I signed up for Hilli Dunlap while living in San Diego, CA in 2006. I performed a number of mystery shops for them and my tab got to around $100 that they owed me. I did many shops before I realized how hard it would be to actually get my money!!! When they day came and went that I was promised to get paid (I think it was 30 days after shop was submitted), I attempted to email the company to see what the delay was.
At first I received a few responses telling me something about them converting to a new pay system so it was taking longer for payments to be processed. I was given a new timeline that I would be paid. After that deadline came and went, I attempted to contact them again. At this point, I stopped receiving responses. After a few more unsuccessful attempts to contact them, I had pretty much accepted the fact that I would never see my money!
I decided to send out a number of emails. The first went to Doug Dunlap. After navigating their site, it seemed that he was the top dog of the company. My email stated that I doubted I would even receive a response from him since all my other attempts were ignored and that I found it comical that their recruiting statement said they were looking for people with the following characteristics: "honesty, integrity, reliability"... None of which described their company practices.
I then moved onto the major companies I had done the shops with, Rubios, In 'N Out and Jiffy Lube. I sent them emails about how disappointed I was in their companies that they would hire Hilli Dunlap to represent them when they were such a questionable outfit. A few days after sending my emails I actually received a response from Doug Dunlap. He wrote that he was sorry for the delay and that he had paid me the money I was due. I was shocked & excited to find my money waiting for me after this 6 month battle!
I also received responses from the major companies I had contacted. One of them stated that they were investigating the matter. Another said they had stopped doing business with Hilli Dunlap because of the issue with them not paying shoppers. I can only conclude that someone from the major companies contacted Doug Dunlap and "persuaded" him to pay me. I know there are many others out there who have never gotten paid, including a friend of mine. I just wanted to share my experience in hopes that it will help someone else out there get the money they are owed.
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