Pinecone research Reviews 321

As others have stated, used to be fine, now appalling. About a year ago, I noticed that I wasn't qualifying for any surveys, or that the quota was allegedly full even though I had clicked through from the email as soon as it had arrived. As a consequence, my points expired (didn't know this was a thing) and I had to email them, pointing out the above and they agreed to reinstate the points as a "goodwill" gesture. I told them several times that it was unusual for me not to qualify for anything for over a year but just got the insipid nonsense in response that others have reported. Bear in mind I'd usually get maybe one a month, so no huge loss to me. Now it's happening again, I've emailed, got the patronising suggestions about clearing cookies etc, and then some rubbish about full quotas (I waited to contact them until I had clicked through 2 MINUTES after the email arrived). What now makes me suspicious is that I can't believe their clients are not aware of this or happy with it - so how are they still going??

I used to complete surveys regularly and had only a few issues with he website being buggy but since the update it has had me fully complete surveys, submit then and then told me I'm not eligible and refuse to give points. Their customer service has been useless, the response from Karen Scott was dismissive and ignorant. It's really gone downhill and not worth doing anymore.

Used to be the best survey site by far.

Now they've changed it to just 100 points per 15 - 20 minute survey.

That's equivalent to just 35% of the minimum wage, per hour!!!

Your time simply isn't worth it.

I've been completing their surveys for a few years, giving my opinion on potential new household products or food.
For many years this has been worthwhile to do but in the past year I'd get halfway though a survey to then be told I'm not eligible despite pinecone already having that info in my profile so shouldn't be sending me those surveys.

I used to get the equivalent of £3 in points for each survey which took around 5 minutes. The website has been updated last month and since then I am being offered the equivalent of £1 in points for a 15-20 min survey. Companies pay big money for our data so this is really an insult.

What's happened to the site formerly known as the "holy grail" of survey sites?

Been with them for years and although the surveys were few and far between they almost always completed and paid out a fair amount for my time. £3 per survey and I beleive some of it's more senior members got £5 a survey.

Got an email telling me to get ready as an exciting new website would be arriving soon offering more surveys. Great.

However the surveys there are more of often involve them expecting me to spend 70 minutes of my time for £3 and the average survey time of 15 minutes now only pay £1. They have also removed their PayPal payment option replacing it with a prepaid visa. Also you have to get 1000 points to redeem now where it used to be 300.

Emailed them asking a few questions like what's happened to PayPal, why have the reward values gone down so severely and have they been taken over by one of the more greedy survey providers? Got a response saying PayPal had been removed but no answers to my other questions.
Sent them another message asking them to close my account as I was disgusted with what has happened and this has been ignored.

Very disappointed with changes. Used to earn £ 3.00 per survey. Rewards are now much lower.

Been a member of pinecone for over 20 years. Used to be really interesting surveys.
Recently, I've been sent links to surveys and when I click on link .. sometimes immediately, the survey is already full and closed.
I'm trying to log in to my account and getting nowhere fast. I shall be leaving.

Just to echo what other reviews are saying - I've been a member for years and it used to be such a brilliant, straightforward survey site. £3 per survey, they used to be interesting and would occasionally lead to a product test which were fun. Was 5*

Now - "new platform" and since then - points have expired (I do not remember being notified about this change, so points lost). One survey completed which didn't track - so unpaid but they have all the data.
One survey (20 mins for 50 points - another poor change) and screened out after a good bit of data collected.

Overall really disappointed and I hope Pinecone take all this feedback on board and restore themselves to being the reputable, enjoyable platform they once were.

Used to be good - £3/survey which could be immediately cashed out, Recently changed to 'an exciting new website' - always a red flag IMO. Now a 20 minute survey is paying around £1, and £10 is needed in the account in order to cash out That's slave wages

It used to be really good before they "updated" their site and got rid of the app.
Every survey paid £3, well 300 points. And it was extremely rare when you did not got accepted for the survey.

Now, they are sending emails like
70 min survey for 300 points ( £3)
15-20 mins survey for 100 points ( £1)
And now you can do the survey for 20 mins, they it kicks you out and you don't get anything.

They were different from other survey panels, now they are just exactly same as the others are! Long surveys which isn't guaranteed that you can finish and very low pay for the surveys.

I enjoyed Pinecone research for years. Loved the surveys, loved the product testing.

But I will not waste my time for ⅓ of the price they used to pay. Prices are going up, not down!
And definitely not going to spend over an hour for £3. Then probably around 45 mins it would kick me out anyway.

Well, it was good while it was run by Pinecone only. I think they are losing lots of old participants now.

Scam. Don't do it. I finally was accepted into a survey. It said it would take 15-20 minutes for $2.50. I spent over 20 minutes as I read and answered honestly. It first said they wanted me to move forward then after all that time I was denied. Scam!!!!

Please be aware that Pinecone Research is about to undergo a rebrand on their website etc. They are probably pushing to detach themselves from these awful reviews and feedback. Please, anyone reading this - don't fall for it. They will lie, they will promise, they will attract with shiny deals and 'fun quizzes' (apparently!). It's all nonsense - they want your time to earn themselves a great deal of money at your expense.

For many years I had no probs except got very few surveys. Problems started from Sept/Oct last year. Too many to list. It is difficult to contact them. I finally got reply re completing surveys that had probs at finish. They replied, in part, "Members who .......do not qualify for a survey, can spend up to 10 minutes in a study before the study determines that you do not qualify". This is disgraceful as it was not stated when we joined and I have never been notified of this previously.

I have been a member of Pinecone Research for probably over two decades now. Initially, the survey site was great. You’d receive periodic requests FROM PINECONE to complete a survey FROM PINECONE. It was possible to pause your account entirely for vacations or other issues requiring time away from Wi-Fi. Contacting customer service for website related issues was simple and responses were provided within 24 hours. Now? With this most recent ‘update,’ I’m considering cancelling my membership entirely. Survey invites are nonstop through the day and surveys are spammy - they are not Pinecone surveys, but random other companies. Honestly, I’m not comfortable giving ANY INFORMATION to these other sites with which I did not initially sign up. If I do ‘complete’ a survey, it’s mostly just a lot of time wasted just to find out the survey is already filled. Also, it turns out rewards points now expire. I don’t know the rules on how long it takes to expire, but saving points for a better reward is pointless in trying. There is no way to pause your account now if going out of town or whatever. Customer service is nonexistent. You can email them through the site, but they will not respond at all. Until Pinecone returns to its former glory, I’d advise skipping this site if you’re wanting to answer surveys.

I loved this site, but now that they've strayed from their original format of $3/survey, I don't waste my time. I am not spending 20 minutes doing research surveys for .50/$1/$1.50. The fifty cent one means our time is only worth a little over 1 penny per minute. That's an insult.

I have been doing surveys on Pinecone for several years and rarely had any problems. Now that they changed their platform it's definitely a huge waste of time. It seems like they are just data harvesting and after you've answered several questions they "disqualify " you. On the previous platform this never happened to me. I recently spent 20 minutes doing a survey and FINISHED the survey and received the "thank you for COMPLETING this survey, do not discuss it with anyone" etc. I was automatically redirected to their home page which said I didn't qualify to take the survey and had been screened out. Their customer service is absolutely USELESS and they just send automated responses which don't address the issue. They will waste your time, take your information then not pay you.
AVOID PINECONE, IT IS NOW A SCAM!

hve been a participating member for many years, earned over £200 in points for surveys. They stopped communicating & cancelled my membership without telling me. I've asked why with no acceptable response. Total scam, do not trust or participate in this shambles

I HAVE BEEN A MEMBER OF PINECONE RESEARCH FOR YEARS. IN THE PAST, 9 OUT OF 10 SURVEYS YOU FILLED OUT YOU WOUL;D BE CHOSEN FOUR. NOW, AFTER THERE RECENT CHANGES, IF YOU GET 2 OUT OF 10 YOU ARE LUCKY. I DID ONE LAST MONTH THAT LAST FOR 4 WEEKS. IT WAS A TOOTHPASTE STUDY. I COMPLETED ALL 4 WEEKS, TRIED THE PRODUCT, DID THE FOLLOWUP SURVEYS AND STILL HAVE NOT BEEN PAID ON THIS AS OF YET AND THE COMPLETED SURVEY DOES NOT SHOW UP UNDER MY ACCOUNT ON THEIR SITE. I HAVE EMAILED PINECONE 4 TIMES ABOUT THIS AND SINCE NO RESPONSE, DECIDED IT WAS TIME TO POST ABOUT THIS EXPERIENCE TO WARN OTHERS ABOUT DEALING WITH THEM. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

karen scott pinecone research, after I finish a survey for them, they will not pay?

Many years ago I joined and it was the best, most serious, honest, thorough, informative and helpful survey/product testing platform. I stayed loyal to it for years! 1-2 years ago something horrible happened to it and it went down to 1/5 of its payment for longer surveys that, after you spent 20 minutes+ answering in detail, confirmed that you finished the survey, then said: sorry, you screened out. No points earned.
I have shared these problems at least 30 times with them. Now their customer service response is very slow and no longer done by a human. The AI is of very low quality and doesn't understand most questions, doesn't comprehend much at all of anything and is programmed to plain out lie.
I am fighting for just another few points so I can cash out without loosing any points and will delete my account. This is straight up FRAUD.