Unanswered Open Support Request - bad seller - what to do?

[davidmanley]

The afternoon of 2/15, I logged my first Fiverr support request and have not heard anything back although the ticket is still marked open. I'm wondering why it could be taking so long.  A little backstory: I've had great experiences collaborating with Fiverr sellers for years but this one was bad out of the gate. I engaged a seller asking if writing a new line of css would fall under their 'basic' service - explained what I needed and everything. They said yes and I went ahead and purchased the package. Immediately, I received a string of messages "Why did you place an order without contacting me... can't you read my instructions in the price description..." I apologized and said I thought it was ok. They replied with "I said CONTACT ME FOR A CUSTOM QUOTE". I wrote back - when I explained what I needed and asked if it fell under basic and they agreed, I thought it was ok to go. They then said "No problem but, when I'm done, plan on adding tips". Between the unhinged response and a couple texts saying "some information is shown in English" I felt something was off and requested a cancellation. Of course, the seller declined cancellation. I put in the support request and took screenshots of the convo. The seller tells me they need me to work with them and I do not reply because I want Fiverr to weigh in on this first. I then start getting WhatsApp messages from the seller (a TOS violation) but they are now so sweet and telling me how much my satisfaction and the success of my website is their top priority. I do not reply on WhatsApp. Furthermore, the seller represents themselves on Fiverr as being from the United States and the country code on the WhatsApp number indicates they're from Nigeria. The "information shown in English" and their stock photo profile pic are starting to add up. I add this information and screen shot of the WhatsApp call to my support request. I saw a previous post where someone was claimed to have "location inconsistencies" and this certainly seems to fall under that. On 2/16, the seller "delivers" the job which is only a screenshot of my website, not code. I have 3 days to accept or get charged regardless. How do I proceed? How does Fiverr not cancel this transaction?

[vibronx]

9 minutes ago, davidmanley said:

How do I proceed?

Request a revision for "partial delivery" (or maybe it's called empty delivery, I don't remember) - which is another TOS violation. Remember to add this information to your support ticket. Otherwise, I don't think you can do much else than wait for them to respond. I'm sure they'll cancel it for you, and I hope they'll also punish the seller.

Edited February 17 by vibronx

[catwriter]

1 hour ago, davidmanley said:

. I'm wondering why it could be taking so long. 

Fiverr has introduced a new level system that made many sellers unhappy (and that's putting it so mildly it's ridiculous), many sellers found out that their accounts are flagged for violations they claim they didn't commit, and CS is swamped with requests for help and explanations.

On top of that, CS could be simply investigating your case, and that can take time, not to mention it's the weekend.

Anyway, do as @vibronx said. Do not let the order close. Keep requesting revisions for as long as it takes for CS to respond to you.

[davidmanley]

Thank you so much, @vibronx and @catwriter ! Refused delivery with "not what I ordered", requested another cancellation with note to seller reading "I approach my business interactions with kindness and respect. I don't feel our interaction started that way and it could be a misunderstanding. I don't feel we are a good match to work together and would like to kindly request the job be cancelled. Please consider this a "lesson learned" and kindly cancel the order. Please don't contact me via WhatsApp as that is a violation of TOS. Best wishes." 

Fingers crossed.

[davidmanley]

Just thought I would update in case anyone has similar issues. On 2/17, this afternoon, Fiverr customer service did resolve the issue with a cancellation and refund as requested.