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Buyer might ask for refund after I submitted work twice

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#1

Hello! I’m new to the forum, but I’ve been selling on Fiverr for over a year now.
I’ve run into a tricky situation, and after searching the forum for similar posts, I didn’t find anything that satisfied my question.
I am an article writer, and I had a buyer order one article last week. He liked my style, so he ordered four more pieces. I wrote to his specifications and submitted on time. He came back and requested revisions on three of the articles. Again, I wrote to his specifications.
He just messaged me this morning saying that I missed the mark on all three articles and that he is now going through and rewriting the articles. He listed numerous problems with the articles - problems that he did not tell me about when he asked for the revisions. Which begs the question: how do I fix what I don’t know about?
He is also claiming that I never submitted the fourth article even though I did. It’s there with the others, so I have no idea why he can’t see it or what he is talking about. I submitted everything he ordered the way he ordered it.
He’s clearly upset and wrote, “I don’t know how to move forward.”
I told him that as I wrote and revised the articles to his specifications, I cannot offer a refund. I also have it listed in my gig that I only offer one revision.
However, at the time he ordered, I did not have anything written in my gig about not offering refunds after the work is submitted. I have added it now, but I realize it doesn’t do me a lot of good.
He has not written back yet because it’s nighttime where he is, but I’m worried he’ll try to force the issue of a refund or go to Fiverr CS to get a refund.
My question: what can I do? Do I have a leg to stand on? How do I make sure I get my payment?
I worked hard on those articles, and I have all 5-star reviews except for one (which is a long story), so I’m clearly not a dunderhead when it comes to writing. I don’t want to lose out on my work and $60.
Additionally, does anyone have policies or terms of service section in their gig, outlining refunds and the like? Is that recommended, and if so, are there examples anywhere?

Thanks in advance!

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#2

I would redeliver everything. Something could have happened because of a glitch that one did not go through.

I do not think you need to have this in your gig description.

By NOT accepting a cancel request if your buyer asks for one. At this point, if you contact CS, I have learned that, unless the buyer is abusive, you will be advised to try to work it out with your buyer. At the same time, your buyer may contact CS, but he will be given the same advice.

If I remember correctly, @misscrystal declined a cancel order request 75 times before the buyer finally gave up. But if the order does not cancel, be prepaid to get a poor review and have your rebuttal ready.

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#3

No, but there are Fiverr’s Terms of Service, and they clearly state that an order is not eligible for a refund based on the quality of delivery if the seller delivered as advertised in the gig and if the instructions were followed.

On the other hand, CS usually tells sellers that they can’t force a buyer to accept delivery, and it’s possible that they will cancel the order if the buyer asks them to.

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#4

True, but in my experience, the buyer has come back and said CS told them to work it out with me. So, I usually continue to refuse the cancellation request. Although, if the order is smaller, I have canceled because life is too short, and the aggravation was not worth it.

1 Like
#5

Put some whiskey in your coffee and get ready for a fight!

Your buyer is trying to take you for a ride. The "I can’t see the article" or whatever you delivered, is the oldest trick in the book. As for your buyer having to rewrite your work, what this usually means is "I’m a reseller and I have poor communication skills and I didn’t relay my clients’ brief to you properly." Or they are just trying to make you feel like crap.

You don’t need to say you don’t offer refunds. You just don’t give them. Fiverr TOS already states that buyers can’t get refunds based on whether or not they like what is delivered.

If your buyer opens a dispute, decline to cancel. Also, try to see if your buyer has published your articles anywhere. Every time I have been in this exact situation, I’ve been able to find my supposedly horrendous writing already published online. i.e. Buyers are just trying to get work FOC.

If you do find your work anywhere online, send your buyer links and tell them that as per TOS copyright for your work does not transfer to them until they mark an order as complete. In this case, you must insist they remove it. This usually shuts scammers down.

Whatever you do, just don’t give in and cancel.

Good Luck. :crossed_fingers:

5 Likes
#6

Send him a screenshot from the order page that shows that you delivered all 4 files and write something like “of course, I’m happy to send that file again if it didn’t show up on your end for some reason”. If this issue will end up at support, whose first reply typically will be “work it out with the buyer”, it’s good when you can show that you already did everything to work it out.

Apart from that, yeah, what Cy said. And also take screenshots if you find your work published somewhere before telling him about that.

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#7

I agree with everything everyone said. I can’t say with certainty if he is hoping you will give him a refund or if he genuinely doesn’t like the articles or actually can’t see the fourth one or not.

My guess is it’s buyer’s remorse. He now has the articles, is actually happy with them, but is thinking about how much he spent and that is the real problem.

Good polite brief careful communication is the key to solving this, along with the suggestions the others have made.

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