Partially completed order. time running out...shall I mark as delivered if buyer won't communicate?

[therussmorris]

Hi. I've ranted about this, but I still don't exactly know what to do...

Long story short : 
Pitched for a buyer request. Delivery of multiple voice overs on a topic. 
Provided sample reads and got the order. 
Buyer sent through first 2 scripts. Did those. Got request to adjust the recordings, so did that. Buyer happy with first 2 VO pieces.
Buyer sent through another 3 scripts and I did those (as of last Friday).
Since then, no communication with the buyer. 
Time running out, so asked for confirmation on when remaining scripts would be done. Nothing from buyer. 
Requested to extend delivery to allow more time for the rest of the scripts. No response. 
Found the most recent recording on a Youtube video, despite nothing from buyer since sending the files. 
Throughout all this the buyer has been 'seen online' multiple times and fairly regularly, but still no acknowledgement...

So what do I do here? I think I've done everything to try and get the buyer to respond. I don't want a hit on it being 'late' when I've done everything. I've done work that is being used without being paid. Sure, I've not done EVERYTHING that was in the buyer request, but the buyer hasn't sent everything. I've tried to extend the delivery...They too agreed to the time frame for completing the work. Shall I mark it as delivered? The two things I want is 1) to not reduce my stats for something that isn't my fault and 2) to get paid for the work, I've done everything I can. Even if it's partial payment...

Thoughts on this. What should I do?

 

[uk1000]

Don't use the "deliver work" button to deliver a partial order. The Terms of Service says:

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Using the “Deliver Work” button when an Order was not fulfilled may result in a cancellation of that Order after review, affect the Seller’s rating and result in a warning to Seller.

You could get a warning if you deliver a partial order. Also it would be better to not have sent the buyer the 2 VOs (eg. in posts) if the order was for more than 2 - you should use the "deliver work" button to send the whole (complete) order. Also word the offer to a specific number of VOs. Really the buyer should have given all scripts before the work was started.

If it hasn't been delivered with the "deliver work" button you could ask for a time extension (using the resolution centre near the top of the order page) for the remaining scripts to be given and to do the VO for any remaining scripts.

You could speak to CS about it if the buyer is using your work but isn't continuing with the order/no communication/eg. if you think you've been scammed by the buyer.

[therussmorris]

16 minutes ago, uk1000 said:

you could ask for a time extension (using the resolution centre near the top of the order page) for the remaining scripts to be given and to do the VO for any remaining scripts.

You could speak to CS about it if the buyer is using your work but isn't continuing with the order/no communication/eg. if you think you've been scammed by the buyer.

Thanks for your advice. I won't mark it as delivered. The offer was made to fulfil the buyer request, and from my understanding the offer being accepted means they also accept that it should be complete in the outlined time - therefor they understand they need to fulfil their obligation (to provide the scripts)

 I already have a request open in the resolution centre to extend the delivery, but no response since yesterday morning or acknowledgement from the buyer. If I have that request open and the delivery time runs out, does it take in to account at all that I've requested the time to be extended? The buyer still has another couple of days to respond to the request...Or should I cancel this request and open another related to the buyer not communicating (if that's a thing)?

I've looked in support to try and contact them, but it's really difficult to find anything related to this particular problem when using their 'request support' button.

[theratypist]

2 minutes ago, therussmorris said:

If I have that request open and the delivery time runs out, does it take in to account at all that I've requested the time to be extended?

I think it does, be generous with the time extension so there's enough leeway once it is indeed accepted. 

3 minutes ago, therussmorris said:

Or should I cancel this request and open another related to the buyer not communicating (if that's a thing)?

I don't think this is a thing unless you're cancelling the order (?)

4 minutes ago, therussmorris said:

I've looked in support to try and contact them, but it's really difficult to find anything related to this particular problem when using their 'request support' button.

That is true! Sounds complicated, but best you hear what they have to suggest: https://www.fiverr.com/support_tickets/new

[therussmorris]

1 minute ago, theratypist said:

That is true! Sounds complicated, but best you hear what they have to suggest: https://www.fiverr.com/support_tickets/new

Thank you. I couldn't find anything in there that was relevant, so I'm just going to go with 'order issue' / general enquiry and start a conversation that way. 

[uk1000]

14 minutes ago, therussmorris said:

I've looked in support to try and contact them, but it's really difficult to find anything related to this particular problem when using their 'request support' button.

It doesn't really matter if they don't have the exact thing in the menu to what it's about - just explain it in the ticket if (I sometimes mention to them that the options there weren't relevant enough or something). Maybe pick "Order issues"=> "General Enquiries".

If you've already asked to extend it it might be better to leave that as it is.  If they don't reply after too long and it does go too late they might be able to cancel it with an automatic 1 star though. Hopefully CS responds about it in time. If the buyer keeps using your work and ends up cancelling you could probably report them on the site where the work has been uploaded.

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If I have that request open and the delivery time runs out, does it take in to account at all that I've requested the time to be extended

If the delivery time runs out and the buyer hasn't accepted the time extension by then it will count the order as late as far as I know (I think even if they later accept it after it had run out).

[theratypist]

Just now, therussmorris said:

Thank you. I couldn't find anything in there that was relevant, so I'm just going to go with 'order issue' / general enquiry and start a conversation that way. 

Haha, oh yes. I've used that a lot.. I hope things get sorted out nicely for you and the buyer soon enough! 

[therussmorris]

@theratypist @uk1000 Thank you both, you've been really helpful. Contacted support. I'll leave everything in place for now in terms of the active request to extend the deadline. I assume that my buyer is still waiting scripts from his client who is producing the videos for or has messed up a little? I don't want to do it, but depending on the outcome I'll have to go to the YouTube channel that my work is on and file a copyright issue on the video which isn't their fault at all! Lesson learned about not agreeing to bulk orders and delivering one by one! I knew it wasn't ideal but it's a buyer with good feedback and excellent seller feedback so I gave them some leeway. 

[faymus]

Hey! So sorry to hear that you are having such a bad experience with a buyer. Like the others said, first file a complaint with CS, but make sure to attach proof of the work being used on another platform. According to Fiverr's ToS, all rights for the work produced belong to you until the project is marked as complete, therefore the buyer is in violation of the copyright, as well as the ToS. If you are lucky, You will receive monetary compensation.

In future, don't ever submit parts of the project before it is complete. A lot of my buyers ask me to do this and I respectfully tell them I cannot because that is against the ToS and they all understand. Unfortunately, you will encounter some bad buyers, so make sure you protect yourself as much as possible by following the ToS. 

Also, never start working on a project that does not have all the requirements submitted. This has really saved me from abusive buyers. If a buyer does this, Make sure you ask enough questions before you begin any work.

 

Good luck!

[therussmorris]

15 hours ago, faymus said:

n future, don't ever submit parts of the project before it is complete. A lot of my buyers ask me to do this and I respectfully tell them I cannot because that is against the ToS and they all understand. Unfortunately, you will encounter some bad buyers, so make sure you protect yourself as much as possible by following the ToS. 

Also, never start working on a project that does not have all the requirements submitted. This has really saved me from abusive buyers. If a buyer does this, Make sure you ask enough questions before you begin any work.

Great advice. Thanks so much for that. I'll follow that in the future, regardless of how 'good' the buyer looks!
I've submitted a request to CS and they've contacted the buyer directly for me to inform them the order will be cancelled in 24 hours if not response is given. I've also contacted the YouTube channel where my work was used to let them know it contains material that is copyrighted so they'll have to remove it. I feel bad for them, but they themselves are unknowingly using people that aren't being professional in their practices so I'm sure they'll be interested to hear about that.