Outsourcing question

[erichmiller]

Hello everyone,

My spidey senses are tingling and I'm thinking something is going down wrong. I have a person doing some article creation for me through a popular "freelance" site. He wants me to send money to a different account than he signed up with because he has a debt under that account. Red lights, bells and whistles are going off in my head. I don't think I'm going to agree to that request. I was wondering if anyone has had a similar experience.

Note - I haven't sent any money (obviously, as he hasn't sent the work yet) nor will I until I have it in my hands. He says that it is almost complete.

I thought I would just get your thoughts as this is my first time outsourcing...

Thanks!

[Audrey Harvey]

If he's doing the wrong thing by the freelance site, and you want to continue using that site, it might be a good idea to keep things on the straight and narrow. That way, if he's found out, you won't get tarred with the same brush.

If he'd wanted to be paid through a different account, perhaps he should have bid on the job using that account. If it were me, I'd stick to working with/paying the account that bid on my project.

I just prefer not to put myself in a position where my gut feeling is that it's not right. You sound the same. Do what you think is right, irrespective of his debt.

[erinwrites]

It does sound a little shifty, not to mention unprofessional! A lot of freelance sites require their workers use their escrow services (Elance is very strict about that) so this writer might be violating TOS. Take precautions before you agree to anything!

[showbizvet]

If you know him/her, that's one thing, if they are new to you... then avoid it. I have done multiple financial transactions with a particular freelancer that became sort of a friend. In that case, I would sometimes have a client send money to him.. or he would have one of his clients send money to me. But with us, we knew that all was okay. In your case, not so sure...

[Andrew Dillon]

When I outsource article writing I always make sure I use the account I signed up with and if using freelance sites such as Elance I abide by there terms and conditions.

I would never put a customer in your position you find yourself in now. Something isn't right here and your right to be concerned. Ok even if they are genuine and do have debt problems, it isn't your problem now is it.

Stick to you guns and go with original agreement in order to play it safe.

[Kevin Barnes]

Always play it safe... I went threw 4 people before I found a good one..

[mark z]

Generally speaking, your spidey senses are right.
But, if you already done any projects with particular freelancer and he has proven feedback you could give it a shot. Please check first ToS of site where you hired him to be sure you`re not compromising integrity of your profile there.
After that ...
Its all up to you.
However, I strongly suggest you to always pay through escrows.
You`re putting money on temporarily/escrow account (within that site) on the beginning of the project. Freelancer can take it only after your confirmation (of finalized project). You can take it back only if he cancel (or not deliver agreed). So it is win-win situation.
And for every request of payment in advance, especially for first project with particular provider ? Well ... just listen your spidey senses

[lindadougherty]

I agree, you have to play safe.. Let him sumbit the report to you first before you pay him. I think its fair enough. You can try odesk.com if you want to outsource, providers are being reviewed according to their performance. But some people are having bad thoughts about odesk. Well i think its great.

[KimPup]

I can only reccomend a VA forum to find assistance.....it's all on the up and up there...try it out..

Virtual Assistants - Virtual Assistant Networking Association Forum | Virtual Assistant Organization Business Network Forum

[Johnathan]

Find a new outsourcer.

The purpose of escrow services is to protect both the buyer and the seller. If you pay him outside of the service, you are probably violating the TOS of the site, and chances are someone will take your money and run.

Only instance when it 'might' be legit is if you've done business with them before, and they want to 'save' money, but you should have an established business relationship first.

Originally Posted by erichmiller

Hello everyone,

My spidey senses are tingling and I'm thinking something is going down wrong. I have a person doing some article creation for me through a popular "freelance" site. He wants me to send money to a different account than he signed up with because he has a debt under that account. Red lights, bells and whistles are going off in my head. I don't think I'm going to agree to that request. I was wondering if anyone has had a similar experience.

Note - I haven't sent any money (obviously, as he hasn't sent the work yet) nor will I until I have it in my hands. He says that it is almost complete.

I thought I would just get your thoughts as this is my first time outsourcing...

Thanks!

[erichmiller]

Thank you all for your great replies. I would thank you individually, but I am still trying to learn how the forum works (it looks like there should be a "thank you" button somewhere? but I'm not seeing it!)

Anyway, I will wait to see what he sends me and if things are on the up and up, I'll see how things go.

Thanks again!
Erich

[erichmiller]

Just an update on what had happened:

He eventually went "south" on me. Didn't hear from him in days after many days saying he was almost done. Finally he sent me five articles (out of 30) - I did a quick Copyscape run on them and scanned them over for spelling grammar. Copyscaped picked them out on other sites and the spelling was awful. I immediately told him to not copy existing content and that the articles had to be written better. Never heard from him again.

Live and learn...

[jzmoore]

Personally, I would insist on going through the normal payment methods as set up by the outsource site. If you pay the writer via a non-compliant method, your recourse would be limited if non-existent. I think your "spidey-senses" are correct. Holy Cunundrum Batman.

[erichmiller]

Well fortunately, it didn't get as far as payment...so no harm done.

Found a great writer through oDesk to work with so it all worked out.

Thanks again, everyone, for your input and advice!

Erich

[CSVAS]

we are also an outsourcing company from the Philippines and sometimes we prefer to be paid from an outside payment system rather than the freelancing site because they charge a bit higher than the direct system we used especially when the amount is huge. Its just that we used freelancing sites to get more projects. However your case is different as you should pay them once you get the work done first.

[Traffic-Bug]

I dont see anything wrong with the freelancer's request. If the work is done, and you got the work and checked it, then you can agree to the freelancer's request as to how he or she wants to be paid. Some people avoid getting paid through the freelancer websites because of the commission they charge and want to be paid directly. Nothing wrong with that.