How Can This Be Legal?

[NotRichYet]

I know of at least two sites (e-rewards and e-poll) that take away your points if you don't use them or are "inactive" in/over a certain amount of time. Of course, when you get close to a payout, you mysteriously don't get (hardly) any surveys!

Two questions:

• 1) Does anyone know of any OTHER sites that do this?
  2) How can this be legal???? The points/dollars are EARNED - they should NEVER expire!! This seems like petty theft to me!!

This reprehensible tactic seems very similar to the "wait until they have almost enough money to cash out and then close their account and accuse them of "fraud"" tactic

[TSP1973]

Well it is in there fine print, the terms and conditions. I don't think it is right either, but if it is already in there terms and conditions and you signed up with them, I don't think there is nothing you can really do about it.

However you could go to the BBB and file a complaint. I would also file a complaint with ripoffreport.com also and let them know. Not sure if this will help in any way, given that it is in there terms and conditions when you signed up? Sorry I can't help you are give you any more incite into it, I am not a lawyer so I wouldn't know for sure.

[SurveyBang]

i think clearvoicesurveys have this too.

[NotRichYet]

Well it is in there fine print, the terms and conditions. I don't think it is right either, but if it is already in there terms and conditions and you signed up with them, I don't think there is nothing you can really do about it.

However you could go to the BBB and file a complaint. I would also file a complaint with ripoffreport.com also and let them know. Not sure if this will help in any way, given that it is in there terms and conditions when you signed up? Sorry I can't help you are give you any more incite into it, I am not a lawyer so I wouldn't know for sure.

I'm not a lawyer either, but, I negotiate million dollar contracts frequently at my "real job". I can tell you this, just because it's "in the terms and conditions", doesn't make it "legal". For example, you could put in the terms that if we don't exactly match what's in our profiles on every survey, that they could send "Bruno" over to kill us. Obviously not legal.

I'm not trying to be nasty to you, TSP (I appreciate your comments!) - I'm just sick of getting screwed by these companies. It svcks that you have to resort to BBP and RipoffReport.com to get the pittance that they are supposed to pay you for these surveys Meanwhile, the survey companies can hide behind cr@p like this and make tons of money while screwing the ones who actually do the work!

[NotRichYet]

As if we needed another reason not to waste time with Toluna, here is THEIR expiration policy:

In addition to the expiration and forfeiture provisions of Sections 2, 9, 11, 12, and 13 of these Terms and Conditions, Points expire and become cancelled and forfeited under the following conditions: i) your cancellation of your panelist account at ToLuna USA, ii) if after registering for the ToLuna USA panel you become “inactive” for 6 months from the date of registration, iii) If at any time which is more than 6 months after registering for the ToLuna USA panel you become "inactive" for a period of 12 months, and iii) each Point award will expire and be forfeited regardless of your “activity” at the end of the 12th full month after the month in which the Points were credited to your account. ToLuna USA will not provide you with any notice of the cancellation and forfeiture of any of your Points. ToLuna USA reserves the right to suspend these cancellation and forfeiture rules in its sole discretion. "Inactive" shall mean that you have failed to participate in a Site activity. "Participate" shall mean starting a survey or completing a profile.

GMAB!!