Panda Research Scam - Is Panda Research a Scam?
Hi there, Joyce here.
And you are reading my own personal uncensored review of what I really thought about the market research company known as Panda Research.
The reason why I am writing this review is because when I first started doing paid surveys, there were not many real user reviews around and even today, there are not that many real reviews at all. The majority of the reviews are from people who spam their referral links and seek to profit you. They do not offer anything valuable to the reader at all. As a person who likes to make an actual supplemental income online so that I can pay my bills, I do a lot of research to see whether of not the survey panel is worth joining at all. So that, I do not waste my time and find out that the amount owed to me will not be paid at all. This really frustrates me and because of this I decided to devote my own time and writing an objective review into the Panda Research company. Thus, this article will provide a Panda Research review and it will answer the question is Panda Research a scam? I
I have conducted extensive research into this company and have looked into the other reports by users regarding their experiences with this company. Below is my consolidated summary regarding Panda Research.
3- Panda Research do not have multiple "security checks"
Basically, when I look for a new paid survey site to join, I made sure that they have taken certain steps to ensure their legitimacy and instil confidence with the user. Panda Research has taken none of these steps at all and this is highly indicative of a scam. Reputable companies would take time to accredit or certify themselves with the current standards for privacy protection. Companies that are scams would not bother with any protocols as they are only interested in stealing your money.
First of all, it is important to note that Panda Research is not an accredited business with the Better Business Bureau. This means that they did not take the time to accredit themselves with the golden standard to ensure accountability for consumer complaints. Having a Better Business Bureau accreditation and a A+ rating means that they have made a commitment to make a good faith effort to resolve any consumer complaints.
When filling paid surveys, you are entering sensitive details about yourself over the internet. It is highly important for a company website to be TrustE certified as it indicates that they have the latest security protocols installed to prevent any hacking of your data. It ensures that your data is protected and that they do not sell your data at all.
Lastly, I made sure that the website that is registered has all their public information released so that if I do have a complaint, I can call them directly. Websites that are reputable do not protect their registration details and it is public. Companies that have something to hide will usually protect their details through a proxy.
PandaResearch.com's whois shows:
Registrant:
Panda Research
Registered through: GoDaddy.com, LLC (http://www.godaddy.com)
Domain Name: PANDARESEARCH.COM
This does not instil any confidence in the prospective user at all. We do not know anything about the background of the company and location from this. Furthermore, they do not have a contact page on their website at all. There is no about us page, so we do not know who they are. Instead, all they have is a link to their support page, which states:
Every support request is assigned an unique ticket number which you can use to track the progress and responses online.
In order to create support ticket please use your existing panda research email and password below.
So instead, of having a direct email or a phone number to contact them, they have made it harder by having a support ticket system. They have limited the number of contact options and restricted contact with them using a ticketed system.
2 - Panda Research makes no Payment Guarantee at all!
This is taken directly off the fine print in their website:
D. NO PAYMENT GUARANTEE. PandaResearch does NOT guarantee that a member will receive credit for a completed survey and offer. PandaResearch will make reasonable efforts to track and report your signing up for offers but does not guarantee the precision of the process. We reserves the right to refuse the credit to members for offers for variety of reasons, including, but not limited to , Lack of appropriate information, Improper signup, Improper browser settings, Errors in third party reporting, and / or any other reason.
Panda Research at its sole discretion and for any reason or no reason at all may terminate any Members without prior notice for (a) any violation of any provision of this Agreement; (b) aiding in or promoting circumvention of the Panda Research Service; (c) acting against the business interests or reputation of Panda Research; (d) otherwise acting unlawfully in relationship to Panda Research, the Panda Research website or the Panda Research Service; (e) breach of our Spamming Policy; (f) inactivity (defined as the failure to earn any cash incentive in your Panda Research account) for a continuous six-month period; or (g) any other reason at the discretion of Panda Research.
Basically, this is a fancy way of saying that they can pay you whenever they feel like and if they do not feel like, they have the right to not pay you and you have accepted this fact by joining their website. A very large number of complaints have to do with Panda Research not paying. There are too many to list here. But a majority of the users report that Panda Research does not offer true surveys. They report that they require you to buy something with your credit card in order to make money in return in order to complete such a survey.
Furthermore, they require you to have a threshold of at least $100 in order to cash out. This is ten times higher than the typical legitimate paid survey company.
1 - Panda Research has a very negative reputation.
Currently, there are a growing number of reports that state that Panda Research has never paid them at all. One user reports that they still owe them $467.88 despite cashing out more than 5 months ago. The user claims that he has not heard anything from the support at all and sadly, there are many similar complaints. Panda Research will not pay you the full amount you requested at once and they only pay out in increments of $50. It may take a long time to get the full amount if they are paying.
Recent complaints include that it is a complete waste of time and a major headache. It is best to avoid this site at all. One user has been emailing back and forth with Panda Research for 5 months over one survey that they have refused to verify for them. Screen shots of confirmation emails were sent and the user claims that Panda Research could not open their screenshot at all.
What I recommend instead?
It is important to participate in legitimate trusted companies instead of obvious scams. Thus, my personal recommendation would be to try out Project Payday. Project Payday is a Better Business Bureau accredited business with a A+ rating. They have a unique method of making money and it is so effective that they offer a $100 guarantee that you will make money. If you do not make any money following their methods, they will offer you $100. Their business details are listed in the public domain and they have built a stellar reputation over the years. I have already earned hundreds from Project Payday and it's very easy to learn! They have mentors that teach you the method and best of all, a account only requires a name and an email address!
To sign up for a free account, please visit here: Project Payday Official site
And you are reading my own personal uncensored review of what I really thought about the market research company known as Panda Research.
The reason why I am writing this review is because when I first started doing paid surveys, there were not many real user reviews around and even today, there are not that many real reviews at all. The majority of the reviews are from people who spam their referral links and seek to profit you. They do not offer anything valuable to the reader at all. As a person who likes to make an actual supplemental income online so that I can pay my bills, I do a lot of research to see whether of not the survey panel is worth joining at all. So that, I do not waste my time and find out that the amount owed to me will not be paid at all. This really frustrates me and because of this I decided to devote my own time and writing an objective review into the Panda Research company. Thus, this article will provide a Panda Research review and it will answer the question is Panda Research a scam? I
I have conducted extensive research into this company and have looked into the other reports by users regarding their experiences with this company. Below is my consolidated summary regarding Panda Research.
3- Panda Research do not have multiple "security checks"
Basically, when I look for a new paid survey site to join, I made sure that they have taken certain steps to ensure their legitimacy and instil confidence with the user. Panda Research has taken none of these steps at all and this is highly indicative of a scam. Reputable companies would take time to accredit or certify themselves with the current standards for privacy protection. Companies that are scams would not bother with any protocols as they are only interested in stealing your money.
First of all, it is important to note that Panda Research is not an accredited business with the Better Business Bureau. This means that they did not take the time to accredit themselves with the golden standard to ensure accountability for consumer complaints. Having a Better Business Bureau accreditation and a A+ rating means that they have made a commitment to make a good faith effort to resolve any consumer complaints.
When filling paid surveys, you are entering sensitive details about yourself over the internet. It is highly important for a company website to be TrustE certified as it indicates that they have the latest security protocols installed to prevent any hacking of your data. It ensures that your data is protected and that they do not sell your data at all.
Lastly, I made sure that the website that is registered has all their public information released so that if I do have a complaint, I can call them directly. Websites that are reputable do not protect their registration details and it is public. Companies that have something to hide will usually protect their details through a proxy.
PandaResearch.com's whois shows:
Registrant:
Panda Research
Registered through: GoDaddy.com, LLC (http://www.godaddy.com)
Domain Name: PANDARESEARCH.COM
This does not instil any confidence in the prospective user at all. We do not know anything about the background of the company and location from this. Furthermore, they do not have a contact page on their website at all. There is no about us page, so we do not know who they are. Instead, all they have is a link to their support page, which states:
Every support request is assigned an unique ticket number which you can use to track the progress and responses online.
In order to create support ticket please use your existing panda research email and password below.
So instead, of having a direct email or a phone number to contact them, they have made it harder by having a support ticket system. They have limited the number of contact options and restricted contact with them using a ticketed system.
2 - Panda Research makes no Payment Guarantee at all!
This is taken directly off the fine print in their website:
D. NO PAYMENT GUARANTEE. PandaResearch does NOT guarantee that a member will receive credit for a completed survey and offer. PandaResearch will make reasonable efforts to track and report your signing up for offers but does not guarantee the precision of the process. We reserves the right to refuse the credit to members for offers for variety of reasons, including, but not limited to , Lack of appropriate information, Improper signup, Improper browser settings, Errors in third party reporting, and / or any other reason.
Panda Research at its sole discretion and for any reason or no reason at all may terminate any Members without prior notice for (a) any violation of any provision of this Agreement; (b) aiding in or promoting circumvention of the Panda Research Service; (c) acting against the business interests or reputation of Panda Research; (d) otherwise acting unlawfully in relationship to Panda Research, the Panda Research website or the Panda Research Service; (e) breach of our Spamming Policy; (f) inactivity (defined as the failure to earn any cash incentive in your Panda Research account) for a continuous six-month period; or (g) any other reason at the discretion of Panda Research.
Basically, this is a fancy way of saying that they can pay you whenever they feel like and if they do not feel like, they have the right to not pay you and you have accepted this fact by joining their website. A very large number of complaints have to do with Panda Research not paying. There are too many to list here. But a majority of the users report that Panda Research does not offer true surveys. They report that they require you to buy something with your credit card in order to make money in return in order to complete such a survey.
Furthermore, they require you to have a threshold of at least $100 in order to cash out. This is ten times higher than the typical legitimate paid survey company.
1 - Panda Research has a very negative reputation.
Currently, there are a growing number of reports that state that Panda Research has never paid them at all. One user reports that they still owe them $467.88 despite cashing out more than 5 months ago. The user claims that he has not heard anything from the support at all and sadly, there are many similar complaints. Panda Research will not pay you the full amount you requested at once and they only pay out in increments of $50. It may take a long time to get the full amount if they are paying.
Recent complaints include that it is a complete waste of time and a major headache. It is best to avoid this site at all. One user has been emailing back and forth with Panda Research for 5 months over one survey that they have refused to verify for them. Screen shots of confirmation emails were sent and the user claims that Panda Research could not open their screenshot at all.
What I recommend instead?
It is important to participate in legitimate trusted companies instead of obvious scams. Thus, my personal recommendation would be to try out Project Payday. Project Payday is a Better Business Bureau accredited business with a A+ rating. They have a unique method of making money and it is so effective that they offer a $100 guarantee that you will make money. If you do not make any money following their methods, they will offer you $100. Their business details are listed in the public domain and they have built a stellar reputation over the years. I have already earned hundreds from Project Payday and it's very easy to learn! They have mentors that teach you the method and best of all, a account only requires a name and an email address!
To sign up for a free account, please visit here: Project Payday Official site