It seems like a great opportunity for any teenager ? get paid for surfing the Web.
But the Better Business Bureau of Greater Maryland said the easy money from Elkton-based Surfjunky.com is probably too good to be true.
“The terms of service make it almost impossible for the recipient to get paid,” local BBB spokeswoman Kerri Kelly said.
The Maryland BBB has received six complaints from Surfjunky.com customers saying they were never paid and 102 inquiries.
The complaints are for small dollar amounts, but they add up over time for the company, which offers 75 cents an hour to surf the Web for anyone 13 or older, the BBB said.
In exchange for payment, Surfjunky users allows the company to monitor their Web usage ? likely for customer research ? and give their personal information to any third party.
“One consumer alleges signing up for the service and spending hours on the computer to make $27, which she was never paid,” Kelly said. “She e-mailed Surfjunky many times, with no success of a response, and is requesting a refund. Another consumer alleges being signed up for the service for over 1.5 months and earned a total of $87.43 supposedly made to her Paypal account. She states she has contacted the company via the Web site several times but has been unable to obtain her earnings.”
Local BBB President Angie Barnett said the company?s nonpayment seems perfectly legal, because the company?s terms of service ? which most teens probably don?t read ? gives Surfjunky.com carte blanche to never pay its users.
Surfjunky?s terms of service state, “Surf Junky reserves the right to cancel any member?s accounts, at any given time, for any reason at all. Any terminated account will result in the loss of all earnings.”
Representatives from Surfjunky.com did not respond to requests for comment.
Since Sept. 14, 2006, certified mail sent to the company has been returned as Attempted Not Known, according to the BBB of Delaware.
