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Vindale Scam??


ekenz

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Been doing Vindale Research surveys for quite some time only to keep finding that the "bait & switch" tactics they use are a policy of theirs. They send me an email to do a survey that pays $1.50 - when I click the link it takes me to a .37 survey ***EVERYTIME***. I click the email immediately when it arrives so it's not old or outdated. Also, when I CAN get into a survey, they have me actually complete the survey (20 minutes) only to tell me I didn't qualify! I thought Vindale was a reputable site - I'm clearly wrong. They will steal your time and promises of better paying surveys that don't materialize. Beware of Vindale. 

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Yep, there is another thread on here and mostly just people ranting.  Very few get to actually make money with them.  I had a horrible experience with them and walked away.  They took back every dime I made with them. 

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  • 1 month later...

Vindale doesn't have consolation points that I'm aware of, i.e. the 1-3 points some sites give you for not qualifying for surveys. 

I'm learning to avoid any sites that don't have them, not because I plan to make my fortune off consolation points, but because it's a form of accountability.  If a survey site doesn't have consolation points, they have literally nothing to lose by wasting our time getting free surveys out of us and "disqualifying" us after 20 minutes worth of questions.

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On 12/5/2018 at 10:16 PM, kepstein8888 said:

If a survey site doesn't have consolation points, they have literally nothing to lose by wasting our time getting free surveys out of us and "disqualifying" us after 20 minutes worth of questions.

Survey panels that don't offer consolation points have no reason to get people to do "free surveys". People would stop doing them if that's the case.

There is a huge difference to what you are saying and what happens.....

"Survey site" = Bear in mind MOST of the time you take a survey on a survey site, the platform you take that survey on is nothing to do with said "survey site". A main survey site could potentially just be a portal. If you don't complete or get DQ'd from a survey, the main "survey site" doesn't get paid either.

For example:

Swagbucks - They are entirely a portal. Any survey you take there is on a 3rd party platform. They have no control of any of those surveys. They pretty much just work as an affiliate for survey companies. 

Opinion Outpost - Partly a portal. Most surveys however will be on their own SSI platform.

Cint panels (Crowdology, etc) - Partly a portal. A lot, maybe most will be on their own platform (Morar research, VIGA).


In the case of survey sites that own the survey platforms, I don't think they would intentionally screw anyone over to get "free" surveys from people because there's too much at stake.

Unhappy panellists = Poor quality of completed surveys and lower overall participation which would destroy their profits. When you consider they get commissioned by huge companies like Sky, the BBC and Unilever, there's no point having unhappy panellists.

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5 hours ago, samp28 said:

...I don't think they would intentionally screw anyone over to get "free" surveys from people because there's too much at stake.

I'd like to think there is, but how many sites are currently getting away with it?

Asking 5 demographic questions, and two or three about my interest in the main focus of the survey seems reasonable to me.  Deciding after 30 or 50 very topical and specific questions that I don't "qualify" is like hanging out at the food court eating free samples until you're full, then saying you never cared for chicken nuggets.

If these were occasional exceptions, technical glitches and oversights--as opposed to common patterns--then we wouldn't be hearing about them nearly as much as we do on this site and others.

The survey business seems to be like the used car business:  The need to maintain a good reputation may count for something, but has never been quite enough to keep them honest, and probably never will be....so it is survey-taker beware...and thank goodness for sites like surveypolice.  :-)

You bring up a good point, though.  What I've been doing lately is looking for the actual survey companies that produce them, like get wizer, peanut labs, etc.  I watch the URL window and try to avoid those that play games and waste my time.

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I think a few get away with it but perhaps not in the way we think. After years of doing surveys I reckon it's sloppy scripting more than anything.

There's notorious survey companies like UGAM who always have and likely always will have late disqualification. They need to buck their ideas up because a lot of members are getting sick of it. Where the survey capacity is already full but rather than instantly redirect us out saying it's full, they let you answer 15 mins of questions to a checkpoint which then dq's someone.

That's their fault and partly sloppy coding. Rather than have a checkpoint later on, it should be right at the start.


Earlier I took a survey with Opinion Outpost who are, from my experience an awesome site. It was on their SSI platform which again from my experience is a very solid and decent platform where if you get past the initial screening questions, there should be no problem. This survey was about the highways agency. It asked lots about what I think they do and rating their service. About 10 minutes in it then asked when I last drove on a highways agency road..... I don't drive and so put never and was kicked off the survey.

Now... They clearly wanted to interview people who drive. Why not ask me at the start "do you drive? yes/no". 


I would say in terms of farming free data, Harris Poll do strike me as suspicious. If you hit the DQ point, rather than screen you out, it then asks some of those end survey questions (Which area do you live in, how much do you earn, etc). It makes people think "wow, at the end already? That was quick. Cool". After giving those details you get the "did not qualify" message.

If they aren't farming free data, why not kick someone back to the survey panel when they have DQ'd? Why ask for all that end of survey classification questions?

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