Valued Opinions New Policy--charging $5 fee on $20 visa code

[Huntress]

We all look and do things different but I wont allow a company to charge me to get access to what is owed to me.Especially when they change the game plans in a the middle of a play.If we let them get away with it then we are telling all the survey companies that we think it's fair for them to screw us.You can do what you like but I personally cant justify them getting away treating me this way.But you see I'm not with OO because I find them to be unethical too.If it means I make less so be it but I wont work for less then what I think is fair.

Exactly! They promise a certain amount of dollars for a survey, and then renege on that by changing the rules after we've already earned the reward to require us to relinquish 25% of the money just to receive payment! I would be more forgiving if they'd said "Starting April 1, 2013 rewards earned will be subject to fees on redemption for amazon and visa promo codes. They NEVER should've applied the cash-out fee to money already in our account--and if they chose to do so, should've given us advance warning specifying the date and terms of the new policy so we could redeem our rewards before the policy took effect.

If it didn't so #$@! long to have the Pending Credits credited with Valued Opinions, I would say that all of us here on Survey Police shoudl stage a 'Mass Exodus' from them, all on one day. Of course, after all of us have cashed-out with them and received our GC's. This would be kind of hard to do since like I just stated, it takes them forever to credit Pending Surveys, or even reply to an e-mail!

I would urge those Valued Opinion panelists who are upset and offended at the new policy and the tactics to email the company and also consider posting your disgust and disappointment on their social media pages like Facebook. Perhaps public pressure will yield some results. At the very least email them. Although I no longer do their surveys, I got an email from SurveySpot saying :

Your voice was heard! Points are coming, and lots of them! Beginning May 1st, for any survey that you complete you will receive more POINTS for your time in addition to your prize draw entry.

I know they used to give points but hadn't taken a survey with them in so long (probably because they stopped having a point value attached) that I hadn't realized they stopped completely.

So it seems if there is sufficient pressure from panelists, the company will relent. And if all else fails a boycott also should be considered. Clearly something happened over at SurveySpot to get them to reverse their policy, so maybe it will work elsewhere.

[SeriousSurveyer]

The uSamp sites did the same thing not too long ago. First they increased the amount needed to cashout for PayPal to $35 (and Amazon to $25), then shortly after they began charging 3% for cashing out with PayPal. With no forewarning, and any money still waiting to be cashed out, pending or not, would be subjected to this charge.

The difference is PayPal actually does charge fees to send money, so it at least makes some sort of sense as far as the charges go. From what it seems Valued Opinions pulled this $5 (and $2 for Amazon) out of thin air.

[footfree]

I emailed them a letter telling what I thought.Somehow I think they may read it even though they don't answer their emails.At least I hope.Like Huntress said if we dont tell them we are mad how can we expect them to change.

[Sherry67]

Very true, footfree.

Even if VO doesn't read all of the email and complaints right now, and even if they don't change a thing right now, if they know that a few people are peeved it is better than not knowing at all. If no one were to speak up and complain, then VO would go on thinking that everyone was just sitting back and accepting it. But there are too many other survey places out there that pay faster, better, etc., and VO is not the best of the bunch, so it would be sensible for them to listen to their members.

Case in point -- I don't know who else here belongs to Photobucket but recently they did a massive website overhaul and omitted a bunch of features to which people had become accustomed, and for which people were paying. Photobucket claimed that the new site was "what the people want," but all of the complaints in their Support pages and on their Facebook page indicated otherwise. If we (myself and all of the other outraged Photobucket customers) had just stayed quiet and accepted their joke of a new site (that was missing 80% of the features we were paying for), they would have left the site as is. It is solely because people were complaining in such large numbers, and with such passion, that Photobucket finally listened and began re-implementing the features they took away from us. There are still some glitches on the site but at least we got some of the functionality back. There are too many other fish in the photo-hosting sea right now for Photobucket to be pulling those kinds of shenanigans.

Always be sure to voice your opinions to whatever kind of business entity it is, survey panel or otherwise, if they are ripping you off -- and keep the complaints rolling in. Eventually they will listen!

[avemaria]

well i just look at it as i don't have to give much effort at all on the last survey before cash out.. but they pay better than OO so i'm basically losing 20 cents on a $2 survey that OO would only pay me $1.50 to do.. i still gain with VO oddly enough.. is it right? no.. but until i find better i just do them in that frame of mind knowing my time is being paid more than if I was sitting on OO waiting to get a survey that doesn't cut me. It's a good time to multitask.. when you're in a survey you know you're going to finish and are coming in short on time.. it's then that i go through the OO router trying to get one from them.. by the time i get one, it's time for me to complete the VO survey.. then i go on to the OO survey i spent 10 minutes trying to enter.

There's a method to survey madness

but you get really good at managing your personal time in doing this.. sometimes I have three tabs open at once.. OO, VO, GTM.. which basically allows me to be 'earning' at all times in at least one of them for the time I commit to doing surveys.

We all look and do things different but I wont allow a company to charge me to get access to what is owed to me.Especially when they change the game plans in a the middle of a play.If we let them get away with it then we are telling all the survey companies that we think it's fair for them to screw us.You can do what you like but I personally cant justify them getting away treating me this way.But you see I'm not with OO because I find them to be unethical too.If it means I make less so be it but I wont work for less then what I think is fair.

so would it be ok if they instead of 'charging us' to cash out, they instead reduced survey payments a fraction equaling the same amount? but this amount is still more than other companies? there are two ways of looking at the current situation and i refuse to get upset about what i can't control.. i'm making more with them than OO on single surveys so i can either get upset and spend a half hour on facebook every day or i can see the positive and move on.. i have enough frustrations dealing with this already. So instead of a charge at the end of the 10 or so surveys, i just think of the surveys as being 20 cents less than they state in the invite.. it's still more money.

[ssssurvey]

I found a way around this. Buy a gift card from them using the Visa online card, and then pay using the gift card and pay the balance using your credit card. Every online company i have ever used will allow you to use a gift card and then pay the balance on your credit card. Don't forget to go through Ebates for your gift card so You can earn cash back.

I see I'm not alone in resenting this new policy. I maybe could see a $5 fee on a $100 card--but only if it is an actual card, not merely a code. But $5 on a $20 card!? A fourth its value? Really? How do they justify this.

Like others, I am reconsidering devoting my time to Valued Opinion surveys. What's to prevent them in the future from upping the fee to $10 on a $20 code without warning. It seems the new policy is just a way to return the money we've earned to them. Unethical imo.

Also--where on earth are you supposed to use this $20 card. You can only use it online. Try ordering anything online for $20 or less--including shipping. Not many places I know of where you can even use such a small denomination. When the $30 codes were available, it was difficult enough to find a place to use them--I even emailed quite a few companies asking if there was a way to do a split transaction (one with multiple payment methods) so I could use a real credit card to make up the difference, but none of the places I contacted had this capability. So even if you pay the $5 fee, there are few places where you could actually use the $20 card online--and since it has an expiration date (6 months) maybe that's what they are counting on--paying for the card and then not using it). (by 'they' I don't necessarily mean Valued Opinions but whoever is responsible for issuing the card).

[SeriousSurveyer]

there are two ways of looking at the current situation and i refuse to get upset about what i can't control.. i'm making more with them than OO on single surveys

I never look at things this way because you can always find a lesser situation.

Imagine this: You work for Company 101 making $16/hour. There is a similar company where employees make $10/hour: Company 201. After a couple of years of successful business, Company 101 decides they want to make even larger profits by cutting the pay of all employees by $4. You come into work one day to find out you will now be making $12/hour. Would you think, "At least I'm not at Company 201, making $10/hour!" Or would you think "Hey, they're just going to screw me out of $4 an hour, just like that?"...The issue is you were once making a certain amount, and now you're not.

There are worse paying sites than OO. And even worse situations than being on those sites. I mean, you can spend 25 minutes on a survey and make $0.50, or you can spend 25 minutes on I Can Has Cheezburger and make $0.00. Still doesn't make $0.50 for 25 minutes desirable or fair compensation, especially if you used to make more for that same 25 minutes.

That said, everyone decides for themselves what is reasonable and a good use of their time. If you want to continue doing surveys with Valued Opinions and find it beneficial to you then that's your decision.

[Huntress]

..Always be sure to voice your opinions to whatever kind of business entity it is, survey panel or otherwise, if they are ripping you off -- and keep the complaints rolling in. Eventually they will listen!

I agree--unless you make your opinions known, the company won't know. And it's important to verbalize your displeasure no matter what company it is. I am a small business owner and I'd rather customers be upfront about a problem they might have so we can address it directly and in a timely manner than simply take their business elsewhere without telling us why--it's a disservice to the business--which might only find out years later when sales have dried up--that there was a problem in the business model.

I found a way around this. Buy a gift card from them using the Visa online card, and then pay using the gift card and pay the balance using your credit card. Every online company i have ever used will allow you to use a gift card and then pay the balance on your credit card. Don't forget to go through Ebates for your gift card so You can earn cash back.

I've actually done that--where possible. Walmart for example offer e-gift certificates where you can purchase for any amount over $5. I used the $5.75 balance on one visa promo code to purchase a Walmart GC which I then applied to my order total.. TheLatinProducts was another site where you could put the GC amount at whatever you choose--I think I purchased one for the $10.34 balance left on the visa promo code. However, most of the places I shop at either don't offer GC's or offer them in defined increments instead of allowing you to select the amount.

bottom-line--it's just a hassle to even try to spend it--and even more so now with the smaller amount of $20.

Imagine this: You work for Company 101 making $16/hour. There is a similar company where employees make $10/hour: Company 201. After a couple of years of successful business, Company 101 decides they want to make even larger profits by cutting the pay of all employees by $4. You come into work one day to find out you will now be making $12/hour. Would you think, "At least I'm not at Company 201, making $10/hour!" Or would you think "Hey, they're just going to screw me out of $4 an hour, just like that?"...The issue is you were once making a certain amount, and now you're not....

Yep.

[footfree]

well i just look at it as i don't have to give much effort at all on the last survey before cash out.. but they pay better than OO so i'm basically losing 20 cents on a $2 survey that OO would only pay me $1.50 to do.. i still gain with VO oddly enough.. is it right? no.. but until i find better i just do them in that frame of mind knowing my time is being paid more than if I was sitting on OO waiting to get a survey that doesn't cut me. It's a good time to multitask.. when you're in a survey you know you're going to finish and are coming in short on time.. it's then that i go through the OO router trying to get one from them.. by the time i get one, it's time for me to complete the VO survey.. then i go on to the OO survey i spent 10 minutes trying to enter.

There's a method to survey madness

but you get really good at managing your personal time in doing this.. sometimes I have three tabs open at once.. OO, VO, GTM.. which basically allows me to be 'earning' at all times in at least one of them for the time I commit to doing surveys.

We all look and do things different but I wont allow a company to charge me to get access to what is owed to me.Especially when they change the game plans in a the middle of a play.If we let them get away with it then we are telling all the survey companies that we think it's fair for them to screw us.You can do what you like but I personally cant justify them getting away treating me this way.But you see I'm not with OO because I find them to be unethical too.If it means I make less so be it but I wont work for less then what I think is fair.

so would it be ok if they instead of 'charging us' to cash out, they instead reduced survey payments a fraction equaling the same amount? but this amount is still more than other companies? there are two ways of looking at the current situation and i refuse to get upset about what i can't control.. i'm making more with them than OO on single surveys so i can either get upset and spend a half hour on facebook every day or i can see the positive and move on.. i have enough frustrations dealing with this already. So instead of a charge at the end of the 10 or so surveys, i just think of the surveys as being 20 cents less than they state in the invite.. it's still more money.

Do what you feel is necessary for you, but I'm not with OO so I cant justify anything from that.Like I said we all look at things differently.

[Not-a-Sucker]

Just go a reply from VO:

Dear Valued Opinions member,

Yes, there has been a cost increase for the Amazon vouchers.

We have sent out a newsletter with this news to our panellist on April 1st, 2013.

Kind regards

Isabel

The Valued Opinions Team

I certainly don't remember any such in a newsletter. Do any of you remember receiving such a thing?

[peach6]

I don't ever remember getting a news letter from them

[avemaria]

there are two ways of looking at the current situation and i refuse to get upset about what i can't control.. i'm making more with them than OO on single surveys

I never look at things this way because you can always find a lesser situation.

Imagine this: You work for Company 101 making $16/hour. There is a similar company where employees make $10/hour: Company 201. After a couple of years of successful business, Company 101 decides they want to make even larger profits by cutting the pay of all employees by $4. You come into work one day to find out you will now be making $12/hour. Would you think, "At least I'm not at Company 201, making $10/hour!" Or would you think "Hey, they're just going to screw me out of $4 an hour, just like that?"...The issue is you were once making a certain amount, and now you're not.

yeah but this isn't a job.. it's peanut money that basically fills the gas tank.. yeah i would see it the way you mention if it was my job.. but i'm not guaranteed to make a dime when i log into these sites.. it's not an hourly wage.. so when I see a VO survey that's paying me 30 cents more than the same one I log onto OO to see, i'm like ok cool.. a better use of my time to do it.. I can be happy or mad.. i'm tired of feeling angry or frustrated by these companies.. yeah i'd love the extra 20 cents knowing it's going to me instead of them for nothing.. but it is what it is..

[avemaria]

Just go a reply from VO:

Dear Valued Opinions member,

Yes, there has been a cost increase for the Amazon vouchers.

We have sent out a newsletter with this news to our panellist on April 1st, 2013.

Kind regards

Isabel

The Valued Opinions Team

I certainly don't remember any such in a newsletter. Do any of you remember receiving such a thing?

that's bs because i just got a reply from Amazon stating there is absolutely no cost when someone buys Amazon gift cards.. corporate bulk sales (like VO uses)(you can tell because they pay instantly and to have this option you have to have the largest corporate amount, which is at least $50,000 per year.. less amounts take a day to pay out or longer), these bulk purchases even include software for companies to use to track and pay out the cards... there is no fee for them.

http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=682504011

[Huntress]

yeah but this isn't a job.. it's peanut money that basically fills the gas tank.. yeah i would see it the way you mention if it was my job.. but i'm not guaranteed to make a dime when i log into these sites.. it's not an hourly wage.. so when I see a VO survey that's paying me 30 cents more than the same one I log onto OO to see, i'm like ok cool.. a better use of my time to do it.. I can be happy or mad.. i'm tired of feeling angry or frustrated by these companies.. yeah i'd love the extra 20 cents knowing it's going to me instead of them for nothing.. but it is what it is..

Maybe it's not a formal job but when you are promised X amount of dollars for completing a survey it's akin to an employer-employee wage agreement, and when a month later the rules are suddenly changed without warning or your consent to lop-off 25% of the money you were promised that's equivalent to reneging on a contract imo. Sure, NOW we can factor the 25% haircut into the reward total before we decide to take a survey or to take a pass on it, but what about the prior money earned under the old policy? How can that be justified?

[footfree]

Just go a reply from VO:

Dear Valued Opinions member,

Yes, there has been a cost increase for the Amazon vouchers.

We have sent out a newsletter with this news to our panellist on April 1st, 2013.

Kind regards

Isabel

The Valued Opinions Team

I certainly don't remember any such in a newsletter. Do any of you remember receiving such a thing?

April Fools we said we sent it but we didn't!So who's the fool now................No I didn't receive that memo.Plus if we had I'm sure we would have discussed it here.