Independent Contractor Agreement: Mystery Shopper

Contractors’ Terms and Conditions Agreement

 

IN CONSIDERATION of the mutual covenants, promises and provisos the undersigned Independent Contractor’s (hereinafter “Contractor”) association with STING Investigations Inc., (hereinafter “STING”) and for other good and valuable consideration, receipt of which Contractor acknowledges; Contractor agree as follows:

  1. SCOPE OF WORK

Our clients pay for our services and provide STING Investigations Inc. with the scope of work including report guidelines, questions, instructions, etc. to enable our Contractors to complete assignments correctly. You MUST utilise these tools (by reading, completing the training, following the guidelines, and asking questions) to become a successful evaluator.

You will be provided with a report, forms, the general objectives, and specific scope of work to be performed. STING will be available to confer with the contractor regarding an assignment. Subject to any deadlines and budgetary limitations imposed by STING or its client with respect to an assignment, the scheduling of contractor’s work and the amount of time devotes to it will be at the contractor’s sole discretion. The contractor has the right to decline or accept any assignment offered to you by STING.

All assignments must be completed by a specific time and date. It is imperative that you complete your assignment within the allocated timeframe. If you apply and accept an assignment, you MUST do these assignments on time; if you DO NOT do them on time, the situation and survey will be assessed to see if the assignment can be completed in full and if the client will accept it. If not, the assignment may be reassigned, and you may not be paid (this all depends on the outcome of the assessment).

  1. RELATIONSHIP OF THE PARTIES

 It is understood and agreed that contractor’s relationship to STING is that of an independent contractor. The contractor is neither a full-time nor a part-time employee, agent or partner of STING and has no authority to commit or obligate STING in any manner without first obtaining the approval of STING management.

 

An independent contractor is responsible for paying own expenses, providing own liability, medical and other insurance coverage, securing and maintaining all licenses and permits to do business, and paying all taxes applicable to any payments made to the contractor hereunder.

 

It is understood that each contractor is free to supply their services as an independent contractor to other companies including those in direct competition with STING.

 

  1. COMMUNICATION AND REASSIGNING

If you are on your way to complete an assignment and there are unforeseen circumstances that prevent you from doing so you MUST contact your manager immediately via phone and/or email (info@STINGinvestigations.ca).  We can then reassign the assignment to another shopper and your profile score will not be affected. Your manager may even reassign to you but at another time or date (if this is applicable to the client’s requirements).

Contact your manager if you have any questions about an assignment, training, guidelines, pay or about applying for assignments in other areas around the city.

  1. ANONYMITY, UNDERCOVER AND PRIVACY

Contractors are an undercover information, confidential and assessment provider. You MUST NOT reveal yourself or act inappropriately to stand out from the crowd. You are to complete your assignment without the team members who are being assessed knowing you are an evaluator. You are acting and pretending but always in a professional manner.

You must never reveal that you are an evaluator, secret shopper, agent, investigator, customer service evaluator or anything of the like. We expect you to be always discreet when visiting a client’s site. Under no circumstances must the site you are evaluating know that you are an evaluator. Should you be identified as an evaluator, STING can choose to withhold all or part payment for that assignment and have the assignment reallocated to another evaluator.

  1. SURVEY/QUESTIONS, SCENARIOS, AND INSTRUCTIONS REQUIREMENTS

You MUST carefully review the instructions, questions, and remember what to look for, etc., with each assignment. We suggest you review with your smartphone, then as soon as you have completed the assignment you can get out of view and take some notes or enter notes directly into your survey with your smartphone. You MUST NOT take notes or fill out reports within view of the site you will be visiting or have visited for the assignment.

All instructions from the client must be adhered to—no variations will be accepted. Failure to follow the client’s instructions (i.e. it may include completing your assignment on a particular date/time, targeting a specific team member, or asking a series of questions) may result in non-payment for and cancellation of your assignment and it will be reassigned to another shopper for completion.

Our validators will provide you with feedback and, if required, training. They may also return surveys to you if, for example, the information is incorrect and you need to rewrite something, you have not answered the questions correctly, specific information must be added, there are contradicting answers, comments have been missed out, comments are not accurate or detailed enough, etc. This all depends on the survey and client’s requirements so please read both the instructions and questions carefully, and answer and comment with accuracy and care and this will save you having to resubmit your report.

You must comply with the survey instructions, applicable training materials and these terms and conditions.

  1. SURVEY COMPLETION AND TIMEFRAMES

All reports must be completed accurately and submitted within 24 hours of completing the assignment, unless otherwise stated on your assignment paperwork. Failure to submit your completed survey within this timeframe can result in the assignment being cancelled and reassigned to another shopper without notice.

You must notify your manager immediately if you become identified by staff.

  1. YOUR PROFILE

Any change to your personal details must be updated by yourself by logging in to your online shopper profile at the earliest opportunity. If your details are not kept up-to-date and we are unable to contact you an assignment may be cancelled and allocated to another shopper.

We request you provide proof of ID and upload a copy of your driver’s licence OR passport (the page with your photograph) OR a proof-of-age card on application and on acceptance of this agreement. We only request these documents to prove you are who you say you are; you are completing assignments for STING, we pay you and trust you are completing these surveys accurately. Your details are securely saved on your profile and are not used for anything except to identify you. Your proof of ID will be kept securely and will not be distributed.

It is also requested that you upload your resume to your profile. Having a better idea of your experience may get you different assignments – STING Investigations does mystery shops on a variety of different industries and would rather use our current shoppers as new opportunities arise than hire new shoppers.

  1. OPEN OPPORTUNITIES & ASSIGNING PROCEDURES

You will be able to apply for jobs when you click “Open Opportunities” when you login to the portal. You may have to take additional training or complete required certifications for each assignment. You can expand your geographic area and apply for shops in surrounding areas.

You will be notified of assignments via email and your login account.

Jobs will be assigned to the evaluator best suited to the job specifics, i.e., customer request, age compliance (alcohol, cannabis, or tobacco), highly graded shopper, proximity, etc.

If your assignment is not accepted within 48 hours, it may be reassigned to another shopper.  This does not mean you have to complete the shop within 48 hours – just that it is accepted so we know that you have seen and intend to do the assignment.

  1. RECEIPTS AND REIMBURSEMENTS

If the assignment is a purchase reimbursement your receipt MUST be uploaded (take photo of receipt, check date, time and location to ensure you are uploading the attaching the matching photo to the correct survey) to your survey on the same day as the completed survey is submitted. Should we not receive this information within this timeframe, we reserve the right to cancel your assignment and reassign to another shopper or, alternatively, withhold all or part payment.

Each assignment usually has a budget for expenses and transportation and will be reimbursed up to the budget amount unless otherwise agreed to with STING management.

All contractors MUST keep a copy of the original receipts for a period of twelve (12) months as we may request the original. Receipts must not be tampered with in any way.

Some assignments make it harder to keep the receipt (for example in a pub or night club setting) in this case, discreetly taking a picture of it will suffice if possible – if not make sure you take note of the monies tendered (the total charged and total with tip).

  1. SHOPPER PERFORMANCE AND ASSESSMENTS

STING Investigations has a shopper scoring and comments section in our system that provides our Managers with feedback and scores for each shopper on how they performed, the information provided, timeliness, honesty, accuracy, manner, behaviour, efficiency, grammar etc. Assignments are scheduled based on these scores and comments. We DO NOT allocate assignments to evaluators who continually score poorly.

STING Investigations has a rotation restriction applied to all assignments to ensure the fair distribution of assignments and gathering of different opinions for the same location.  Random mystery shops or assessments may occur on STING Investigations’ contractors. This is where we will assign a shop to you as a way of assessing your performance.

You are required to act diligently, ethically, and soberly, and submit accurate and honest information. You must not sexually harass, act in a discriminatory or abusive way or cause nuisance or upset to any person.

All surveys are reviewed to ensure you have completed your survey correctly and honestly. Please keep in mind that all assignments/observations/shops are on camera (CCTV) and can be verified by the client (or STING Investigations on request). Any fabrications or untruths found in reporting will result in the contractor relationship being terminated and non-payment for the assignment.

Completion of all surveys must be clear and concise. Failure to do so may result in non-payment for the assignment.

  1. GEO-TAGGING LOCATION IN PHOTOS

Photos taken on a smartphone with GPS capabilities are usually geotagged automatically unless you’ve specifically turned off the setting. Click here for more information about Geo-tagging your Location. With every photo you take, your phone will record its current GPS coordinates and include them in the image EXIF data. At STING, and in the industry, we use it to verify our shoppers visit the correct location, at the correct day and correct time.

It is a requirement for all of STING Investigations evaluators to enable location services on their device for assignments that do not require a purchase (but requires a photo) and may be a requirement for some with-purchase shops as well.

  1. FRAUDULENT OR CRIMINAL ACTIVITY

The following is our strict policy and procedures on fraudulent and criminal activity. We do not tolerate fraudulent activity within our company. If you DO NOT adhere to the agreement regarding the information, you supply when you complete the surveys, the receipts you provide and the details you have supplied in your evaluator profile you will be deleted from our system. Your name will be added to a list used by other mystery shopping companies and forwarded to the police for investigation. You will not be paid for your previous or current assignments.

Should it be discovered that you have intentionally submitted a false, misleading and/or inaccurate report; legal action may be taken to recover lost revenue as a direct result of your actions and the matter will be referred to the police.

You must carry out the work yourself. You cannot ask someone else to do it for you without express written permission from an authorised agent of STING Investigations.

You cannot use another shopper’s login to apply, complete or request assignments at any time without express written permission from an authorised agent of STING Investigations.

You must not commit any criminal offence or break any law or regulation.  Assignments may be reassigned OR payment may be withheld without notice should a breach of any of the terms of this agreement occur.

The Contractor shall indemnify STING Investigations Inc. and its successors, licensees, and assigns harmless from and against all losses, costs, liabilities, damages and expenses, including legal fees, on a special cost basis, resulting from any breach of any representation, warranty or covenant made under this Agreement.

  1. CONFLICT OF INTEREST

You agree that they will not accept nor complete any assignment or part thereof, should a conflict of interest exist, whereby an association exists between the Contractor and STING’s client, their employees, agents, franchisees, dealers or other representatives.

 

You agree to notify STING if a relationship exists, whereby they are or have been an employee, ex employee or immediate family member of a STING client, their employees, agents, franchisees, dealers or other representatives.

 

Should you carry out an assignment or submit assignment where you are known by the staff and you fail to inform STING, STING Investigations can choose to withhold all or part payment for that assignment and have the assignment reallocated to another evaluator.

 

You MUST NOT nominate yourself for an assignment that involves a family member, a close friend or a previous employer.

You MUST NOT complete any assignment that you have a current (or previous) bias towards, whatever the reason.

 

  1. USE OF ALCOHOL AND DRUGS

It is always our expectation that you will behave in a professional manner, therefore, you must not attend a site under the influence of alcohol or drugs; nor are you permitted to consume or be in possession of drugs while undertaking an assignment.

Specific job requirements may involve consumption of alcohol within reason and limits may be given, such as mystery shopping a restaurant or bar. You must always drink responsibly and must not become intoxicated. Drinking too much will impair your observation skills, affecting your performance and the integrity of the assignment. We suggest that you take an escort with you and have them take the drinks and you stay sober.

Drinking and driving is our main concern – do not risk it. Please use the available services (public transit, taxi, designated driver services will drive your vehicle home for you, etc.) should you consume more than the legal limit.

Once your visit/shop is complete we require that you leave the location. DO NOT stay after your assignment is complete. All observations are captured on CCTV and staying and continuing to drink may devalue any report you submit.

Failure to comply with STING Investigations Use of Alcohol and Drugs policies will result in the contractor relationship being terminated and non-payment for the assignment.

  1. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

The methodology (including Surveys, Mystery Shopping Reports, Assessment Forms and Summary Reports) is the intellectual property of (and copyright to) STING Investigations Inc except where agreement is specifically made to the contrary.

 

  1. NO CONTACT AND NON-SOLICITATION

No Contact with or Solicitation of Clients. You agree not to, either directly or indirectly, contact the person or entity on whose behalf the services are being provided, without express authorization from STING. Unless approved in advance by STING, IC agrees not to disclose his/her participation in providing services for STING to representatives of STING’s client.

 

Contractor further agrees that as long as this agreement remains in effect and for a period of one year after either party terminates this agreement, Contractor will not solicit business from STING’s clients for Contractor’s own account or for the account of any competitor of STING except to the extent that the business being solicited is not for a service provided by STING. Contractor understands that STING will suffer irreparable harm should Contractor attempt to solicit business from STING’s clients or make any unauthorized communication with the client regarding Contractor’s participation in the services provided.

 

  1. PAYMENT

Payments will be made to your PayPal account on the 7th of the month unless otherwise arranged.  Cut-off for the pay period is the last day of the month. Any shops completed between the 1st and the end of the month will be paid out on the following pay period. For example, if you complete assignments on May 5 & May 12 you will be paid June 7 (pay period ending is May 1-31).  Your Pay Statements are available for download in the portal.

You are required to have a PayPal account as this is how we pay our shoppers. Please visit the PayPal website for your country for further details and to create your account:

STING Investigations will be responsible for the payment of assignments completed and performed to the agreed value as specified on your assignment documentation.

Payment and/or reimbursements will be withheld for any or all assignments not completed as per the supplied assignment brief or to the client’s satisfaction.

Pay Statement – Your monthly Pay Statement(s) are downloadable from the portal.

Method of Payment—Your payment will be deposited and any approved reimbursements directly into your PayPal account on the 7th of the month after the receipt of the completed survey and reimbursement receipt (if applicable). 

Incorrect PayPal Information—Please be advised that should you provide STING Investigations with incorrect payment information, causing us the need to cancel a payment at a later stage and resend, contact you for correct payment information or hold your payment record until correct information is given, an administration fee of CAN $5 will be withheld from your payment amount. Should you provide us with the incorrect payment information, and we are unable to cancel payment and return funds, we will not be held liable and your payment will be forfeited.

Incorrect Payment Made—While it does not occur often, should you not be paid the correct amount at any time, STING Investigations will take immediate steps once this has been brought to our attention to rectify this payment and process to your nominated PayPal account. Should you receive an overpayment you MUST immediately process a refund in your PayPal account on discovery of this error or as informed by STING Investigations. We reserve the right to commence legal action without notice to recover any monies owing.

  1. TAX REQUIREMENTS

STING Investigations, Inc. does not pay your tax, this is your responsibility as an independent contractor and we are unable to advise you on your tax requirements and take no responsibility on your decisions and choices made by you.

I acknowledge and agree to provide STING Investigations with my Business Number (BN), if applicable, and that I am responsible for meeting any Canadian tax obligations in regard to paying income tax (if applicable). If I do not have a BN, I agree that this is a hobby-based activity and any payments received will be reported to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) as part of meeting my income taxation obligations.

CANADIAN APPLICANTS— You will be required to advise the Canadian Revenue Agency of all earnings.  We are unable to advise you of your taxation reporting requirements; therefore, you may wish to seek advice.

AUSTRALIAN APPLICANTS—If you do not have an ABN, you must list this as a hobby or complete a “statement by supplier” form. We are unable to advise you of your taxation reporting requirements; therefore, you may wish to seek advice. You are responsible for personal superannuation contributions (if applicable).

NEW ZEALAND APPLICANTS— You will be required to advise your Inland Revenue Department before undertaking your first assignment. We are unable to advise you of your taxation reporting requirements, therefore, you may wish to seek advice.

ALL OTHER APPLICANTS (for ALL countries)—We are unable to advise you of your taxation reporting requirements, therefore, you may wish to seek advice.

  1. INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS’ AGREEMENT
    I agree that:
  • I am an independent contractor, not employee, and nothing expressed or implied in this agreement shall constitute the relationship of employer and employee between the parties. The agreement is not intended to create a partnership, employment or principal and agent relationship between the parties.
  • As a contractor, I assume any risk, and take full responsibility and waive any claims of personal injury, death or damage to personal property associated with carrying out work for STING Investigations and STING Investigations’ client.
  • As a contractor, STING Investigations or STING Investigations’ clients are not liable for any events of personal injury or liability caused by or experienced by me while completing assignments on behalf of STING Investigations.
  • As a contractor, I am personally responsible for all medical costs associated with any personal injury, death or damage to personal property whilst undertaking work for STING Investigations or STING Investigations’ clients.
  • I understand and confirm that by signing up as a STING Investigations temporary contractor, I have given up considerable future legal rights. I have signed this Agreement freely, voluntarily and under no duress.  My having signed up as a temporary contractor is proof of my intention to execute a complete and unconditional waiver and release of all liability to the full extent of the law.
  • The Contractor shall provide services to STING Investigations Inc. on a non-exclusive basis and shall be free to provide services to third parties during the Term of this Agreement, provided that there is no interference with the Contractor’s contractual obligations to the Company.
  • I must comply with all occupational health and safety policies of any relevant government body.
  • I am responsible for meeting all income and other related tax requirements.
  • I acknowledge that I will receive confidential information and trade secrets with respect to the company’s business, its employees, contractors and its customers.
  • The information I have provided for the purposes of registering as a contractor is accurate, complete and up-to-date.
  • I am responsible for my own insurance, including car insurance.
  • Mystery shopping assignments are offered at the sole discretion of STING Investigations and that they do not guarantee that I will receive regular offers, or any offers at all.
  • If I am a shopper from any other country, I agree to report as per the legal taxation requirements in my country.
  • I understand that STING Investigations can terminate its relationship with me and remove me from the database at any time for any reason without prior notification.
  • I understand that failure to comply with these instructions may result in me not getting paid for work completed. I understand that payment will be made after completing a valid assignment.
  • I acknowledge that this agreement is subject to change and it is my responsibility as the contractor to keep up-to-date with changes.
  • I agree that STING Investigations owns all intellectual property rights in any reports I provide in relation to any shopping assignment, and I assign all such intellectual property rights to STING Investigations, whether past, present or future.
  • The reporting site contains material which is subject to protection under Canadian and international copyright and other laws governing protection of intellectual property rights. I may not sell, license, rent, modify, distribute, copy, reproduce, transmit, publicly display, publicly perform, publish, create derivative works from, adapt, or edit such materials. However, I may copy (either electronically or in hard copy) material on the site for my own use in connection with registration as a contractor or for carrying out any shopping assignments.
  • All obligations to preserve STING Investigation Inc.’s Confidential Information, Intellectual Property and proprietary Reporting set forth herein shall survive the termination of this Agreement.
  • Any dispute or difference between STING Investigations Inc. and the Contractor which cannot be resolved or settled by the parties shall be settled by arbitration in the New Westminster, Province of British Columbia, at the request of either party, pursuant to the provisions of the Commercial Arbitration Act of British Columbia.  There shall be one arbitrator if agreed upon by the parties and failing agreement, there shall be three (3) arbitrators, one to be appointed by STING Investigations Inc., one to be appointed by the Contractor and one to be appointed by the arbitrators as aforesaid.  Judgment on any award rendered to the arbitration proceedings may be entered in any Court of competent jurisdiction or application made to such Court for judicial acceptance of the award and an Order of enforcement.  Costs incurred in the arbitration proceedings shall be for the account of the losing party.
  • STING Investigations Inc. may terminate this Agreement and cancel the Contractor’s services at any time without cause and without further obligation to the Contractor except for payment due for services performed to date of such termination.
  • The parties declare that the terms of this Agreement are fully understood and that they had the opportunity to seek independent legal advice prior to signing. This agreement starts upon your acceptance of these terms and ends upon termination by either party.
  1. CONFIDENTIALITY

I acknowledge that I may receive confidential information and trade secrets with respect to the company’s business, its employees, contractors, and its customers. I agree that all information and data disclosed to me by STING Investigations Inc. in the performance of my Services shall be treated as confidential for the benefit of STING Investigations Inc. and shall not be disclosed or made known to any other person/entity except as authorized by STING Investigations Inc.  All recorded, word processed, and written briefings, reports and documents prepared by myself pursuant to this Agreement are deemed the property of STING Investigations Inc.  I acknowledge that unauthorized disclosure could cause irreparable harm and significant injury to STING Investigations Inc.  This Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

Accepted and agreed to by:

Signature _______________________________________________

Printed Name ___________________________________________