Complaint Review: HighestPaySurveys.com

I found out about HighestPaySurveys.com via an ad displayed at the top of Monster.com's homepage. Being between jobs and in need of some extra money, I clicked the link and looked over what the website promised. I was hesitant about the "membership" fee ($49.95... supposedly offered for that day only), but felt that if I had made some money doing surveys, I'd pay the fee off and make some additional money.

I paid the fee, got my username/password, and began looking over the site. There was a huge list of links on the left side of the screen, and a few "featured" links on the right (and it was purported that all links featured or not were updated daily).

What caught my eye was a promise to get paid $300 for writing an opinion essay (which was a "featured" link). The page I was directed to stated that I needed to be a member of HighestPaySurveys.com to be eligible for the offer. So I wrote what I think was a beautiful piece thoughtful and insightful - on what my favorite city was and why. After submitting the link I was told that I would be contacted in 60-90 days as to 1) whether my piece was selected for publication, and 2) when my check would arrive.

I finally caught on when I encountered repeat and dead links on the left side of the screen. Then the lightbulb went off in my head. Duh! $300 for a 5-minute essay was too good to be true. I did a Google search and found several sites with people fuming over being ripped off by this site. To add insult to injury, I came across several sites that offered similar services, but for free.

I first filed a claim with my credit card company. Under the Fair Credit Billing Act, however, I needed to include a written statement containing the date I tried to resolve the issue with the merchant and the merchant's response.

I didn't contact the site first because so many people complaining stated they failed to get their money back. So I tried contacting HighestPaySurveys.com directly, but still haven't gotten a response (after three days).

But I also wrote ClickBank.com, the vendor who charged my card. I stated my case, and, a day later, was notified that I would get a full refund.

To all you people who've been duped, write ClickBank.com a complaint using the email address you registered with for HighestPaySurveys.com, and state your case. As a measure of security, file a claim with your card company. If ClickBank doesn't refund you, you can use their non-response as a means to get your money back.

David
Fenton, Michigan
U.S.A.