FUEL CYCLE Reviews 8

Did a 4 week long activity with them and didn’t get paid out fully so I complained to their support saying it felt like a scam to offer all these points and then not award them. The awful moderator for the group (insiders network) named Emma had the audacity to say I could be banned for my language and disrespect? I explained I didn’t get fully paid out and said it felt very scammy that I didn’t get what I was promised idk anyone who would call that disrespectful or containing bad language. It seems like a pretty normal response when you don’t think you’ve been appropriately compensated. So of course I left the group immediately after sending an even kinder response to the awful moderator again named Emma along with reporting this organization and the moderator specifically to the BBB. I just feel like I need to share this everywhere specifically saying this group (insiders network) because I’ve been a part of another fuel cycle group before and never had incompetent bullies as moderators making threats at me saying I messed up somewhere and to specify exactly when my missing points were from even though that’s impossible because they were manually added in clumps without specifically saying what week of the activity the points were from. All around awful experience and it took lots of self control to not actually use bad language given her idiotic response to me. Her response that was ridiculous came in June but the site just notified me of the response today via email as well making the conversation even harder to have and try to get points back for. All around awful experience immediately deleted my account and data when I saw this bully of an employee’s response.

Crooks! I'm going to file complaints on this company everywhere that I can until I get results! I participated in a one-hour moderated chat study on December 14th of a community ran by these crooks, we're supposed to been provided our points of $30 into our accounts within one to two weeks after participation, still no points. That's okay because I'm pretty sure that I know who hired them to do this research and I'm going to contact the laundry company myself and tell them what they're doing to people because I'm sure they've been paid but they're not paying the participants and let's see how the company that put on this whole research that he likes to know this, and how they keep all the money and don't pay their participants! So I'll be contacting them today to let them know what they're doing! They don't respect their communities they don't respect people who take their time to participate in their little research studies they just don't care all they care about the profit that they're making. Well I'm here to let you know I'm not one to just let things go, and I will contact every single place that I can until I get the results that I'm seeking. They don't answer your emails they just don't care. Well I'm here to make them care! I don't text very lightly to being cheated, and like I said I'm going to contact the company that originally did this research and tell them that they're not paying to participants and they're keeping all of the money! So if you're a company don't hire them to do any of your research studies products test or anything of that nature because guess what they don't pay their participants they keep it all for themselves. Greedy disrespectful company! Sorry I'm just not letting it go and I'm telling the truth here!

Fuel Cycle runs a horrible company that will gladly make you do you part but when it comes time to receive your incentive they continue to use bad excuses such as switching reward vendors and needing to verify your participation. You will wait 25 days sometimes to receive your incentive and they have one response We're Working On It thanks for your patience... it's a joke because they take on 100 projects and can't pay all of the incentives out so it's a guessing game when you will receive your incentive. Stay away!

This "organisation" runs several focus group survey sites. Their MO seems to be sending out survey requests then not paying out, by claiming the survey is full or invalid AFTER the survey has been completed. There is no customer service as they simply do not respond to any messages.
The current focus group (to avoid) is called "Shop Talk" no doubt there others out there. Don't waste your time on them.

I've only given one star because it's not possible to leave the zero that they deserve.

Fuel Cycle is a shady business and runs shady online communities. I am a member of several of their communities which some closed with no warning and kept the money earned on their sites when I provided good customer insight. I have tried to contact them by email and phone with no success. You call them, and they say to leave a message. The recording then says the mailbox can't accept any messages. I know of others who have had the same issues with this company. Highly do Not recommend Fuel Cycle for anything, they will screw you over.

They fully robbed me of points after being on OurVoice for 3 years now. No explanation other than
Your account was flagged with suspicious activity during a routine check of survey and activity responses in our community.

I've been with this company for years and never had one issue until now. I had accumulated a lot of points and they took them from me. Also kicked me out of Table Talk and The power Panel as well. This company will rob you of your time and personal data and not give you a cent.

My review concerns Fuel Cycle's offshoot survey site called Consumer Council. For the most part, I had loved when this survey site increased its availability of surveys where the surveys consist of short 5 minute reviews of Clorox-affiliated video ads.

But when it came to redeeming a gift card, it became a huge obstacle with needing to verify by text code to a mobile phone number. All fine and dandy but it won't accept mobile phone numbers from VoIP (bye Vonage) or the many from the budget prepaid wireless providers or a landline phone (which should be even more valid as landlines are linked to a home), which blocked a huge number of members from easily redeeming their earned incentives for gift cards. So that required a moderator intervention to manually process the gift card. A major hassle.

Yes, the moderator did say that the company was in the process of adopting an alternative option in a postcard verification, which is just as much as a hassle.

And that apparently led to a summarily and arbitrarily deactivated account for no justifiable reason, which the company (via support or moderator refuses to respond at all).

After the moderator processed this gift card and I did receive the gift card, I tried logging on but could not. Tried to get the password reset but that email link never came - no matter from any browser that I tried. So politely requested help from moderators. Got pat answer about clearing history and cookies. Been there, done that.

Asked for better assistance or simply check the status of my account. Silence! Ostrich head in sand approach apparently.

Further didn't receive any more survey invites (which a friend confirmed she was still receiving). So concluded my account got deactivated right after this latest gift card redemption.

The only remote explanation is I disclosed on my own of transparency that I had first registered under a different email address BUT I had never earned any incentives from that account and as such never had anything to redeem from that account. About 4 months later from that first registration, I received another recruiting survey to join the site. I thought I had canceled that first account so I registered with a different email address.

Everything progressed without a hiccup for over a year and I was quite pleased with the site then - until that text code verification was added as a requirement to redeem. That was when I had to contact the moderator for intervention. First gift card redemption went without a hitch and that was when I divulged - again on my own volition - about that other email address.

Evidently, it wasn't a problem as I went about my account as normal for another 3 months, taking more surveys and earning incentives. But on that second gift card redemption intervention and after, I was deactivated for no justifiable reason and no notice at all. I had to conclude on my own that my account must have been deactivated apparently solely on a whim.

I didn't update my own personal records of my earnings since the end of June but I recall I still had a balance on my account which they have basically cheated from me or outright stolen.

Yes, I have filed a complaint with Better Business Bureau to at least get my remaining balance paid and to get my earnings records for filing my tax return.

All in all, this company in the form of Consumer Council is unprofessional, disrespectful and lacks transparency.

So, be aware your account can be pulled from under you without any explanation or any apparent violation of the terms. I had always been respectful in the community and provided my fully honest (even unfavorable) opinions to all the surveys (after all, the sponsors do expect brutally candid feedback or else they might as well get yes-people to rubberstamp their proposals).

I don't recommend the focus groups they manage. Very slow to pay. Poor response time . No common courtesy when they give date and times of sessions that they renigg on.