06:24PM by Redroom.

If I was in that situation I would lock the credit card they were charging.

@sandyf wrote:

My son's gym in Boston has reportedly shut it's doors temporarily and fired all it's employees. They do not have anyone answering the phone or emails so no one can cancel their subscription to the gym or even suspend it and they are continuing to charge credit cards even tho no one can go there. It is part of a larger company that has many gyms including a high end one in New York city that is doing the same thing. I read one article that said they had recently heard from the owner that they MAY upgrade people's memberships until the end of the year to make up for the lost months they had to pay for. Memberships cost between $30 and $100 a month. I doubt my son would want to pay for how ever many months they are closed and get to be a $100 member instead of a $30 member for a few months instead of getting his time extended or not being charged at all.

Panama, this is an am exp card so all you need to do is call amexp and they will remove the payment and put it in dispute. But since I read the article on how the gym was treating its employees and subscribers the gym put out a statement on April 8 that they will now credit all memberships for the missing months when they were closed. This was a few days after the Attorney General (? or some other high ranking Massachusetts official who had received complaints) said that she would not allow this gym to charge the members and not give them compensatory time. So suddenly they agreed to the time extension in addition to upgrading everyone to their premier membership.

@panama18 wrote:

If I was in that situation I would lock the credit card they were charging.

@sandyf wrote:

My son's gym in Boston has reportedly shut it's doors temporarily and fired all it's employees.

Whoever said she only gives reimbursement is quite wrong, I usually got a large bonus like 40.00 and always got paid. I moved so did not do the recent jobs, I therefore do not have a bone to pick...sorry for the others.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/07/2020 03:36PM by Irene_L.A..

Any news on this front?

@anng123 wrote:

Any news on this front?

She's not paying. We did work, I'm sure she got paid, we are out. This was for work done long before Covid.

Thing is that since it is across state lines that will make it Federal and they have enough on their plates right now that good luck with it. It will more than likely wind up being a class action suit that will drive them into bankruptcy and then all you will get is the satisfaction of shutting them down and then being dismayed when they open back up under a new name.

The clients seem to be slowly reopening/some never closed during the quarantine..... has anyone gotten payments out of her yet?

To all here who are talking about not getting paid...I had a similar situation when we lived in California (San Diego). She was an independent person and she had a few accounts she was working for. She did the scheduling and she hired the shoppers and editors. She was also a very nice person the first year or so, and I did quite a bit of work for her. Eventually, the checks were slower coming, and the excuses were all over the place.

After a few months of that, which included emails and phone calls from me, and then after awhile of that, no responses from her, I took some advice from a friend of mine about taking her to small claims court. He also said to write a letter first. She also lived In California, (southern California) so I could do it, since we lived in the same state. I was totally prepared to do it (since she owed me $1500). But first, I decided to send her a letter.

I looked up on line and found the PERFECT sample letter, written by a lawyer. I copied & pasted it, and put my info in it, telling her that she had 15 days to respond or I would proceed to see her in court. She would be responsible for all legal costs as well as the amount, if she did not show up there. Ten days later, I received a certified letter with a cashiers check for my exact amount! I basically did not have to pay a cent, nor did I have to go to court. I figured that it was worth the try, before I started legal action, and it was!

Whoever of you who lives in the same state and has the CA address should make the same effort to whoever is responsible for paying you. Add up what each of you has and use that amount. There is a limit for small claims court (I don't remember now what it is). Just give it a shot! It may work.

****note She had said that she would send it "later" but when that didn't happen (weeks later, and no more responses from her) that is when I sent her that letter. It was well worded, it definitely looked like a lawyer was involved).

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/15/2020 02:35PM by Jazzgirl.

@anng123 wrote:

The clients seem to be slowly reopening/some never closed during the quarantine..... has anyone gotten payments out of her yet?

Nope. She told me she is not paying.

A real shyster this one. A "nice" one, of course.

So, if she has already breached the contract between MSC and shopper by not paying (yes, it is in the contract that shoppers will get paid within a certain time frame if shops are performed according to guidelines) is the shopper still bound by the contract which also says not to contact the client directly? Just curious. If not, I may not have the cajones to go through with sending a letter but it would be nice to know if the option is there. After all, the clients are being had as well if they are paying her when she claims that they are not. They might like to know who they have been dealing with.

Those of us who don't live in CA are sol?

@Niner wrote:

@anng123 wrote:

The clients seem to be slowly reopening/some never closed during the quarantine..... has anyone gotten payments out of her yet?

Nope. She told me she is not paying.

Not surprised. I'm disgusted by her, and the people who defended her.

At least 10 years ago, I completed an account opening shop for ath Power, but payment was denied. The claim was that I had selected a type that was not permissible, as their scheduler had erred in listing CDs as acceptable. As that was not my problem, I appealed, but the decision stood. Next, I sent ath a letter detailing my intention to contact their client, for whom I was now a customer, requesting their assistance. I received a call within the hour, resolving the matter to my satisfaction; the downside was a blackballing from ath. I do not regret my actions, but I do regret that the need existed.

Folks, permitting others to abuse your rump is habit forming.

How would one know which party or department to write to in a national chain company?

@sestrahelena wrote:

How would one know which party or department to write to in a national chain company?

Putting the MSC on notice of a plan to contact the client, as bob did, might motivate the MSC to resolve the issue and contacting the client might not be necessary. Stating the intention to contact the client might be a very good negotiation tool. Of course, that assumes that the MSC still has a contract with the client and still wants to pursue working with the client. Superior has lost several large clients. If I were going to contact the MSC's client, I would start by considering it a complaint. For example, if I were going to contact TGI Fridays {NOTE: this is not a Superior client, merely an example}, I would Google "File a complaint TGI Fridays." Listed is:

Call Customer Care on 1 (800) 374-3297.
Visit Customer Care Contact Form.
Call Headquarters on (972) 662-5400.
Tweet T.G.I. Friday's.
Tweet T.G.I. Friday's.
Watch T.G.I. Friday's.
Follow T.G.I. Friday's.

T.G.I. Friday's Complaintswww.complaintsdepartment.com › tgi-fridays

It would probably not be difficult to contact a national chain company whether it would lead to a successful resolution or not. Best bet might be the negotiation with the MSC.

I am not sure how to answer all your questions here. I just wanted to put it out there that I did get resolution after I pushed the right buttons. Your problem is different, in that there are more $$$ involved, and more than one of you, and that it is in more than one state.

You may end up with a class action law suit. That is a whole different problem. It sounds like there are a few of you who are owed good amounts of money. If you start with the MSC and make it clear that you will pursue it up the chain, you may get resolution. You will have to get the names of those over her, and use that in your communication with her. That would not cost you for legal fees, if you keep it smaller (than a class action).

I would guess they would like to resolve it (they might not even know they have a problem) until you get it out there. It is always worth a try - the worst thing that could happen to you is to be dropped from shopping for that company. The MSC has probably already done that! So I would say, "Go for it!"

From what I have read, the MSC is a one-woman show so there would be no way move up the chain of command within it.

This is echoing NSS of 2016 all over again

@roflwofl wrote:

@sestrahelena wrote:

How would one know which party or department to write to in a national chain company?

Putting the MSC on notice of a plan to contact the client, as bob did, might motivate the MSC to resolve the issue and contacting the client might not be necessary. Stating the intention to contact the client might be a very good negotiation tool. Of course, that assumes that the MSC still has a contract with the client and still wants to pursue working with the client. Superior has lost several large clients. If I were going to contact the MSC's client, I would start by considering it a complaint. For example, if I were going to contact TGI Fridays {NOTE: this is not a Superior client, merely an example}, I would Google "File a complaint TGI Fridays." Listed is:

Call Customer Care on 1 (800) 374-3297.
Visit Customer Care Contact Form.
Call Headquarters on (972) 662-5400.
Tweet T.G.I. Friday's.
Tweet T.G.I. Friday's.
Watch T.G.I. Friday's.
Follow T.G.I. Friday's.

T.G.I. Friday's Complaintswww.complaintsdepartment.com › tgi-fridays

It would probably not be difficult to contact a national chain company whether it would lead to a successful resolution or not. Best bet might be the negotiation with the MSC.

"Superior has lost several large clients. "

Prove this.

@anng123 wrote:

Prove this.

I could "prove" that by naming 3 ex-clients of Superior and telling which new MSC now has those clients. Before the Corona put an end to mystery shops, I did shops for 3 ex-Superior clients with other MSCs. BUT ...... I signed ICAs with Superior and with the MSCs that now have the clients so I will not name any of the clients or MSCs. It will have to remain unproven.

@roflwofl wrote:

@anng123 wrote:

Prove this.

I could "prove" that by naming 3 ex-clients of Superior and telling which new MSC now has those clients. Before the Corona put an end to mystery shops, I did shops for 3 ex-Superior clients with other MSCs. BUT ...... I signed ICAs with Superior and with the MSCs that now have the clients so I will not name any of the clients or MSCs. It will have to remain unproven.

The only client I am aware of for Superior is a chain of East Asian cuisine sit-down restaurants. Without directly naming the clients or MSCs, does this East Asian cuisine restaurant count as a client that SCS lost?

The Asian client in my area was still being shopped by SCS shortly before covid . There were two other clients in my area, one of them also had jobs early this year. The other which was a different Asian food client has been gone for months. But generally I see some clients come and go with any msc. I have no idea if they jumped to another msc or just stopped their ms program.

@sandyf wrote:

The Asian client in my area was still being shopped by SCS shortly before covid . There were two other clients in my area, one of them also had jobs early this year. The other which was a different Asian food client has been gone for months. But generally I see some clients come and go with any msc. I have no idea if they jumped to another msc or just stopped their ms program.

Does anyone have a physical mailing address for Katy or SCS ? I will go down the legal route and need a street address to serve the papers.

All I can find is the town in CA. If the MSC is a regstered business doesn't that require a physical address? She seems to be very good at hiding her exact location. Or I am not very good at online research. Both, I think.

If you can get enough personal info about her, (name, general age, state, town, street) You can Google her and you would be surprised about all the info that comes up. The whole address is usually there too.