is survey savvy a scam – The Latest Online Scams and How to Avoid Them

SurveySavvy is an online market research service owned by Luth Research, LLC. While Luth Research has a fair reputation, SurveySavvy does not. Trying to make money by completing surveys is like trying to eat soup with a fork. It can be done, but there are better ways to make money online. Name of Product: SurveySavvy (aka Survey Savvy)Website: SurveySavvy.comPrice: Free to join.Owner: Luth Research LLC, Roseanne Luth, PresidentOpinion: Not Recommended Click to DISCOVER a Proven Path to Financial Independence! What is SurveySavvy? SurveySavvy is a legitimate survey website owned by Luth Research. However, I do not recommend it. I’ll tell you why, but first, it’s important to understand how Survey Savvy works and why it does what it does. Through SurveySavvy, Luth Research can connect people with companies looking for market feedback and opinions about all sorts of things that may impact those companies. For example, a new mother might be asked to test the prototype of a disposable diaper. Or a restaurant chain might conduct a survey to determine how to improve their menu. Is Survey Savvy a Scam? SurveySavvy was created to serve the client companies of Luth Research, not so you can make money. Paying you to complete a survey is just a necessary evil for SurveySavvy. Like any business, Survey Savvy is motivated to minimize expenses and maximize profits. In other words, they don’t want to pay you. And, as I’ll show you in a moment, they may not. Luth Research Offices Downtown San Diego SurveySavvy and Luth Research live and die by how useful the information they gather is to the companies they serve. To get the most valuable information, Survey Savvy uses several filtering methods to be sure only the most qualified people are invited to participate. SurveySavvy may also claim you don't qualify for a survey after they have gotten the information they want. By merely claiming you don't qualify, SurveySavvy can avoid paying you. When you join SurveySavvy, you must complete a member profile. SurveySavvy uses the information in your member profile to determine your fit for a particular survey. If SurveySavvy deems you qualified for a survey, they invite you to participate. However, before SurveySavvy invites you to complete a survey, they will conduct an in-depth screening process to be sure you are a good fit for that survey. This in-depth screening may also be a way for SurveySavvy to gather information without paying for it. Once SurveySavvy determines you’re the kind of person they are looking for, you will be presented with the survey. After the completing the survey, you will be compensated with a credit to your account. SurveySavvy states that they cannot guarantee how many surveys a member will receive as this is determined by the member's profile and the needs of Luff Research client companies. Furthermore, there isn’t an average either, because there are too many variables in choosing who is qualified to complete a survey. Click to DISCOVER a Proven Path to Financial Independence! Beware of SavvyConnect! One of the creepier things SurveySavvy does is monitor market behavior through their desktop and mobile app SavvyConnect. SavvyConnect is a software application that SurveySavvy members can choose to install on their computer and mobile devices. It records their online activity. This information is very valuable to Luff Research client companies and SurveySavvy has an incentive program to encourage members to enroll in the SavvyConnect. According to SurveySavvy, SavvyConnect stops transmitting when the user is in “Private Browsing” or “Incognito Mode.” Unfortunately, I’m not convinced there is any way to be sure. Based on some of SurveySavvy's less than honest behavior, I don't trust them. Tracking people's online activity is extremely valuable information and once the software is installed, you have no way of knowing what it is doing or when it is doing it. Members are not required to use SavvyConnect and can still complete surveys without it. A troubling issue related to SavvyConnect is how SurveySavvy aggressively promotes it. Then, once installed, claims it isn’t working. There is no way of knowing if this is true, or if they are simply creating a pretense for not paying their members. Here is a complaint about SavvyConnect. The writer warns, 'Beware of SavvyConnect!' "I participated in the Savvy Connect program and was highly disappointed. It was a horrible three months. The app drained my phone battery. If I went to bed with a fully charged phone not on the charger, I would wake up with a completely dead phone. It made my laptop and ipad very slow, often freezing up. I feel like this was a sneaky way to get the info they wanted without ever having to pay, since they can now claim I did not fulfill the requirements. I have since heard his same complaint from others. Not worth it." Karen (Source: SurveyPolice.com) SurveySavvy Portrait Surveys. To have the best chance of being invited to complete surveys, a member must keep their profile updated. SurveySavvy adds to the basic member profile with optional portrait surveys. Portrait surveys are more in-depth questions that focus on subjects such as member interests, life circumstances, family, lifestyle, personal behavior, favorite products, and personal & family income. Survey Savvy’s intention is to have a more accurate understanding of you on file so they can better qualify you for more surveys. Or at least, that’s what they claim. At this point, I’d like to remind you that you will be trading personal information for just a few dollars at best. Is it worth it? How SurveySavvy Pays You. Once a member has accumulated more than a dollar (US), she can request payment by using the “Request Payment” tool in the member account area. Payment is made by check and sent through the mail. SurveySavvy will occasionally reward members with entry into contests. In other words, you are entered to win cash or prizes instead of being paid. Just to be clear, usually when you complete a survey you will earn credits which are redeemable for cash, but sometimes you won’t. Instead, you will be compensated with a chance to win cash or a prize. Contests are how SurveySavvy avoids paying everyone for completing a survey. Instead, they budget a certain amount of money for a specific survey and that pot of money becomes the prize. When this is the case, only the contest winner gets paid. Everyone else gets nothing. This is why contests are such a good deal for SurveySavvy: Instead of paying a thousand people $3 a piece to complete a survey, they promise them a chance to win $500. $500 is less than $3000. SurveySavvy wins! SurveySavvy Referrals. SurveySavvy also compensates its members for referrals and makes it easy for members to share links on the internet and to send private invitations. The referral system goes two tiers deep, so not only do you get compensated for completing surveys, but you also get compensated when someone you referred completes a survey. And, you get compensated when someone your referral referred completes a survey. At best you will earn only pocket change, and while it might add up, it won't support any sort of lifestyle beyond living in a cardboard box. SurveySavvy and the BBB. At the bottom of the SurveySavvy homepage, you will see the Better Business Bureau seal of accreditation. If you click on it, you will be taken to the BBB page for Luth Research. Luth Research has an A+ rating with the BBB. However, Luth Research is NOT SurveySavvy. If you do an independent search for the BBB rating for SurveySavvy, you will find something very different. The BBB gives SurveySavvy a big fat “F.” There is only one complaint, but apparently, it is enough to warrant an “F” rating. Here is a screen capture of that complaint. SurveySavvy Terms and Conditions. The link to the Terms and Conditions is at the bottom of the SurveySavvy Homepage. It’s worth a read if you are considering getting involved with SurveySavvy. I wasn’t able to link directly to the SurveySavvy Terms and Conditions page, but I did make a screen capture of an important detail I found there. One of the first things that struck me as I read the Terms and Conditions is how difficult it is to read. It appears to me to be intentionally designed to be difficult to read. What are they hiding? Visit the site and compare the Terms and Conditions with another page on SurveySavvy, the How it Works page. At the top of the homepage, you will find an inviting link that says How it Works. This link leads to a page that is easy to read. When I compare the How it Works page with the Terms and Conditions page, I think of that bit of wisdom I heard long ago, “The big print giveth and the small print taketh away.” So, read the How it Works page for an overview of the SurveySavvy program, but read the Terms and Conditions to learn how it really works. SurveySavvy Complaints. There are many complaints online about SurveySavvy. Most of the complaints are about not getting enough surveys, not getting paid, getting tricked into giving away personal information for free, problems with the SavvyConnect app and about how SurveySavvy is a waste of time. Here are a few. “Survey Savvy is starting to ask for way too much information before disqualifying one from a survey. In effect they are getting the information they can use without paying us for it.” Kathryn (Source: SurveyPolice.com) “I redeemed some points and requested a check and when after the allotted time check I expected never came, I made an inquiry and was told money I requested basically did not exist. I then noticed I was no longer receiving any surveys to take. I unsubscribed and good riddance.” Cheri (Source: Reviewopedia.com ) “I ended a long term relationship with Survey Savvy because I had trouble getting paid. I tried to ask them for help and received only generic answers that didn't help at all. I was faithful to complete what they asked of me only to find out that for at least a year, I wasn't even in their program and they kept sending me materials to send in to complete the program all that time. I even completed some of the materials I was sent this month. And I'm not in the program? I finally stopped today after speaking with them on the phone. I feel like a fool for trusting them and if I had the money, I would hire an attorney to look into the fact that they are promising payment and then not paying you.” Madskit (Source:ComplaintsBoard.com) “I've been waiting for 12 weeks for my payout. I contacted them today, will see what they have to say. Most of the time they ask you a million questions and take up your time and then tell you that you don't qualify! I don't intend on taking any more of their surveys its a waste of time.” Val (Source: Reviewopedia.com) The Last Word on SurveySavvy. Most online survey companies are total scams. Most survey companies are marketing companies that gather your personal information under the illusion of a survey and then sells your personal information to any company that will buy it. These same companies will usually also trick you into buying products and services, claiming you have to buy the product or service before you can evaluate it. SurveySavvy is different. SurveySavvy is a survey company. However, I still do not trust it and I certainly do not recommend it. SurveySavvy has built in too many ways to avoid paying you. It appears that their big push is to get as many people as possible using the SavvyConnect app and maybe using underhanded methods to avoid paying for this invasion of privacy. At best, SurveySavvy does not pay enough, and in some cases, it doesn’t pay at all. Here is what you can expect to happen when you join SurveySavvy: They will extract as much information out of you as possible while paying you as little as possible. Completing surveys is a lousy way to make money. For the time spent filling out surveys, giving away your personal information, getting tracked online by dubious software, risking rejection, hoping for the best and getting paid pennies, you could be building a real online business that pays a full-time income. Click to DISCOVER a Proven Path to Financial Independence! A Better Option for You. Surveys are a lousy way to try to make money. You'll never make more than chump change and you'll spend a large chunk of your time to get it. If you want to make enough money to change your life forever, I recommend affiliate marketing. If you are capable of writing an email and surfing the internet, you are capable of earning six figures as an affiliate marketer. All you need is the proper training. That's why I recommend the FREE starter level of the Online Entrepreneur Certification Course. Also, I'm available to coach you for FREE too. When you signup for the FREE Online Entrepreneur Certification Course, you'll have direct email access to me. To Learn More, Click Here. If you found this article helpful or have experience with surveysavvy, please leave a comment below.