@MsJudi wrote:

Sadly, it seems like a shop-at-your-own-risk type of deal going forward. Doesn't sound good for Best Mark. I do hope they can regroup.

I do too, but this is now a fool-me-once-shame-on-you-fool-me-twice-shame-on-me situation. This happened a year ago, BM posted a contrite apology on their Facebook page, said it would never happen again, and, fast forward less than a year later, and it's happening again.

Supposedly (they told me mentioning thr client by nane) it has to do with the demands of one of their clients who is a major publicly-traded site of auction services, but this is the second time it's happened.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/23/2022 11:36AM by gsfreeman2.

This was a great company. They had the best schedulers in the business. I hope they can turn things around.

IDK but after my 1st interaction with them I've been hesitant to use them again, they have a huge data base, I see them listed everywhere and they have been around a long time so they are legit but...
My 1st month (Dec) didn't pay out until Feb. That dosent sounds too long but pymnt was listed as approved and payout on Dec. 15th, then 30th, then after many emails swearing it was ok and just an overlook, promised in Jan, the 15th, then Jan 30th.... I finally threatened them with filing against them with the federal labor board, I received a payment shortly there after, but still not all of it. I did finally recieve full payment but am hesitant to try them again. Anybody else have these pertinent or should I give it another go?

Personally at this point, I'd avoid them. There are 3 well-known issues:

1. There is no communication, at all, at this point. A company that has a problem they are actually working on will communicate that, with estimated times for resolution. This company communicates nothing. They have a problem (no money), and they clearly have no plan in place to solve it. If they did have a plan, or even if they agreed this was an issue, they'd be communicating.

2. They aren't paying anywhere close to their posted pay dates, and in many cases reported here they are not paying at all. You will likely be working for free, and in many cases you will be spending your money on projects that require purchases with a high risk of never being reimbursed. If you take a project that requires you to spend $15 on a delivery purchase, you better really love that $15 item because you'll be paying it for yourself. Or...you'll be reimbursed 5 months later and you'd be much better off putting that $15 in your savings account that loaning it to Bestmark at zero interest.

3. They have a significant cashflow issue. They aren't having problems with their "new payment system". Thats hogwash. They don't have money to pay their contractors. It is that simple. A problem with the payment system doesn't get fixed for one month and then broken again for 3 months. Software doesn't work that way and no payment processor works that way (if they did, they'd be out of business). A company that is under-capitalized and doesn't have money to cover its payment obligations will do something like pay their bills/catch up, and then dodge all bills again for 3 months. Thats Bestmark.

Much better options out there.

Welp. A couple hours left for that 3/31 postmarked stamp with a check. Lol. Maybe they won’t be paying afterall.

Someone on the Facebook forum has reached out to a contact at the Minnesota Department of Labor and industry. I'm not sure what a wage and hour division can do about independent contractor payments but it sounds like they are going to be preparing a file and turning it over to be strange general. More as I find out more.

Bestmark blows. I hope you all get your payments, but the sooner they go away the better. We don't need their drama. There are plenty of good/solid companies that don't cause this kind of headache.

@hbbigdaddy wrote:

Bestmark blows. I hope you all get your payments, but the sooner they go away the better.

They were a great firm for a long time. I hope they can get their s##t sorted out. But first yes I do want to be paid.

As I expected, the complaint someone made to MN Labor and Industry was sent back. The DOLI rep suggested filing a complaint with the MN AG:

[www.ag.state.mn.us]

It’s been a month since the last update. Have things gotten any better or still more of the same old-same old “problems with our system”? Thanks.

They paid some people partial amounts last month. They haven't made another payment in over a month, and I noticed they deleted all the comments on their social media pages where people were complaining about non-payment. Its a shame, but everyone should be eyes wide open that this is a MSC to avoid unless you are cool with working for free.

Researching payments from Bestmark as of May 2022. I'm 1+ month out from last shop payment date and they don't even respond back to calls or messages. Wish I would have looked here before trying again with this company.

I did several shops for BestMark, and never had payment issues until the very last bunch of small shops I did as a route back in 2020. Payment was not issued on time, nobody emailed to notify me and even worse, nobody was responding to my emailed inquiries! So unprofessional and rude. Finally, I got fed up after a couple of weeks of being ignored and messaged the company CEO, letting her know that if I did not receive an immediate update about my payment then I would be contacting the Attorney General's Office of Consumer Affairs. While she did not directly respond, someone else emailed me finally, with some b.s. excuse about payments not being guaranteed to be issued by a certain date. That p*ssed me off even more, and I asked her if she would be satisfied with her paychecks not being guaranteed by a certain date! It's nonsense, especially since the pay dates are posted. They paid me, but it took a lot of effort on my part and at least an extra 3-4 weeks for payment. They don't have much in my area anyway, but even if they did, they'd be last on my list. If they're still in the MSPA, they should be removed.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/18/2022 06:33PM by digikiss.

Hello!
I am having the same issue!! I have done four shops for them in March and get no response. Can you please send the CEO’s contact?

Don't know if this is the CEO, but try: cory@bestmark.com
I emailed him a while back and said I would not do any jobs for them based on what I'm reading on this Forum. Here is what he replied to me on May 9th:

I understand your feeling on this, we had some technical issues related to our payment platform, and we have worked that out, so we are running batches of payments weekly to get everyone caught up, and from what I understand most of those shoppers who complained have now been paid and we are moving smoothly forward on getting this completely resolved. Thanks ~Cory

Doesn't seem like it's all resolved, does it???

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/30/2022 02:12AM by guysmom.

That response reads to me as a stock PR, please forgive us, that darn computer. I don't buy it. I worked in IT and Accounts Payable (AP) for years. AP systems don't suddenly & conveniently stop making payments, then start making payments intermittently without human intervention. That was a management decision to hold payments, not a system glitch.

One company I worked for years ago, claimed system problems at year-end to hold onto cash until the first of the year. That is until vendors caught on, then the story changed to our last check run for the year is Dec 15th but still by some miracle select payments were made right up until the end of the year.

As independent contractors, we're the little guys holding the bag at their mercy; the agreement we signed was written by them and has little to no protection for us. I voted with my feet and got to the nearest exit as fast as I could.

I'm brand new to this forum, so hi! I found this thread in searching to see if I'm the only one having issues getting paid by Bestmark. I have payments past due for over a month (unfortunately $550+!) and can get no response. I'm wondering if anyone was ultimately paid and how you made that happen. I prefer not to file a complaint with the BBB or AG, but if I have to I will. I can also contact the 2 companies for which I did the jobs and let them know Bestmark isn't paying their contractors.

Thanks in advance!

Hi all! I've been mystery shopping for a couple of years now and love it! I'm new to this forum and new to BestMark. I did several jobs for them and they owe me reimbursements of over $550 which have been approved but are well past the pay date set out in their own policy. I've left voicemails and sent multiple emails with no responses. Unfortunately, it wasn't until after I completed the jobs and paid out the money that I did a deeper online dive and see their BBB rating is a D-.

Curious if anyone else had payment issues with them, if you were actually paid and what you had to do to get paid. I searched the forum and saw some old threads about this, but nothing recent. I really hate that I've had this issue, because I like the jobs and would love to continue working with them, but at this point I don't see that being possible.

I hope posting the company's name is ok per the forum guidelines. If not, apologies!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/17/2022 04:19PM by rmkeith.

Last time I shopped with them they were very late. People posted similar responses. They eventually paid in full. I accepted more work from them, because they're easy and their shops unique. I don't anticipate being paid on time. That's ok. It's a risk. They did pay, but were more than a month late.

Thanks! I don't mind waiting. I do mind them not responding to my emails and voicemail. It's good to know that some did get paid!

I just signed up for this MSC and accepted a job for an online order... when I got the details, the purchase requirement was around $300. The store apparently has a great return policy, but after researching the company and discovering this thread, I'm thinking about cancelling the shop. Any input appreciated.

@whatwhatdb wrote:

I just signed up for this MSC and accepted a job for an online order... when I got the details, the purchase requirement was around $300. The store apparently has a great return policy, but after researching the company and discovering this thread, I'm thinking about cancelling the shop. Any input appreciated.

Never doubt your instincts..

Those shops take about 3 hours total. There are detailed screenshots and photos to take. You will receive a package, and will need to have packing supplies to repackage the item and take it to a shipping store. There are about 5 narrative questions.

You should plan to get your $25 Bestmark payment for this 3 hour shop about 3 months later.

Hope that helps you make the decision that is right for you!

@Cassiespark wrote:

Those shops take about 3 hours total. There are detailed screenshots and photos to take. You will receive a package, and will need to have packing supplies to repackage the item and take it to a shipping store. There are about 5 narrative questions.

You should plan to get your $25 Bestmark payment for this 3 hour shop about 3 months later.

Hope that helps you make the decision that is right for you!

Were you replying to me? The shop I had didn't involve repackaging/shipping anything, it was just an order of a product from the client's website (frozen dog food).

I had thought it would be nice to pick up some food for my pet, but I don't want to front $300 if the MSC has been having some issues.

I was replying to you, but thats a different shop for sure! They are extraordinarily late in paying, including reimbursements, so proceed at your own risk. To get paid, you'll have to chase them. They will eventually pay you.

Just wanted to add that I'm also having issues with them. Have emailed Cory but he doesn't address the issue. It's been 2 months for one of my jobs. I've also emailed their payment address and I've received one response but no responses to my follow ups. I liked doing these shops but it's not really worth the stress of having to chase them down, especially when they are only reimbursement shops.

Sometimes they don't pay at all. I never got paid for a promised bonus from last year. This is one company to stay away from.

My first job with them ($500+) took 8 weeks to be paid. I have one pending now that they keep moving the pay date on. Not it is 7/15 and it started at 6/15.

I only did one $40 shop for BestMark back in May & I was paid on time.

Are the payments still delayed or was it fixed and happening again? I have 4 shops completed. 2 from early August are still listed as due to be paid 9/20. No payment yet. The other 2 were done in September and were immediately listed as 11/20 for payment. So well past 6 weeks as posted in agreement and FAQ sections. I messaged and got an auto email reply just showing my question and no response.

@Mwilcke wrote:

Are the payments still delayed or was it fixed and happening again? I have 4 shops completed. 2 from early August are still listed as due to be paid 9/20. No payment yet. The other 2 were done in September and were immediately listed as 11/20 for payment.

Same boat. August shops pending with a 9/20 date, Sept shop projected for 11/20.