Ipsos account cancelled

[SarahLu]

So it occurred to me today that I hadn't received any surveys from Ipsos lately so I tried to log into my account and got a message saying it was inactive. I emailed them to find out what was going on and got the following response:

"We may confirm we have looked into the situation of your account and we would like to inform you that it has been closed on the 07.12.2015.

We would like to let you know that we periodically carry out advanced statistical analyses to verify the consistency and accuracy of the profiles of all our panel members. For this, we employ multivariate outlier detection and cluster analysis. Those profiles that are identified as having large deviations from expected values have their accounts deactivated.

This has been the case with your profile, and we have therefore unfortunately been required to deactivate your account and cancel your membership in our panel. Your account cannot be reactivated in these circumstances. This decision has been taken for market research quality purposes only and according to our terms and conditions, which you agreed to when you joined our panel, and to our privacy policy available at www.i-say.com, and we are sorry if it caused you any inconvenience.

Regards
Ipsos i-Say Support Team"


WTF? I have no idea what I might have done to cause this. I am a member of various other survey panels, but I know many others are too and don't have a problem. Has this happened to anyone else? [member=920]katykicker[/member] do you have any advice?

 

[katastrophy]

They canceled my account when I was close to cashing out a £10 voucher. I emailed them and they said they'd canceled my account because a survey invite they'd sent me bounced. I'd done surveys with them for years no problems. I argued the toss with them and asked them to reinstate my account but to no avail, it was like talking to a brick wall. I ended up signing up with a different email address and starting again (once I'd calmed down). Good luck!

 

[bouboumum]

That makes me cringe. There is such a lack with transparency with most of the survey sites. I think we all run the risk of this happening at some point. Don't give up but hassle them. I feel your annoyance. Id be livid!

 

[Falanouc]

Do you have any idea how many points were in your account? I'd be asking for that amount as an Amazon voucher or something. If their system flagged up and didn't pay you for the inconsistency then the ones that did pay should be awarded. Worth trying!

 

[katykicker]

Hello [member=1619]SarahLu[/member] firstly sorry to hear this has happened!

Possible scenarios relating to ipsos i-say that I can think of are:

1. Inconsistency in a survey. Near the beginning you may have been asked if you use x product or you own x item. If you say yes/no then the opposite again near the end (when they word the question slightly different e.g how often do you use x) then you may have been flagged for that.
2. If you have another person registered for surveys (e.g partner, child etc) and you accidentally put your date of birth in for their invite it could be that.
3. You may have accidentally done one of their surveys through another panel (OpinionWorld, Clixsense, Swagbucks are some that spring to mind that have them).

I would personally send them an email, asking them to specifically explain what the problem was. I had this once with YouGov, who claimed I had got my date of birth wrong. I went back to them, probably quite rudely, to say do you really think someone is thick enough to do their own date of birth wrong?! They reinstated me and gave me my £27.50 back and I've been good ever since.

I have personally been banned from OpinionWorld before, because I accidentally opened two of their surveys at the same time (working through email notifications). Once they specifically explained the problem I assured them that it was an accident and that it would not happen again.

If they still want to be sods you could always just go with the classic comments that you never lie on surveys, you read questions, you are consistent and perhaps it is a glitch with their survey. I had a friend who did this with My Survey, she got paid and she got back into the panel too. Obviously I'm not saying that everyone lies etc but the fact is that most people are guilty of skimming through to some extent, it is just unfortunate that you can get caught out sometimes. I'm not saying you've done this, just that it is why they are a bit over zealous sometimes. Some surveys ask things like 'when did you last visit space' just to check you're paying attention!

I hope this helps at least a little x

 

[SarahLu]

Thank you very much, yes it does. I am a member of opinion world so doing another survey through them could perhaps be the reason. No one else in the household registered so it can't be that.

I will take your advice and email them and see what they say. I have never knowingly lied on a survey but its possible I've completed the same one with Opinion World or made a mistake on one (Banning someone for one or two mistakes seems a bit harsh!). Whatever has happened, its a shame as I usually earn £10 a month Amazon through Ipsos

 

[SarahLu]

Well, here is the email I sent to Ipsos and the reply I got back (which I had to chase them for):

Hi,

Thank you for your reply. I am confused as to what might have cause a deviation from expected values on my account. I do not lie when completing surveys, I make the effort to read the questions properly and I take part in surveys consistently and honestly. It is possible that I may have made a mistake, but I’m sure this is the case for anyone. I am a member of some other survey panels, I don’t know if that could have anything to do with it?

Can I ask exactly what it is that has flagged up as a cause for concern on my account? I would like the opportunity to have a look and see if I can work out/explain what has happened. I can assure you that whatever the problem is, it is not as a result of dishonesty on my part.


The reply:

As mentioned before, following the answers given by your household to our regular update surveys, we have detected several discrepancies between various variables in your statistical profile. These incongruencies were adversely affecting the representativity of the panel, allowing for inaccurate conclusions to be drawn from surveys completed by you or other members of your household. Therefore, we have unfortunately been required to deactivate your account and cancel your membership in our panel.

Unfortunately, your account cannot be reactivated in these circumstances, nor can you log into our points website. Please note that our recruitment terms & conditions also specify that IIS has at any time the right to delete a panelist from the panel without having warned him/her in advance or having to justify the decision afterwards.

Thank you for your understanding.

Regards
Ipsos i-Say Support Team

I'm absolutely baffled as to what I've done!

 

[Falanouc]

Sorry SarahLu Doesn't sound like they'll let you back on.

Only thing I can think of is whether or not you kept your profile up to date? e.g. did you have a child recently, gained or lost a pet? Something like that could end up making you eligible or ineligible for the surveys they are sending out.

 

[SarahLu]

I've only been signed up since April and nothing significant has changed since then, so who knows what has caused it?

 

[katykicker]

How annoying for you

Seems like it is a test question not matching up with what is on a profile They should have to be more transparent really and say it was X...

 

[SarahLu]

How annoying for you

Seems like it is a test question not matching up with what is on a profile They should have to be more transparent really and say it was X...

I agree. I think its a bit unreasonable to ban a loyal and active panel member over what I can only think must be an honest mistake or an error on my profile. It would be better to try and get to the bottom of the issue and resolve it surely, especially if the person is clearly trying to make an effort to sort it out. If I'd been deliberately deceitful, I would't be making contact with them, I'd just accept it and be grateful I'd gotten away with it this long! Obviously Ipsos don't agree!

 

[Kevinburrow]

Just had this come through when I had enough to cash out. Absolute shithouse move to not allow people to withdraw what they've earned, especially given their derisory pay and screenouts.

 

[Topaz]

I've been chucked off of so many survey companies over the years that its embarrassing. They always send a canned email response, which usually doesn't make sense. If you have a look on trust pilot, the chances are that many more people have had the same canned response at the same time, meaning that they have had a big purge on members for some reason. I usually write them a polite email, stating that I have done none of the things of which they have accused me of, and generally, as 'a gesture of good will' they give me my account back. At which point I gain enough points to cash out and never go back because the trust has been lost.
I did have multiple companies chucking me off at the same time a while ago, because they said I was using a VPN. Turned out my router had a problem! Sorted that out, told them what had happened and they all let me back - apart from ycint, but that was no great loss because I hated the platform anyways lol.

 

[Jon]

When Ipsos bin your accounts what happens to any credit you might have built up?

 

[Topaz]

When Ipsos bin your accounts what happens to any credit you might have built up?

It is all lost, which is the same for all survey companies. Its amazing how often people get binned just as they reach cash out! I'm annoyed because one opinion is closing on 1st November. Cash out is £25, I have £21 in my account, so when it closes, my money will be gone. They stopped sending surveys a few weeks ago, so there's no hope of earning the extra £4!

 

[Jon]

It is all lost, which is the same for all survey companies. Its amazing how often people get binned just as they reach cash out! I'm annoyed because one opinion is closing on 1st November. Cash out is £25, I have £21 in my account, so when it closes, my money will be gone. They stopped sending surveys a few weeks ago, so there's no hope of earning the extra £4!

uggh, that's the pits!!

they shouldn't have such high cashout requirements in the first place but if I was to hazard a guess they must know a certain % of people just give up and never cash out so then they've managed to fill the study for £0

 

[Topaz]

uggh, that's the pits!!

they shouldn't have such high cashout requirements in the first place but if I was to hazard a guess they must know a certain % of people just give up and never cash out so then they've managed to fill the study for £0

Surveys are one of the few jobs that are allowed to not pay you for your time and get away with it! I always cash out at the lowest amount possible, because you never know when things will go tits up - and they frequently do!