It was due to the 4th of July holiday.

I haven’t got my pay yet either. This has happened before under the weekly system, but I believe it was the result of the 4th of July holiday. I don’t see what excuse Ipsos have this week. I contacted all of my schedulers and I got the “We’re looking into it” response.

Like a lot of you folks, I work very hard for this company and we shouldn’t be treated like this. They ruined my weekend, that’s for sure. Ipsos doesn’t accept late work, yet they expect us to accept late pay.

This happened 2 weeks ago to. But I did get paid early that Monday. So I am assuming it will be Monday. I am actually praying it will be Monday cause I'm going out of town on Monday morning and staying in a hotel that night to do shops for them for 2 days. That will really suck if I get stuck in a city hours away and don't get my check to cover the hotel I'm staying in to do shops for them. Fingers crossed.

I have, though I have not performed any shops for them in a couple of weeks, However, I see payments every couple of weeks before that.

nvaughn-IPSOS has not paid pay pal yet, as of this morning, 7/21...........lets hope for Monday.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/21/2019 02:09PM by salisburync.

Sandy- You are making excuses (and poor ones at that!) for IPSOS. They are a big company, but even a small company needs to hit their payroll dates. All across the U.S. and even the world, companies large and small manage to pay on time. In this case, IPSOS has failed....don't rationalize their failure as acceptable....it isn't. No excuses. They should apologize and pay shoppers who incurred bank fees and other costs because of their failure to pay in a timely manner.

No, they shouldn't. Our personal failures to adequately manage our funds is not their responsibility. I know personally there were huge internet outages Thursday and Friday; when everything is electronic, if the "Net" is down, you can't accomplish stuff. And they even say on the payment note that holidays and so on can impact pay dates. If they pay Monday, that's one day late.

I have to say I have enjoyed Ipsos's quicker payments. Until Friday the 19th they have been hitting their mark and at some point on a Friday my $$$ show up, Compare that to some companies who don't pay until 6 weeks later and I'm a satisfied shopper.That being said a quick heads up email when any company is going to miss a payment date would be appreciated and I think would cut down on 90% of the negative postings. I don't think most shoppers begrudge the extra day or two, the reality is in my neck of the shopping woods no company pays as quickly, it's the uncertainty that gets people riled up.The reverse would be MSCs always appreciate a heads up if you are going to be a day or two late doing a shop. If you have a good reputation your scheduler knows your going to do the shop, the heads up courtesy email on the shoppers part removes the uncertainty for the scheduler.

Signed up with them and there are zero jobs within 60 miles of my home! (Phoenix S.E. Valley

The net wasn't down for IPSOS or me.....just sayin'
And yes, even the courts have held that, in strict statements of policy, that companies can be held accountable for reasonable costs incurred by employees who did not receive 'promised' payroll and/or reimbursement.

I agree with you..somewhat.....I don't begrudge them the late payroll. I wish they would have informed me...but they didn't.
We appreciate the prompt payment vs. the six weeks that other MSC's take at times. However, that said, IPSOS pays less than average, and sometimes is close to minimum wage for the effort we expend. So their promise to pay quickly is a way to entice shoppers to work for them. They just need to hold up their end of the bargain.

@salisburync wrote:

Sandy- You are making excuses (and poor ones at that!) for IPSOS. They are a big company, but even a small company needs to hit their payroll dates. All across the U.S. and even the world, companies large and small manage to pay on time. In this case, IPSOS has failed....don't rationalize their failure as acceptable....it isn't. No excuses. They should apologize and pay shoppers who incurred bank fees and other costs because of their failure to pay in a timely manner.

Not sure what your definition of rationalizing or excuses is. My definition does not include suggesting that if a msc or any other company makes a promise that will be difficult to keep they say something in their wording to give themselves some leeway in case of whatever company emergency there is. I even think that promises in one week for this industry are probably unrealistic and given that it seems some mystery shoppers live so close to the edge of financial insolvency that even one day of delayed pay will mean they cannot pay their rent or whatever, they should not make these sorts of promises that will result in people being disappointed. There seem to be at least several mystery shoppers on this forum who jump on the msc and report them here and say they sent umpteen emails etc within minutes of the day following the published date of payment.
I have spoken to quite a few entrepreneurs over the years in all sorts of businesses and they tell me the worst thing they encounter is trying to get paid by those who hire them. Late payments seem to be common. All I said is that I think the msc should not make a short turnaround promise so short but give themselves extra time just in case. But still if they consistently pay in 15 days even though their payment promises are 25 days, instead of being happy to get their money early there will always be those who jump on them on day 16.

We are NOT employees.

@salisburync wrote:

The net wasn't down for IPSOS or me.....just sayin'
And yes, even the courts have held that, in strict statements of policy, that companies can be held accountable for reasonable costs incurred by employees who did not receive 'promised' payroll and/or reimbursement.

As of 9:03 am this morning I still don't have my money. This is VERY disappointing Ipsos ????????????????????????????????????

I wasn't referring to shoppers as employees. I was citing the case in more general terms. And, in case you have't been reading the news...the 'independent contractor status' is about to change, probably nationally, but at least in several states.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/22/2019 07:36PM by salisburync.

I read more news than most people do. I'm well aware of what's happening.

In general terms, comparing apples and oranges isn't relevant. Laws govern employees (to protect them from being exploited, like hours, overtime, workers comp, etc.); those laws have absolutely NOTHING to do with ICs.

If you want the protections given employees under Labor Law, get a job.

I’ve been paid!!

I was paid this morning.

And my payment just arrived.

Now you are being specious. The Federal Circuit court in San Francisco is about to take up a case where
Independent Contractors are suing (represented by seven states AGs) to be considered employees. Why? Simple. Companies (especially MSC's) have been breaking the rules regarding ICs for years. We are told what day or dates to go, what time periods to go, sometimes even exactly when to go. We are also given very strict guidlelines on what to report on and are easily not paid when an even slight variation occurs. Sound familiar? That is NOT being an independent contractor. We are not consultants...we are employees. And the misuse of shoppers/ICs/employees (whatever you want to call us) is well established. An entire industry has been built over the last 20 years based on MSCs NOT having to pay for the overhead of employees, and the prices MSCs charge have been driven down as a result. In short, MSC's have been painting themselves into a corner. Only one state that I know of (Nevada) has held onto stricter regulations regarding the use of ICs as shoppers, and they require the IC to be an employee of a Private Invesgigator. Even those guidelines are stretched to the limit by MSCs doing business in Nevada.

Specious?

LOL.

I'm talking about the way things ARE. You are speculating.

I am in the Phoenix area and the IPOS app does not list one single job opportunity. Curious as to where all of you above live to be able to do 30-40 per day!

ceasesmith...yes, specious

FYI: superficially plausible, but actually wrong.

You're the one being specious. I don't appreciate your condescendingly defining a word I already used properly.

IC status MAY change. If it does, it MAY take years to effect.

You are the one being specious -- as I already said.

And if you don't like being an IC, get a job.

ceasesmith...too old to get a job....sorry.

Oh, and I found this yesterday when doing some research regarding the IC issue and its status in the Illinois state assembly....this really confirms how MSC's are 'massaging' the guidelines for who is, or what is, an IC.

This is an actual cut and paste shop instruction/reply from a MSC's site. The only 'variable' left for the IC to choose is the hour (within a range) and date of the shop, (within a range).

Thank you for accepting the xxxxxx assignment! Please remember the client would like you to audio record your purchase interaction (smart phone or other recording devices) and use the specific scenario. ***There is a required Scenario (log in to ISS and download). The shop scenario changes every month and includes: ~Target Item to purchase ~Specific 'Purpose of visit' statement ~Specific question to ask as a 'Concern/Objection' to the purchase. ~Please obtain the printed version of the purchase and return receipts.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/02/2019 11:46AM by salisburync.

Yes, I agree sometimes the details are way, way too much like an employee-employer relationship than IC.

The big difference is I can walk away from the assignment. Just choose to not complete it.
There are hundreds of assignments available to me every month; I choose to complete anywhere from 10 to 40, depending on how many profitable "routes" I can construct.

It is that freedom I would lose if I were determined to be an employee.

I believe the rule changes that are coming are focused on protecting gig workers from being exploited. And yes, I think change IS coming. I'm just not so sure that that it will be the sweeping changes you are foreseeing, and I'm not at all sure that it will impact MSing.

MSing has been established for quite a while, long before the "gig" economy (which has been fostered most by the leaps in technology) exploded.

Did anyone get paid today yet? Fingers crossed lol. Hopefully they didn't switch it to Mondays for good ????

Oh, thanks for asking! I'm on pins and needles, hoping for today, too!!!!

It’s coming in real late. If it’s not in by 2:30 PM Eastern time, look for payment on Monday >

Thank you. Monday's not a problem, I'm just worried about it making it to my PayPal. I recently had a problem with PayPal, so I worry every time I expect a deposit, fearing something might go wrong again.