Project Cancellation Scam

[chronos_1]

He refuses to accept a revision which I have offered countless times now.

It is true that fiverr can’t pressure clients to accept orders. No business in the world will do that.

You don’t have to agree for cancellation. You can keep cancelling all cancellation requests that come from your client.

It’s enough to send a last message along the lines “unfortunately your order is not eligible to be cancelled as I delivered everything as promised in my gig and according to your gig requirements. However I’m happy to work on the revision for you”.

And just keep declining their cancellation request until they get tired.

(That message above is important to show fiverr that you tried to resolve it and your client is still have an option of revision so fiverr CS wouldn’t cancel your order in case if your client contacts them)

Edit: you can also attach a screenshot of the part under the requirements in light grey colour that client agreed that all information they provided is correct.

Even if you keep cancelling the cancellation requests it wont work . We have seen buyer directly contact CS to cancel the order and then CS cancels it directly .

[mrs_write]

Hi Alexis,

When the client said this was not at all what they paid for, did they give more detail? In what way do they claim your delivery differs from what they paid for and agreed at the start?

My advice would be to see if the client cancels (do not accept a cancellation–but customer support might arrange this directly with the buyer, which is outside your control).

If the client cancels, write again to customer support. The fact is that different CS agents see things slightly differently and you may get one who does understand. When you write to CS, apologize that you are referring this matter back to them but say clearly:

• what I have provided is per the specification agreed;
• please take a look at my delivery and I am sure you will confirm that I have met/exceeded the specification in this case;
• the buyer refuses to receive a revision;
• I consider the buyer is seeking to obtain free work and as such, is exploiting Fiverr as well as myself as the seller.

Attach screenshots of any messages that may help between you and the buyer (as CS personnel say they cannot see all messages).

State what the project scope was and make clear that you have met the scope that was agreed; if the buyer has or had additional needs, they refuse to let you know what these are, thus leaving you unable to make revisions (which they unreasonably refuse anyway), and that you feel they will use the work and not remunerate.

If the buyer instigates a cancellation, stick to your position of asking customer support for ‘compensation’ as sellers are often paid in full by Fiverr where a customer cancels and yet the project was delivered in full to a high standard.

The key is you must cordially and unemotionally demonstrate to Fiverr that you met or exceeded the agreed specifications, so be as succinct and clear as possible and provide your evidence comprehensively and clearly.

Finally, write to the buyer (do this anyway) emphasizing that they must not use any element of your work and that this will be monitored by Fiverr and yourself if they cancel.

^^EDITED to add: I see you don’t care about the funds so much as being affected adversely by a cancellation. I would not worry about this as long as you are completing a few projects. You have only been a member since September last year and have 21 reviews; that is a healthy rate of job completion.

Therefore, although one cancellation is annoying and looks bad to you on your score, as long as you have other jobs in the pipeline or completed recently, it won’t stop you becoming a Level 1 seller and it will disappear in 60 days. I think this buyer will cancel one way or another so what you need to do is simply calculate how many orders (if any at all) you need to win so that you still meet Level One criteria at the next evaluation.

If you need a couple more orders, spend your valuable time on this instead of wasting more energy on the negativity of that one buyer. The more jobs you can win, the less that one cancellation can affect your cancellation rate (the % for completion rate will be better).

Best,

Annie

This is great and elaborate advice! The only thing I’m skeptical about is this part: “sellers are often paid in full by Fiverr where a customer cancels and yet the project was delivered in full to a high standard”. From personal experience, as well as what I’ve read on the forum, situations when sellers are getting their money despite an unfair cancellation are pretty seldom, but that shouldn’t keep any seller from trying anyway, if they know they have delivered accordingly.*

*Up until recently, the ToS used to state that “Orders are not eligible to be cancelled based on the quality of service/materials delivered by the Seller if the service was rendered as described in the Gig Page. Buyers may rate their experience with the Seller on the Order Page, including the overall level of service quality received.”, but I see it has since been removed.

[mariashtelle1]

Even if you keep cancelling the cancellation requests it wont work . We have seen buyer directly contact CS to cancel the order and then CS cancels it directly .

We have seen buyer directly contact CS to cancel the order and then CS cancels it directly .

👇 I’ll quote myself

That message above is important to show fiverr that you tried to resolve it and your client is still have an option of revision so fiverr CS wouldn’t cancel your order in case if your client contacts them

[thatwordchick]

@alexisfortin - Was this for written content? If so, if you’ll PM me an excerpt I’d be happy to use my Copyscape account to check if they’ve used it already. If they’ve used it, I can tell you from experience that Fiverr won’t care/back you up, but I can give you “ammo” for threatening a DMCA takedown and a report to their ISP/Host - I find a lot of scammers change their tune when they realize you know what your rights are. Let me know 🙂

[simeonlafroid]

He refuses to do so and Customer Support doesn’t care, quite frankly. They told me that all I can do is give the client what he wants (a cancellation) or keep begging him to come to an agreement. I have been trying for hours to offer a revision and he continues spamming me with “Cancel this project, I am not paying.”

Sorry for what happened. Unfortunately things like these happen once a while and there is nothing we can do as sellers as buyers hold the upper hand in the platform. But don’t lose hope. Do your best every time and try to build a rapport with every time they make a purchase from you. Talk to them nicely - educate them - give them some sort of value apart from the job you are doing - so they become regular buyers and don’t do these shady things in most cases. have a nice day.

[simeonlafroid]

@alexisfortin - Was this for written content? If so, if you’ll PM me an excerpt I’d be happy to use my Copyscape account to check if they’ve used it already. If they’ve used it, I can tell you from experience that Fiverr won’t care/back you up, but I can give you “ammo” for threatening a DMCA takedown and a report to their ISP/Host - I find a lot of scammers change their tune when they realize you know what your rights are. Let me know 🙂

that’s a good suggestion you have given there.

[catwriter]

Even if you keep cancelling the cancellation requests it wont work . We have seen buyer directly contact CS to cancel the order and then CS cancels it directly .

Even if you keep cancelling the cancellation requests it wont work . We have seen buyer directly contact CS to cancel the order and then CS cancels it directly .

Sometimes… And sometimes it does work. I remember @misscrystal mentioning that she played the cancellation ping-pong with a buyer for a month or so (they demanded to cancel, she kept refusing because she did the work as agreed), and eventually the buyer gave up, the order was marked as complete, and she got paid.

[genuineguidance]

Even if you keep cancelling the cancellation requests it wont work . We have seen buyer directly contact CS to cancel the order and then CS cancels it directly .

Sometimes… And sometimes it does work. I remember @misscrystal mentioning that she played the cancellation ping-pong with a buyer for a month or so (they demanded to cancel, she kept refusing because she did the work as agreed), and eventually the buyer gave up, the order was marked as complete, and she got paid.

I had a buyer a few years ago also try to play the cancellation game - and I kept refusing as well. They then thought they would scare me with the threat of a bad review. I wrote back and said, “go for it” - and I will then review YOU as well so others in my category can see how you conduct yourself. Funny, they stopped trying to cancel, and never left a review.

I would stand my ground and keep refusing to cancel - now, certainly, this person can go to CS and complain and have them cancel it - but, you are better off doing all you can to push back on them cancelling through you. Also, if they do give up on cancelling, and decide to give you a poor rating, remember, you can rate them as well, and you should!

Did you happen to look at this buyer’s other feedback to see if they tend to do this to sellers - trying to get more than what they pay for? Go to their profile and see their other reviews they give and get.

GG

[donnovan86]

As far as I can see you either cancel or you just force him to accept it. You get paid, but you will most likely get a 1-star review due to the spiteful buyer

[english_voice]

Yes, about 20 times now (no joke). I really don’t want to do this since I know I did the work properly and I don’t deserve this from a buyer. I do not want to see my project completion score drop because of a client that just doesn’t want to pay for my work even though it meets the requirements he shared with me at the start.

Based on what you’ve said, your buyer knew how to ‘game the system’ and is therefore a scammer.

While I don’t like to sink as low as scammers, sometimes you do have to fight fire with fire. If it was me I would keep on rejecting the cancellation request, which means their funds won’t be returned to them.

I don’t mean to trivialise your situation, but see it as a game and don’t give in. However, it’s important to always copy and paste the same message each time for the benefit of CS - something like “You have received your work inline with the agreed order. If you require a revision, then please let me know”.

If your buyer does give in, they are likely to leave poor feedback - but you have a public right to reply.

The sad thing is that unless CS come onboard with your side of the argument, in reality you only have a couple of choices - cancel and lose your time, money and professional pride - or fight on, but then be hammered with poor feedback.

[psykkopatte]

I had a buyer a few years ago also try to play the cancellation game - and I kept refusing as well. They then thought they would scare me with the threat of a bad review. I wrote back and said, “go for it” - and I will then review YOU as well so others in my category can see how you conduct yourself. Funny, they stopped trying to cancel, and never left a review.

I would stand my ground and keep refusing to cancel - now, certainly, this person can go to CS and complain and have them cancel it - but, you are better off doing all you can to push back on them cancelling through you. Also, if they do give up on cancelling, and decide to give you a poor rating, remember, you can rate them as well, and you should!

Did you happen to look at this buyer’s other feedback to see if they tend to do this to sellers - trying to get more than what they pay for? Go to their profile and see their other reviews they give and get.

GG

Nice one, but we have more to lose by getting a bad review as sellers than them as buyers 😦

[chronos_1]

Even if you keep cancelling the cancellation requests it wont work . We have seen buyer directly contact CS to cancel the order and then CS cancels it directly .

Sometimes… And sometimes it does work. I remember @misscrystal mentioning that she played the cancellation ping-pong with a buyer for a month or so (they demanded to cancel, she kept refusing because she did the work as agreed), and eventually the buyer gave up, the order was marked as complete, and she got paid.

Yea , in cases like these sometimes what happens is that buyer threatens to leave a bad review or contact support on his own even after completing all the work

[alexisfortin]

@alexisfortin - Was this for written content? If so, if you’ll PM me an excerpt I’d be happy to use my Copyscape account to check if they’ve used it already. If they’ve used it, I can tell you from experience that Fiverr won’t care/back you up, but I can give you “ammo” for threatening a DMCA takedown and a report to their ISP/Host - I find a lot of scammers change their tune when they realize you know what your rights are. Let me know 🙂

Thanks so much! Actually, I have a Copyscape account and the content has not been posted anywhere. The problem here is that this was actually a YouTube ad script that I wrote. Because it is a script that was to be used in a video, it would most likely never be posted anywhere since people do not simply post their video scripts on the internet. Nevertheless, thank you so much for your advice!

[alexisfortin]

I had to wait 24 hours before replying again, but thank you so much to everyone that commented and took their time to help me with this difficult situation. Have a great week!

[eileen_lue]

He refuses to accept a revision which I have offered countless times now.

It is true that fiverr can’t pressure clients to accept orders. No business in the world will do that.

You don’t have to agree for cancellation. You can keep cancelling all cancellation requests that come from your client.

It’s enough to send a last message along the lines “unfortunately your order is not eligible to be cancelled as I delivered everything as promised in my gig and according to your gig requirements. However I’m happy to work on the revision for you”.

And just keep declining their cancellation request until they get tired.

(That message above is important to show fiverr that you tried to resolve it and your client is still have an option of revision so fiverr CS wouldn’t cancel your order in case if your client contacts them)

Edit: you can also attach a screenshot of the part under the requirements in light grey colour that client agreed that all information they provided is correct.

“unfortunately your order is not eligible to be cancelled as I delivered everything as promised in my gig and according to your gig requirements. However I’m happy to work on the revision for you”.

@mariashtelle1 Very important reminder. Absolutely agree! Sometimes, the message we reply to the buyer is also seen and referenced by the Fiverr support team. And the message sort of determines how they go about the next step.

[eileen_lue]

Based on what you’ve said, your buyer knew how to ‘game the system’ and is therefore a scammer.

While I don’t like to sink as low as scammers, sometimes you do have to fight fire with fire. If it was me I would keep on rejecting the cancellation request, which means their funds won’t be returned to them.

I don’t mean to trivialise your situation, but see it as a game and don’t give in. However, it’s important to always copy and paste the same message each time for the benefit of CS - something like “You have received your work inline with the agreed order. If you require a revision, then please let me know”.

If your buyer does give in, they are likely to leave poor feedback - but you have a public right to reply.

The sad thing is that unless CS come onboard with your side of the argument, in reality you only have a couple of choices - cancel and lose your time, money and professional pride - or fight on, but then be hammered with poor feedback.

Thank you for mentioning the dilemma that many sellers face. And I agree with your approach, just firmly refuse the cancellation request of such buyers. And I will insist on reporting this buyer to the Fiverr support team. I think if the Fiverr support team receives enough negative feedback about this buyer from different sellers, then they will take action on this buyer.

[catwriter]

Thanks so much! Actually, I have a Copyscape account and the content has not been posted anywhere. The problem here is that this was actually a YouTube ad script that I wrote. Because it is a script that was to be used in a video, it would most likely never be posted anywhere since people do not simply post their video scripts on the internet. Nevertheless, thank you so much for your advice!

Because it is a script that was to be used in a video, it would most likely never be posted anywhere since people do not simply post their video scripts on the internet

They don’t, but if you know the company’s name/website, you can check their YouTube channel and see if they’re using your script. And if they do, you can report them to YouTube.

Another thing you can do is to (very politely, so that it can’t be seen as an actual threat! You’re just being nice and informing the buyer about possible problems they might be facing down the road!) inform the buyer that, if they cancel the order, they will have no legal rights to use the script (it’s in Fiverr’s Terms of Service), and that YouTube can remove their ad (or even their channel) at any time if they use it anyway. Or remove their client’s channel, if they need the script for a client.

[wordsfire]

Okay, guess what?

CS has the option to cancel an order without affecting your analytics. Maybe, reply to the CS agent that the buyer is NOT collaborating and if it’d be possible to cancel the order without affecting your stats.

In the meantime, don’t deny the cancellation requests right away. Breathe. Take some time. Re-deliver at night. They might get bored and go away by themselves.

[shahedulefty]

Hey, what’s the update?
Did Fiverr help you or they are in the buyer side?

[alexisfortin]

Okay, guess what?

CS has the option to cancel an order without affecting your analytics. Maybe, reply to the CS agent that the buyer is NOT collaborating and if it’d be possible to cancel the order without affecting your stats.

In the meantime, don’t deny the cancellation requests right away. Breathe. Take some time. Re-deliver at night. They might get bored and go away by themselves.

This is incorrect. Customer Support has offered to cancel the project, however, they cannot ensure that it will not affect my statistics.

[alexisfortin]

Hey, what’s the update?

Did Fiverr help you or they are in the buyer side?

Customer Support was not able to help whatsoever. I ended up waiting until I was promoted to Level 1 (seller) then I cancelled the buyer’s order.

[alexisfortin]

Good news! Customer Support got back to me and compensated me for my work, despite me having cancelled the order. I was not as worried about being paid for this work since it was a small order, but rather the cancellation.

The project was cancelled, but I will recover, no big deal. I am glad to finally see some effort from Customer Support to take my side a bit. They paid me for my work, at least, so the turnout could have been much worse!

[strategist_ceo]

Good news! Customer Support got back to me and compensated me for my work, despite me having cancelled the order. I was not as worried about being paid for this work since it was a small order, but rather the cancellation.

The project was cancelled, but I will recover, no big deal. I am glad to finally see some effort from Customer Support to take my side a bit. They paid me for my work, at least, so the turnout could have been much worse!

In my case, the customer support “take my side” as well, but insist that even though it’s questionable… the bad review he gave me can’t be removed.

[alexisfortin]

In my case, the customer support “take my side” as well, but insist that even though it’s questionable… the bad review he gave me can’t be removed.

I avoided a bad review my cancelling the project, personally.

[strategist_ceo]

I avoided a bad review my cancelling the project, personally.

It was a bad incident. I was blackmailed… I didn’t cancel because I don’t want to be bullied, I delivered him a work product that is what he wanted but people will question.

😅 I’m disappointed with Fiverr’s handling, “we agree with you”, “the buyer was behaving inappropriately” and “we will monitor his conduct”… but you got a bad review, boo-hoo-hoo.