Not a huge amount of money, but still extremely annoying. I completed a $33 shop for Secret Shopper in March, the only one I did for them that month (they don't offer a lot of shops in my area). Since I'm ranked "Established" and not "Privileged" or "Elite," I can't get my payments electronically and still have to rely on getting their paper checks.

Well, I have "Informed Delivery" from the Postal Service, and in my daily email more than a week ago, there was an image of a letter from Secret Shopper with my check, supposedly on its way. But it still hasn't arrived. I don't know what happened to it but I'm going to take a wild guess that one of our brilliant local letter carriers put it in the wrong mailbox and whoever got it just threw it away. (The USPS around here is something else. I moved here from another state almost a year ago. Getting them to properly update my address was a huge hassle that took weeks.)

So I went to the Secret Shopper website to see what their policy is on re-issuing checks:

"If it has been over ten (10) days and you haven’t received the check and Secret Shopper hasn’t emailed you that we have received it back from USPS Postmaster, there are two (2) options available to get your check REISSUED to you. The fees below are from the bank to reissue the check. They will be deducted from the original amount of the check.

"1. If the check date is LESS than sixty (60) days, it is still a valid check and will be accessed (SIC) a $40.00 Bank Stop Payment Fee ($25 stop pay fee + $15 reissue fee) before it will be reissued. The fee will be deducted from the check amount. The NET amount of the check will be issued to you with the updated valid profile address that you provide.

"2. If the check date is AFTER the sixty (60) days the check is expired but still lost, it will be reissued to you less $15.00 (Bank Reissue Fee) before it will be reissued. The fee will be deducted from the check amount. The NET amount of the check will be issued to you with the updated valid profile address that you provide."

Since $40 is more than $33, unless I'm reading it wrong, it looks like I've got to wait 60 days in order to get $18 pay for my $33 job. I also like how they just assume the check got lost because I gave them an incorrect address. There's nothing wrong with my address, you jerks.

I did one shop for them in April and one today. I guess that's it for me with Secret Shopper. I'll white-knuckle those last two checks and hope they get to me, then that's it. I'm not working for a company that still uses Pony Express to deliver payment. The ponies around here are just too dumb for me to take that kind of chance.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/05/2024 03:23AM by KokoBWare.

"Well, I have "Informed Delivery" from the Postal Service"

So do I and there is a blurb somewhere on the site saying not to contact USPS unless something is missing for 5? 6? days. Contact your post office with the screen shot.

@KokoBWare wrote:

Not a huge amount of money, but still extremely annoying. I completed a $33 shop for Secret Shopper in March, the only one I did for them that month (they don't offer a lot of shops in my area). Since I'm ranked "Established" and not "Privileged" or "Elite," I can't get my payments electronically and still have to rely on getting their paper checks.

Well, I have "Informed Delivery" from the Postal Service, and in my daily email more than a week ago, there was an image of a letter from Secret Shopper with my check, supposedly on its way. But it still hasn't arrived. I don't know what happened to it but I'm going to take a wild guess that one of our brilliant local letter carriers put it in the wrong mailbox and whoever got it just threw it away. (The USPS around here is something else. I moved here from another state almost a year ago. Getting them to properly update my address was a huge hassle that took weeks.)

So I went to the Secret Shopper website to see what their policy is on re-issuing checks:

"If it has been over ten (10) days and you haven’t received the check and Secret Shopper hasn’t emailed you that we have received it back from USPS Postmaster, there are two (2) options available to get your check REISSUED to you. The fees below are from the bank to reissue the check. They will be deducted from the original amount of the check.

"1. If the check date is LESS than sixty (60) days, it is still a valid check and will be accessed (SIC) a $40.00 Bank Stop Payment Fee ($25 stop pay fee + $15 reissue fee) before it will be reissued. The fee will be deducted from the check amount. The NET amount of the check will be issued to you with the updated valid profile address that you provide.

"2. If the check date is AFTER the sixty (60) days the check is expired but still lost, it will be reissued to you less $15.00 (Bank Reissue Fee) before it will be reissued. The fee will be deducted from the check amount. The NET amount of the check will be issued to you with the updated valid profile address that you provide."

Since $40 is more than $33, unless I'm reading it wrong, it looks like I've got to wait 60 days in order to get $18 pay for my $33 job. I also like how they just assume the check got lost because I gave them an incorrect address. There's nothing wrong with my address, you jerks.

I did one shop for them in April and one today. I guess that's it for me with Secret Shopper. I'll white-knuckle those last two checks and hope they get to me, then that's it. I'm not working for a company that still uses Pony Express to deliver payment. The ponies around here are just too dumb for me to take that kind of chance.

Same exact thing happened to me. Never got the lost check...

I guess the system greatly benefits the MSC who gets to eventually keep all the money behind those uncashed checks.

@sestrahelena wrote:

I guess the system greatly benefits the MSC who gets to eventually keep all the money behind those uncashed checks.

I wouldn't be surprised if that's why so many of them insist on still paying via paper check. Bonus points to the ones who put "not eligible for mobile deposit" on the check....their second line of defense is hoping you forget to take it to the bank before the "void after" expiration date.

I have informed delivery as well. I had a letter that the email said was supposed to be in my mail that day from the IRS. It never came. There is an area on informed delivery where you can mark that you did not receive that piece of mail. After I reported mine as "not received" I received it 3 days later. Not sure where it went, but it eased my mind knowing it was just something informative from the IRS and not an audit or anything.

@drdoggie00 wrote:

@sestrahelena wrote:

I guess the system greatly benefits the MSC who gets to eventually keep all the money behind those uncashed checks.

I wouldn't be surprised if that's why so many of them insist on still paying via paper check. Bonus points to the ones who put "not eligible for mobile deposit" on the check....their second line of defense is hoping you forget to take it to the bank before the "void after" expiration date.

Really, about the "not eligible for mobile deposit" thing. I bank with USAA and they only have one branch. In San Antonio, TX. That's a long way from Central NY or having to mail it in. I've never seen that before.

@drdoggie00 wrote:

@sestrahelena wrote:

I guess the system greatly benefits the MSC who gets to eventually keep all the money behind those uncashed checks.

I wouldn't be surprised if that's why so many of them insist on still paying via paper check. Bonus points to the ones who put "not eligible for mobile deposit" on the check....their second line of defense is hoping you forget to take it to the bank before the "void after" expiration date.

Are there many who still pay only via paper check, Doggie? I am only signed up with about 80 companies and Secret Shopper is the only one that still mails paper checks via USPS. Sinclair used to but switched to emailed checks, as does Service With Style (or at least they did when I last worked for them about a year ago).

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/06/2024 09:08PM by KokoBWare.

@KokoBWare wrote:

@drdoggie00 wrote:

@sestrahelena wrote:

I guess the system greatly benefits the MSC who gets to eventually keep all the money behind those uncashed checks.

I wouldn't be surprised if that's why so many of them insist on still paying via paper check. Bonus points to the ones who put "not eligible for mobile deposit" on the check....their second line of defense is hoping you forget to take it to the bank before the "void after" expiration date.

Are there many who still pay only via paper check, Doggie? I am only signed up with about 80 companies and Secret Shopper is the only one that still mails paper checks via USPS. Sinclair used to but switched to emailed checks, as does Service With Style (or at least they did when I last worked for them about a year ago).

I’m not sure how many still do, Koko, but they’re likely in the minority now.

I have the same type of post office. I have informed delivery and sometimes the mail doesn't show up for 5 days after the email notification.
Vacation hold where they hold mail at the PO is also a hit or miss. I used to fill out tbe yellow card and hand deliver to a clerk. Sometimes it worked, mostly it didn't. Then i completed the request on line and received confirming email. I would come back a day early from a trip to mail in my mailbox that was delivered while I was gone. Then there was the time the letter carrier left a package at my door when my mail was on vacation hold. Of course it got stolen.

@KokoBWare wrote:

Not a huge amount of money, but still extremely annoying. I completed a $33 shop for Secret Shopper in March, the only one I did for them that month (they don't offer a lot of shops in my area). Since I'm ranked "Established" and not "Privileged" or "Elite," I can't get my payments electronically and still have to rely on getting their paper checks.

Well, I have "Informed Delivery" from the Postal Service, and in my daily email more than a week ago, there was an image of a letter from Secret Shopper with my check, supposedly on its way. But it still hasn't arrived. I don't know what happened to it but I'm going to take a wild guess that one of our brilliant local letter carriers put it in the wrong mailbox and whoever got it just threw it away. (The USPS around here is something else. I moved here from another state almost a year ago. Getting them to properly update my address was a huge hassle that took weeks.)

So I went to the Secret Shopper website to see what their policy is on re-issuing checks:

"If it has been over ten (10) days and you haven’t received the check and Secret Shopper hasn’t emailed you that we have received it back from USPS Postmaster, there are two (2) options available to get your check REISSUED to you. The fees below are from the bank to reissue the check. They will be deducted from the original amount of the check.

"1. If the check date is LESS than sixty (60) days, it is still a valid check and will be accessed (SIC) a $40.00 Bank Stop Payment Fee ($25 stop pay fee + $15 reissue fee) before it will be reissued. The fee will be deducted from the check amount. The NET amount of the check will be issued to you with the updated valid profile address that you provide.

"2. If the check date is AFTER the sixty (60) days the check is expired but still lost, it will be reissued to you less $15.00 (Bank Reissue Fee) before it will be reissued. The fee will be deducted from the check amount. The NET amount of the check will be issued to you with the updated valid profile address that you provide."

Since $40 is more than $33, unless I'm reading it wrong, it looks like I've got to wait 60 days in order to get $18 pay for my $33 job. I also like how they just assume the check got lost because I gave them an incorrect address. There's nothing wrong with my address, you jerks.

I did one shop for them in April and one today. I guess that's it for me with Secret Shopper. I'll white-knuckle those last two checks and hope they get to me, then that's it. I'm not working for a company that still uses Pony Express to deliver payment. The ponies around here are just too dumb for me to take that kind of chance.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/07/2024 11:34AM by tstewart3.

And now apparently the USPS charges you for a change of address when you move. Honestly not a big deal because it's $1 or $2. Cost of doing business. If only they could do it right.

And now apparently the USPS charges you for a change of address when you move
Really?
I had hoops to jump through in March to change an address but no money was involved.

Postage rates are going up from $0.67 to $0.75 on Bastille Day (July 14th), so I am sure another increase in Priority Mail and all of the others is also coming also.

Do you guys know how we can review these companies and how they can review us for liability? I don't see an overall rating system for shoppers and companies. I think it would be very helpful when figuring out who is reliable

I received an e-check from Sinclair and printed it out waiting until I could pick up a mystery shop requiring an in-person visit to a bank teller. Unbeknownst to me, until the teller pointed it out, the check had just exceeded the 90 day limit as printed on the check. I reached out to the scheduler who responded right away(!) that their bank had been notified and agreed to honor it. I deposited that same check via ATM and had no problem.

While a lost check that you never received isn't quite the same, it seems Secret Shopper doesn't have to be that difficult. And kudos to Sinclair for a practical response.

@interestedrookie wrote:

Do you guys know how we can review these companies and how they can review us for liability? I don't see an overall rating system for shoppers and companies. I think it would be very helpful when figuring out who is reliable

While this sounds like a great thing, think about how many skewed reviews you would see from shoppers who did not follow guidelines, had their shop rejected and were mad.
There was just a post here not too long ago about how a 5 Guys shopper was 'getting screwed' because of exiting after the 'meal time' had ended. Then MFSherri (MF employee) looked up the shop and let us know that the shop was rejected because the shopper did two food shops in the same meal period, which is a VERY well known rule for MF..
The shopper was quite active in the thread, and never mentioned the other shop. Then MFSherri shined some light on the truth and bam, the shopper doesn't comment again.
This is just one recent example, so I personally wouldn't trust a review system. I prefer to make my own opinions of a company.

I completely agree with VIV0412. I have been shopping for 21+ yrs., with what I recall as four rejections that were final; three were my error.

@wrosie wrote:

And now apparently the USPS charges you for a change of address when you move. Honestly not a big deal because it's $1 or $2. Cost of doing business. If only they could do it right.

There is a fee if you use the online form, but not if you do it in person at a post office. At least that was the case when I moved two years ago.

There are quite a few reviews on BBB for most of the MSCs. The majority are negative/complaints as people are more likely to find a way to post a negative review when they are upset than they are to post a positive review when they are content. So they are skewed for sure.

I get a lot of feedback about the MSCs on this forum, and often use the info here to guide if I will start working with a new MSC.

@interestedrookie wrote:

Do you guys know how we can review these companies and how they can review us for liability? I don't see an overall rating system for shoppers and companies. I think it would be very helpful when figuring out who is reliable