Buyer Scams & Order Cancellations After Delivery

[sarahtaylor1230]

I realize that this overall topic has been discussed many times on Fiverr but I wanted to also put my recent experience here as well and talk about it in hope that Fiverr will fix whatever loopholes they have that contribute to scams and fraud for legitimate freelancers making a living off this site.

I have had some degree of success on Fiverr in the past year. Largely, my services consist of social media, website content and websites. This particular client approached me asking for help with his website. I determined that he needed content because he had none. It was a real estate site. I provided him with consultation as to what I believed he needed to meet his goals and then he contracted me to write 13 pieces of content for his site in the form of articles. These were to be completed within 2 weeks. I usually allot myself plenty of time to finish work so as to allow for any unforeseen things that may consume time. This particular job was finished in less than 2 weeks.

My client wanted to pay half up front and the rest on completion using the milestone feature. I agreed and ended up providing him 3 of the 13 articles to get started with that–he indicated he loved them and requested minor revisions. I continued working over the next few days until we were 2 articles short of completion. This was when he messaged saying he no longer needed the content. I let him know that I was nearly finished with his job and that if he wanted to cancel, he would have to do that on his end and he would have until the last day to do it. I let the work sit for approximately another 5 days after that and heard nothing from the client.

On the last day, I decided since I hadn’t heard from him and he had not cancelled anything, I would go ahead and deliver the completed work in order to try and get paid–after all, he had 5 days to cancel this order and I got no response from him on it even though I reached out to him twice during that 5 days and was ignored…so on delivery (and this was a $300 job) the client comes back saying he isn’t going to pay and that he’s going to dispute and all sorts of things.

I realize that I took a gamble when I let him run down the fiverr clock on delivery and then delivered but what about the fact that I was more than halfway finished with his work and had put time into it and so on up to that point? What about the fact that he ordered a gig that stipulated 1 revision and no refunds? What about the fact that he seems to want something for nothing (he had 3 of my articles already) and has already published that on his website?

Thoughts/ideas? Fiverr–what are you doing to protect against this sort of thing?

[angiesvoice_vo]

According to Fiverr…Buyers can cancel an order for ANY REASON…and get a refund: This is the response I got when I had a problem with a buyer who simply changed his mind and said he didn’t need my recording as a female, and wanted a male voice instead. Fiverr does NOT protect the Sellers! This is the response I got from customer support when I sent them my complaint regarding a cancellation that went against the Terms of Service: "While we would not cancel an order based on personal taste directly, the buyer does have the final word on how their funds are spent and any reason they want to cancel an order for is valid."
Sellers DO NOT HAVE ANY PROTECTION! This is a major problem with Fiverr.

[zerlina84]

I realize that this overall topic has been discussed many times on Fiverr but I wanted to also put my recent experience here as well and talk about it in hope that Fiverr will fix whatever loopholes they have that contribute to scams and fraud for legitimate freelancers making a living off this site.

I have had some degree of success on Fiverr in the past year. Largely, my services consist of social media, website content and websites. This particular client approached me asking for help with his website. I determined that he needed content because he had none. It was a real estate site. I provided him with consultation as to what I believed he needed to meet his goals and then he contracted me to write 13 pieces of content for his site in the form of articles. These were to be completed within 2 weeks. I usually allot myself plenty of time to finish work so as to allow for any unforeseen things that may consume time. This particular job was finished in less than 2 weeks.

My client wanted to pay half up front and the rest on completion using the milestone feature. I agreed and ended up providing him 3 of the 13 articles to get started with that–he indicated he loved them and requested minor revisions. I continued working over the next few days until we were 2 articles short of completion. This was when he messaged saying he no longer needed the content. I let him know that I was nearly finished with his job and that if he wanted to cancel, he would have to do that on his end and he would have until the last day to do it. I let the work sit for approximately another 5 days after that and heard nothing from the client.

On the last day, I decided since I hadn’t heard from him and he had not cancelled anything, I would go ahead and deliver the completed work in order to try and get paid–after all, he had 5 days to cancel this order and I got no response from him on it even though I reached out to him twice during that 5 days and was ignored…so on delivery (and this was a $300 job) the client comes back saying he isn’t going to pay and that he’s going to dispute and all sorts of things.

I realize that I took a gamble when I let him run down the fiverr clock on delivery and then delivered but what about the fact that I was more than halfway finished with his work and had put time into it and so on up to that point? What about the fact that he ordered a gig that stipulated 1 revision and no refunds? What about the fact that he seems to want something for nothing (he had 3 of my articles already) and has already published that on his website?

Thoughts/ideas? Fiverr–what are you doing to protect against this sort of thing?

What about the fact that he seems to want something for nothing (he had 3 of my articles already) and has already published that on his website?

I’m really sorry this has happened to you, but I just want to point out that you must screenshot these articles on his website immediately and send it to CS. Then explain what happened.

If you have proof that they are using your work for free, that’s the best way to show CS that you were scammed and they may do something about the refund (I’m not sure if they will contact the buyer about the stolen work, I hope they get banned when they do that…).

Good luck!!

[Alex.M]

According to Fiverr…Buyers can cancel an order for ANY REASON…and get a refund: This is the response I got when I had a problem with a buyer who simply changed his mind and said he didn’t need my recording as a female, and wanted a male voice instead. Fiverr does NOT protect the Sellers! This is the response I got from customer support when I sent them my complaint regarding a cancellation that went against the Terms of Service: "While we would not cancel an order based on personal taste directly, the buyer does have the final word on how their funds are spent and any reason they want to cancel an order for is valid."

Sellers DO NOT HAVE ANY PROTECTION! This is a major problem with Fiverr.

Buyers can cancel an order for ANY REASON…and get a refund

false

uyer does have the final word on how their funds are spent and any reason they want to cancel an order for is valid

false

Sellers DO NOT HAVE ANY PROTECTION! This is a major problem with Fiverr.

false

Checking the TOS would help

[techengine742]

Sorry to hear that. It’s sad but many sellers face this type of issue from time to time. I personally have never faced such a situation though. If the buyer’s website still has your articles published(whose copyright you own) then you can file DMCA(Digital Millennium Copyright Act) takedown request. There are several sites that will do that for your little as 10 usd or you can send a request yourself . You will have to do a bit of research on how to file. Filling a DMCA will take this site down.
You can inform the buyer that if they use your content without paying, you are going to file a DMCA takedown. If he agrees to pay then it’s well and good, otherwise you are left with no option but to fill a DMCA takedown request.

Hope it helps

Some ways to submit a DMCA takedown

• Mailing the hosting provider/ website, they will take the site down
• Submitting on google (https://support.google.com/legal/troubleshooter/1114905?hl=en)

Disclaimer: I am not lawyer and I am not very much knowledgeable on DMCA.

[angiesvoice_vo]

Buyers can cancel an order for ANY REASON…and get a refund

false

uyer does have the final word on how their funds are spent and any reason they want to cancel an order for is valid

false

Sellers DO NOT HAVE ANY PROTECTION! This is a major problem with Fiverr.

false

Checking the TOS would help

This is NOT FALSE! I did read the Terms of Service and it does appear that it protects sellers, however, it does not. This is what Fiverr Customer Support emailed me in writing! I had a problem with a buyer who ordered several voiceovers from me (a female), I delivered the order but then the buyer said he changed his mind and wants to use a male voice instead, so he wanted to cancel the order and get a refund. This project entailed a lot of work on my part and according to the Terms of Service, the buyer should not be able to cancel and get a refund because the order was fulfilled exactly as described. I referred to the Terms of Service with Fiverr and felt I needed the protection in this case. They replied stating they were “sorry” for my predicament, but (QUOTED DIRECTLY BY FIVERR SUPPORT: " "While we would not cancel an order based on personal taste directly, the buyer does have the final word on how their funds are spent and any reason they want to cancel an order for is valid."

[angiesvoice_vo]

Buyers can cancel an order for ANY REASON…and get a refund

false

uyer does have the final word on how their funds are spent and any reason they want to cancel an order for is valid

false

Sellers DO NOT HAVE ANY PROTECTION! This is a major problem with Fiverr.

false

Checking the TOS would help

I did check the TOS and felt that I should be protected, however, the actual response from Fiverr Customer Support told me the buyer CAN cancel for ANY REASON. That was quoted directly to me in an email when I approached them about the buyer violating the Terms of Service.

[sarahtaylor1230]

What about the fact that he seems to want something for nothing (he had 3 of my articles already) and has already published that on his website?

I’m really sorry this has happened to you, but I just want to point out that you must screenshot these articles on his website immediately and send it to CS. Then explain what happened.

If you have proof that they are using your work for free, that’s the best way to show CS that you were scammed and they may do something about the refund (I’m not sure if they will contact the buyer about the stolen work, I hope they get banned when they do that…).

Good luck!!

I did screen shot it but I was debating whether or not that could be used as evidence since it was outside of Fiverr. I already made the initial CS request on it before my buyer had a chance to dispute it himself–I contacted them first so potentially I may have some leverage with that. Hope so anyway. First time this sort of thing has happened to me. Most of my experience here has been really good.

[sarahtaylor1230]

Sorry to hear that. It’s sad but many sellers face this type of issue from time to time. I personally have never faced such a situation though. If the buyer’s website still has your articles published(whose copyright you own) then you can file DMCA(Digital Millennium Copyright Act) takedown request. There are several sites that will do that for your little as 10 usd or you can send a request yourself . You will have to do a bit of research on how to file. Filling a DMCA will take this site down.

You can inform the buyer that if they use your content without paying, you are going to file a DMCA takedown. If he agrees to pay then it’s well and good, otherwise you are left with no option but to fill a DMCA takedown request.

Hope it helps

Some ways to submit a DMCA takedown

• Mailing the hosting provider/ website, they will take the site down
• Submitting on google (https://support.google.com/legal/troubleshooter/1114905?hl=en)

Disclaimer: I am not lawyer and I am not very much knowledgeable on DMCA.

This may be the trick–the guy’s website appears to be attached to a larger corporate website. I am sure if the whole company website came down because of something he farmed out and stole, that wouldn’t go over well with his boss…Perhaps I should just file the claims and then let them work their magic in order to get him to pay for the $300 worth of work he contracted and wasted my time on…Thanks for the suggestion on that.

[Alex.M]

I did check the TOS and felt that I should be protected, however, the actual response from Fiverr Customer Support told me the buyer CAN cancel for ANY REASON. That was quoted directly to me in an email when I approached them about the buyer violating the Terms of Service.

I did check the TOS and felt that I should be protected

You are protected , checking it again is always a great idea. Also if you delivered everything as it was discussed , support might compensate you as well in case the order got cancelled.

[angiesvoice_vo]

I did check the TOS and felt that I should be protected

You are protected , checking it again is always a great idea. Also if you delivered everything as it was discussed , support might compensate you as well in case the order got cancelled.

I did check the TOS and referred to that when I alerted Fiverr Customer Support, however, they responded that the buyer is able to still cancel and get a refund for ANY reason. This is why I’m so disenchanted with Fiverr. The Terms of Service don’t seem to hold up and offer protection for the seller.

[traianik]

Yea it’s true , fiverr don’t protect their sellers , i got 4 orders cancelled when the work is done , and buyers get the work and also money, that sucks

[angiesvoice_vo]

Yea it’s true , fiverr don’t protect their sellers , i got 4 orders cancelled when the work is done , and buyers get the work and also money, that sucks

It is a real concern. Fiverr does not seem to provide protection for the sellers, even when the Terms of Service are violated by the buyer.

[traianik]

I contacted CS , they helped me and return my money , i think CS is helping all

[sarahtaylor1230]

Here’s what it comes down to–Don’t do milestone orders guys. Apparently it’s ok for someone to SAY they want to cancel an order a few days before completion due date and not actually cancel it (meaning it is a negative on me) and then CS gives them their money back after they have my FREE work. Just lost $250 according to my dashboard and it does not appear that I am being paid the 1st milestone either.

I have contacted CS to explain this further but I have my doubts about them doing anything to protect me or any other sellers in this situation. I will be demanding that they make good on their statement to pay the 1st milestone though if something doesn’t change in my dashboard.

Also, on a side note, how do I leave negative feedback for the user for scamming me and cancelling an order in bad faith?

[uttam878931]

Here’s what it comes down to–Don’t do milestone orders guys. Apparently it’s ok for someone to SAY they want to cancel an order a few days before completion due date and not actually cancel it (meaning it is a negative on me) and then CS gives them their money back after they have my FREE work. Just lost $250 according to my dashboard and it does not appear that I am being paid the 1st milestone either.

I have contacted CS to explain this further but I have my doubts about them doing anything to protect me or any other sellers in this situation. I will be demanding that they make good on their statement to pay the 1st milestone though if something doesn’t change in my dashboard.

Also, on a side note, how do I leave negative feedback for the user for scamming me and cancelling an order in bad faith?

I also got same an person cancelled the order after 17 days of delivery. And my funds return to the buyer and he is an scammer. If anyone able to help me then pls help.

[sarahtaylor1230]

I turned my case over to a collections agency when the individual from a company did not pay for the services I provided. The company never responded to my e-mails or inquiries as to these services. They were in Canada so I found a collections agency up there and they are working on getting my funds that way. I’ve had enough of Fiverr screwing people like me and siding with scammers repeatedly. Just this morning, I had a message from Fiverr saying I had a warning on my account for “intentionally leaving a negative review for another seller” I haven’t purchased anything and I have not left one single negative review. I would like to see this supposed review. Of course I have contacted them and requested additional review.