Steady trickle of income... (onepoll.co.uk)

Member Name: nickn5

Product:	onepoll.co.uk
Date:	08/08/09 (53 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to use, simple surveys

Disadvantages: Not a get-rich-quick scheme

A few weeks ago I 'discovered' through the well-known MoneySavingExpert forums, a new (for me) way of making a little bit of money on the side - namely, survey websites. There are a variety of sites out there, all of them quite different in their own ways, and OnePoll was actually the first one I joined.

#~~~ ABOUT ONEPOLL ~~~#

OnePoll is unlike most other survey sites in that they will not email you with details of new surveys, they depend on you logging in to the site to check on what surveys are waiting for you. They also have a major advantage over other survey sites in that you will not get screened out once you start a survey, which is a real bugbear on many of the other sites.

#~~~ REGISTRATION ~~~#

The registration process is very simple, and will require you to give your first name, surname, contact telephone number, email address and password, gender, nearest town or city, marital status, occupation and nationality.

This may seem like a lot of information to give out but it is standard among all survey sites, and enables the surveyors to pre-screen potential candidates, and also to verify that you're not telling porky-pies when you fill in your surveys! If you want paying (well, who wouldn't!) then you will at some point need to give them your bank's sort code and account number.

#~~~ SURVEY FILLING-IN ~~~#

Once you've registered, you can access a web page which shows what current surveys you could potentially take. The pre-screening process seems to be a little weak here and totally relies on you being truthful! For example, I have recently been 'offered' surveys aimed at mothers, those over 65, and children, none of which would apply to me. Each survey is actually quite short and consists of a simple one page of questions and answers, taking you anything from 1 to 3 minutes to answer.

The questions are all fairly simple and clear, but you do occasionally need to read carefully to ensure you are giving the correct answer. Some questions do tend to repeat themselves in subtle variations of wording, something which seems common to all surveys, and is perhaps a form of Quality Control. You get used to it quite quickly.

As someone who likes to think my answers may be useful, it was nice recently to see a newspaper publishing the results of a survey conducted on OnePoll, and to know that my answers had made a difference.

#~~~ REWARDS ~~~#

When you open your new account you will get given a starter bonus of £2.50 to motivate you (a great idea!). After that, each survey will, in theory, have a reward value from 10p to £1 (the 10p bottom limit is brand-new from August 5th, before that it was 5p). Virtually all of the surveys I've taken have, unsurprisingly, been at the lowest end of the payment scale, but it soon adds up. I have yet to receive anything over 20p for a survey!

Occasionally (and worryingly, a growing trend, it seems) OnePoll offer entry into a prize draw for Amazon vouchers of £25 upon completion of a survey. This seems to be something gaining popularity among survey sites, much to my annoyance. I have never been good at winning prizes, I'd much rather just have the 10p!

#~~~ PAYMENT ~~~#

This site has one of the highest amounts of new surveys of any of the ones I have joined, with a steady trickle averaging about 1-2 surveys per day, although there are some dead days with nothing. You need to login frequently as many surveys are only up for a matter of hours before the quota of participants is reached.

OnePoll will pay you once your balance reaches £40, and mine is now quite well on the way towards that. They will pay direct to your bank account via BACS transfer, or a cheque is apparently possible if you prefer.

#~~~ SITE LAYOUT ~~~#

The site is simple and economically designed, with a large clickable box for your 'Account' which shows your earnings, and another for 'Surveys' where you can see what they have for you to complete. You login just using your email address and password. When a survey is complete a simple message appears stating that '10p' or whatever amount has been added to your account. There are no popup windows or banners to annoy you.

#~~~ POINTS TO NOTE ~~~#

From my limited time at this site, I would first say that it is most definitely not a get-rich-quick scheme, you will need patience and the motivation to check the site daily if you want to build up your money. A classic case of 'look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves'.

I would also mention again that they state they will not hesitate to withdraw your access to surveys or even your hard-earned money if they find you were being, shall we say, economical with the truth. Tempting as it might be, if you see a survey listed for 20p that requires mothers to answer and you're a bachelor, don't go there! Simple really.

Lastly, if you're worried about spam email, well, don't be, at least on this site anyway. I've not received any email whatsoever as a direct result of signing up to OnePoll.co.uk.

Summary: Use if you're patient and have the time