Do not accept being dumped by a major corporation like IBM who are trying to steal data by allowing respondents to complete an entire survey including wrap-up questions, and then say they have enough respondents to avoid paying miles. Only if we challenge this will it change!

After a years experience this still remains the only real scam involved, one which United Opinion Miles restricts very tightly helping earn me a Europe trip just from answering their surveys. But eRewards has no real feedback program to tighten up their program to weed out these corporate thefts, which is a slap in the face of their members. So I tend to avoid them or expect to be ripped off about half the time.

Be aware that these opinion gathering organizations are all members of professional associations to whom you can file complaints which will call into question their certification and force their highest execs to respond to ethics charges, of which stealing data from respondents is ranked very serious. They even shield the consumers from backlash. A major university study is now being conducted on this and will be releasing a report this year on the worst offenders.

Here is a sample email I send to the survey's authoring company when I am ripped off after completing an entire survey and then dumped so that a corp like IBM doesn't have to pay miles, with copies sent to the Airline miles VP, eRewards (who never respond) or Opinion Miles (who reply the next day), and Professional Associations who govern these ethics:

"I answer surveys for American Airlines eRewards program. Today I spent 30 minutes answering dozens of detailed Questions for a survey on my home electronic devices for IBM SPSS Data Collection. At the end of the survey as I was being asked the final questions I was dumped out of the survey saying that "We already have enough respondents." This is a theft of my time under the guise of being paid with eRewards dollars for that time.

It is also being discussed in forums like FlyerTalk where respondents are being studied by university researchers who are gathering data about unethical thefts like the one your client perpetrated on me stealing my time tonight under the pretense I was being paid.

You must surely be aware that you belong to professional associations who will sanction this kind of unethical behavior of which stealing data is the most serious. In fact I intend to follow it up to see to it that this happens."

While some of it may be deliberate it may also be gross incompetence. Often the survey company will respond with a sales call to me asking if I am wanting their services. Never underestimate the corporate Peter Principle. But never put up with their theft either. It is pennies to them whether I fly around the world on it or not.