Complaint Review: Survey Absolute (Tom Absolute)

I cannot believe I fell for it, but alas I did. I am unemployed from a recent slip and fall accident, and also home caretaking an invalid parent. As money is tight, I decided to look for a work at home opportunity.

After carefully searching, I came upon (and I have to smile) an ad that said, "Beware of Paid Survey Scams!", which was endorsed by 'www.sitereviews.com' touting that they were the #1 source for free and accurate information & website reviews. By looking at this site, one would believe that the companies that were recommended were advertised on ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, CNN, MSN, Yahoo, Esquire and Forbes to name several from the list that Jason Anderson from Site Reviews brandished.

I decided upon signing on for Survey Absolute which had a 5 star rating, one of the most comprehensive databases, excellent customer service (and support) and most importantly the opportunity as a new member, to earn up to $280 the first day they joined. For the sign up one-time fee of $49.97, with a 45-day money back guarantee, I decided to give it a go.

I excitedly began within minutes of purchasing their package, and followed their instructions to a tee. The game plan was to register with at least 20 of the 25 companies they recommended. As an added incentive, they would pay an additional spiff for registering with another 10-15 companies. I did all this. I was exhausted, but I did finish the challenge as best I could, having worked about 10 hours that day.

What I began to find peculiar, was that the lists contained companies that were repetitive, and the surveys redundant. For instance, Panda Research, Paid Marketing Panel, NFO-My Surveys, Tiktikcash, Maximum Paid Surveys, Global Survey Group, Inbox Dollars, Paid Surveys, Vindale Research Panel, just to name a handful, all had either the same surveys, even though you were encourage to register with them to take the survey. If you took it again, after all those questions, they would tell you at the end, that you were already registered. Some would say "congratulations, you just earned $5.00", or that you received 500 points, but you needed 25,000 points to get paid. I should have made somewhere in the high $200's to $300 on the first day. Some said they would pay me immediately, just give them my Pay Pal information. Others claimed the check was on it's way, and as I've already stated, you were put on the point system, or send on a "Groundhogs Day" endless merry-go-round of futility. I've yet to receive a dime.

Almost all of them required that I fill out applications requesting/applying for information about life insurance, timeshares, credit cards, Direct TV, new window replacement, homeowners refinancing, lasik surgery, buy or lease a car, etc.

I have just moved into a newly refurbished home that was purchased in cash by a family member, as an investment, so have no need for refinancing, homeowner's insurance, new windows or doors. I already have Direct TV, Life Insuance, a leased vehicle, good eyesight, and too many credit cards. Applying for a credit card without a job, no income, and the others maxed out, not to mention any and all of the other great deals available, would be entirely foolhardy, irresponsible, and deceitful, just to earn $2 bucks a pop, and you have to sign up for something or you don't get paid,

Many of these sites want you to try their products and complete a survey after trying, however the stipulation is that the product is for free, but you must pay shipping and handling. Not bad if you have nothing better to do, and can afford it. I cannot at this time pay for all the test products shipping and handling, and if this is truly market research, surely these multi-million dollar companies could tak on the cost of shipping as part of their marketing cost. Please...it just didn't make sense, if I was registered to do marketing research for them. At one point I bit the bullet, and actually signed up for Blockbuster online for an introductory fee of $9.95 for the first month in an effort to make $22.00. I suppose the check is in the midst of hitchhiking it's way here, even as we speak, but hasn't arrived yet.

I wrote to customer service and Tom Absoulte (if there really is such a person). Yeah, that's one heck of an awesome customer service team....I never heard from them, or Tom for that matter, except for a canned and scripted impersonal follow up emailed letter on what to do day three.

I began to smell something rotten in Denmark after day one, but being a hopeless optimist, and a smidge stubborn, I valiantly proceeded in this futile quest to earn money at home for the next 3 days, at ten or more hours a day, praying for some sort of break-through. Something broke all right...my nerve endings and my spirit. At this point I was literally receiving thousands of emails (I kid you not; about 400 in my Inbox and 480 in Spam in the morning. I finally deleted them all, only to have another 525 in my Inbox, and 560 in my Spam by evening). Many of them were duplicates, triplicates, and quadruplicates of what were now harassing consumer opportunities to purchase products, with rarely a legimate survey in sight!

I called my bank to put a stop payment on the charge. Although they couldn't do that, they gave me the phone number of the bank (ClickBank) that processed my charge. I called them, gave them my name, and said I made a purchase several days ago. I did not even get the opportunity to explain my malady, when the customer service rep said, "Okay, we've just credited your account back the $49.97." I cracked up, as this sounded as if it were business as usual for them. At least the guarantee was good.

I still believe that there are companies that will pay you from home, as my aunt used to do it in NY, my mom used to do it in CA, with no investment involved, and if there is such a thing I am still open to hearing more. But as far as Survey Absolute and most of the people they affiliate with...it's a headache and a scam.

Cees
beaverton, Oregon
U.S.A.