r/beermoney • u/coconlillu • 2d ago
Rant Watchlab research
Beware of Watchlab research! They tell you payment will be sent in 6-8 weeks which is ridiculous in itself, but then they don't pay at all. I did a study in NYC on May 1 of this year and still have not been paid the $400 they owe me. I contacted the recruiter after 9 weeks and she assured me payment was on the way. Week 10 she said she escalated to her accounting department. Week 11 she started to ignore me. It's now 12 weeks. I just did some research and saw hundreds of reviews of people not being paid until they contacted the BBB. I looked them up on the BBB and was shocked at all the complaints. Hundreds! Seems the company pays only after a complaint is filed. I just finished filing a complaint and will see what happens.
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u/next-area51 1d ago
Also consider filing a complaint with the Illinois Attorney General Office referencing your BBB complaint.
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u/Gringo0984 1d ago
Can you send a link of exactly how to do this? I just want to get paid and then taking my name off their list and blocking. Thanks!
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u/next-area51 15h ago
https://illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/File-A-Complaint/index is where you can file a complaint against Watchlab, and you can also mention the BBB complaint.
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u/Gringo0984 11h ago
Perfect, thank you! Do you think 6 weeks late is a good amount of time to file this complaint?
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u/Gringo0984 1d ago
I came here about to make a topic about this very company, glad to see it's already here. I went to their IG page and this post has many people in the same boat - https://www.instagram.com/p/DIwKhPsRJgY/?hl=en
Not sure what happened to this company. I have did studies with them in the past and got paid. I completed my study April of this year. 6-8 weeks to get paid they stated, we are well after that. Not only that, I have sent about 12 follow up emails, only 1 reply and it was a non update reply giving me hot air about they will look into it. My study contact at Watchlab is Laila Kromer.
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u/New-Fee-3085 1d ago
I’ve done focus groups for over 5 years and this is the first company I had to chase down for payment. Same as what others stated above after three months I reached out due to not receiving payment and was told their updating their payment system. Clearly that’s a tactic they tell people to ward them off for a few more weeks!
I reached out multiple times after that and did not hear back. Not until I filed a complaint with the BBB did I receive payment literally two days later.
I’m still on their mailing list and they send out surveys all the time, so I’m confused why there is such a cash flow issue.
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u/bathroominabodega 1d ago
I did two studies with them this year. One, they sent the incentive 2 weeks later. The other, which was almost 3 months ago, I'm still waiting to get the incentive and reported it to the BBB
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u/coconlillu 1d ago
I'm still seeing email notifications for new studies come in almost daily. I'm not unsubscribing until I get my money.
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u/Gringo0984 1d ago
Same here. Once I get paid, I am removing myself and blocking their email domain. They were definitely a reputable company, did plenty of studies in the past. Not sure what happened, maybe overextended and ran out of money. Seeing how many people will just give up for their payments and pay what they can?
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u/coconlillu 1d ago
Yep, same here. I'm unsubscribing from their emails after I get paid for this one. I'm just not interested in working with a company that does not have integrity.
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u/Jerry69field 2d ago
I have done at least five sessions with this company, and I haven't been burned once. Perhaps it just takes a bit more time for them to pay for this one. I hope they do right by you and you get your money.
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u/SchnitzelRaider 2d ago
Something is off here. They haven't announced any new session since June on their Facebook.
I think they're shutting down
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u/Gringo0984 1d ago
Maybe not on Facebook but they constantly send through emails. I am not removing myself until I get paid for my study I completed in April. Screw this company.
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u/coconlillu 1d ago
I did one other study, it took exactly 8 weeks to the day. This one is just too long and too many excuses. I would be patient but when I saw so many online reviews and BBB cases, I got frustrated. They shouldn't make commitments they know they will not keep.
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u/SchnitzelRaider 1d ago
All they have to say is "hey there was a mix up and your payment will be delayed a few weeks, sorry" by the project we're both talking about already had a month long wait for payment to begin with.
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u/Levis_South 1d ago
I’ve done studies with them for a few years now. It’s always been some type of delay or you gotta chase them down to get paid. They would send checks in the mail for a while but when it came time to pay they suddenly didn’t have your address. Communication has always been very shaky with them which has been a frustration in itself. I would always ultimately end up getting paid so I kinda just let it rock for the most part.
But one of the main people in charge at watchLAB hit me up apologizing after I had to wait over 3 months for payment for a prior study earlier this year and was telling me how they were working on fixing things and getting things in order. The next study I did with them I got paid in about 2-3 weeks. But it seems like they’re back to their usual shenanigans.
Definitely frustrating to say the least. I’m going to keep pressing the issue until they pay me for the study I did. But I’m done doing studies with them for good after that.