Buyer plays dirty tricks to cancel order in order to get Free Work, and Fiverr forced me to cancel it!

[Guest bellelife]

Keep fighting for this.

By the way, did you contact CS right away as we advised you before the order was cancelled?

I noticed that if you have a problem and buyer is the first one to approach CS they might cancel it for what ever bogus reason client gave but if you approach them first to tell about working with a difficult client they never cancelled orders in this case even after client contacted CS and asked them to cancel.

Please let us know what would be CS reply on your screenshots and proof that the website was done.

And also send this this screenshot from your client where they are saying that the reason they wanted to cancel is because it’s “not amazing” and not because of empty delivery and quite their own policy that orders are not cancelled based on quality of work.

Yes, I contacted CS right away when buyer requests to cancel the project and before CS forced me to cancel the project, one of the CS said this “Okay, so I see you have definitely worked very hard on this order so far, and have met the Buyers requirements and your Gig description.” and asked me to try to communicate with the buyer. Then on the second day, the second CS forced to cancel my project. CS is on the side of the money guy apparently, they don’t value seller’s effort at all.

[misscrystal]

Yes, I contacted CS right away when buyer requests to cancel the project and before CS forced me to cancel the project, one of the CS said this “Okay, so I see you have definitely worked very hard on this order so far, and have met the Buyers requirements and your Gig description.” and asked me to try to communicate with the buyer. Then on the second day, the second CS forced to cancel my project. CS is on the side of the money guy apparently, they don’t value seller’s effort at all.

you should request to have another CS person look at this since they have already verified you did the work. It sounds like the second person didn’t see the first messages you sent to CS.

Send a screenshot of your conversation with the first CS person where he said you did the work.

[mariashtelle1]

Yes, I contacted CS right away when buyer requests to cancel the project and before CS forced me to cancel the project, one of the CS said this “Okay, so I see you have definitely worked very hard on this order so far, and have met the Buyers requirements and your Gig description.” and asked me to try to communicate with the buyer. Then on the second day, the second CS forced to cancel my project. CS is on the side of the money guy apparently, they don’t value seller’s effort at all.

Exactly as @misscrystal said also take a screenshot of their previous reply to confirm, they can not back off on their own decision. Look like the person who cancelled the order just didn’t look properly into the issue. Send them all evidence as I mentioned above.

[Guest bellelife]

you should request to have another CS person look at this since they have already verified you did the work. It sounds like the second person didn’t see the first messages you sent to CS.

Send a screenshot of your conversation with the first CS person where he said you did the work.

All CS’s reply is in the same thread, they can easily see it. I also mentioned it to the current CS person. They choose to avoid/ignore it. They just kept asking me to provide the website link, but the buyer transferred the link, all I have are some screenshots of the work. I think they are forced me to give up the argument because they already cancel it and refund the buyer, nobody is going to pay me, what other result can I get? nothing, the CS will not pay me, and the buyer has left with a free website which they think “shaping nicely, but not amazing”… enough for them 😀

[misscrystal]

All CS’s reply is in the same thread, they can easily see it. I also mentioned it to the current CS person. They choose to avoid/ignore it. They just kept asking me to provide the website link, but the buyer transferred the link, all I have are some screenshots of the work. I think they are forced me to give up the argument because they already cancel it and refund the buyer, nobody is going to pay me, what other result can I get? nothing, the CS will not pay me, and the buyer has left with a free website which they think “shaping nicely, but not amazing”… enough for them 😀

Take the screenshot of the person saying he sees you did the job and send it anyway and tell them it has already been confirmed that you did the job by the other customer support person.

Surely they must be able to tell from this you did the job. Unfortunately from what you said he did not say he could see it was indeed delivered though.

[cyaxrex]

So Fiverr forced to cancel it, giving the buyer a FREE website, and I get nothing 🙂

So Fiverr forced to cancel it, giving the buyer a FREE website, and I get nothing 🙂

Yeah, they do that…

The website you designed still belongs to you though. Also, I’m guessing you know the name of the business it will be used by?

In short, 99% of people who do what your buyer did are supposed web design companies or resellers from other platforms. They take orders from their clients and outsource them to people like you, before coming up with any excuse to cancel.

What you can do now is reach out to their end client. (The company using your design.) Inform them that although you realize that they are probably not aware of the fact, you designed the site they are using and were not paid a cent for doing so. (Explain what I just said about resellers above.)

Do not ask for payment, as this just makes you look like a scam artist. Instead, tell them that you have to insist that they discontinue using your design immediately. If they don’t contact their web host (if you can find the details), and/or wreak havoc by leaving their business a few reviews online. Don’t lie. Just say:

*"I have never employed the services of this company. However… (Then explain who you are and how you were scammed into creating their website.) Then finish by saying, "since this is how they treat the people who help build their business, be aware that they may treat their customers the same way."

Basically, just drag your client or their end client through an epic about of mud. - And make sure to SEO your review! 😉

In most cases, reputable businesses will discontinue using any media provided by you and immediately go after the person they believed they were buying (in your case) a website from. This helps expose resellers like this and put them out of business.

Either way, now that Fiverr has refunded your buyer, you can’t get paid. You can complain to Fiverr but it is not possible for any business to reverse a refund. Sorry. 😦

Going forward, you can try to avoid situations like this by:

• Never working with buyers who have just joined Fiverr.
• Never work on big projects. Separate them into smaller orders. If buyers aren’t happy with that, let them go somewhere else.
• Never work with anyone who bombards you with flattery, asks for discounts, interviews, or says: “If this goes well, I have lots of regular work for you.”
• Trust your instincts. If a buyer seems off somehow, run. (Even if this means canceling an order they have already placed with you.

And, of course, avoid anyone who says: " I’m looking for you to do an amazing job…"

Also, keep in mind that newer sellers attract the worst buyers. In this case, be extra vigilant!

Sorry again.

[mariashtelle1]

All CS’s reply is in the same thread, they can easily see it. I also mentioned it to the current CS person. They choose to avoid/ignore it. They just kept asking me to provide the website link, but the buyer transferred the link, all I have are some screenshots of the work. I think they are forced me to give up the argument because they already cancel it and refund the buyer, nobody is going to pay me, what other result can I get? nothing, the CS will not pay me, and the buyer has left with a free website which they think “shaping nicely, but not amazing”… enough for them 😀

Seriously, keep fighting. I see how it might be frustrating but I got my money for the order that was cancelled more than a month ago. It took time to fight and prove but it did happen.

Just send them all the proof and the one where client saying that the job was done that should be enough evidence and if not then ask them to escalate this matter.

[Guest bellelife]

So Fiverr forced to cancel it, giving the buyer a FREE website, and I get nothing 🙂

Yeah, they do that…

The website you designed still belongs to you though. Also, I’m guessing you know the name of the business it will be used by?

In short, 99% of people who do what your buyer did are supposed web design companies or resellers from other platforms. They take orders from their clients and outsource them to people like you, before coming up with any excuse to cancel.

What you can do now is reach out to their end client. (The company using your design.) Inform them that although you realize that they are probably not aware of the fact, you designed the site they are using and were not paid a cent for doing so. (Explain what I just said about resellers above.)

Do not ask for payment, as this just makes you look like a scam artist. Instead, tell them that you have to insist that they discontinue using your design immediately. If they don’t contact their web host (if you can find the details), and/or wreak havoc by leaving their business a few reviews online. Don’t lie. Just say:

*"I have never employed the services of this company. However… (Then explain who you are and how you were scammed into creating their website.) Then finish by saying, "since this is how they treat the people who help build their business, be aware that they may treat their customers the same way."

Basically, just drag your client or their end client through an epic about of mud. - And make sure to SEO your review! 😉

In most cases, reputable businesses will discontinue using any media provided by you and immediately go after the person they believed they were buying (in your case) a website from. This helps expose resellers like this and put them out of business.

Either way, now that Fiverr has refunded your buyer, you can’t get paid. You can complain to Fiverr but it is not possible for any business to reverse a refund. Sorry. 😦

Going forward, you can try to avoid situations like this by:

• Never working with buyers who have just joined Fiverr.
• Never work on big projects. Separate them into smaller orders. If buyers aren’t happy with that, let them go somewhere else.
• Never work with anyone who bombards you with flattery, asks for discounts, interviews, or says: “If this goes well, I have lots of regular work for you.”
• Trust your instincts. If a buyer seems off somehow, run. (Even if this means canceling an order they have already placed with you.

And, of course, avoid anyone who says: " I’m looking for you to do an amazing job…"

Also, keep in mind that newer sellers attract the worst buyers. In this case, be extra vigilant!

Sorry again.

Thank you, those are valuable advice! This is my first time and last time working on Fiverr tho 🙂 I’m so disappointed by the irresponsible customer service, who acknowledging my work first and then cancelling it later. I will stay away from Fiverr for sure, I know there are many better platforms out there. Thanks for your advice tho! It will definitely help many people! Thanks!

[misscrystal]

Thank you, those are valuable advice! This is my first time and last time working on Fiverr tho 🙂 I’m so disappointed by the irresponsible customer service, who acknowledging my work first and then cancelling it later. I will stay away from Fiverr for sure, I know there are many better platforms out there. Thanks for your advice tho! It will definitely help many people! Thanks!

@bellelife This really does not happen all the time. I hope you can stay. Try to find a way to send the site that will prove you actually sent it and some way to have proof, to protect yourself. What you could do is put it on your own server with a link to that and deliver it possibly. Then once it is delivered that way you could then transfer it to them.

[power_design]

Thank you, those are valuable advice! This is my first time and last time working on Fiverr tho 🙂 I’m so disappointed by the irresponsible customer service, who acknowledging my work first and then cancelling it later. I will stay away from Fiverr for sure, I know there are many better platforms out there. Thanks for your advice tho! It will definitely help many people! Thanks!

I am sorry for your case.

I had some similar cases in the past but I will consider that as learning experience.

You can always restart as fiverr is a great platform.

[pacquo]

All CS’s reply is in the same thread, they can easily see it. I also mentioned it to the current CS person. They choose to avoid/ignore it. They just kept asking me to provide the website link, but the buyer transferred the link, all I have are some screenshots of the work. I think they are forced me to give up the argument because they already cancel it and refund the buyer, nobody is going to pay me, what other result can I get? nothing, the CS will not pay me, and the buyer has left with a free website which they think “shaping nicely, but not amazing”… enough for them 😀

all I have are some screenshots of the work

A couple of suggestions. Before delivering/uploading the site, show it to the customer on your test site. Upon delivery, even in the case you worked directly on the site of the buyer, deliver through the Fiverr delivery system a zip file of the site structure and a dump of the database, this could be considered a tangible proof of the delivery.

[misscrystal]

all I have are some screenshots of the work

A couple of suggestions. Before delivering/uploading the site, show it to the customer on your test site. Upon delivery, even in the case you worked directly on the site of the buyer, deliver through the Fiverr delivery system a zip file of the site structure and a dump of the database, this could be considered a tangible proof of the delivery.

deliver through the Fiverr delivery system

Are deliveries still disappearing after the delivery, does anyone know?

[lloydsolutions]

(post withdrawn by author, will be automatically deleted in 24 hours unless flagged)

You need to remove all of the buyer details from your screenshot as that is not allowed on the forum.

[markp]

(post withdrawn by author, will be automatically deleted in 24 hours unless flagged)

@ bellelife It looks like from what you have posted above the buyer set up a free wix account and then probably transferred it to another url on wix and deleted the free account as the url no longer resolves to anything.

[misscrystal]

I can see that you delivered the site. He requested a revision. Your wording “this is not the final delivery” shouldn’t have been there, nor the mention of anything else.

It sounds like an incomplete delivery from you saying “this is not the final delivery” and that is what tripped you up probably. Any time you use the delivery button it needs to be the final, complete delivery.

I know what you meant that it could be revised but that is not exactly what you said. You said it was not a complete final delivery. This is my guess anyway.

And as markp said, he moved the site. So CS couldn’t see anything. In the future you would need to make a final, finished delivery on your own server. That way they can’t move the site.

I agree that the message is contradictory. I have no idea why it was cancelled, I can only make guesses.

[Guest bellelife]

I can see that you delivered the site. He requested a revision. Your wording “this is not the final delivery” shouldn’t have been there, nor the mention of anything else.

It sounds like an incomplete delivery from you saying “this is not the final delivery” and that is what tripped you up probably. Any time you use the delivery button it needs to be the final, complete delivery.

I know what you meant that it could be revised but that is not exactly what you said. You said it was not a complete final delivery. This is my guess anyway.

And as markp said, he moved the site. So CS couldn’t see anything. In the future you would need to make a final, finished delivery on your own server. That way they can’t move the site.

I agree that the message is contradictory. I have no idea why it was cancelled, I can only make guesses.

There are other screenshots for future deliveries after I made the revision, I made another delivery of the website, which I all sent to the CS as proof. But anyway… Thanks for the advice. Btw, I removed the screenshot here because some others remind me it is not allowed to reveal buyer-related information in the forum. Thanks anyway.

[Guest bellelife]

That’s the CS reply after I sent her all the screenshot of the proof. She said - Due to our Privacy policy, we will not be able to disclose further information on why we cancelled your order. Excellent reply!

[misscrystal]

That’s the CS reply after I sent her all the screenshot of the proof. She said - Due to our Privacy policy, we will not be able to disclose further information on why we cancelled your order. Excellent reply!

They have to make decisions like this all the time and if there is any question at all then the buyer wins. I feel what I mentioned probably had a lot to do with it.