Is Shoppers' Hotline a reputable company?

Answer 1

Shoppers Hotline was a reputable company. They provided, at no charge, equipment I used to respond to their surveys. They provided batteries to operate the equipment. It used no other electricity, and although it was connected to my phone line, it did not make any toll calls for which I was charged. In exchange, they placed a credit of between $10 and $50 on a debit card based on points earned for each survey response. I have had no problems with this company, they lived up to their promises. Their help desk was located in India, and it was a bit difficult to understand some of the representatives, however, they were always helpful.

I speak of them in the past tense as on 2/1/2010 they discontinued operations. They are not asking for the equipment to be returned as the surveys have concluded. They will continue to honor points earned and those must be redeemed by 3/15/2010.

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Registered with Better Business Bureau: Shopper's Hotline, Address: 150 N Clinton, Chicago IL 60661-7785 Phone (312) 474-8827 Has been in business since 1979

Refer to link for Better Business Bureau report

From other contributors:

• I have been with Shoppers Hot line for about 3 years now and have never had any problems with them. I scan the items I purchase and get rewarded for it. I love this company. I don't know how anyone can feel that they are scammers. I have never been asked to send money or to provide any type of credit information. The few times that I have talked to the customer service the help was outstanding. They are most definitely not scammers.

• SHOPPERS HOTLINE is not a reputable company. They are a group of people living in India that think they can scam Americans. They think we are all fools and I sometimes agree with them. Send them no money and give them no credit information. SCAMMERS=SHOPPERS HOTLINE

• WHOEVER PROVIDED THIS ANSWER HAS NOT DONE THEIR RESEARCH. THIS IS A REPUTABLE COMPANY. SEE MY DISCUSSION COMMENTS.

• I have to agree that SH is a scam. Click "View discussion" below for my input. Stay FAR AWAY from this company.

• I received a letter from Shopper's Hotline demanding the return of "ScanKey equipment" and threatening to send it to a collection agency for $270. The thing is, I have NO IDEA what equipment they are talking about. I tried to call the phone number given and got a recording that the call could not be completed as dialed, even though I very CAREFULLY dialed it again about 8 times. Finally I called another number on the letter and this person, obviously in India, said she would send it on to her supervisor. I asked what this was all about and she said I had this equipment sent to me. When I asked her when, her response was "maybe 6 months ago, a LONG time ago, but I really don't know." If I had received some sort of equipment 6 months ago, I would remember. This sounds to me like some kind of scam... claiming they send you something and then trying to force you to pay a lot of money to them. I will not pay them unless they can PROVE that I requested it and received it. Which they can't.

• This company is the WORST and I mean WORST company to deal with. I signed up in early 2008. We ended up moving a couple months after I had been scanning, and during the move I was unable to scan for about a month. I received a postcard first saying that I had been inactive and that I needed to return the scanner. It also said that if I scanned within a week, I could continue. Well, I didn't and called them. They said that I had to return it because it was disabled and if I wanted to continue scanning I would have to write a letter stating the reason why I had been inactive. They told me they would send me a box to return the scanner but they never followed through with sending it to me. I called a few times over a couple of months because I was receiving NASTY letters saying I was going to owe them almost $300.00 dollars and was going to be sent to a collection agency if I did not return it. Finally I received the box and sent it back, and STILL received nasty letters, and CALLS about sending it back. Luckily I was smart and returned it with Delivery confirmation thru the USPS... My recommendation is to forget it. It's a lot of work to scan, you always have to remember to scan and from what I have seen, you don't receive too much in return! More over than that, dealing with their customer service and the NASTY letters that they send is SOOOOO NOT worth it! Just MY humble opinion on this poorly run company! Hope this helps someone...

• I have to agree that SH is a scam. I was with them about 8 months, and my barcode scanner quit working. I called every month for a year, and was told that they wanted to keep me, and that tech support would call back and troubleshoot and replace the unit if needed. They never did. Every time that I called, I told them that I wanted out but they said that I would have to talk to tech support first. They finally turned me over to a collection agency to get their scanner back. The collection agency account rep, Jim Morgan, failed to return three messages asking for an RMA (Which is exactly what they instructed me to do). I called SH again and told them that I would pay to send the thing back and to cancel my membership, but the operator Angel stated that couldn't be done,a nd that they would send out a RMA prepaid label, and that it could take up to 10 days to get to me. I've heard that before, and I seriously doubt that it will happen. All this being said, the company works by sending you a barcode scanner and you scan EVERYTHING you buy, and you are awarded free spins on a prize wheel based on your participation. This is for a CHANCE to win something, you aren't ever guaranteed a penny for your efforts. I probably spun the wheel a thousand times,a nd it always came up zero. For your efforts and time, stick to anyone but these folks as you most likely will end up empty-handed like me, with a collection company sending a bunch of collection letters for equipment that you are begging the company to take back!! Stay away, it IS a scam.

• I have been a member of shoppers hotline for years. In December 2007 I redeemed a total of 5,625 points so I could receive a debit card for $110.00. I received my debit card alright but it was for only $50.00. I called in January 2008 and informed them of this I got someone in india. It's always the same thing I always speak to someone in India and they always say wait 3 to 4 weeks for the remaining $60.00 to appear on debit card account. This was in January 2008 everytime I call I get the same crap. Here it is April 2008 and still nothing on debit card to make up for their mistake. Because it was their mistake. They always tell me they are investigating. I say investigating what????? The mistake was made by them not me.

• Well, Let me tell you about my experience with Shoppers Hotline. I first redeemed points about 2 years ago and they sent me a visa debit card with the money accrued. I've since used that so this past December 2007 I had about 7500=$150 points that I wanted to use for Christmas shopping so I called the # to redeem the points. The call was answered in India and they told me it would be about 4 weeks to get the money on my card. Well, I waited and waited until mid January and no money on the card so I called back to India and they told me there was a Computer problem and nobody received any money because of that and told me I would see the money in about 4 weeks. In the mean time the $3.24 that was on my card was taken away because of inactivity. OK, mid February and still no $$$ I called again and they told me this time that someone must have forgot to transfer my Point/money to my card and re-explained the computer problem. I finally talked to the supervisor Chris and explained to him what was happening and about the $3.24. He was very cordial and said he would give the $3.24 back to me and I should see the other money that was owed to me in another 2 weeks. Well now it is March 10 and I still haven't received a dime. I called and spoke to another Indian and she told me she would send me a new card that would take 4-6 weeks. I told her I wanted to speak to her supervisor and guess who I spoke to... yep, Chris who proceeded to tell me that he was so sorry but there was a computer problem and I stopped him and told him I've heard this twice before. He said he was sorry again and said I would see the money in 4-6 weeks. I asked for a # I could call in the US and he told me that he didn't have a # but would have someone from the Corporate Headquarters call me within 24 hours. I reiterated that I wanted a phone number and he refused to give me a number. Now I guess I'll wait for the phone call and for my money another 4 weeks. Its funny onetime I didn't scan purchases for about a month because I wasn't here and they were very quick to send a letter saying they wanted the equipment back. Maybe I'll quit scanning and that will get their attention. In the meantime I am making a complaint to the BBB.

• I don't know how anyone can write that this is spammers from India. I've been a member of Shopper's Hotline since the mid 1990s and can tell you they are legitimate. I have never paid any money to them. They gave me a scanner that I use regularly. When the battery died after many years of use, they sent me a new one. To reward me for my regular scanning of purchases, the company puts small amounts of money on a debit card. It doesn't make anyone rich. It's just a little extra money to treat yourself or your family to a night out.

Refer to link below for Better Business Bureau report

I also have been a member of Shoppers Hotline for about 17 years now. I have NEVER had any problem with them. When I collected enough points, I would average about $50 every 6 months for scanning.. If I had a equipment problem, they would always immediately send me a return box postage paid to return the equipment for a new one. When I called customer service they were always friendly and helpful. I don't think they were located in India though, and even if they were, they spoke good english. Today I went to their website and saw the annoucement that they have stopped the program effective February 1st 2010. I am saddened by this news and will miss scanning my purchases, getting money on my debit card for doing so, and being entered into their monthly contest for prizes. I don't like it when people bad-mouth a reputable company for something that is probably their own mistake.

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I was a member of Shoppers' Hotline for 15 years and never had any problem. In fact, last July, I won a 40" Toshiba LCD TV from them. I got it 2 weeks after they selected my name. Over the years, I certainly didn't get rich, but I earned roughly $130 a year in gift cards. I can't understand the ones who are badmouthing them. Yes, they did have a call center in India, but the company was based in Chicago. Maybe the ones who are complaining were expecting too much. How hard is it to scan your groceries when you bring them home, then receive points for doing so? You never had to pay them anything. I was very satisfied with Shoppers' Hotline, and was sad to see them go out of business.

Answer 2

I have been with Shoppers Hotline for many years. While I don't believe that they are a scam, I do have a problem with the fact that they outsource everything to India.

At one time I received a call from someone with a thick Indian accent. He told me that I needed to return my equipment immediately because all my transmissions were garbled. I told him that there was a problem with my phone which would be fixed within a few days. He insisted that I return my equipment. I ignored what he said and continued transmitting. He put my points on the credit card even though I did not request this. I then sent a message stating that I needed to speak with someone in the U.S. regarding the rude treatment that I had received from this young man. Needless to say, I never heard from them.

I too agree that it took a VERY long time for my credit card to be credited with my reward $$.

If anyone knows what happened to this company, I would like to know.