Bizarre experience

[callyofficial]

I’m a music producer/audio engineer, and one of my gigs is to create intros for DJ’s, clubs and festivals. A buyer contacted me interested in having one created for his festival. He asked for pricing, and I gave all my pricing options. He then asked for examples, and I told him there were plenty on my gig page. Soon after he placed the order. So far so good.

After delivering the finished intro, he requested a revision, however this is where things get strange. He asked where the video was. I responded telling him there was no video, as I’m not a video editor, and the gig he’d ordered had nothing to do with video editing. I also pointed out there is no mention of videos or video editing anywhere in the description or FAQ’s of the gig he’d purchased, or any of my other gigs. He replied saying he’d been scammed, and he wants his money back.

To cut a long story short it’s now been 12 days and every day he messages saying things like ‘its scam’, ‘return’, ‘its fake’, ‘your strategy is a scam’, and so on. Each time I politely respond, saying I’m sorry he’s frustrated, but there was no mention of a video in any of his messages prior to ordering, he asked for examples before ordering and was pointed in the direction of audio only examples. I also explain there is no mention of video editing in my profile or on any gig pages, the work I have delivered is in line with his messages, my gig description, and the package he ordered. And all of my gigs are in Fiverr's Music & Audio category. I also mention, if something about my gig description has mislead him, please let me know, and if he has been mislead, I will immediately apologise, cancel the order and he will be reimbursed. But each time he comes back repeating the same words ignoring any request for information on how he was tricked, scammed, etc.

Fiverr support have already confirmed there is nothing they can do, and I just need to show him I have delivered what was ordered and what he asked for. I’ve even sent screenshots of our conversation, my profile and gig page, highlighting I’m an audio engineer and all my gig descriptions also mention this.

I don’t see him giving in and although I don’t feel burdened by it, at some point it will need to be resolved, which means I’ll probably have to take the loss on the chin, rather than waste more time going back and forth. And unfortunately for me there’s no good result to be had, as even if he did agree to pay, it would no doubt end in a 1-star review and unkind words.

The loss won’t break the bank for me, but it did make me think what would happen if there was a similar situation with a seller who had a gig for a larger amount. The maximum amount I can create an offer for is £50,000, so surely Fiverr has a better way to handle situations like this, where the fault clearly lies with the buyer?

One thing that came to mind was either the buyer or seller being able to create a proposal, where a smaller fee is paid to end the situation, rather than the buyer or seller having to take on 100% of the loss. Also if the proposal is accepted by both parties, then neither are able to leave a review, so everything can be left amicably. Even if it wasn't my fault, in certain situations like this, I would be prepared to do this as a compromise. I do understand this would no doubt come with it’s own challenges and possible ways to take advantage of the system, but surely this would be better than a seller losing 100% time and money when they're not at fault.

How would you deal with this situation? Do you think there’s a better way Fiverr can mediate problems like this?