Good idea, I'll see how they reply to this.

I guess I should add this it seems pretty unethical of this company, owned by the former owners of Grassroots, to suggest contacting the client about compensation for assignments in the past when they are specifically benefitting from utilizing the exiting Grassroots database.

I would recommend that each and every former Grassroots shopper contact them about getting reimbursement, and/or to ask how this company came about having all of their information....

Looking up the job history for Jane Newnum, it appears the RPMG may have been the parent company of Mystery Guest.

Since I stopped shopping for them when they transitioned to Grassroots and started issuing gift cards, the history I see for myself in their database is strictly from MG, which as far as I know did not technically default on anyone.

I did send them an email asking how they got my info, though.

Does anyone specifically show a job history from assignments with Grass Roots?

Jane Newnum's work history from Linkdin:

Principal
Research Powered Marketing Group, Inc.
April 2015 - Present (4 months)Winter Park, FL

Executive Vice President, Measurement and Analytics
Grass Roots America, Inc.
November 2010 - March 2015 (4 years 5 months)

President
Research Powered Marketing Group/Mystery Guest, Keeping Tabs
September 2001 - October 2010 (9 years 2 months)

President
Jane Newnum and Associates, Inc.
January 1997 - August 2001 (4 years 8 months)

Really creepy. I logged into the new site and it looks just like the old one. All my personal information is in my profile and all my shop history is there.

I was paid for the one shop that I did in March, so I am not owed anything. But I'm creeped out that the company went bankrupt owing other shoppers money and immediately opened as a new company, taking with them all the files from the old company, including shopper database with personal information and shop history.

I wonder if they will have the same clients. Has anyone been able to see any shops? Are the clients the same ones?

I would say that if there's a shop history with RPM Group showing an unpaid shop, that may be the best route to follow in terms of getting compensated.

I would also recommend that ever single person who replied has posted here about being owed money print out their shop history ASAP, before it gets deleted.

Then...someone who is owed and is in Florida needs to start a lawsuit against them. Immediately. We shoppers have to quit taking this repeated pattern of companies going belly up and running off with shopper funds to be business as usual. Just about every MSC owner that has done this is still working in the industry and we could really use a legal decision on our side to make creeps like this think twice before stealing from shoppers again.

So I received a reply this morning to my inquiry about why they have information in their database. I specifically mentioned that my shop history from Grass Roots was present in their system.

This is what I received back:

"Greetings.

Our organization acquired this database from another company. When and if RPM has mystery shopping or market research opportunities, we will invite previously registered individuals in those areas to opt-in to the new program.

RPM servers are secure and we do not share registrant information with third parties. If you would prefer that your information is deleted, please advise.

Regards, RPM Support Team"

That was sufficiently vague and explained nothing.

When I followed up with RPM and asked what authority they had from the company they acquired the information from, they offered that 'Support' did not have that information, and they would escalate my request to management. They also offered once more to delete my account information (Which I'm pretty sure is forthcoming).

If you look at the running tab for what people have posted in this thread, it's currently at $3,258, with apparently $80 paid to LEOPARD69. Some of those that posted here did not offer the amount they were owed, however. It would be nice if everyone would update the thread to reflect what they are actually owed or what they have been paid.

I know that the forum members constitute a very small percentage of overall shoppers, and the ones willing to post about not being paid are even fewer. The question is, how few are they. Is it 2%, 1%...even less? If it's 2% than the dept to shoppers would potentially only be around $150k, and that's small change compared to what this company owed overall, so I'm guessing the amount owed is probably much higher than that.

Has anyone gone over their ICA from Grassroots to see if anything is in writing regarding "selling or giving" personal information to an entirely different company? If the agreements states personal information will not be shared the contract was violated. If the principle of the new company claims ownership of the database because she was also a principle in Grassroots, well you can see where I'm going with this.

I did one shop and I am owed $20.

I got the same message:
Re: XXXXXXXX shop
Support @ Research Powered Shops


Greetings.

Our organization acquired this database from another company. When and if RPM has mystery shopping or market research opportunities, we will invite previously registered individuals in those areas to opt-in to the new program.

RPM servers are secure and we do not share registrant information with third parties. If you would prefer that your information is deleted, please advise.

Regards, RPM Support Team

I mean, Really??

I have actually had a dialog with Jane Newnum this morning, and I have to say that (like has happened before with some other forum members) we, as a group, may have jumped to conclusions without knowing all of the details. I certainly did.

She does initially appear to be making an effort to get shoppers paid. I have extended an offer to interview her for Mystery Shopper Magazine so that she can explain her side of the situation. If Jacob allows, I will publish the entire conversation there, and/or post it here for all to read.

For that purpose; are they any questions that you former Grass Roots shoppers have for Jane?

Impressive SteveSoCal. No question except the obvious. When no one communicates, you can't do anything but jump to a conclusion.

I would be completely interested to hear, and there is another side - business is business

For the purpose of being fair to both sides, I will post my email conversation with RPMG for members to draw their own conclusions:


Hi Research Powered Marketing Group,

Could you please explain why you have my personal information and assignment history from Grass Roots America in your database?

@Support wrote:

Greetings.

Our organization acquired this database from another company. When and if RPM has mystery shopping or market research opportunities, we will invite previously registered individuals in those areas to opt-in to the new program.

RPM servers are secure and we do not share registrant information with third parties. If you would prefer that your information is deleted, please advise.

Regards, RPM Support Team

Greetings, and thanks for the prompt reply.

Since you acquired my information from another company, would you be willing to share the details of that transaction?

I do not believe my agreement with the company that you apparently acquired the information from offered them the right to sell or distribute my personal information to others. Do you have a specific agreement with the company in question that guarantees you the right to this information?

@Support wrote:

Mr. (last name),

The support team does not have access to the information you are requesting. We will escalate your request to management now.

Would you prefer that a deletion of your account profile is completed now as well?

Regards, RPM Support Team

Thanks again for the quick reply.

You can leave my information in place. My concern is not for the security of the information, but simply how it was acquired.

By any chance could you share contact information for management?

@Jane Newnum wrote:

Mr. (last name),

Our support team shared your inquiry with me.

First, let me assure you that the information in your registration is secure and does not include any sensitive information such as your social security number or banking information. We can delete your full registration immediately upon your request.

Our privately held company routinely acquires databases to support our market research programs. We contact registrants via e-mail and invite them to opt-in with RPM when and if applicable programs are launched.

Thank you for your interest.

Kind regards,

Jane Newnum

Hi Jane,

Thank you so much for the quick response. I am not as concerned about the security of my information as much as I am concerned about how it was acquired, and under what authority that took place.

It appears to me from the data found on your site that the entire database and operational content consists of information acquired from Grass Roots America, Inc., a company that you were the executive vice president of, and which has recently sought protection through bankruptcy.

That brings up a few questions.

1. Was the database purchased from Grass Roots America, Inc., and if so, did they have the authority to sell or give away my information?

2. It is my understanding that the database in question contains information about mystery shops that were performed for former clients of Grass Roots America, Inc.. Are you aware of the fact that large numbers of mystery shoppers were left unpaid and/or unreimbursed for assignments that were completed for that company, totaling thousands of dollars, which are currently represented in your database?

3. Do you have any plan in place to compensate the unpaid and/or unreimbursed mystery shoppers represented in your database?

Thanks for your time and any information you can provide,

Steve

@Jane Newnum wrote:

Mr. (last name),

I was an employee, never an owner or shareholder, at Grass Roots America, Inc. and had no advance notice of their decision to suddenly cease operations nor did I have any financial oversight. I have no legal responsibility for their actions.

We have responded to all inquiries made to my new company from both individuals and organizations. We must respect the confidentiality of those inquiries and resolutions -- just as we are respecting your privacy.

In regards to our use of the database you referenced, there is a long standing legal agreement with a separate entity to allow for opt-ins to new programs (unrelated to Grass Roots America.)

Regards, Jane Newnum

Thanks again for the quick reply and the information, Jane.

It is my understanding that you formed the LLC for RPM Group on March 6th of this year, along with Michael Atkinson, who left as CEO and president of Grass Roots America, Inc. 10 days later, and that Grass Roots America, Inc. did not cease operations until the 31st of that month.

Just so that we are clear, is it your position that you did not derive any profit from the dissolution of Mystery Guest and the subsequent takeover of their client base by Grass Roots America, Inc., and that you had no knowledge that the company was having financial difficulty or was possibly going to cease operations?

Surely you can understand how that seems suspect.

Are you also claiming that the information about assignments completed on behalf of Grass Roots America, Inc. is not an asset that company had ownership over? If that is the case, what entity controls that information, and does the agreement for shared opt-ins specifically include the data about assignments that were completed?

While I understand that you need to respect the privacy of resolutions regarding this data, you did not really address my question regarding monies owed to participants of the assignments from Grass Roots America, Inc.. Specifically; Are you aware of the monies owed to those participants for assignments that are now represented in your database?

I am not saying that your company is responsible for the debts left by Grass Roots America, Inc., but surely you are aware of the fact that many mystery shoppers are collectively out thousands of dollars due to the actions of a company that you and your business partner did have an element of control over. Is it your position that you should be allowed to access that data for your business purposes with no remuneration due to the many unreimbursed mystery shoppers represented by it, and not offer so much as an explanation or apology to those mystery shoppers?

How can you expect to have the support of anyone in the mystery shopping community if this information is known to them?

Steve

@Jane Newnum wrote:

Mr. (last name),

I note you have not ever participated in Grass Roots America's projects (only Mystery Guest with last mystery shop in 2008,) but I am respectfully replying to your inquiries.

1. I am not in business with Mr. Atkinson. I am the sole owner, director and shareholder of RPMG. I relaunched my former company (DBA I set up in 2007) to pursue unrelated marketing projects on my own to supplement my income. I did not have an employment contract or non-compete regardless.

2. I was an employee of Grass Roots America and not privy to any business details outside of my sales position. I lost my job, benefits and other outstanding payments with no notice.


3. Some Mystery Guest assets were sold to another entity in late 2010 - but that was at pennies on the dollar and all funds were utilized to close down the business. Neither myself nor my mother (who was retiring) saw a dime of the proceeds. I was not privy to the details of their licensing agreement with GRA, but they have responsibility for all use from November 2010 through March 2015.

4. I have my own agreement to use the database with that third party. All survey respondents/mystery shoppers who completed assignments on behalf of my company have been paid in full - I have acquired a 3 mystery shopping clients -- all local former clients who sought me out. I have not assumed any GRA contracts. I have also helped companies who wanted to pay those shoppers who GRA did not pay do so. I have directed other inquiries to the appropriate parties to be paid with those organizations' expressed permission. I contacted the former shopper manager who maintained shopper compensation logs and it is her understanding that the majority of shoppers were paid or provided their gift cards, but not everyone (including myself and other co-workers who completed mystery shops and were not compensated.)

5. Our plan has been to contact registrants in the database as we had either a resolution for them (example, one local restaurant asked us to distribute March mystery shopper compensation on their behalf to maintain the anonymity of shoppers) or if we had actual assignments in the registrant's area. We currently have a total of 16 shops a month in Orlando only as of June 2015. All those shoppers were compensated via PayPal on July 3 before we were even paid by our clients.

I respectfully ask that you withhold your judgments and accusations without the facts. I am responding to you and all inquirers in good faith.

Regards, Jane Newnum

Jane,

Thank you for the candid replies. I honestly appreciate it and agree to withhold judgment, and to see the final resolution of the shopper payments.

I did not participate in projects for Grass Roots, as my focus has been on other types of assignments in recent years, but I am an active member of the mystery shopping community and wrote to you on behalf of a group of mystery shoppers, 42 of which have not been compensated for assignments totaling $3,258. One single participant in the group has recently been compensated for $80, and it is our hope that all shoppers eventually do get compensated. I applaud any efforts in bringing this about.

I wonder if you would be willing to participate in an interview for Mystery Shopper Magazine, as we all wait to see the resolution of the shopper payments, so that our group can understand the efforts you have gone through in order to get them compensated. I think that would go a long way toward mending attitudes toward your new company.

I am sure you can understand that to those of us who can log in to your database, it externally appears to many that RPM Group may have simply taken over the business abandoned by GRM.

Thanks again for your time,

Steve

@Jane wrote:

Mr. (last name),

I have been in contact with Mr. Jans and responded to all individuals who have contacted me. I can only proceed as I have shared.

Regards, Jane Newnum

However, it seems pretty clear that Jane is obfuscating details in her responses to me.

Though Jane claims to be in business for herself, if you follow this link below that scanman1 originally posted, then view the two PDFs at the bottom of the page, you will see solid evidence that she opened this new business with Michael Atkinson on 3/6/15 and then amended the business to him as a partner on 3/19/15, the very day he was let go from Grass Roots America, Inc.

[search.sunbiz.org]

Clearly some details are missing about what really transpired. Hopefully she makes good in her attempt to get shoppers paid, however.

It sounds like we would have to contact her personally because she says she has responded to all individuals thar have contacted "her", not her company. Interesting.

I have still not been paid, I am owed a couple hundred dollars for four shops that I completed. Some of these were out of town no I had to drive, now it was all for nothing. At the time I believed I would be compensated as I always had. It was so wrong for this company to not have given shoppers warnings when they new they were going out of business. They still had us doing these shops. This company was hands down my favorite, I was always paid on time and the shop pays were way better than most. I was sad to see this company leave and sadder to see how they treated faithful shoppers.

Did you file a claim with the bankruptcy court? That is the proper procedure to be followed when a company goes bankrupt and owes you money.

@Sharey wrote:

I have still not been paid, I am owed a couple hundred dollars for four shops that I completed. Some of these were out of town no I had to drive, now it was all for nothing. At the time I believed I would be compensated as I always had. It was so wrong for this company to not have given shoppers warnings when they new they were going out of business. They still had us doing these shops. This company was hands down my favorite, I was always paid on time and the shop pays were way better than most. I was sad to see this company leave and sadder to see how they treated faithful shoppers.

No I did not file with the bancruptcy courts, I really didn't know what to do. It makes me really mad when I think about the fact that I did my last four shops for them over four months ago. Three of the shops were done on 3/7/2015 and the last one was done on 3/21/215. I am still owed $240. I would like to recover what I am owed. Can anyone give me the direct emal to Jane Newnum since she seems to be responding to people. I want to know if she is going to pay those of us who are still owed. I just went to that RPM website and saw all of the shops that I have ever completed and all my information. This is just really insane and illegal. She is scamming people and being so dishonest about what she has done, it's sickening.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/22/2015 03:39PM by Sharey.

There are really two different issues we are discussing here, Sharey.

Grass Roots owes you the money, not Jane, but perhaps Jane can help you to get paid if she is still in touch with and/or working for that client. I doubt you will betting any payment directly from Grass Roots.

The second issue is RPM using the Grass Roots server to do business. Jane has implied that she has legal rights to the information, but hasn't really come forward with any proof of that. Now, it's not really her responsibility to prove that to me, but if she was being candid and truthful, why not just offer it?

Jane is not difficult to get a hold of and seems to be responsive. If you put a dot between her first and last name, then send it to the RPM address (that the website uses), you get her....

What happened to Grass Roots Measures in Florida?

Bankrupt. Read this thread and you will know all about what's going on.

It seems to me that you prefer complaining about not getting paid rather than doing about it (you are not alone on this Forum by any means). Reminds me of the expression, "Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness." Yet, there will always be some who prefer darkness.

@Sharey wrote:

No I did not file with the bancruptcy courts, I really didn't know what to do. It makes me really mad when I think about the fact that I did my last four shops for them over four months ago. Three of the shops were done on 3/7/2015 and the last one was done on 3/21/215. I am still owed $240. I would like to recover what I am owed. Can anyone give me the direct emal to Jane Newnum since she seems to be responding to people. I want to know if she is going to pay those of us who are still owed. I just went to that RPM website and saw all of the shops that I have ever completed and all my information. This is just really insane and illegal. She is scamming people and being so dishonest about what she has done, it's sickening.

I am still owed more than $750.00 I have contacted Jane also and holding my breath....
call me Mrs. Blue !

I am owed $25 for a shop done in February 2015.

Yes, they owe me $20 for the first and only shop I did with them back in March 2015. I did not even realize that I had not been paid for it until today (December 2015) and then tried to go to their website and it didn't come up. Poked around the internet and realized they went out of biz and found this thread. WTF