The seller is blackmailing me!

[jake_hopkins]

scamming desperate undergrad students for money and blackmailing them if they don’t pay up.

You put yourself in a quite bad situation. I’m not so strict as @humanissocial and not so forgiving as @marinapomorac . They are both right, you are looking for a solution on how to get out dry out of the water. And that might not happen. But you will have to accept losses if that will come to that.

As for the situation itself: we already told you to contact fiverr support to get your refund. And most likely after that your account will be blocked.

For blackmailing I wouldn’t be been so scared. How much information does your seller knows? Only the name of your college? Name of your teacher?

Fine, where are they going to take email of your teacher? They might get a “contact us” university email but how big chances are that someone at uni will take that information seriously and pass it to your professor? And even if he will get the right contact, you still didn’t submit that work and you still have a chance to submit original work that you wrote yourself and then his blackmailing wouldn’t have any sense. They can’t expel you for the work that you didn’t submit.

However I really don’t Approve this trying to cheat the system and get someone else to do your work for you.

They can’t expel you for the work that you didn’t submit.

I totally get what you’re saying, but I’m not sure how the college would take it. They may be a bit suspicious, as maybe they don’t want people like @kakhakudava in their college, and they might try do it again. But, that’s completely up to the college. I really don’t know how it works.

[english_voice]

You’re both in the wrong for breaching Fiverr’s terms of service.

You’re in the wrong for asking for academic writing, and morally for cheating.

He is in the wrong for doing (some of) the work and then “blackmailing” you.

Personally, I can’t stand cheats. If you get found out and reported to your university then you only have yourself to blame.

Likewise, if your seller gets banned from Fiverr then good riddance. The community doesn’t need people who make threats.

[english_voice]

Don’t do this. @kakhakudava

Obviously, they know that what you are doing is wrong, but I am a lead instructor at University for over 14 years.

I had a situation where the student gave me his work, and when I look at the papers, I recognized my work. It was my papers I did as a student.

I did not jump on him immediately and asked to explain. He asked his mother to do the work, and she found my thesis, and she did not know my name, so she took the paper and retyped it and placed his name on top.

I explained to him that all of that is wrong and guided him in the IT room, showed him how to write papers and how to search for resources and what is acceptable and what isn’t.

His next paper was excellent and unique.

But a lot of people did not react like him; they just continue to send me papers they find on the internet.

So as a university professor, I understand all, and I never “judge and punish first, ask later”.

This situation is a learning lesson for you. It only depends on what you are going to learn.

Is doing this wrong and I will never do it again OR

I need to be more careful in the future, but continue doing it.

Take care.

I respect your point of view and admire you for mentoring the individual in your example, and for showing him that there is an honest way in life.

However, I fundamentally disagree with the concept of cheating and plagiarism. The op would have known that paying someone to do his work for him was wrong. Not only morally wrong, but also 100% against the rules of any respectable educational establishment, and 100% against Fiverr’s TOS.

Most universities take a zero tolerance approach to plagiarism - for very good reason - and will throw such students off their course. A bit like Fiverr’s terms of service, all universities have a set of student rules that must be adhered to.

I have a background in factual writing and I have lectured and led courses in journalism at college and university level.

I say that because as a writer myself, I don’t want my work being plagiarised by lazy individuals looking to make free money from my efforts. And as someone who has worked in education, you can always spot those students with the hunger, instinct and skills to succeed on their course, and those who are only there because ‘mummy and daddy’ are paying - but they would rather be out socialising.

The op was wrong. Breaching university rules. Breaching Fiverr’s rules, and breaching life’s moral code.

Likewise I hope the seller is banned for his behaviour.

[j6nyc6]

Okay maybe I’m missing something here since I only read about 50% of the post. You hired someone to write an academic paper for you, correct?

For them to write this paper did you also have to give them your real name and your universities name? Are those two elements needed to write the paper? Without those two key elements they would have no idea who you truly are.

Also, let’s say you cave and accept the order and cut your loses, who’s to say they don’t report you anyway? Or even worse, blackmail you again and ask for more money.

Honestly is the best policy since lies tend to make the hole your standing in deeper.

[marinapomorac]

I respect your point of view and admire you for mentoring the individual in your example, and for showing him that there is an honest way in life.

However, I fundamentally disagree with the concept of cheating and plagiarism. The op would have known that paying someone to do his work for him was wrong. Not only morally wrong, but also 100% against the rules of any respectable educational establishment, and 100% against Fiverr’s TOS.

Most universities take a zero tolerance approach to plagiarism - for very good reason - and will throw such students off their course. A bit like Fiverr’s terms of service, all universities have a set of student rules that must be adhered to.

I have a background in factual writing and I have lectured and led courses in journalism at college and university level.

I say that because as a writer myself, I don’t want my work being plagiarised by lazy individuals looking to make free money from my efforts. And as someone who has worked in education, you can always spot those students with the hunger, instinct and skills to succeed on their course, and those who are only there because ‘mummy and daddy’ are paying - but they would rather be out socialising.

The op was wrong. Breaching university rules. Breaching Fiverr’s rules, and breaching life’s moral code.

Likewise I hope the seller is banned for his behaviour.

I respect your point of view

Thank you.

However, I fundamentally disagree with the concept of cheating and plagiarism.

Me to.

Most universities take a zero tolerance approach to plagiarism

Yes, but we must treat every case individually. Look at this scenario. A student who is poor and has no laptop or internet or nothing. He was working in his father’s store half-day and half-day in university. He was embarrassed to say that and when one teacher demanded that they present their files on USB he was petrified of failing and he searched for help in the wrong place.

His falsified papers where discovered and he was set to be expelled.

Do I stick out for him? Do I go to the dean office and tell him if he doesn’t give him a second chance I am leaving too?

The teacher’s job is to guide. Not to lead.

What kind of guide would I be if I leave behind anyone who wanders from the path?

I don’t want my work being plagiarised

I wrote a book for a text exam and people attending this exam have a minimum salary 10000$. The book is 40$ with shipping and first of its kind in the industry. You do not need any other book to prepare for the exam. In a month someone copied it and started selling the copied version. I managed to trace some of them, but…

The op was wrong.

Yes, but if I was to say something bothers me it would be the fact she is rich enough to pay 400$ for papers. 400$ is 2 months worth food for me. If I as a student had to choose between “warming up a chair” or be without food for 2 months… well…

400$ for papers? Even if I was down to the core cheater I would rather do the work than pay that kind of money.

[sabbir15553]

You can report your seller on fiverr help center.

[english_voice]

I respect your point of view

Thank you.

However, I fundamentally disagree with the concept of cheating and plagiarism.

Me to.

Most universities take a zero tolerance approach to plagiarism

Yes, but we must treat every case individually. Look at this scenario. A student who is poor and has no laptop or internet or nothing. He was working in his father’s store half-day and half-day in university. He was embarrassed to say that and when one teacher demanded that they present their files on USB he was petrified of failing and he searched for help in the wrong place.

His falsified papers where discovered and he was set to be expelled.

Do I stick out for him? Do I go to the dean office and tell him if he doesn’t give him a second chance I am leaving too?

The teacher’s job is to guide. Not to lead.

What kind of guide would I be if I leave behind anyone who wanders from the path?

I don’t want my work being plagiarised

I wrote a book for a text exam and people attending this exam have a minimum salary 10000$. The book is 40$ with shipping and first of its kind in the industry. You do not need any other book to prepare for the exam. In a month someone copied it and started selling the copied version. I managed to trace some of them, but…

The op was wrong.

Yes, but if I was to say something bothers me it would be the fact she is rich enough to pay 400$ for papers. 400$ is 2 months worth food for me. If I as a student had to choose between “warming up a chair” or be without food for 2 months… well…

400$ for papers? Even if I was down to the core cheater I would rather do the work than pay that kind of money.

Yes, but if I was to say something bothers me it would be the fact she is rich enough to pay 400$ for papers. 400$ is 2 months worth food for me. If I as a student had to choose between “warming up a chair” or be without food for 2 months… well…

While reading through your post, the fact that the op could afford to pay $400 was at the forefront of my mind. Then I get to the end and you’ve highlighted this yourself!

I totally accept that some students do struggle with basic resources at home, I’ve seen this myself, but all colleges and universities (at least here in the UK) provide very capable computers, libraries and study rooms.

The tools are readily available. What is lacking is the moral compass and the will or even ability to complete a task. This is why I have a major issue with plagiarism.

I’ve heard so many people say that “paying people to write papers is part of university life”. Well, it shouldn’t be. It’s cheating. It’s that simple.

[zerlina84]

Yep, just accept the cancellation and lose $400, report that disgusting person (I really wish we could name and shame sometimes…) and never do that again. Geez, you are in college to LEARN.

EDIT: if reporting them means losing your own account, so be it. It’s only fair…

[coerdelion]

Don’t do this. @kakhakudava

Obviously, they know that what you are doing is wrong, but I am a lead instructor at University for over 14 years.

I had a situation where the student gave me his work, and when I look at the papers, I recognized my work. It was my papers I did as a student.

I did not jump on him immediately and asked to explain. He asked his mother to do the work, and she found my thesis, and she did not know my name, so she took the paper and retyped it and placed his name on top.

I explained to him that all of that is wrong and guided him in the IT room, showed him how to write papers and how to search for resources and what is acceptable and what isn’t.

His next paper was excellent and unique.

But a lot of people did not react like him; they just continue to send me papers they find on the internet.

So as a university professor, I understand all, and I never “judge and punish first, ask later”.

This situation is a learning lesson for you. It only depends on what you are going to learn.

Is doing this wrong and I will never do it again OR

I need to be more careful in the future, but continue doing it.

Take care.

Universities are very clear about plagiarism: plagiarism will get you expelled. No second chances.

This is generally stated in the University regulations and at regular lectures throughout the academic year. It is not considered a minor infraction, but a major one.

I explained to him that all of that is wrong and guided him in the IT room, showed him how to write papers and how to search for resources and what is acceptable and what isn’t.

His next paper was excellent and unique.

How did this student manage to get into any university without being familiar with this already?

OP - you could probably get away with anything else at university, but not this. Be prepared to face severe consequences. The irony of this situation is that the time and anxiety you’ve spent on this could easily have spent doing your own work and writing your own paper.

Fiverr also takes a dim view of plagiarism - this type of offer is in breach of TOS and strictly enforced.

[eoinfinnegan]

It’s worth keeping in mind that the OP is likely a young person who saw an easy way out and took it. This culture of taking an easy way out wasn’t invented by the OP, or their generation.
In fact, from what I can tell, the concept is mainly promoted to students by those of my generation or older. This is done in a similar way to the whitewashing of sharing your private data and it seems now that the younger you are, the less that is an issue. These things are not accidents but part of highly targeted campaigns by unscrupulous actors and it isn’t surprising that they have succeeded in many cases.

I have never sought academic writing anywhere yet I have seen a large amount of ads from various sources offering these services. Ads on Snapchat, LinkedIn, Google Ads, Banner ads on sites as well as Influencers on basically all platforms, have consistently talked about how easy it is, how everyone is doing it, how you are just doing a tiny bad thing for the greater good, etc. For anyone under 25, I would have some empathy for them considering this as an option given the level of promotion and the suggestion that it isn’t such a big deal. There was always (in the pre-internet age) the option of finding that person who would do your work for you for a price but there were a lot more barriers including the higher risk of being caught/blackmailed etc.

However, that doesn’t make it ok or excusable and my view would be that expulsion is the only way - and that expulsion should be pointed out repeatedly by institutions to drive home the idea that they can’t do this.

As to what the OP can do, well, coming clean to me is the only option. The bottom line is that the OP has not submitted plagiarized work themselves. They have attempted to buy it - that’s it. If they went with this info to the university and explained they would now do the work themselves if allowed, then I can’t see expulsion happening. It’s only illegal to submit this as your work - OP hasn’t done this so they haven’t actually done anything legally wrong or against the rules of the University. *OP - Make sure to check all rules of your university before deciding what to do

Come clean, then report the seller, get your money back and get to work on the paper yourself. Or give up on college if the work is too much for you. Don’t jeopardize your future by being labelled a cheat. It’s not worth it.

[english_voice]

It’s worth keeping in mind that the OP is likely a young person who saw an easy way out and took it. This culture of taking an easy way out wasn’t invented by the OP, or their generation.

In fact, from what I can tell, the concept is mainly promoted to students by those of my generation or older. This is done in a similar way to the whitewashing of sharing your private data and it seems now that the younger you are, the less that is an issue. These things are not accidents but part of highly targeted campaigns by unscrupulous actors and it isn’t surprising that they have succeeded in many cases.

I have never sought academic writing anywhere yet I have seen a large amount of ads from various sources offering these services. Ads on Snapchat, LinkedIn, Google Ads, Banner ads on sites as well as Influencers on basically all platforms, have consistently talked about how easy it is, how everyone is doing it, how you are just doing a tiny bad thing for the greater good, etc. For anyone under 25, I would have some empathy for them considering this as an option given the level of promotion and the suggestion that it isn’t such a big deal. There was always (in the pre-internet age) the option of finding that person who would do your work for you for a price but there were a lot more barriers including the higher risk of being caught/blackmailed etc.

However, that doesn’t make it ok or excusable and my view would be that expulsion is the only way - and that expulsion should be pointed out repeatedly by institutions to drive home the idea that they can’t do this.

As to what the OP can do, well, coming clean to me is the only option. The bottom line is that the OP has not submitted plagiarized work themselves. They have attempted to buy it - that’s it. If they went with this info to the university and explained they would now do the work themselves if allowed, then I can’t see expulsion happening. It’s only illegal to submit this as your work - OP hasn’t done this so they haven’t actually done anything legally wrong or against the rules of the University. *OP - Make sure to check all rules of your university before deciding what to do

Come clean, then report the seller, get your money back and get to work on the paper yourself. Or give up on college if the work is too much for you. Don’t jeopardize your future by being labelled a cheat. It’s not worth it.

You make a very fair point that I overlooked - the op hasn’t submitted the work.

So, from that point of view he may well be in the clear with his university.

However, the intention to cheat was still there, and that may well still count against him.

I hope he learns a valuable lesson, and if he loses his €400 then he should think of this as a fine and a lucky escape, although clearly it’s not!

[eoinfinnegan]

You make a very fair point that I overlooked - the op hasn’t submitted the work.

So, from that point of view he may well be in the clear with his university.

However, the intention to cheat was still there, and that may well still count against him.

I hope he learns a valuable lesson, and if he loses his €400 then he should think of this as a fine and a lucky escape, although clearly it’s not!

the intention to cheat was still there, and that may well still count against him.

It may count in some way but couldn’t be used as grounds for expulsion as far as I can see - OP should check the university rules around plagiarism, ethics etc.

[coerdelion]

… that depends on whether this is the first time the OP has ordered academic work. All submitted work would now have to be checked for this.

Why their university doesn’t use something like Turnitin is another question …

[eoinfinnegan]

… that depends on whether this is the first time the OP has ordered academic work. All submitted work would now have to be checked for this.

Why their university doesn’t use something like Turnitin is another question …

Valid point too!

If they have done the same previously then it will be found out hopefully.

I do find it amazing that the OP sees no issue with posting this on a forum, expecting that people will provide solutions rather than query their actions. It shows how little understanding they have of the seriousness of what they have tried to do.

[coerdelion]

IKR?! This invincibility approach turns up in the oddest places … !

[prillantos]

That’s wrong.
Contact support they’ll refund.
But your account will get banned that be assured.

[catwriter]

You make a very fair point that I overlooked - the op hasn’t submitted the work.

So, from that point of view he may well be in the clear with his university.

However, the intention to cheat was still there, and that may well still count against him.

I hope he learns a valuable lesson, and if he loses his €400 then he should think of this as a fine and a lucky escape, although clearly it’s not!

However, the intention to cheat was still there, and that may well still count against him.

It might count to a point, but intention to murder someone and then losing the gun (and therefore not proceeding with it) is not the same as actually committing murder.

[visualstudios]

Contact support, cancel the order, get him banned. Simple. You didn’t turn in any plagiarised materials, so even if he tells on you in all likelihood nothing will happen. The university has no proof whatsoever that you committed any fraud if you didn’t submit that paper under your own name. It’s all conjecture, and they are not going to expel you based on conjecture.

And (it goes without saying) never buy academic work again, specially not on an online platform. And if you do, don’t be stupid to the point of including your name / university etc. in any of the information you send the seller.

[cyaxrex]

It’s worth keeping in mind that the OP is likely a young person who saw an easy way out and took it. This culture of taking an easy way out wasn’t invented by the OP, or their generation.

In fact, from what I can tell, the concept is mainly promoted to students by those of my generation or older. This is done in a similar way to the whitewashing of sharing your private data and it seems now that the younger you are, the less that is an issue. These things are not accidents but part of highly targeted campaigns by unscrupulous actors and it isn’t surprising that they have succeeded in many cases.

I have never sought academic writing anywhere yet I have seen a large amount of ads from various sources offering these services. Ads on Snapchat, LinkedIn, Google Ads, Banner ads on sites as well as Influencers on basically all platforms, have consistently talked about how easy it is, how everyone is doing it, how you are just doing a tiny bad thing for the greater good, etc. For anyone under 25, I would have some empathy for them considering this as an option given the level of promotion and the suggestion that it isn’t such a big deal. There was always (in the pre-internet age) the option of finding that person who would do your work for you for a price but there were a lot more barriers including the higher risk of being caught/blackmailed etc.

However, that doesn’t make it ok or excusable and my view would be that expulsion is the only way - and that expulsion should be pointed out repeatedly by institutions to drive home the idea that they can’t do this.

As to what the OP can do, well, coming clean to me is the only option. The bottom line is that the OP has not submitted plagiarized work themselves. They have attempted to buy it - that’s it. If they went with this info to the university and explained they would now do the work themselves if allowed, then I can’t see expulsion happening. It’s only illegal to submit this as your work - OP hasn’t done this so they haven’t actually done anything legally wrong or against the rules of the University. *OP - Make sure to check all rules of your university before deciding what to do

Come clean, then report the seller, get your money back and get to work on the paper yourself. Or give up on college if the work is too much for you. Don’t jeopardize your future by being labelled a cheat. It’s not worth it.

In fact, from what I can tell, the concept is mainly promoted to students by those of my generation or older. This is done in a similar way to the whitewashing of sharing your private data and it seems now that the younger you are, the less that is an issue. These things are not accidents but part of highly targeted campaigns by unscrupulous actors and it isn’t surprising that they have succeeded in many cases.

Stop rumbling my evil plans!

To be honest, I think my (probably our) generation was the last to be educated in any kind of legitimate sense. I have a friend with a degree in computer science who can repeat all these fancy things about computers but couldn’t accept until I showed him how easy it is to hack pretty much anyone’s wifi. (I haven’t yet found a network that I can’t at least intercept all data from.)

As it is, I see higher education these days as churning out legions of people who just repeat everything they have been ‘taught’ but are incapable of actually thinking. This is why so many services exist that sell academic essays and even dissertations. As it is, people using them are incapable of even being able to comprehend how using them might be a bad idea.

[jonbaas]

In fact, from what I can tell, the concept is mainly promoted to students by those of my generation or older. This is done in a similar way to the whitewashing of sharing your private data and it seems now that the younger you are, the less that is an issue. These things are not accidents but part of highly targeted campaigns by unscrupulous actors and it isn’t surprising that they have succeeded in many cases.

Stop rumbling my evil plans!

To be honest, I think my (probably our) generation was the last to be educated in any kind of legitimate sense. I have a friend with a degree in computer science who can repeat all these fancy things about computers but couldn’t accept until I showed him how easy it is to hack pretty much anyone’s wifi. (I haven’t yet found a network that I can’t at least intercept all data from.)

As it is, I see higher education these days as churning out legions of people who just repeat everything they have been ‘taught’ but are incapable of actually thinking. This is why so many services exist that sell academic essays and even dissertations. As it is, people using them are incapable of even being able to comprehend how using them might be a bad idea.

I see higher education these days as churning out legions of people who just repeat everything they have been ‘taught’ but are incapable of actually thinking.

I completely agree with this. I graduated from college nearly 20 years ago, and when I compare the level of comprehension in my class then, to the younger classes (in general) that I see today, I weep for civilization. I’ve seen far too many college students, in the present, who know little to nothing about George Washington, WWII, or even common sense civics. They expect everything to be given to them (or they expect to hire someone else to do all their work for them), and then they complain when reality catches up with them. Common sense is becoming highly uncommon.

[kawsarchy23]

It’s totally against Fiverr’s TOS. Fiverr is not allow this type of work. and second thing He brak the Fiverr roles to do black-mailing you. and if he did not fulfill your requirements you can contact CS. They will check everything and will give both of you good solutions but there is another problem for your academics. if he does what he told you it will be a big problem for you

[eoinfinnegan]

I see higher education these days as churning out legions of people who just repeat everything they have been ‘taught’ but are incapable of actually thinking.

I completely agree with this. I graduated from college nearly 20 years ago, and when I compare the level of comprehension in my class then, to the younger classes (in general) that I see today, I weep for civilization. I’ve seen far too many college students, in the present, who know little to nothing about George Washington, WWII, or even common sense civics. They expect everything to be given to them (or they expect to hire someone else to do all their work for them), and then they complain when reality catches up with them. Common sense is becoming highly uncommon.

I think those people with no common sense always existed, they just went to do manual and menial jobs when finished school whereas now it’s a lot easier to get into some kind of college course. In the past decade or so, since the last recession, third level education became a way for government to keep the unemployment rate down.

That much is clear when I see the certificates being handed out for year long courses that provide info that will never be used or could be learned much quicker in a couple of weeks on YouTube.

College education has also been cheapened in terms of quality as it has become big business run by business managers and facilitated by banks who want to see more and more people in the colleges and subsequently be paying back obscene loans for the next 20 years. It’s a similar cash cow to healthcare and just like there is no incentive to make an ill person better, there’s no incentive to turn away anyone from colleges.

[all4tech]

So we had such experience this month. Some buyer from ****** ordered our GIG. He needed something additional and placed additional extra. He started right away to be rude saying we’ve ripped him off and that the additional extra was for nothing.

As always, we tried to keep our buyer calm and offered him compensation to his additional extra, EVEN FULL ANOTHER GIG! For free! Because, at the end, pleased and satisfied buyer will always come back.

He refused. He asked for 5 ADDITIONAL FULL GIGs! And said if you don’t like, cancel the order. We were in shock! Such impudent behavior!

We explained that it would not happen! After that he said, OK, I’ll go to 3 full GIGs. In that point we didn’t know what to do. From one side, we were worried about our rating, but from other side, HOW CAN YOU TRUST someone, that after getting 3 additional FREE GIGs, will keep his word.

We’ve contacted support, which for the first time was so late, 3 days to be exact! In that time order finished. So what we did? We actually remade his whole GIG, offering something that never in few years delivered to no one. He kept canceling the order, saying that our GIG is overrated, it’s nothing, that we do monotonous task, only replacing logo and to stop di**ing around! 😮 What a nightmare!

So we’ve redelivered his order for about 4-5 times and he keep canceling asking for additional full GIGs. Eventually, at the end he accepted the order and he gave us 1 star rating! What?! 😮 Such a nightmare!

After order was completed, finally we’ve been contacted from the support. We’ve explained the situation and the operator was really kind, understanding the situation and apologizing for having such experience. We’ve asked for the rating to be removed. Said that he sent request to the relevant team and should inform us quickly. We finally heard from him after 6 DAYS! 😮 6 days guys! Never, ever support was so slow. If they’ve acted much faster, while the order was ON, this wouldn’t happened.

And we’ve got such horrible news. Said that they’re really sorry, but they can’t to anything about that, because leaving review was buyer right and didn’t break their terms and conditions.

And we’ve asked… so you’re actually supporting and approving buyers to blackmail sellers on Fiverr? Is BLACKMAILING NOT against terms and conditions? We were really fools to believe that we’ll get any help and understanding from support, when it’s obviously they always support buyers more.

What more buyer should do than blackmailing and insulting us, to be considered AS breaking the terms and conditions?

It was so disappointing experience.

The crucial part in all of this situation is that buyer gave us such horrible review not because he wasn’t pleased with his order, which we offered to give him additional extra or even full new GIG, and at the end delivered him order that never before delivered to no one before, just to please him, but he gave us such horrible review because HE DIDN’T got any additional GIGs for free! That’s the most painful! The review wasn’t relevant! From support confirmed this as well, but yet, they didn’t do nothing about that.

What’s worrying us is that was really symptomatic that support contacted us after 3 days and got answer after 6 days. It seems (maybe it’s stupid to say, but it seems like) the buyer had some connections in support.

Now, the main questions is… WHY there’s no guaranteed protection for us - sellers in such situations? What’s next? What we need to do? To accept every blackmailing like it’s normal part of our job? Really, really disappointing guys…

Maybe they need to update their terms and conditions, where clearly will be said, that no blackmail will be tolerated.

[visualstudios]

So we had such experience this month. Some buyer from ****** ordered our GIG. He needed something additional and placed additional extra. He started right away to be rude saying we’ve ripped him off and that the additional extra was for nothing.

As always, we tried to keep our buyer calm and offered him compensation to his additional extra, EVEN FULL ANOTHER GIG! For free! Because, at the end, pleased and satisfied buyer will always come back.

He refused. He asked for 5 ADDITIONAL FULL GIGs! And said if you don’t like, cancel the order. We were in shock! Such impudent behavior!

We explained that it would not happen! After that he said, OK, I’ll go to 3 full GIGs. In that point we didn’t know what to do. From one side, we were worried about our rating, but from other side, HOW CAN YOU TRUST someone, that after getting 3 additional FREE GIGs, will keep his word.

We’ve contacted support, which for the first time was so late, 3 days to be exact! In that time order finished. So what we did? We actually remade his whole GIG, offering something that never in few years delivered to no one. He kept canceling the order, saying that our GIG is overrated, it’s nothing, that we do monotonous task, only replacing logo and to stop di**ing around! 😮 What a nightmare!

So we’ve redelivered his order for about 4-5 times and he keep canceling asking for additional full GIGs. Eventually, at the end he accepted the order and he gave us 1 star rating! What?! 😮 Such a nightmare!

After order was completed, finally we’ve been contacted from the support. We’ve explained the situation and the operator was really kind, understanding the situation and apologizing for having such experience. We’ve asked for the rating to be removed. Said that he sent request to the relevant team and should inform us quickly. We finally heard from him after 6 DAYS! 😮 6 days guys! Never, ever support was so slow. If they’ve acted much faster, while the order was ON, this wouldn’t happened.

And we’ve got such horrible news. Said that they’re really sorry, but they can’t to anything about that, because leaving review was buyer right and didn’t break their terms and conditions.

And we’ve asked… so you’re actually supporting and approving buyers to blackmail sellers on Fiverr? Is BLACKMAILING NOT against terms and conditions? We were really fools to believe that we’ll get any help and understanding from support, when it’s obviously they always support buyers more.

What more buyer should do than blackmailing and insulting us, to be considered AS breaking the terms and conditions?

It was so disappointing experience.

The crucial part in all of this situation is that buyer gave us such horrible review not because he wasn’t pleased with his order, which we offered to give him additional extra or even full new GIG, and at the end delivered him order that never before delivered to no one before, just to please him, but he gave us such horrible review because HE DIDN’T got any additional GIGs for free! That’s the most painful! The review wasn’t relevant! From support confirmed this as well, but yet, they didn’t do nothing about that.

What’s worrying us is that was really symptomatic that support contacted us after 3 days and got answer after 6 days. It seems (maybe it’s stupid to say, but it seems like) the buyer had some connections in support.

Now, the main questions is… WHY there’s no guaranteed protection for us - sellers in such situations? What’s next? What we need to do? To accept every blackmailing like it’s normal part of our job? Really, really disappointing guys…

Maybe they need to update their terms and conditions, where clearly will be said, that no blackmail will be tolerated.

You have to vet your buyers. If a client tried something like that with me, the order would be canceled on the spot. Better yet, he wouldn’t even order - I don’t accept orders without speaking to the client first. If there are ANY red flags, I’ll refuse and block them before an order is placed.

Don’t offer ANYTHING for free when being blackmailed. Just cancel. And don’t trust Fiverr to care for your interests, you have to care for your interests. Make it as difficult as possible for any buyer to take advantage. Learn the rules and how things work, and work within that in a way that benefits you as much as possible.

[all4tech]

You have to vet your buyers. If a client tried something like that with me, the order would be canceled on the spot. Better yet, he wouldn’t even order - I don’t accept orders without speaking to the client first. If there are ANY red flags, I’ll refuse and block them before an order is placed.

Don’t offer ANYTHING for free when being blackmailed. Just cancel. And don’t trust Fiverr to care for your interests, you have to care for your interests. Make it as difficult as possible for any buyer to take advantage. Learn the rules and how things work, and work within that in a way that benefits you as much as possible.

Very well said! You know, this is first time in almost 6 years we had such experience… and we’ve got pretty stubborn. We did awesome job… but we were really foolish to believe that support would help us. Obvious blackmailing, even operator confirmed and apologized for that and after that saying, there’s nothing we can do, there’s no violation in our terms and conditions. Really frustrating.

But also… they’ve changed the rules about canceling… before if order was canceled with mutual agreement everything would be fine. But now it’s also affecting on our rating.

It seems that the rules they’re making are getting rougher and rougher to sellers only 😦