Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  12/03/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  On 22-November-2024, the company sent me to their client to act as a test subject for $150. After I successfully completed the study, the company emailed me to say that I would be paid within five days. It has now been ********************************************************************** They have not responded to any of my emails. My next option is to contact their client and advise them of respondent.ios failure to pay research subjects.

  Customer response

  12/28/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  At this time, I have not been contacted by Respondent INC regarding complaint ID ********.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******* ***********
  

• Initial Complaint

  09/30/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  On September 25, 2024, I did a focus group for this company (***********************) at 2:00 pm, the subject was ************************* Dual Eligibles the meeting was on zoom I think it was for 45 minutes. After the zoom meeting, I received an email that said I did the project, and also that I was getting paid thru ******. I didn't have a ****** account, so I created a ****** account a few days before this. So it did say that it may take up to five days to receive the payment, which was for $150.00. I waited five days, and on the fifth day I emailed *********************** to see why I haven't been paid, I also called ****** to see if there was a problem and I was told by ******, there was no problem with my account there must be a problem because I haven't been paid by ***********************. I sent a message on my account that I have with *********************** and there was an error code on my account, so I sent a message and asked what was the code on my account , and I also asked when I was going to receive my payment for $150. I have sent numerous emails to *********************** and I am getting the run around, they keep saying its ******, and ****** says it is ***********************...Respondent is the company I worked for. I just want payment for the job that I did that day which is $150.00. I would like to be paid by a check sent in the mail to my home address. I really don't trust ******...I have done alot of focus groups and never had a problem with payment until now. There is no way to contact them except for email, there is no phone number and I looked on ******** and there were several other people who had this same problem.

  Customer response

  10/24/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  At this time, my complaint, ID ******** regarding Respondent INC has been resolved.
  

  (By clicking "OK", your complaint will be closed as Resolved.)

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** *****

• Initial Complaint

  09/27/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  My study was marked paid on 9/24, followed by a payout ID. Also followed by: An error occurred, our team has been notified and will resolve it as soon as possible. The biggest frustration is the lapse between each response. Also, the fact that they refer you to their live chat in several help articles, but the live chat option is non existent and I've addressed this for months. Any other time I've gotten a payout ID, I've received the funds directly after. All I am asking for the option for live chat to provide quicker responses, and of course - where is my money and what error occurred? I've gotten one response and it didn't even include an explanation. My ****** email is the same as any other time I've done a study.

• Initial Complaint

  09/18/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I completed a head and shoulders shampoo study that lasted around 3 months on September 9th I have yet to receive my funds and ****** and it says that I've been paid according to the respondent website. I have reached out to respond in customer service with no response from them and also the researcher as well and now they have stopped responding to me I have not received my $410 to date in my ****** account hopefully somebody can resolve this and quick

  Customer response

  09/18/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  * *******
  
  
  
   
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  07/30/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  Researcher cancelled scheduled appointment within 4 hours of the scheduled appointment on Jul 19th 2024. Waited over 10 days and researcher never paid me for my time. According to Respondent terms of service, researchers who cancel 4 hours before scheduled appointment MUST pay the participant.Email sent to ********************************* on July 27th providing evidence of the following:- Scheduled Appointment Invite - Cancellation of Appointment (Within 4 hours of Scheduled Invite)Respondent support ***************************************************************** replied back:We recently received feedback from a researcher. Between applying for the screener and during your virtual meeting, some of the information you provided was conflicting. For this reason, you are not eligible to receive an incentive for the project.Respondent takes a zero-tolerance approach to ensuring our community of researchers gets in touch with candidates who provide honest responses to screening questions. Providing false or misleading information is against our Terms of Use.The researcher reserves the right not to pay the incentive based on the information provided by the participant. The payment is also at the researcher's discretion with the support of the Respondent team. We ask that you not reach out to the researcher as this is our final decision.Respondent Support did not review the evidence provided, claimed false pretense of deception, and refuse to adhere to terms of service.

• Initial Complaint

  05/06/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Respondent.io recruited me (see attachment) for the following focus group: ******************* Mock Jurors Wanted"It was set for Monday, 4/22/2024 @ 12:30pm CST, for 90 minutes via a Zoom online conference, and I was offered $75 via PayPal if I participated. I logged in early and was put in the waiting queue until about 20 minutes (see screenshot attachment of Zoom call) after the focus group had started, but nothing happened. I got no word back from Respondent about what had happened or why the study never began, so I sent them an e-mail later that day asking for an explanation, but they never responded. It's now been almost 2 weeks and I've still not heard back from them, nor have I been paid. I did everything asked of me, but no one bothered to let me know what'd happened or pay me. This is ridiculous. Even if the study was cancelled, someone should've notified and I still should've been paid for showing up as asked. I would like my payment of $75 sent to my PayPal account using this e-mail: ********************** as well as an explanation of what'd happened, and why no one has responded to my e-mail.Thank You, ***********************

  Business response

  05/29/2024

  Due to the security and privacy of our users data, we have responded via email directly to the user who submitted this complaint. Email sent on May 29, 2024 at 10:30 AM EST. Subject line of email follow up: Better Business Bureau Follow Up: Unpaid Participation for Research Study (BBB Complaint ID *********. This email may have been auto-filtered to junk, spam, or trash folders, please check those if you do not see it.
  
  All further follow up will be directly with the user as we work to get this resolved.
  
  Best,
  Manager of Customer Support 
  ********************, Inc.
  

  Customer response

  05/29/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************
  
  
  
   
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  04/29/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  This company makes it extremely difficult to get in touch with their customer support. I need my account deleted but I am unable to log in. And since there's no way to get ahold of support without logging in I came here. Delete all or any information you have under my email address. Remove and delete all of my data. I hate when companies go out of their way to make this a difficult process for people. Confirm when you have deleted my information!

  Customer response

  05/23/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  At this time, I have not been contacted by Respondent INC regarding complaint ID ********.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******* *
  

• Initial Complaint

  12/20/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Respondent.io is an online platform where people do marketing projects for money. On 12/20/2023 I received an email urging me to apply to a certain project. I did, was accepted, and performed the project in full. It involved downloading and testing an app. I did this. I contacted customer support afterwards because it was unclear how to get my dashboard to change from "Invited" to "completed". They told me the researcher was a fraud and had been removed from the platform and basically that I would not be getting paid for my time and trouble. I want to be paid for my time. It's not my fault that they allowed this person on their platform without arranging remuneration. I participated in good faith and expect to be paid for my time and thoughtful feedback. The project paid $125 and that is what I want for a resolution.

  Business response

  01/04/2024

  Hello ******* and Better Business Bureau Team,
  
  Thank you for taking the time to raise this concern.
  
  In an attempt to protect the privacy, security and Personal Identifiable Information (PII) of all involved, we have responded directly to this complaint via the email address for ******* that was provided *************************** A personalized and dedicated response ensures an efficient and confidential path for resolution, as well as a direct line of communication between both parties. My direct contact information was shared with ******* within the email message and at the close of the message in my email signature.
  
  Initial written response to the party whom filed the complaint sent on December 20, 2023, with multiple follow ***************** sent the same business day. An additional reply, to show good faith, was sent via email on January 4, **** at 11:45 AM EST.
  
  Due to the privacy, security and sensitivity of this complaint, and all involved, all additional information will be shared via secure communication directly between the two parties.
  
  Thank you,
  Respondent, Inc.
  Manager of Customer Support

  Customer response

  01/08/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

  They sent me a letter stating they had been hacked, essentially, and declined to take responsibility for what happened on their site.  They refused to pay me for my time and effort.  Sadly, they are not willing to stand behind the work their site urged me to take - quickly! 

   Basically, they said, oh we were hacked, and this wasn't a real task, and we don't have the money to pay you so too bad for you. 

  This is unacceptable.

  Since they won't share the letter they sent to me, I will, here it follows in full: 

  Hi *******,
  
  As you may recall from our previous conversations, my name is *************************** and I am the Manager of Customer Support here at ********************. It is nice to hear from you again!
  
  Following up on a dedicated thread in regards to your Better Business Bureau complaint (Complaint ID ********* regarding the Shopping App research studies posted on our platform that did not meet our Terms of Service and quality standards. While much of this message will be repetitive, I did want to give you the dedicated time and response I feel like this warranted.
  
  I do not disagree with your reasoning, and I can not argue with your feelings of time and effort spent on participating in and finishing the research study. We go through numerous checks and verifications to ensure our Researchers and their projects adhere to our Terms of Service and uphold the high standards we have for our platform (previous to this situation, and certainly more so afterward).
  
  Our platform does not collect or "hold" money from any Researcher or project, until that project is paid out to Participants on that platform. The money that is paid to the Participant is from the Researcher, not Respondent, and we simply act as a pass through connecting the two. Since multiple Participants were invited to these studies, we had to find a uniform way to move forward while improving this process for all. I can align with you that it is not ideal.
  
  We are continuing to revise and audit our review processes and Researcher verification checks, but we are unable to issue incentives on these projects as a result.
  
  
  Please let me know if I can answer any additional questions. I would be happy to try and assist further.
  
  
  Best,
  ******
  
  
  ****************************** ******* ** ******** ******* ********************* **** *****************************************************  

   

   

   

  In order for the BBB to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************
  
  
  
  
   
  

• Initial Complaint

  05/09/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I received a BANK FRAUD ALERT that this business attempted to charge $139.05 to my **** Debit Card. I have never done business with this company nor heard of it. I had to cancel my account and have all cards inconveniently re-issued.

  Business response

  05/09/2023

  Hello ****** and Better Business Bureau, 
  
  Thank you for taking the time to raise this concern.
  
  In an attempt to protect the privacy, security and Personal Identifiable Information (PII) of all involved, we have responded directly to this complaint via the email address for ****** that was provided. A personalized and dedicated response ensures an efficient and confidential path for resolution, as well as a direct line of communication between both parties. My direct contact information was shared with ****** within the email message and at the close of the message in my email signature, and ****** has been encouraged to validate my identity using those said credentials, and/or my LinkedIn profile.
  
  Initial written response to the party whom filed the complaint sent on May 9, 2023 at 1:25 PM EST. At least two additional direct attempts to contact will be made.
  
  Due to the privacy, security and sensitivity of this complaint, all additional information will be shared via secure communication directly between the two parties.
  
  Thank you,
  Respondent, Inc.
  Manager of Customer Support
  *****************************

• Initial Complaint

  05/09/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  I am filing a complaint against Respondent because I have YET to receive a payment of $215 from them. I did a study with them on April 25th which was in person. I was initially given $100 cash for completing steps before the study. According to the site, the payment takes about 5 days to clear in your paypal account. Before I completed the study, the paypal email address I had on file was incorrect. The original paypal email address was ********************** I then changed it to reflect my current paypal email address which is ************************** Again, I updated that before the survey. I double checked to make sure the email address was correct and it was. I have emailed consecutively from May 3rd-May 5th and I have not received a response yet. I have spoken to a BOT in their "live chat" for the same days and I have not heard back from their team that said they would return in "3-4 hours" as the tagline says. It makes absolutely NO sense for them not to respond to me. I am upset about their customer service and their lack of concern for their customers. I am working right now, but recently started a new job and won't be paid until the end of **** Times are very hard and I was depending on this $215 to take care of bills. I am extremely upset with Respondent! I would never recommend anyone entertain them. I have attached screenshots of my correspondence with them.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩