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WORST Freelance 'Horror Story!' Ever

by Jo_Shua
28 replies
Ok. I am playing curious George...

I want to know your BEST (or WORST, depends how you look at it) freelance 'Horror Story!'

Mine?

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About three, maybe four, months ago I hired a web-designer. No names mentioned...

I have hired this designer multiple-times in the past, and well, he has done excellent work. He had always provided me with wonderful designs, and always on time or ahead of schedule.

I did not think twice about hiring him, and paying him his usual 50% upfront fee. I knew I could trust him to build me a wonderful design and get it done in the time frame I needed.

A week and half went by, I contacted the designer. I asked him how my project was coming along. He said he had not been able to start on it yet, that he was booked with other clients. I was like, 'What the...!' to my self, but refrained from blowing up on him. I simply inquired as to why he booked other clients ahead of me when I booked first.

His reply was shocking...

'I booked those clients two weeks before I booked you.'

Now, I can understand an individual being good at what they do, and being booked weeks and months in advanced. I do, however, expect that individual to let me know he is booked before I place an order. Especially, when he gives me an ETA of three days.

What if I was not able to wait two weeks to get my design done? I would need to know that he was booked, and his ETA on my project could not be completed in the time he promised.

Guess what...

He said, the ETA he promised me was from the time he *starts* on my project -- not from the time I placed my order.

Still, I was not in too much a hurry, and since I have dealt with him in the past I assumed everything would go smooth from there on out. I was wrong...

Three more weeks went by, and still no web design!

Now, I was getting pissed off. I contacted him again, but he did not reply for 4 days. I had asked when he would be working on my project, and he responded that he totally forgot and would start first thing tomorrow.

Tow more weeks went by. I contacted him again, but this time asking for a refund for the 50% upfront costs. I mean, he did not even start on the project, so why should he keep the down payment?

I never heard from him again. He lost a good paying client, and a patient one at that.

Imagine if this was a mini-site design needed for a product launch...

---------------------

Anyhow, enough of my ranting -- What is your best freelance 'Horror Story?'

Anything from web design to freelance writing (articles, e-books, sales letters)
#freelance #horror #story
  • Profile picture of the author Yogini
    Okay this is about outsourcing articles. I hired someone a few years ago (a warrior) for 5 original, unique articles. After getting them , I sent them to ezinearticles and was told that my account was suspended for plagairism and they showed me the original source (it was swiped from a different article as-is). I wrote the person I purchased from and he had a horrible attitude. He wrote, "I am just the middle man, don't yell at me.". Anyway, he did refund me, I sent his emails to ezinearticles to show them that they had been purchased in good faith and they did re-instate me.

    Then a few years after that, I bought 3 articles that were supposed to be original from another person. I submitted them to ezinearticles. I was suspended again and told they were taken from another site. I wrote the person I purchased from and their reply was something like, "They are so anal, there are other directories to use." I told them that they know it's a top directory and they use it almost exclusively themselves. I did get my money back and my account re-instated again but it was very aggravating. Now, I do my own writing or if I don't, I type in isolated sentences to be sure they aren't swiped. For whatever reason, these people didn't want to own up, apologize or take responsibility and acknowledge it is a big deal to get suspended.

    Debbie
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    • Profile picture of the author Jo_Shua
      Originally Posted by Yogini View Post

      Okay this is about outsourcing articles. I hired someone a few years ago (a warrior) for 5 original, unique articles. After getting them , I sent them to ezinearticles and was told that my account was suspended for plagairism and they showed me the original source (it was swiped from a different article as-is). I wrote the person I purchased from and he had a horrible attitude. He wrote, "I am just the middle man, don't yell at me.". Anyway, he did refund me, I sent his emails to ezinearticles to show them that they had been purchased in good faith and they did re-instate me.

      Then a few years after that, I bought 3 articles that were supposed to be original from another person. I submitted them to ezinearticles. I was suspended again and told they were taken from another site. I wrote the person I purchased from and their reply was something like, "They are so anal, there are other directories to use." I told them that they know it's a top directory and they use it almost exclusively themselves. I did get my money back and my account re-instated again but it was very aggravating. Now, I do my own writing or if I don't, I type in isolated sentences to be sure they aren't swiped. For whatever reason, these people didn't want to own up, apologize or take responsibility and acknowledge it is a big deal to get suspended.

      Debbie
      That is a big deal! Good thing you were able to get your account reinstated, but I am sure it caused an unwanted headache and time.

      Originally Posted by artwebster View Post

      It isn't always the freelancer who is at fault.
      Totally agree with you...
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    • Profile picture of the author la dominatrix
      Originally Posted by Yogini View Post

      Okay this is about outsourcing articles. I hired someone a few years ago (a warrior) for 5 original, unique articles. After getting them , I sent them to ezinearticles and was told that my account was suspended for plagairism and they showed me the original source (it was swiped from a different article as-is). I wrote the person I purchased from and he had a horrible attitude. He wrote, "I am just the middle man, don't yell at me.". Anyway, he did refund me, I sent his emails to ezinearticles to show them that they had been purchased in good faith and they did re-instate me.

      Then a few years after that, I bought 3 articles that were supposed to be original from another person. I submitted them to ezinearticles. I was suspended again and told they were taken from another site. I wrote the person I purchased from and their reply was something like, "They are so anal, there are other directories to use." I told them that they know it's a top directory and they use it almost exclusively themselves. I did get my money back and my account re-instated again but it was very aggravating. Now, I do my own writing or if I don't, I type in isolated sentences to be sure they aren't swiped. For whatever reason, these people didn't want to own up, apologize or take responsibility and acknowledge it is a big deal to get suspended.

      Debbie

      For anyone in this situation put the articles up on a blog abd run them through copyscape
      Copyscape - Search for Website Plagiarism and Duplicate Content Online

      all you have to do is type in either the URL of the site or the Html page and it tells you if is is copied. When I write for others I always say that it is guaranteed to be original content and send the copyscape certificate. When hiring someone you can always state that you want ot run them through copyscape and if it does not pass you will not pay.

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      • Profile picture of the author Tina Golden
        [DELETED]
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        • Profile picture of the author BinderGang
          Originally Posted by TMG Enterprises View Post

          That would be breaking rule #1 here so this would get him in trouble in the forum.
          I see. Thanks for the heads up on this.
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  • Profile picture of the author BinderGang
    Originally Posted by Joshua Collins View Post


    About three, maybe four, months ago I hired a web-designer. No names mentioned...
    Joshua, I think in your case, names SHOULD be mentioned.

    I'm not someone to complain publicly in situations such as yours, as long as an open line of communication is constantly intact. People mess up, as long as they keep in touch with you to let you know what's going on, I'm fine. Angry? Disappointed? Maybe not go with your services next time? YES. But, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. Even if the email, IM, whatever is "Sorry, still haven't got to it". Just keep me informed.

    But, this service provider has chosen to ignore you. Cut you off. Take your money and run. This is someone I would never consider going with and someone others should be warned about.
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  • Profile picture of the author artwebster
    About twelve years ago I accepted a freelance project to write a book about the experiences people have while undergoing chronic illness and lengthy hospitalisation - subjects I am well qualified to write about.
    My brief was to provide stories and, where possible, anecdotes from the people I wrote about with an expected book size of 50,000 words. The agreement was that I would be paid €0.10 per word.
    I completed the book in four months and submitted samples in support of my claim for payment.
    Imagine my horror when I was told that the rate had been given incorrectly and was only €0.01 per word. I shredded the book and posted it with my cancelled invoice.

    It isn't always the freelancer who is at fault.
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    • Profile picture of the author Zeus66
      Originally Posted by artwebster View Post

      About twelve years ago I accepted a freelance project to write a book about the experiences people have while undergoing chronic illness and lengthy hospitalisation - subjects I am well qualified to write about.
      My brief was to provide stories and, where possible, anecdotes from the people I wrote about with an expected book size of 50,000 words. The agreement was that I would be paid €0.10 per word.
      I completed the book in four months and submitted samples in support of my claim for payment.
      Imagine my horror when I was told that the rate had been given incorrectly and was only €0.01 per word. I shredded the book and posted it with my cancelled invoice.
      Wow! For 5000 I definitely would have gotten that client to sign an iron-clad contract before I did any work. That sucks!

      It isn't always the freelancer who is at fault.
      Amen, and amen. I used to freelance a lot and got burned more than once. Then I started requiring payment up front and much to my pleasant surprise, a lot of clients went for it. My 'turn down' rate didn't spike much at all.

      John
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  • Profile picture of the author Mohammad Afaq
    I never had any problem with freelancing because I did not freelance or outsource any project to the date. I am planning on starting freelancing but I will make sure I don't piss off my clients and I will never take more projects than I can take.
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  • Profile picture of the author MisterMunch
    A few months ago I ordered 10 articles on a particular subject here in the forum.

    I gave him 10 keywords and told him I wanted articles targeting those SEO style.

    When I then recieved my articles I went back to google to recheck my competition. I checked the first competing article form my first keword. It turned out it was the same article I had bought. He had only rewritten the article using synonyms. The original article was much better than the one I had gotten.

    I checked the rest of the articles as well, and they was all rewritten crap based on the first article ranking for the keywords. Sometimes he had accually rewritten the keywords I was trying to rank for...

    From that moment I decided to never order from the WF again. I rather use services that have a website and a reputation to think about. Most of these services are runned by warriors anyways, but they deliver as promissed.
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  • Profile picture of the author Chris_Willow
    poor designer guy, I always treat customers well, especially the ones paying top dollar for custom stuff... and they come back every time they need something.

    Anyways my story (I think many of you can relate to this one):
    Hired a writer to write articles on certain subjects. They turned out to be long, keyword packed articles, but the content was so general, dull and boring, I didn't have the guts to publish them I mean the stuff you read and feel like you haven't learned anything at all, even if you're completely new to the subject.

    Chris
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  • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
    When I was running my software contracting company, I stumbled on a goldmine: in the particular area of Washington where I lived (south King county), there were for some reason a lot of Eastern European and Russian programmers that were really amazing. But since Americans seem to associate their accents with diminished mental capacity, they had trouble getting hired... so I would hire a lot of them.

    That's not the horror story.

    One day, I had just hired a recent college graduate who was white as the driven snow. Probably never been out of King county in his life. He had a fresh new bachelor's degree in Comp Sci, and was quite good at coding up solutions to problems when I interviewed him.

    About an hour into his work day, he came to me looking very concerned. "I've found something really weird in our code," he said. "I think we might have a hacker."

    So I went over to see what he was talking about, and he showed me a line of code which worried him.

    Code:
    time_t Zeit = time(NULL);
    He explained (unnecessarily) that Zeit was German, and meant "time." Clearly, German hackers were somehow getting into the system and modifying our code.

    "Oh, don't worry," I said. "We have some German programmers. One of them probably wrote that."

    He stared at me for a moment, then asked "Do you think he did it on purpose?"

    He didn't last long.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jo_Shua
    Originally Posted by MisterMunch View Post

    I checked the first competing article form my first keword. It turned out it was the same article I had bought. He had only rewritten the article using synonyms.
    I hear stories like these all the time... Where, the writer changes just the right amount of words to pass Copyscape, but they are still rehashed articles.
    Originally Posted by MisterMunch View Post

    From that moment I decided to never order from the WF again. I rather use services that have a website and a reputation to think about. Most of these services are runned by warriors anyways, but they deliver as promissed.
    I would not say, just because the writer was from the WF, then they do not have a reputation to think about.

    There are a couple names I could mention that I would not do business with (as the client, and as the freelancer), but I won't. Then again, there are 10-times as many on here that I WOULD do business with again.

    Originally Posted by Chris_Willow View Post

    Hired a writer to write articles on certain subjects. They turned out to be long, keyword packed articles, but the content was so general, dull and boring, I didn't have the guts to publish them I mean the stuff you read and feel like you haven't learned anything at all, even if you're completely new to the subject.
    Yes, I can relate to this! I hate reading a blog post or a report, and the content is draining, and so long winded... even if I am interested in the topic, that I just hit the big red X button.

    I like to be entertained just like everyone else, and if my writer can not convey that feeling of, 'Wow! That was the best darn report I have ever read on this subject... Where can I find more solid, straight-forward, easy reading, and fun content like that?'

    In my mind, boring writing ultimately leads to unsubscribers...

    Originally Posted by CDarklock View Post

    He stared at me for a moment, then asked "Do you think he did it on purpose?"
    Hahaha...
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  • Profile picture of the author MisterMunch
    Joshua

    I am not saying that every freelance writing warrior is scamming or do not have a reputation. I know there are a lot of people here that take great respect in what they are doing, and do not want any bad reviews in their ad/post.

    Still I find it safer to use services that have a good apperance with a great website and such. It show me that they are taking this as a serious business.

    Still I do a safe order first. I can afford to lose 50 bucks on a bad deal, but it waste me a lot of time. With the websites, I usually only have to fill out an orderform, and if the result is good I make a note of it and order more articles or services from it.
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  • Profile picture of the author TheGodfather
    Well here is my story....

    I'm a freelance web developer / designer and i was hired by a British car company that wanted me to design them a top notch site. We agreed on the price of about 3000€ (this really required some work on the code etc...)

    So I told them to send me some materials with which i could work with (since it was formally MG and was sold as 2 companies so i needed to know what materials i could and could not use...

    Anyway they agreed on sending me a booklet and a dvd with materials.... 2 weeks or so later i receive the booklet but no dvd... the booklet came all crossed out with the stuff that i was apparently not supposed to use... So i contacted my client and told him that i didn't get the dvd and that i would need it since the booklet didn't have enough materials to use...

    After that... I never heared from them ever again... the web site is still *under construction* almost a year from today... were they scammers, or have they given up on me with out any prior notice... i guess i will never know...

    next time something comes along... i'm asking for an advance
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  • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
    Here's a fun one. I just got an article rewrite order via PM on a forum, and when I asked where to send the article (already rewritten), the client accused me of subjecting his site to a DDOS attack and turned off PMs on his account.

    Well, there's seven minutes of my life I'll never get back. *shrug*

    I have to wonder what this guy was thinking. Why would I deliberately cripple a client's site before he paid me? I can see some arsehole in the same business taking your money, not giving you the article, and attacking your site. But why would I cripple the site before getting the money?

    Honestly, some people.
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    • Profile picture of the author TheGodfather
      Originally Posted by CDarklock View Post

      Here's a fun one. I just got an article rewrite order via PM on a forum, and when I asked where to send the article (already rewritten), the client accused me of subjecting his site to a DDOS attack and turned off PMs on his account.

      Well, there's seven minutes of my life I'll never get back. *shrug*

      I have to wonder what this guy was thinking. Why would I deliberately cripple a client's site before he paid me? I can see some arsehole in the same business taking your money, not giving you the article, and attacking your site. But why would I cripple the site before getting the money?

      Honestly, some people.
      Well in for a pound in for a penny... now ddos his site XD at least enjoy the idea that he suggested you XD
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      • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
        Originally Posted by TheGodfather View Post

        now ddos his site
        Don't have to; someone else is already doing it.

        It wasn't even an article I could use as an example or sell to someone else... it's about his specific product, so it's worthless to anyone except him.
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        "The Golden Town is the Golden Town no longer. They have sold their pillars for brass and their temples for money, they have made coins out of their golden doors. It is become a dark town full of trouble, there is no ease in its streets, beauty has left it and the old songs are gone." - Lord Dunsany, The Messengers
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    • Profile picture of the author Steve Diamond
      My horror stories involve prospective clients who don't respect the time and effort it takes to prepare a proposal.

      Even for a small job of a few hours duration, I prepare a proposal that says I'm going to do A, B, C, D, & E. Here's why it's important to do A, B, C, D, & E in order to get the result you want. Here's the way I'll approach doing A, B, C, D, & E. Here's my price and here are my payment terms.

      Don't get me wrong. I fully realize three important points in this context. One, I have to be willing to devote some time to marketing that I may never see any return on (see my recent explication of freelance rates for more). Two, some of my competitors will just say "I can do that for 50 bucks. When do I start?" And three, I'm not going to get every job I bid on.

      I know these things and I accept them.

      What really gets my goat, though, is when I never hear another word after sending a proposal. Not even a line to say "Thanks for your overinflated proposal, you jackass. I'm going with someone cheaper." Quite truthfully I'd rather get that than silence. Silence is just plain rude and disrespectful.

      Steve
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      • Profile picture of the author CmdrStidd
        Originally Posted by Steve Diamond View Post

        My horror stories involve prospective clients who don't respect the time and effort it takes to prepare a proposal.

        Even for a small job of a few hours duration, I prepare a proposal that says I'm going to do A, B, C, D, & E. Here's why it's important to do A, B, C, D, & E in order to get the result you want. Here's the way I'll approach doing A, B, C, D, & E. Here's my price and here are my payment terms.

        Don't get me wrong. I fully realize three important points in this context. One, I have to be willing to devote some time to marketing that I may never see any return on (see my recent explication of freelance rates for more). Two, some of my competitors will just say "I can do that for 50 bucks. When do I start?" And three, I'm not going to get every job I bid on.

        I know these things and I accept them.

        What really gets my goat, though, is when I never hear another word after sending a proposal. Not even a line to say "Thanks for your overinflated proposal, you jackass. I'm going with someone cheaper." Quite truthfully I'd rather get that than silence. Silence is just plain rude and disrespectful.

        Steve
        I know what you mean but the truth of it is that many times the prospective client may be getting bids from many different sources and they just don't have the time to respond back to each and every bidder that submits a job proposal. Typically I add into my proposals that the start and finish dates of the required actions are subject to change based on how soon I am notified of the acceptance as I have other proposals I am waiting to hear back on. This seems to get me a higher response from the company since they see that I am waiting on multiple proposals. I have not, however, actually tested this but it just seems to get the responses back to me instead of leaving me hanging.
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        • Profile picture of the author Jo_Shua
          Originally Posted by CmdrStidd View Post

          they just don't have the time to respond back to each and every bidder that submits a job proposal.
          They could have 'cookie cutter' responses for those whom they can not submit a personal reply for. This will at least allow the prospective freelancer know that he is not need. Thus, the freelancer can bid for more prospective clients. (which he should do anyhow... and goes hand and hand with your next statement)

          Originally Posted by CmdrStidd View Post

          Typically I add into my proposals that the start and finish dates of the required actions are subject to change based on how soon I am notified of the acceptance as I have other proposals I am waiting to hear back on. This seems to get me a higher response from the company since they see that I am waiting on multiple proposals. I have not, however, actually tested this but it just seems to get the responses back to me instead of leaving me hanging.
          That is a good idea.

          Originally Posted by ecoverartist View Post

          Imagine his shock when I sent a collection agency to his door.
          We can do that?

          I'll have to remember that one :p
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      • Profile picture of the author GoGetta
        Originally Posted by Steve Diamond View Post

        Quite truthfully I'd rather get that than silence. Silence is just plain rude and disrespectful.

        Steve
        Steve, that is exactly how I think! I hate silence! I know some people are busy and may get lots of proposals etc. but to not speak a word or even drop an email is RUDE and DISRESPECTFUL of my time and money.

        GoGetta
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  • Profile picture of the author ecoverartist
    I once had a moron try to pay me by referring other clients to me. He told them he could get work from me for free and so could they. Imagine his shock when I sent a collection agency to his door.
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  • Profile picture of the author artwebster
    Yes, it would suck to be told you are going to be paid one-tenth of what you thought but you actually shredded four months of work rather than to either take what you could get or reselling it elsewhere? Isn't that rather cutting your nose off to spite your face??

    Hi, Tina,
    On the face of it I would agree with you but I was desperately ill at the time and the sheer pleasure of being so destructive and childish made me feel good.
    I recognised that the message about the €0.01 rate per word was an opening gambit in a price restructuring. Since I had insisted on research costs being paid up front I wasn't out of pocket and the sort of book I was asked to write has a very limited audience and can't be offered around in the hope that someone else might want to publish it.
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    You might not like what I say - but I believe it.
    Build it, make money, then build some more
    Some old school smarts would help - and here's to Rob Toth for his help. Bloody good stuff, even the freebies!

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  • Profile picture of the author charlesburke
    ... the sheer pleasure of being so destructive and childish made me feel good.
    Art, I just had to laugh at that one. Sometimes it's just plain fun letting your inner brat out for a bit. Can't make it a habit, of course, but isn't it great sometimes to have the option of unleashing healthy, well-deserved spite?

    Cheers, Charles
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