AC Nielsen/Fact Finders - Don't Bother!

mswan · 26 June 2010 at 10:00PM

I have joined Neilson and done my first bit of scanning this week. No issues yet (fingers crossed) mind you the scanner is a bit tempremental to sit in the charger. I am hoping to save enough points for a food processor / mixer thingy. Something I wouldnt spend money so will be a bonus for me.

Hope I win a prize, they sound better than the rewards. Will keep you posted.

Unity · 13 July 2010 at 10:25AM

I applied via Tom's Magic Freebies for one of these scanners, but at the end of the questionnaire I got a message saying my contact details did not match those given previously. I am meticulous when filling in forms and when the opportunity arises - use 'Autofill' so I am sure my details matched.

My husband also filled in an application and the same result occurred. I may be being cynical and obviously those who have received their scanners would disagree - but this just seems to be a way of rather nefarious information gathering. Mind you, the quality of rewards described above would seem to confirm rather than refute this. If the reward works out to around £1 per week is this before or after the cost of leccy to charge the scanner?

I've contacted Tom's Magic Freebies, but of course - whether I get a reply or not is anyone's guess, but I'll keep you posted. I'm not griping here - well okay just a little - but I don't like to be/or see others taken advantage of.

Sonia_Chambers · 25 November 2010 at 3:14PM

Just thought I'd add my fourpence to this thread. I have been with nielsen for about two years. Six months back I moved to a flat with no landline, thinking it was only temporary. I told them this but heard nothing from them. A week or two ago they emailed me threatening legal action if I didn't return the scanning equipment immediately. This didnt fill me with love and affection since I'd been trying to do just that for months.

Anyway they provided a link where I could book in a collection date, which I did, for yesterday. As you cant specify am or pm, I wasted the whole day waiting for them and no one turned up. This is not a happy camper. |'m moving again tomorrow, so they better get a move on because after that they can go whistle!

blondi1 · 18 February 2011 at 3:35PM

ive just joined niesen and been scanning for a couple of weeks now..
i just wondered if you have to keep it plugged in all the time or just sunday night when it transmits?? must be wasting quite a bit of electricity...

xx

Kabiyesi · 6 November 2011 at 3:08PM

I have been with AC for about a decade now and have accumulated over 35000 points which hopefully should be enough for a plasma tv I've been eyeing. Just keep going; it doesn't take long to do the scanning. My secret is, I put them all on one side of the table and move them to the other side as I scan, doing the veg etc that need the book scanning last. it's now fun to do!

Kabiyesi · 6 November 2011 at 3:11PM

@ blondi1 . I don't think it runs up the bill than a torch bulb would. It is best left permanently on through a filter especially if you use the internet

Kabiyesi · 6 November 2011 at 3:11PM

blondi1 wrote: »

ive just joined niesen and been scanning for a couple of weeks now..
i just wondered if you have to keep it plugged in all the time or just sunday night when it transmits?? must be wasting quite a bit of electricity...

xx

@ blondi1 . I don't think it runs up the bill than a torch bulb would. It is best left permanently on through a filter especially if you use the internet

arthur2 · 10 June 2012 at 1:44AM

I got fed up with unreliable data submission via GPRS link. Redeemed my points for a couple of kitchen appliances, but have now resigned.

omendata · 29 May 2013 at 7:41PM

The scanner for factfinders is terrible - not only is it huge and a pain to use - you have to leave it plugged in (fire hazard) for them to collect your data on Sunday around 3am but it can be anytime of the week. Downside is it costs you in electricity.

The scanner also wont scan yellow reduced price Asda (and other) barcodes so you have to resort to their book to find the right code - a real pain.

Shopandscan is way better - the scanner is a tiny usb opticon laser scanner - you upload your data manually using your computer (their website and app is also way better than ACNEILSEN) which is much easier on electricity than factfinders as it doesnt require any - it also scans all labels including yellow reduced price tickets.

I have been naughty and dont scan all my shopping now with the acneilsen one and just scan one shop in the week as its so much hassle using it - using the shopandscan scanner you can even do it at the supermarket - ive scanned my shopping at times at the bus stop when waiting for a bus to save me doing it when i get in - you cant do that with the huge bulky acneilsen monstrosity.

Shopandscan rewards are actually very generous as they send you surveys as well to earn points and you can redeem for electronics vouchers etc much more than the paltry sub standard rubbish that acneilsen provide.

Hope that helps!

littlewren · 8 July 2013 at 3:14PM

omendata wrote: »

The scanner for factfinders is terrible - not only is it huge and a pain to use - you have to leave it plugged in (fire hazard) for them to collect your data on Sunday around 3am but it can be anytime of the week. Downside is it costs you in electricity.

The scanner also wont scan yellow reduced price Asda (and other) barcodes so you have to resort to their book to find the right code - a real pain.

Shopandscan is way better - the scanner is a tiny usb opticon laser scanner - you upload your data manually using your computer (their website and app is also way better than ACNEILSEN) which is much easier on electricity than factfinders as it doesnt require any - it also scans all labels including yellow reduced price tickets.

I have been naughty and dont scan all my shopping now with the acneilsen one and just scan one shop in the week as its so much hassle using it - using the shopandscan scanner you can even do it at the supermarket - ive scanned my shopping at times at the bus stop when waiting for a bus to save me doing it when i get in - you cant do that with the huge bulky acneilsen monstrosity.

Shopandscan rewards are actually very generous as they send you surveys as well to earn points and you can redeem for electronics vouchers etc much more than the paltry sub standard rubbish that acneilsen provide.

Hope that helps!

I agree totally that Shop & Scan is way better than Factfinders. Re leaving the Factfinders scanner plugged in - I don't! I scan my shopping as usual and only plug in the scanner on a Saturday so that they can collect the barcodes on a Saturday night. This has always worked fine for me. There was one time when I forgot to plug it in and got a call from an American guy who told me I needed to leave it plugged in all the time. I told him I didn't want to spend any more on my electricity, no matter how small a cost, by leaving it in and he said that as long as I plugged it in during the day sometime on a Saturday before midnight so they could collect, that would be fine, so that's what I've done ever since.

HTH

AC Nielsen/Fact Finders - Don't Bother!

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