I got an email last night informing me that I was assigned a baseball shop for 4/17. I immediately sent an email informing Tracy that I would not be able to go because of another commitment. She replied and said that I would be fined $150 and my shopper privileges would be cancelled if I did not perform the shop because the time period to cancel had expired.
I told her that I was not notified until last night and she said that according to her paperwork I was notified on 3/2. I went through my emails and found nothing.
Does anyone know how I can contact the owner to get this resolved?
I have been mystery shopping for 18 years and I have never encountered this before.

Was Tracy able to provide you a copy of her documentation showing that the shop was assigned to you on 3/2. Is she saying she has a copy of the e-mail sent to you?

There is a possibility that an e-mail sent by Service Scouts went to your junk folder and was inadvertently deleted. It would be nice if Tracy could provide a copy to you of the e-mail she sent you rather than just stating that her documentation shows a 3/2 assignment. A copy of the assignment would make it very clear.

There was another Service Scouts complaint posted on the forum very recently:

[www.mysteryshopforum.com]

Please let us know the resolution.

I've never done a shop for them (although honestly I would like to) so have nothing to add except that I don't understand the $150 fine part. That is simply a scare tactic. They can "fine" you $1,000,000,000,000,000 but collecting it is a totally different story. Just because they SAY they a going to fine you doesn't mean that have any actual way of doing it. I don't like the tone of your post, so I think I'm going to fine you $150 too. I'll PM you my address to send payment.

I religiously check my junk mail folder and I did not receive anything from Service Scouts. I asked Tracy to forward me a copy of the original email and she told me that it was in the invoice charging me $150. It isn't an email, just a typed statement.

Tracy told me that the $150 was part of the IC agreement for flakes

@bgriffin wrote:

That is simply a scare tactic. They can "fine" you $1,000,000,000,000,000 but collecting it is a totally different story. Just because they SAY they a going to fine you doesn't mean that have any actual way of doing it.

If Tos walks away and never works for Service Sleuth again, they probably can't get the $150. But invoicing him for it is throwing down the gauntlet. Does he ever want to work for them again? Because if he continues to work for them, they can grab that money from future endeavors.

This does sound like a scare tactic with venom added: Pay us or be deactivated.

I would check my copy of there IC with them.

I've heard of a 1 out of 10 rating, but a fine? That's just stupid. Since it sounds like you won't be working for them anymore, just deactivate your account and don't answer her emails. If she's just providing you with a typed statement instead of an actual email, it's her word against yours and she's going to win since she works there. Sounds like she got yelled at for not filling the job and you were her scapegoat.

Maybe try once more to get an actual email out of her, maybe email someone else you've worked for in that company and if nothing comes of it, let it go. The only way they can get money out of you is if they owe you money for jobs you've completed but have not gotten paid for yet. Tough break. I wouldn't pay a fine ever.

I bet lots of shoppers just ran to review their Shopper Agreement with Service Scouts.

I see absolutely nothing in the Shopper Agreement about being billed $150 for flaking. I do see that they require a 72-hour notice for cancellations. The agreement adds "In the case of emergencies, where 72 hours notice is not possible, documentation must be provided and =company= will proceed on a case by case basis." But I see no language that specifically states that a fine will be levied.

Were tickets issued and/or assigned in advance? In the case of tickets issued in advance, the agreement says the shopper is responsible for the cost of the tickets and any expense associate with those tickets.

Unfortunately this goes back also to the obligation for shoppers to check the status of their applications and cancel those application when they are no longer appropriate or note when a request was granted and something has come up making the job no longer possible to perform.

ANY time you request a shop it only makes sense to enter it on your calendar as a request. Frankly it makes sense to check on the requests every few days because I recently noted that all my applications with one company had been dropped from the system so I needed to put them in again as I was both eligible for the jobs and the jobs were still available. For my own purposes, I put in the job and date on my spreadsheet and highlight in yellow to let me know it is not yet assigned. Makes it easier to spot the possible pending work and pop over to the website to see the current status.

As for Service Scouts, I did a little digging and they are apparently not members of the MSPA. The Owner/President seems to be Jim Smith and the location seems to be Incline Village, Nevada. I found no phone number on their website, on Linked-in, on various telephone and web search tools.

@Tostresh wrote:

She replied and said that I would be fined $150 and my shopper privileges would be cancelled if I did not perform the shop because the time period to cancel had expired.

It doesn't look like the $150 fine is the least of Tostresh's problems. I think it sounds like either she does the shop for them on the 17th or she owes them $150 AND they are deactivating her. Even if she pays the !150, it sounds like she will never work for them again.

Right, which makes the $150 fine the least of their problems, as the MSC has absolutely no way in hell of collecting that money.

No tickets were issued in advance. It's sad because I would have loved to do the shop if I would have known that it was assigned to me two weeks ago. If my daughter would not have scheduled my grandson's birthday party I would be there with bells on. I have applied for shops in the past, but this was the first time one was assigned to me.

I appreciate that most of the companies send out reminders a few days before the shop is due. I know some shoppers have said on this forum that they do not like the extra emails but I think it is a great reminder. Sometimes things fall through the cracks and this works well for both the MSC and the shopper. Since the shop in question was assigned over one month before the event, Service Scouts would have been better served to send out a reminder.

Hopefully the OP has not done past jobs for them that are still owed for. My guess is most likely not as most of their shops pay via tickets only. The most I have seen is a $20 bonus. So they may lose some owed money which is unfortunate but they certainly will never have to pay $150 dollars fine. I would deactivate and delete any emails received as well. I did a shop or two for them but most likely will not shop for them anymore unless they get other more profitable shops.

Couldn't they withhold the fee as a way of collecting the $150?

It doesn't sound like there is a fee owed to the OP for them to collect the $150 from. So I'm with bgriffin, I think there's a snowball's chance in hell that they can get that $150 and the OP should walk away. It sounds like the OP will be deactivated anyway so what does the OP have to lose? And what might the OP gain by writing this company a check for $150?

It also sounds vindictive and bullying to me if no tickets were issued. The specific language of the IC Agreement does not say anything about levying a fine for nonperformance, only that IF tickets were issued in advance, the shopper is responsible for that cost. It sounds as though no tickets were issued in advance.

Perhaps tickets were issued in the OP's name and are being held for pickup at the box office? Otherwise, I see nothing in the Agreement that specifies that a fine might be charged. It sounds like threat tactics to bully the OP into completing the assignment.

Essentially, their claim is the tickets could have been sold and by your not showing up the venue loses $150...I gather somehow the logic flows the venue than charges Service Scouts $150 and they send you a bill for it.

There's a site called Avvo where you can ask lawyers free advice. Maybe post the question there.

@Tostresh wrote:

I asked Tracy to forward me a copy of the original email and she told me that it was in the invoice charging me $150. It isn't an email, just a typed statement.

While I don't think they have any way to collect that money from you, I might still pursue the issue of the e-mail. They should be able to forward you the original e-mail, complete with the header information. If they don't do this, and/or don't have this, then if they were so silly as to try to enforce this "fine," they would have to prove they notified you of the assignment. Which would, probably, require that e-mail be produced.

And I agree about the notifications! I hate when I get so many of them that I feel I'm being nagged or that the MSC doesn't trust me. OTH, a reminder a day or two before the shop is due is appreciated! Or, in the case of a long lead time, I wouldn't mind one reminder a week.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/17/2016 12:59AM by BirdyC.

Is this baseball shop more than 200 miles RT from your residential? Spend the $150 on your grandchild, when you, the Shopper takes him on a "one-on-one" with "Nana", at an all day toy or electronic store The shop is not due until 4/17, perform the shop. If the shop is still on your assign shops, download the guidelines. Read, read, and re-read. They have our info so be gentle and kind in your reporting. Then after you get paid, put Service Scouts on your 10 foot pole list.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/17/2016 01:29AM by sojo917.

@RaskOShop wrote:

Essentially, their claim is the tickets could have been sold and by your not showing up the venue loses $150...I gather somehow the logic flows the venue than charges Service Scouts $150 and they send you a bill for it.

There's a site called Avvo where you can ask lawyers free advice. Maybe post the question there.

I've read advice posted on Avvo regarding my professional area (not mystery shopping)...and often the answers are wrong.....

@sojo917 wrote:

Is this baseball shop more than 200 miles RT from your residential? Spend the $150 on your grandchild, when you, the Shopper takes him on a "one-on-one" with "Nana", at an all day toy or electronic store The shop is not due until 4/17, perform the shop. If the shop is still on your assign shops, download the guidelines. Read, read, and re-read. They have our info so be gentle and kind in your reporting. Then after you get paid, put Service Scouts on your 10 foot pole list.

I'm sorry, but missing an important event for a grandson (birthday party) would not be a viable option for me...unless I was actually too sick to go. Things like that mean a lot to kids.

Unless she can provide you with a copy of the email complete with headers, I'm guessing she's trying to cover her own rear end for something she either forgot or someone else dropped. Do let her know that you won't be going, and do make sure to use as few words as possible so things don't get twisted.

@PasswordNotFound wrote:

Unless she can provide you with a copy of the email complete with headers, I'm guessing she's trying to cover her own rear end for something she either forgot or someone else dropped. Do let her know that you won't be going, and do make sure to use as few words as possible so things don't get twisted.

Agreed. What if this scheduler "thought" she sent you this email but it was bounced back to her? She should apologize and PROVE to you she sent the email.

@PasswordNotFound wrote:

Unless she can provide you with a copy of the email complete with headers, I'm guessing she's trying to cover her own rear end for something she either forgot or someone else dropped.

Glad my idea about the e-mail with headers was a good one! Yep, I don't know how they can prove their claim without that.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/17/2016 04:42PM by BirdyC.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/17/2016 10:13PM by Misanthrope.

I worked for Service Scouts doing lots of evaluations for over 5 years but as soon Cheryl left, I began having a lot of trouble. The breaking point was a game I agreed to do on 12/23 (the day before xmas eve). I got my shop in on time and was told to wait for it to be reviewed. I checked my mail regularly the following day and did not see any emails from "LKA". I assumed my shop did not need any editing after 24 hours had passed and I spent Christmas morning with my family. Around 1pm on Christmas day I logged into my email account and saw that I had received an email at 9 am Christmas morning, more than 24 hours after I had submitted the shop for approval. I immediately logged into my SS shop and began doing the few requested edits. When I was done I hit "submit edits" and it would not load. After trying unsuccessfully to submit them, I emailed the scheduler to let her know I was having a problem. She did not respond right away and around 3pm I went back to enjoying my holiday. Later that evening she sent me an email advising me that her email at 9am on Christmas day stated I had "two hours" to complete the edits and that I had not complied to that deadline which is why I could not perform the edits. I apologized for my tardiness in seeing the email and forgot about it.
A few weeks later I was checking on the status of my reimbursements when i saw that she had denied any reimbursements for that shop. When I contacted her, she told me I had failed to meet the contract expectations regarding completing the shop edits. She then included a portion of the contract which stated that I had x amount of hours to complete the edits after they were requested. Upon further review of the contract, I found that she had failed to comply with the time allotment for requesting my edits so she agreed to, "as a one-time courtesy", reimburse half of my out-of-pocket costs for (parking only, of course).
**edited to remove the incorrectly identified scheduler as I went back and double-checked and it was in fact another scheduler with Service Scouts.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/21/2016 01:00AM by angelagoble.

Looks like I'm not going to sign up for any of their shops then! The only way they can get that $150 is if they owe that shopper money already and then refuse to pay.

Yeah, really. A fine? Is there the possibility of a prison term too? Ha ha & ha.

edited to remove comments on incorrect information that has been removed.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/17/2016 10:34PM by AustinMom.