Has anyone heard of Consumers Guide Ltd. They advertised for shoppers and surveyors on the NARMS website. They make some exaggerated claims such as make $100-$150 per assignment, bring your kids with you, free merchandise, etc. Sounds like it may be too good to be true.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/09/2011 04:38PM by goldfl.

Yes, I would be very very cautious. I just did a quick Google and it would appear that they are putting advertising out there on the internet at Indeed.com and other websites. Yet I find no webpage for such a company itself and of course it is impossible to go through the more than 7 million hits because of Consumer Reports, which does testing of consumer products and publishes a magazine of their findings. The fees and benefits quickly put them out of the range of beginner assignments.

I googled Consumers Guide Ltd and got three hits, of which this site was one.

This job listing appeared on a site I frequent, which has lots of marketing positions but doesn’t usually go into the realm of mystery shoppers. I thought I’d give it a go because I have done some secret shopping and, while it didn’t pay anything near the $70 an hour this guy was promising, it was fun. So here are the red flags about this place:

(1) The amount they’re promising is way too much money. They’re also throwing in things like “take your family” and “get a fabulous vacation for free”—and while these things are possible, they aren’t very likely.

(2) I sent my email, and got a return email very quickly saying I was hired, and they were working on my assignment. Wow, that was easy. Too easy?

(3) The assignment is a three-parter. First, buy something that costs $50 at Walmart, preferably electronics. Second, SEND MONEY VIA WESTERN UNION TO ANOTHER SECRET CONSUMER. Third, eat at a restaurant. Oh, the restaurant will be named later, after they see if I can successfully complete the first two assignments.

(4) I am NOT TO USE my own money; they are sending me a check. This will be for $50 for the Walmart purchase (which will then be mine to keep), $100 for the Western Union shop, and $150 as payment. Nobody pays in advance. NOBODY.

I know that people do legit shops of banks, payday loans, and possibly even Western Union, but this one is a scam, I’d bet on it.

Back to the Internet. I find that “Consumers Guide Ltd” is only listed on something called “Indeed.com” which seems to think they are the consumer guide that has a 35-year history of reviewing automobiles. Except that one is “Consumer [not plural] Guide.”

There is a "Consumer Guide Ltd" listed (domain name is company400.com). It's in Nigeria.

The emails arrived at very non-business hours like 9 p.m.

The things they accuse Walmart of doing are
(I) Poor services
(ii) Rudeness to customers
(iii) Excess charge
(iii) Inappropriate opening and closing time

Inappropriate opening and closing time??? The closest Walmart is open 24 hours. (They are kind of rude, though.)

There is no way I’m spending $50 of this guy’s phony check to buy some electronic thing at Walmart which will be “mine to keep.” Of course it will be mine to keep—it’s going to be MY money.

Please do not even cash the check. When it bounces you will be responsible for any charges your bank has for depositing a bad check. Bad check charges do not just apply to checks you write!

No, I won't cash the phony check. Now he's sending emails chiding me for not responding to his emails quickly enough. Like I'm ever going to communicate with him again.

I wish there was some way to expose these people.

You can file a complaint with the FTC at www.ftc.gov. The owner of one shopping company suggested putting all materials received in a ziplock bag to keep from smudging fingerprints etc., file a complaint and if they ask for the materials, be prepared to send them along. I doubt seriously that they will be able to track down and prosecute anyone and certainly new 'companies' with the same scam pop up like mushrooms after the rain.

I recently applied not thinking for the Secret Shopper position that I saw on the indeed website. I started receiving e-mails from a Herald Lee at consumersguide01@gmail.com I became nervous when he said a check would be coming with an assignment I decided to do some research. Just as Rymes With Clue indicated there is nothing on this company. I also called the phone number and there is no main operator just a voicemail for Herald Lee. I also checked with BBB and there is nothing in the state of California for this company. Something is not right I decided to decline the too good to be true mystery shopper position with Mr. Lee via e-mail.