Maximising income - Mystery Shopping? Surveys? (Part Three)

moi

mandyclaire wrote: »

I am due to do my first mystery shopping assignment in a few days time, and am very excited!

However, I'm on incapacity benefit, and would be grateful for advice on how I should declare anything I make.

Thanks.

If the MS company pay with PAYE you can earn £20 a week MAXIMUM, with no effect to benefit and no need to declare.
If you want, or moreover are actually able, to earn anything over £20 though, you have to fill in a permitted work form from DWP (and there are plenty of restrictions and complications).

If you work for MS companies as "self employed", it could be more complicated (I'm guessing). That's a question for the DWP to clarify though.

Hollypear

Looking for advice from any of you more familiar with Gap than I am. I just joined them and done one MS ok. I have 2 for tomorrow at travel agents. BUT both th branches don't open on Sundays.

I clicked the enquiry link and sent them details of this saying shall I do it Monday instead. The message under this said your enquiry will be passed on etc and an agent will get back to you.

Well I have heard nothing back. My question is shall I just go ahead and do it Monday or what.

Cheers

TractorGirl327

Hollypear wrote: »

Looking for advice from any of you more familiar with Gap than I am. I just joined them and done one MS ok. I have 2 for tomorrow at travel agents. BUT both th branches don't open on Sundays.

I clicked the enquiry link and sent them details of this saying shall I do it Monday instead. The message under this said your enquiry will be passed on etc and an agent will get back to you.

Well I have heard nothing back. My question is shall I just go ahead and do it Monday or what.

Cheers

Click on "My Assignments" at the top of the page and find the jobs in question. Click on "Reschedule" and you can change the date there.

Hollypear

TractorGirl327 wrote: »

Click on "My Assignments" at the top of the page and find the jobs in question. Click on "Reschedule" and you can change the date there.

Many thanks for that. I am so glad I joined this forum. You are all so helpful and I have found it a mine of useful information.Before joining here I used to feel MS was a bit of an isolating experience as I know no one else who does it.

Fran

mandyclaire wrote: »

I am due to do my first mystery shopping assignment in a few days time, and am very excited!

However, I'm on incapacity benefit, and would be grateful for advice on how I should declare anything I make. Thanks.

moi wrote: »

If the MS company pay with PAYE you can earn £20 a week MAXIMUM, with no effect to benefit and no need to declare.
If you want, or moreover are actually able, to earn anything over £20 though, you have to fill in a permitted work form from DWP (and there are plenty of restrictions and complications).

If you work for MS companies as "self employed", it could be more complicated (I'm guessing). That's a question for the DWP to clarify though.

I wouldn't advise not declaring. On the Direct.gov website where you can find details of Permitted Work, there is no mention of not informing benefits only that you don't need approval from your doctor. Also any income might affect other benefits you might claim. I would advise contacting someone at the Jobcentre as advised on that website.

For more information contact a personal adviser or Disability Employment Adviser at your local Jobcentre or Jobcentre Plus office.

82much

I've been turned down by Opt.C . No reason given. Anyone else have this problem?
Feeling very unloved now :sad:

Hollypear

82much wrote: »

I've been turned down by Opt.C . No reason given. Anyone else have this problem?
Feeling very unloved now :sad:

I am with them 82much but I can't remember what the application was. Can you remind me. Was it one of those where you have to say why you think you would be a good mystery shopper.??

What exactly did the rejection say...it may be they have enough shoppers in your area at present. Whereas I am in Glasgow and maybe they don't have enough here.

You don't get huge amounts of work for them anyway. Are you with other companies? If you want more spend some time and blitz loads of them.

One of the posters here was turned down by TNS last week as they said her spelling, punctuation and grammar. So I would say spell check any applications and look over it before you send it and try and stick to their word limit.

Meantime don't worry about it. It is there loss.

tara70

I have applied for OC few weeks ago and been turned down and then I have reapplied again this week and they have accepted me, so if you try again and they might review it for you.

82much

Thank you Hollypear and Tara. I applied for 4 at once so not quite sure what OC asked for. I think it might have been a rather long form asking a lot about your 'day' job etc. I don't have a problem with spelling or grammar but maybe I am too old - 60 (only 40 I am sure really!!)
I will try again anyway
Thanks

Hollypear

guycross wrote: »

I was snooping around online last night and found this.
http://mysteryshopper.baywords.com/

As a mystery shopper myself I would imagine this person is going to loose their job quite quickly, but it made me laugh, reminded my of that airline stewardess that got the sack from her job for having a blog about her work.

I work for RE and TNS, I would dare post about visits. I have even been scared to join in here, I think I would say "I was in spar in XXXX yesterday"

Anwyay, I thought you would find this intereesting.

Guy

It was interesting Guy. Someone who obviously doesn't do the job with much integrity and if any MS companies see that hope they realise he isn't typical.

I think certainly going by this forum we all do a really honest job and we try and report really accurately.

I posted a few days ago about a mobile phone chain where there were no other customers yet I was totally ignored by 4 employees for 3 minutes. No acknowledgement , smile, nothing. Now I know this is not typical for this particular chain so in my view these guys are "at it".And quite frankly deserved what I ended up saying...That had I been doing my own shopping and looking for a new mobile I would have walked out and gone elsewhere.

I presume this is the kind of employees these firms want to know about. I told a friend of mine who is a manager in one of these chops. He said MS'ing isn't used as a tool to beat them over the head and staff who get good MS reports are really chuffed and they get a large bonus. The ones though with bad reports are given retraining.

I should imagine when this shop is revisited by a MS'er they will be in trouble if they are the same again.