Hmmm... Ciao.co.uk... Where do I Start? (ciao.co.uk)

Member Name: ryang91

Product:	ciao.co.uk
Date:	24/08/09 (101 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Is there any? It USED to be good, if that counts

Disadvantages: Don't qualify for any surveys, you get paid next-to-nothing, confusing, time-consuming etc etc etc

I've been a member now for almost 2 years I think, and at the beginning I felt welcomed and at home as it was easy to navigate around the site being sent lots of surveys to do, and writing a few reviews; then in the first month I had made £23.67 which I was actually quite pleased about as I had only been going on it during a spare half hour I had which I would have before sat in front of the tele or done something else just as life-wasting. So basically, I wasn't putting great amount of hours in but I was happy with my 20 extra pound I had earnt during that month and carried on using it.

However, alot changed about 7 or 8 months ago when I was sent an email saying that Ciao had now split into two different websites, one solely for the purpose of surveys, the other for reviews and price comparison and that the website which handled the surveys, was now being administrated by someone different to the people running the review website.

So... then it began.
I got my first survey invitation and went to apply for them as always only to be told that I didn't qualify, then the same happened with the second, and third and so on, you get the idea. Why was I being asked all the same questions that had taken so long to answer when I first set up my profile and then being told I did qualify?! WHAT WAS THE POINT IN THE PROFILE?! When i finally did get a survey however, I was paid 10p for something which I was told would take "10-15 minutes, depending on your answers"- or something along those lines. It was solely a tick-a-box survey. So I did it. Ten minutes passed and I hadn't finished, then another 20 minutes passed and I still hadn't finished. It's not like I'm unusually slow at ticking the boxes so I didn't know why it was taking so long!! Also there was no indication on where abouts I was on the survey so I always thought I was nearing the end when in fact, it took me over 45 minutes to complete this survey. For 10p- that's 10- measly- pennies.
As you can imagine, I didn't do another survey after that, I thought I'd try the reviewing side of the website, maybe this had a little more integrity and joyfulness about it. Guess what? No. It had been redesigned so I couldn't find anything anymore. When I did eventually find my way around I thought I'd write a review, only to be told afterwards I wouldn't get paid for writing the review itself, I'd get paid 0.5 pence for every person that read it I think it was, or maybe rated it, i can't remember. But anyway, as the optimism of a good reviewing website was beginning to fade, things got worse, all the moeny I had earned from recommending people for the surveys was added to the other website, and for my previous reviews were in a different account on this website, and with both under the minimum amount of £5.00 needed to request a payment, I couldn't apply to try and get anything and with earning such a small amount on reviews it would take me forever. So, eventually, I decided to give up, it was hopeless.

Basically, don't do it to yourself, you're wasting your life with this site- it's so confusing and time- consuming and you get nothing back.

Summary: Waste of your life.