I have not had good luck with this company and today was the final straw. If a person, for whatever reason, has no bank with whom they currently have a checking account and they are not a co-signer on anyone else's account, then it is their policy to simply not pay the shopper. Their mode of payment is direct deposit now and they will not use paypal. If you see their policy it is stated that "Service Evaluation Concepts assumes no responsibility to issue payment to any BA whose deposit could not be completed." Which means in plain English that if you want to be paid you're out of luck.

Shop with them at your own risk.

I don't see any problems with this company. I would not beware. I cannot imagine a person mystery shopping without having a checking account.

There are those of us out there that do not have an account. To punish us by not paying us is ridiculous.

I have 2 different checking accounts one is for the household and the other is for mysteryshopping only. I have had MSC's that paid me in the household account all I do is transfer the money to the other account. I would bve lost without my checking account.

If the ICA states that shoppers must have a checking account in order to get paid, and Cettie agreed to this, then the situation is her fault. Otherwise, there's no good reason SEC couldn't cut her a check on a one-time basis.

Cettie, you should call them. I've always found them to be very reasonable, and I cannot believe they would refuse to issue a check.

Not sure what the entire blurb says, but I don't believe that excerpt holds water from a legal standpoint. I think they owe you money.

Where did you see this, BTW? Just looked at the site, and couldn't find it.

And when I contracted with SEC the agreement was payment by check or by direct deposit. I chose direct deposit. Unfortunately I have closed that bank and there are too many hoops to change my direct deposit to even bother with it. With all other companies where I had a direct deposit I could just go on line and change the routing number and account number to the new bank myself.

It's on the form they just sent me to set up a direct deposit. I don't see anything like this on the site.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Authorization for Direct Deposit of
Certified Business Analyst (CBA) Assignment Payment

Instructions

1. Please complete and submit the following form to authorize Direct Deposit of assignment payment by Service Evaluation Concepts.
2. Remit the completed form to Service Evaluation Concepts by mail. Please include an unsigned, voided check (see example) from the destination account along with your completed form.

Mail to:

Service Evaluation Concepts, Inc.
Attn: CBA Direct Deposit
210 Crossways Park Drive
Woodbury, NY 11797


Important: Please read the following before completing and signing the attached form.

1. “Financial Institution” as used on this form means your bank, savings and loan, credit union, or similar establishment.
2. A voided check correctly reflecting your financial institution, account number, and routing number must accompany this authorization. For certain accounts where a voided check may not be available, a copy of the account identification card bearing the required information indicated above is acceptable. No authorizations will be processed without the required information. No counter documents will be accepted.
3. Direct deposits will only be made to an account for which the Business Analyst is an authorized signer.
4. Service Evaluation Concepts assumes no responsibility for any relationship between the Business Analyst and her/his financial institution, except to accurately provide the BA’s account information as presented and described in item number 2 above, along with the deposit to the financial institution provided.
5. This authorization will remain in effect until cancelled in writing. A new authorization form must be completed if the bank account is changed or closed.
6. Service Evaluation Concepts assumes no responsibility to issue payment to any BA whose deposit could not be completed if the bank account is changed or closed.
7. This authorization applies only to payments for completed assignments performed by BAs for Service Evaluation Concepts.
8. Completion of this form authorizes Service Evaluation Concepts to process debit entries and adjustments for any credit entries made in error to your bank account.
9. Service Evaluation Concepts will not be responsible for any bank fees incurred by the BA in association with or due to delays or errors in processing direct deposits.




At this point I'm hopping mad, if you only knew the hoops I had to jump through to get these shops done to start with and now they don't want to pay me. I am contacting the Attorney General's office today.

I'm surprised they assigned the shops before you had an authorized payment method set up. The companies I've worked with remind me to set it up if I haven't already in my profile.

The language, as well as the document in which it's embodied, limits the obligation to pay by that method if there's something wrong with the account and it cannot be completed.

In no way does it infer that they are under no obligation to pay you for the actual shop. Not to mention, IF their rule is that they will not pay shoppers by any other method, it is not disclosed. You entered into an agreement to do the shop, without contingency regarding the mode of payment.

They owe you money.

Wouldn't it just be easiest to get checking account?

It seems to me like they have an established system in place, so I don't understand the point of going to battle over the specifics of how they pay.

This is like complaining that a company will not do business with you because you do not have an email address or phone number. It's a standard form of business finance, not an unreasonable demand.

Did you even write or call them to verify things before posting here and contacting the AG?

Bottom line is, unless it is disclosed that the only way SEC will pay is by direct deposit, there is no reason to think you won't be paid. I was unable to find anything on the site about this, although it may have been in the original agreement. If it wasn't, the answer is clear.

TechSavvy Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Did you even write or call them to verify things
> before posting here and contacting the AG?


Definitely did what I had to do before taking it to the AG and warning other shoppers.

Flash Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> And when I contracted with SEC the agreement was
> payment by check or by direct deposit. I chose
> direct deposit. Unfortunately I have closed that
> bank and there are too many hoops to change my
> direct deposit to even bother with it. With all
> other companies where I had a direct deposit I
> could just go on line and change the routing
> number and account number to the new bank myself.

Flash is correct. I closed an account a year or two ago, and it took forever to get the direct deposit changed. However, it was worth it to me to jump through the hoops as they have some nice Medicare Advantage shops in the fall. I have never had a problem getting paid by SEC.

What is the big deal about getting a checking account?

There are numerous folks who do not have checking accounts for a wide variety of reasons. I know of some several shoppers who have never had checking accounts in their lives from a distrust of banks that appears to be a carry over of family members of another generation being so badly burned during the bank closures of the Great Depression. I know of others who prefer to pay cash than to write a check, use a credit card or debit card. I know of shoppers who cash their checks at the check cashing places, paying more in fees to do that than they would pay in fees to a bank. I know of shoppers who have had bad previous experience with banks, walked away from the mess and would have a great deal of difficulty opening a checking account. There are many causes and many reasons not to have a checking account. 'Mainstream' says that 'everybody has one or can get one easily' and that is not true. 'Mainstream' says that 'everybody who qualifies has a credit card'. Also not true. My brother had to have me reserve and accompany him when he discovered that he needed a credit card to rent a car and he had never been willing to have/carry one. I had to twist my parents' arms to have them get a credit card so they would not be carrying much cash as they got older and more potentially vulnerable. It took a lot to convince them that a credit card is not 'evil', only its misuse is a problem.