New agreement

@purpleicee wrote:

But why are all the responses from MF breaking down the wording of the agreement to add statements that contradict what the agreement states? Why is it that the agreement cannot be worded correctly to include what MF is saying it actually means, because the agreement definitely states the contrary.

When I mentioned this to the help desk, they replied they would bring it up with their supervisor to get the wording in the agreement updated/corrected.

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I was planning on going out of town in an few months and I was planning on doing a shop.

I have always been paid by Direct Deposit..

So if the total pay is $ 35.00 and that is the only shop I do, It will be direct deposit to my bank account?

@Isaiah4031a wrote:

I was planning on going out of town in an few months and I was planning on doing a shop.

I have always been paid by Direct Deposit..

So if the total pay is $ 35.00 and that is the only shop I do, It will be direct deposit to my bank account?

Until they correct the agreement so that it says so clearly, I would not count on it. The schedulers and office personnel can say anything they want. They aren't putting it in the ICA agreement, and an email with false information means nothing.

Just posted:
UPDATE ON SHOPPER PAYMENT OPTIONS
April 27, 2023
Hi, if you have decided to opt-out for direct deposit for your payments, we will soon be shifting away from a paper check to an electronic card payment (e-card). Once we have officially made this change, we will post an update on the shopper portal. In the meantime, you will receive a paper check if you do not elect to use our direct deposit option.

Once we change over to the e-cards, this is the way it will work: Each time we run shopper payroll for the respective month then you will be able to “request” a distribution for your payment. The request will take you to our fulfillment vendor and they will deliver the payment card electronically via email. However, you must have a $50.00, or greater, payment balance that is owed to you before you can request and receive an e-card payment.

Direct deposit is definitely the quickest and easiest way to receive your payments each month, so please sign up for direct deposit if you can! Thank you.

But it still doesn't specify that DD is NOT impacted by the $50 limit...all it says is that it's the quickest and easiest way to get paid. I think further clarification is still necessary!

100% agree and it should be stated in the agreement, not on a blog, in an email, randomly in other places.

@guysmom wrote:

But it still doesn't specify that DD is NOT impacted by the $50 limit...all it says is that it's the quickest and easiest way to get paid. I think further clarification is still necessary!

As of 6:45 pm Easter time, tonight, Friday, 4/28/2023, it does NOT APPEAR that MF has changed/clarified the issues involving the $50 minimum to get paid.....DIRECT from the MFI letter, here it STILL says in the contract agreement:

Fees for all assignments which are designated as completed in the portal during any calendar month will be paid within 20 business days of the next calendar month, as long as your account balance is at least $50.00. You can elect to be paid via ACH or receive a gift card through our gift card program. Your participation in the gift card program is subject to the program’s fees and rules, which may be modified from time to time.

So really, as others have pointed out, it means NOTHING as to what is said via email or phone call or any other way. The actual CONTRACT AGREEMENT needs to be changed on the website before I will sign anything.

And it stated the gift card program is subject to the program's FEES AND RULES, which may be modified from time to time.

Why would they charge someone a fee to use a gift card that already benefited MF for not having to pay them their actual money?

The whole thing is obscure. These unidentified people popping in on this thread or their emails being quoted as an explanation, remind me when a 'fast-talker' is trying to trick you or keeps repeating the same thing in a different order, but never really is clear.

The answer is yes, the DD would still be made as usual. We are not changing the way we process DD's at this time. .

@Morledzep wrote:

@Isaiah4031a wrote:

I was planning on going out of town in an few months and I was planning on doing a shop.

I have always been paid by Direct Deposit..

So if the total pay is $ 35.00 and that is the only shop I do, It will be direct deposit to my bank account?

Until they correct the agreement so that it says so clearly, I would not count on it. The schedulers and office personnel can say anything they want. They aren't putting it in the ICA agreement, and an email with false information means nothing.

"We" would not charge a fee, but have no control over the vendor. There currently are NO fees associated with the GC distribution.

@purpleicee wrote:

And it stated the gift card program is subject to the program's FEES AND RULES, which may be modified from time to time.

Why would they charge someone a fee to use a gift card that already benefited MF for not having to pay them their actual money?

The whole thing is obscure. These unidentified people popping in on this thread or their emails being quoted as an explanation, remind me when a 'fast-talker' is trying to trick you or keeps repeating the same thing in a different order, but never really is clear.

Thank you MFIsherri, for helping us understand what the MSC "meant to say." Unfortunately, most of it is NOT in the contract they have presented to us and only what IS there can be considered legal and binding. We have to accept or reject the MSC's agreement based solely on EXCTLY what they have printed in the document itself. I am sure you can see our dilemma. You are always so helpful and it is much appreciated.

@mfisherri wrote:

The answer is yes, the DD would still be made as usual. We are not changing the way we process DD's at this time. .

Thank you, @mfisherri, for coming on here and answering this on behalf of MF. HOWEVER...as others have pointed out, the **CONTRACT** is the legally binding document, and as of 7:45 pm last evening, it HAD NOT CHANGED ITS VERBIAGE to reflect more clearly that there would be NO CHANGES to the amount of earnings being required for DD.
If you could please pass these concerns on to those who drew up the contract, and have them CHANGE the wording, then more of us would be willing to sign the contract. You are only one person, and it is much appreciated that you come on here. But please tell the folks at MF to FIX the wording in the contract!! Thank you!!

My compliments to both Helena and Guysmom. Each post was concise, candid and, most of all, completely on point. It is certainly possible the legal team in charge of drafting the contract erred, but business IS business.

RE: "The whole thing is obscure. These unidentified people popping in on this thread or their emails being quoted as an explanation, remind me when a 'fast-talker' is trying to trick you or keeps repeating the same thing in a different order, but never really is clear," on April 26, hbbigdadday asked if anyone had saved the agreement and then if another named person could cut/paste when that person signed it. Did that mean that only the named person could respond? Who were these "unidentified people popping in on this thread"? Your comment sounded a bit harsh to me, and I certainly hope you didn't mean to suggest that only people who have been on this forum for a long time should comment!

Nope. Not what I meant and I apologize if that was how it sounded. I meant the folks that are answering on behalf of MF, those employed or IC's, and came on this thread to provide a clarification or were quoted for same. There was no identification if they were an authority for MF that can be legally used for "their explanation" since the actual agreement does not say the same thing they were saying.

Thanks everyone for all of the feedback.
For clarity, and as it stands right now, the agreement language will not be changed. As I mentioned before, there is no immediate change to the DD's and they will continue to process regardless of the monies earned within a given month.

We are hard at work behind the scenes making the changes from paper check to GC distribution, but felt we needed to get the updated contract out as soon as possible to both allow our IC's an opportunity to cancel assignments if they/you saw fit as well as our opportunity to recover those assignments as needed.
If I had to guess, I'd say most of the frequent posters to this forum aren't impacted as I know (and appreciate) that many of you do multiple assignments each month.

The major purpose of this change is to eliminate the distribution of checks which is not only costly, but it is becoming less and less secure. We truly appreciate everyone's efforts and thank you for your efforts on behalf of our programs.

Wouldn't you know, in the last few days, I've gotten some very nice offers from Samantha. But I do not agree with the contract which threatens not to pay me (ever?), no matter what payment method I have, unless I've shopped $50 worth of fees. The consolation is that Samantha rarely assigns me one of her specials.

@mfisherri,
I am one shopper who does NOT do a lot of work for MF. But when a bonused job pops up in my area, I may hop on board. HOWEVER, these bonused jobs are usually in the $20-35 range. And I may do one a month or one every 3 months, but they never come up to the $50 amount. And since you have just stated above:

For clarity, and as it stands right now, the agreement language will not be changed.

I will be one shopper who will NOT be signing the new contract until such time as the original language is changed to reflect that DD earners will receive their monthly fees EVEN IF the amount is LESS THAN $50. **PLEASE** share that with those responsible for writing the contract up. Thank you very much.

PS.......**IF**, after a period of 3-4 months, I read here on the Forum that DD shoppers are indeed receiving their less than $50 payments each month, I **MAY** consider trying one if one pops up that interests me....but definitely NOT until I see such a pattern!!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/01/2023 01:41AM by guysmom.

I wonder why the agreement had to be made in the first place. All that had to be done (if what has been said beyond the agreement wording), was to have a message pop-up when anyone signs in that stated: "As of (insert date), we will no longer issue paper checks. We will only issue payment by Direct Deposit or through a Gift Card program. If a Gift Card is selected, you will have to accumulate a minimum of $50.00, in order to use this avenue. Direct Deposit will remain the same with no minimum requirements for payment."

If, as I posted above, whomever composed the new contract simply erred, why alienate some of the company's shoppers by refusing to change the agreement's verbiage? Is this a portent of a foul wind?

Mfisherri, I appreciate your communication with us greatly. But in business you know that "verbal" statements that are not in a contract are not binding. It is what is inside the contract that is binding. The verbiage in the contract needs to be changed and unless that happens, I will not be accepting.

It's like a landlord telling a tenant, "You will get your security deposit back when you leave," don't worry that the lease says, "You'll get 50% of the security deposit back." Then the tenant accepting, then trying to make a case later that the landlord only gave them 50% back. What's in the contract matters, and it should be a simple fix by your team to restructure a sentence or two.

I'm still glad I had my account deactivated.

@shopnyc - You are so funny!

As of today the wording still references the $50 minimum for reimbursement either by ACH or by gift card.

There was a time, several yrs. ago, when shoppers, who had completed hundreds of jobs, were sent a thank you letter and then deactivated. This situation could be one where the company has decided they will not back down and correct the contract.

If and when they decide to change the agreement (even to clarify terms), we will all have to accept and agree to the new version. Until you are asked to sign a revised agreement, there is no value in reading the agreement for changes.

Shopping Southeast Pennsylvania, Delaware above the canal, and South Jersey since 2008

@myst4au wrote:

If and when they decide to change the agreement (even to clarify terms), we will all have to accept and agree to the new version. Until you are asked to sign a revised agreement, there is no value in reading the agreement for changes.

Well, I am choosing not to sign anything for the time being, while the verbiage is the same. I will wait and see how shoppers report DD payments for amounts less than $50.00, to see if they are receiving them monthly. Then, after a period of 3-4 continuous months of shoppers receiving less than $50/month DD, I may sign on. We'll see.

I was thinking if even they did pay the fee portion while under $50.00, without changing the verbiage, even for a couple of months, etc., the wording still covers them if they decide not to, one day.

The home page states that direct deposit is not affected. Basically the same message SherriMF posted here.

But the "Home Page" is just that. It is not a binding agreement.

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