Toluna closed account

[beavinator]

I'm not sure why, but for some reason my old topic regarding this situation was locked, so I'm starting a new one. I got a message from the BBB indicating that Toluna never responded to them regarding my complaint about them closing my account for no reason. They asked whether Toluna had attempted to bypass them and contact me directly. I indicated that they hadn't. Two days later (today), lo and behold, I suddenly get a response from Toluna. Here it is:

"Our systems have been monitoring your account over the last year. Your survey activity during this period shows that on a consistent basis your surveys were completed significantly more rapidly than would be possible if you were answering the questions in accordance with our member Code of Conduct which states:

Do not take any Survey other than in good faith, such as providing false answers or speeding through a survey or answering each question the same way. Toluna reserves the right to withhold awarding Points to you if, in Toluna's reasonable view, your Survey responses are untruthful or not well considered.

We regret this unfortunate situation and we wish you all the best for the future."

For those interested, this is the response I sent them:

Your code of conduct states "in Toluna's REASONABLE view". It is not at all "reasonable" to assume that just because I am able to complete surveys more quickly than the average person, I must not be providing accurate answers. I am 37 years old, and have been using computers on a daily basis since I was a child. I type over 100 words per minute, and am very fast with a mouse. I have been using the internet regularly since there was such a thing. I am therefore able to navigate web pages quite quickly. And as I indicated in my previous email, I have been taking surveys daily for many years. I am therefore able to complete them more quickly than someone who merely occasionally goes on the web and/or takes a survey, especially considering how similar many surveys are to each other. It does NOT mean that I am not paying any attention to what I'm doing. It just means I'm good at it. "Practice makes perfect", as they say. It is also unreasonable to assume that if I provide the same answer to a series of similar questions, it means I am providing inaccurate responses. If you give me a survey that asks me the same questions about 10 slightly different products when I've already indicated I have no interest in and/or experience with that entire category of products, I don't need to carefully and painstakingly consider each one individually to know that I am giving accurate and truthful responses when the exact same questions are asked about each. Again, I ALWAYS strive to ensure that I am providing the most accurate answers possible to surveys. If you get responses from me with similar answers throughout, it is because my TRUTHFUL answers to each question WERE in fact the same. That is not an impossibility, in fact given the nature of many surveys, it is quite likely.

It is completely unfair of you to punish me for being "too good" at taking surveys. I understand there are people out there who simply speed through surveys without even reading them, or worse, use software which automatically fills out forms for them, just to try and get rewards, and that you must take steps to protect yourself against this practice. However, I am not one of those people. If I am simply being flagged by an automated process you have which determines that I'm completing surveys too quickly, I would expect you to manually check the data, and bring SPECIFIC results to my attention to which I can respond. If I WERE in fact attempting to "cheat" in the way you've accused, I would have no defense for myself. However, as you can see, not only do I have reasonable explanations, I am in fact quite insulted by your insinuation that I would try to cheat you, and feel that in fact the reverse is taking place and you are cheating ME out of the earnings I deserve for the long-term dedicated service I have provided for your company. Again, I request that you provide me ACTUAL data proving that I have provided ACTUAL inaccurate information to ANY survey. Until that happens, you have NO basis for deactivating my account, and I will certainly continue my case with the Better Business Bureau, as well as warning other fellow survey-takers about the unethical practices of your company based on this "unfortunate situation", and "wish you all the best for the future".

[spider]

Well said and very thought out! Good luck with your fight against Toluna. I only need 975 more points and I can't wait to say goodbye to that horrible survey site.

[ro12ro]

Just create another complaint, I am on the third BBB complaint against them and I will never stop until the reactivation of my account. They would try to find any reason to avoid reactivating your account, I also did a complaint for bad customer service because they ignored like 5 emails. So, take advantage of everything you can, because they will do the same against you.

[1957horses]

I posted this somewhere before but, I did a survey for 16,000 points and took a screenshot of were it said "thank you for completing this survey click to submit your points" (or something like that). Well they came back and said I didn't complete it. For goodgreef it's right there in the screenshot I did completed it. So after months of going back and forth they sent me the same survey and said if I completed it they would give me 11,000 points. Well I completed it again, took screenshot and again they said I didn't complete it. Another month later and a dozen emails they gave me 7,500 points. Bull Manure. Well that got me the 75,000 I needed to cash out for an amazon. I WILL NOT DO THEM ANYMORE!! Because even with proof, they still deny points. NO A FAIR COMPANY.

THEIR BAD BAD BAD

[cricket]

Beav, if you get a response, I hope you post it here. Very well written letter. I also am pretty fast at surveys but so far haven't been berated for it. How ridiculous. When I first started doing surveys 2 years ago and compiled a list to email friends, I had an elaborate page explaining how to work Toluna so you could make $20 every few days. I actually did...I'd go from one to the next ("take another survey"). It was my best money maker.

Then they "improved" and my goodness, they have turned into junk. They offer a survey for 15,000 points and when you click on it it says 2,000 points, 30 minutes. Calling them is futile...you get one receptionist who says she will relay the information/complaint (sure she will...).

Their number is 203-834-8585 if anyone wants to tell them what they think of their "new, improved" site.

[beavinator]

Thanks for the responses folks. It's pretty clear these guys are shady. I gave up long ago trying to actually make sure I'm getting the amount of points each survey says I should get...that is just way too much work. But I've still consistently gotten decent amounts of money overall from Toluna, until they deactivated my account without any notification.

I did have one other survey company terminate me in the past for taking surveys too quickly, but it wasn't very lucrative anyway so I didn't bother fighting it. I don't remember which one it was at this point. I also have had both Surveyhead and Opinion Outpost suspend my accounts for similar reasons, but in both cases they were immediately reinstated when I wrote them and explained that I was in fact not "cheating". I assume a personal complaint was all that was required to prove I was a real survey-taker who was flagged in error. Unfortunately it seems the same is not the case with Toluna.

[beavinator]

An update for anyone who is interested. The BBB closed my case, solely on the strength of Toluna providing them with 5 survey ID's in which I supposedly provided "bad data". None of the actual data, mind you. Just the survey IDs, which of course there is no way to even look up or verify. For all I know they made them up out of thin air.

Avoid Toluna like the plague. They are the worst kind of unethical scammers, and I sincerely hope they go out of business. And the BBB is apparently completely worthless, as they will just shrug their shoulders and fold without even making any kind of actual inquiry on our behalf. I wasted nearly as much time with them as I did on Toluna surveys for which I will now never be paid.

[TSP1973]

I agree file another complaint! Also go to Ripoffreport.com You can make post their about being ripped off and the public will see what you have to say. A good thing about them is that they don't removed the complaints either, they stay permanently! Also go file a complaint with the States Attorney's office that Toluna is in. Then Email Toluna again and let them know were you have filed complaints and that your not going away quietly until you get you money!

[ro12ro]

File an additional complaint for bad customer service

[beavinator]

Thanks for the advice, but I think I'm done wasting my time on this nonsense. I had less than $15 worth of points accrued, and even if they agreed to reinstate my account, at this point I want nothing more to do with Toluna and wouldn't take any more of their stupid surveys anyway. It's just not worth it. I'd at least post about it at ripoffreport, except at the moment it doesn't seem to want to load...