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I just got scammed...

by Slyknight
77 replies
I wrote a few articles worth of about $100 for a client. After I submit them, I never heard from the client again. I thought he didn't like the articles so I let it go.

Today, I checked his website and saw my articles are published on his site.

So, is there anything I can do to receive my payment?
#scammed
  • Profile picture of the author kfount
    Originally Posted by Slyknight View Post

    I wrote a few articles worth of about $100 for a client. After I submit them, I never heard from the client again. I thought he didn't like the articles so I let it go.

    Today, I checked his website and saw my articles are publish on them.

    So, is there anything I do to get my money?
    File a claim on Paypal if you are using them as your payment processor.

    When you do this, they will have a mediator review both accounts. If they find the other party to be in the wrong, your money will be refunded.
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    • Profile picture of the author Slyknight
      Originally Posted by kfount View Post

      File a claim on Paypal if you are using them as your payment processor.

      When you do this, they will have a mediator review both accounts. If they find the other party to be in the wrong, your money will be refunded.
      I don't have his Paypal address. I just gave him mine and thought he would send me the money
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    • Profile picture of the author therealargo
      Originally Posted by kfount View Post

      File a claim on Paypal if you are using them as your payment processor.

      When you do this, they will have a mediator review both accounts. If they find the other party to be in the wrong, your money will be refunded.
      I don't think he can file a PayPal claim because he was not paid at all.
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    • Profile picture of the author Adie
      Originally Posted by kfount View Post

      File a claim on Paypal if you are using them as your payment processor.

      When you do this, they will have a mediator review both accounts. If they find the other party to be in the wrong, your money will be refunded.
      Nope, it has nothing to do with Paypal because these was even no transaction made.
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  • Profile picture of the author therealargo
    Originally Posted by Slyknight View Post

    I wrote a few articles worth of about $100 for a client. After I submit them, I never heard from the client again. I thought he didn't like the articles so I let it go.

    Today, I checked his website and saw my articles are publish on them.

    So, is there anything I do to get my money?
    First of all, you should notify him that you own the copyright to those articles because they were not paid, so you still own them. If his website has a comment box, place a message there and let everyone know that the content is stolen, because again, you were not paid.

    As writers, we should all protect our interests. You did the right thing when you checked if your articles were published. Contact the "client" and tell him off. If he refuses to pay, report him to ripoff websites.
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    • Profile picture of the author micoe
      Originally Posted by therealargo View Post

      First of all, you should notify him that you own the copyright to those articles because they were not paid, so you still own them. If his website has a comment box, place a message there and let everyone know that the content is stolen, because again, you were not paid.

      As writers, we should all protect our interests. You did the right thing when you checked if your articles were published. Contact the "client" and tell him off. If he refuses to pay, report him to ripoff websites.
      I also think this is the good method
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  • Profile picture of the author Micah Medina
    sell rights to his competitors or as PLR. barring that, sell them to a PLR marketer (not plugging myself since I don't know the niche and would be too busy anyway).

    use them on your own website, or give them away as samples to build your brand.

    don't waste time with deadbeats. the time to spend trying to write him a nasty comment (which nobody will read because he won't publish it) is time you should spend making more money.
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  • Profile picture of the author Andrew Mak
    just let go and lesson learn.

    next time make sure you get payment 1st.
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    • Profile picture of the author r0dvan
      Originally Posted by Andrew Mak View Post

      just let go and lesson learn.

      next time make sure you get payment 1st.
      I second that.
      Ive been scammed, and for 20x that. Next time use ESCROW.
      Protect yourself from people like that.
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      • Profile picture of the author daavid3
        Always use a service such as lance or odesk that way there is escrow and regulations going on
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  • Profile picture of the author WillR
    Send him a DCMA notice telling him to remove the articles from his website.

    If he doesn't adhere to that then send the same DCMA to his hosting company and have his hosting account shut down.

    I don't think there is anyway for you to get the money from this guy. Obviously he never had any intention of paying you so the best you can do is to get the articles taken down. Although since they have probably already been indexed, there's not much you will want to do with those articles so maybe it's just best to forget this idiot and move on.
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  • Profile picture of the author Daniel Delos
    Technically the articles are still yours. Inform this to the client and let them know you will be distributing the articles elsewhere which could result in duplicate content for him.

    The "sample articles" is a good idea too. If you have a site or blog, publish them there as your sample articles.
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  • Profile picture of the author ppetri
    You learned a valuable lesson. Either use an outsource site to protect your work like elance or Odesk or you simply ask for ½ payment now and the other ½ on completion by PayPal.
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    • Profile picture of the author sonjay
      Originally Posted by ppetri View Post

      You learned a valuable lesson. Either use an outsource site to protect your work like elance or Odesk or you simply ask for ½ payment now and the other ½ on completion by PayPal.
      This is how I do it. For prospects who are not willing to pay something upfront, I also add, "How would you feel if I prioritize working on 'free requests' more than the 'paid orders'..?
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  • Profile picture of the author Curtis2011
    Originally Posted by Slyknight View Post

    I wrote a few articles worth of about $100 for a client. After I submit them, I never heard from the client again. I thought he didn't like the articles so I let it go.

    Today, I checked his website and saw my articles are published on his site.

    So, is there anything I can do to receive my payment?
    You need to use a freelance system that has an Escrow ability in the future. This is why it exists, to prevent scams like this. FYI, Elance.com has a good Escrow system.
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      For everything I've ever bought online, I've had to pay in advance. Why are your articles different?

      When I was a service provider, writing articles for people, I stated openly that my terms of service were "payment in full, in advance". No client ever questioned it.

      I appreciate that neither of these comments helps you to deal with the situation, but they may help to prevent a recurrence.

      Regarding the current situation, you own the copyright to the articles if your customer hasn't paid, and you'd be within your rights to serve a DMCA site takedown notice, by email, on his hosting company (which you can discover from a site like who-hosts.com). However, that might be a heavy-handed approach over what could perhaps be an innocent mistake, and it would certainly be a courtesy to contact the "customer" first, explaining the position, and perhaps giving him 7 days to pay before doing so? (That might produce payment?).
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      • Profile picture of the author Slyknight
        Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

        For everything I've ever bought online, I've had to pay in advance. Why are your articles different?

        When I was a service provider, writing articles for people, I stated openly that my terms of service were "payment in full, in advance". No client ever questioned it.

        I appreciate that neither of these comments helps you to deal with the situation, but they may help to prevent a recurrence.

        Regarding the current situation, you own the copyright to the articles if your customer hasn't paid, and you'd be within your rights to serve a DMCA site takedown notice, by email, on his hosting company (which you can discover from a site like who-hosts.com). However, that might be a heavy-handed approach over what could perhaps be an innocent mistake, and it would certainly be a courtesy to contact the "customer" first, explaining the position, and perhaps giving him 7 days to pay before doing so? (That might produce payment?).
        How would I prove that I own these articles? Will a simple "yea.. here are the e-mails I sent him" do?
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        • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
          Banned
          Originally Posted by Slyknight View Post

          How would I prove that I own these articles? Will a simple "yea.. here are the e-mails I sent him" do?
          An "assertion of copyright ownership" will do, I think (on pain of severe penalties if it turns out not to be true - but I'm not a lawyer). However, this may be a little academic? You asked what you can to "to receive payment" and my suggestion was that notifying the customer that a DMCA notice will be served on the host after 7 days could be a way of doing that.

          If that doesn't work, it might at least still get the articles removed, which would perhaps make it easier for you to sell them to someone else, make them into a PLR pack and sell multiple copies, or whatever? Just my perspective ... and good luck!
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        • Profile picture of the author tbochi
          Originally Posted by Slyknight View Post

          How would I prove that I own these articles? Will a simple "yea.. here are the e-mails I sent him" do?
          It is very simple to actually prove that you own the articles.
          First you sent it to him by email I hope. So you have the time stamp of the email.
          Second the article were posted then indexed so you have a time stamp when this was done.

          Now you can assert these are your articles. the only way he can prove that it is not is by showing that he sent you those same articles some reason. He has to show a time stamp when this was sent to claim that.

          There you go.
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  • Profile picture of the author keith88
    Originally Posted by Slyknight View Post

    I wrote a few articles worth of about $100 for a client. After I submit them, I never heard from the client again. I thought he didn't like the articles so I let it go.

    Today, I checked his website and saw my articles are published on his site.

    So, is there anything I can do to receive my payment?
    That *******!!!! Im sorry to hear that. How are you guys doing business? Through elance or something? Maybe you can file a claim and complain so you can get your money back!

    Most importantly don't let this scar you. Just take more precautions next time!

    Im sorry to hear for the loss though.
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    • Profile picture of the author bgood77
      Post his site on here and show him the thread
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      • Profile picture of the author brutecky
        Originally Posted by bgood77 View Post

        Post his site on here and show him the thread

        No dont do that as thats against the Warrior forum rules and might get you banned.

        There is nothing you can do really. Lesson learned, next time get 50% up front.
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        • Profile picture of the author Slyknight
          Originally Posted by brutecky View Post

          No dont do that as thats against the Warrior forum rules and might get you banned.

          There is nothing you can do really. Lesson learned, next time get 50% up front.
          Have you been in the same situation? Many people mention DMCA would help me remove the contents from his site.

          And for those who asked... No, I didn't use Elance or some sort of middle man.

          Anyway, lesson learned. Next time, I'll ask for some payment upfront.

          Originally Posted by bgood77 View Post

          Post his site on here and show him the thread
          Nah, I'll just let it go. All I lost is a day's worth of work. Nothing special.
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          • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
            Banned
            Originally Posted by Slyknight View Post

            Next time, I'll ask for some payment upfront.
            Respectfully, I suggest you ask for all of the payment upfront. These are "normal commercial terms" when you buy anything online, aren't they? Don't be frightened that "customers won't trust you and won't pay you": if you state your terms professionally, on a professional-looking website (even if it's only a 3-page blog), people will treat you professionally.
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          • Profile picture of the author Joe Stewart
            Originally Posted by Slyknight View Post

            Have you been in the same situation? Many people mention DMCA would help me remove the contents from his site.

            And for those who asked... No, I didn't use Elance or some sort of middle man.

            Anyway, lesson learned. Next time, I'll ask for some payment upfront.


            Nah, I'll just let it go. All I lost is a day's worth of work. Nothing special.
            I understand your not wanting to take the time to do anything about this, but at the same time, this person is a scumbag that will continue to steal from others in the future. Sometimes there is some good that can come from taking action against someone like that.

            I don't let things like this slide. I've filed DMCA on more than one person in the past. One incident cost me several hundred dollars when a dirtbag swiped my entire Adwords campaign, copied my landing page, ads, everything! I not only filed DMCA, I also called them up and gave them a few "choice words". They were stupid enough not to register their domain as private.

            Another time was with a VERY well known internet marketer. This individual was using several articles from article directories without leaving the resource box intact. The hosting company didn't want to take action at first because "he was such a huge customer", but they finally complied. I told him to either restore my resource box or remove my content immediately. He chose to remove my content.

            Of course, if you have multiple pieces of content syndicated it would be difficult and time consuming to constantly chase down thieves and that's not a good use of time and resources, but in a case like yours I'd do it, absolutely!

            That's up to you.
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          • Profile picture of the author Kecia
            Originally Posted by Slyknight View Post

            Have you been in the same situation? Many people mention DMCA would help me remove the contents from his site.

            And for those who asked... No, I didn't use Elance or some sort of middle man.

            Anyway, lesson learned. Next time, I'll ask for some payment upfront.


            Nah, I'll just let it go. All I lost is a day's worth of work. Nothing special.


            I would not just let it go. It's likely you will not receive payment from this guy now, but you can still file a DMCA and get the content removed from his site. That way, you can sell them as unique articles to someone else in the same niche. Or, you can just offer them up as PLR articles, so that his site no longer has unique content on it.
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      • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
        Banned
        Originally Posted by bgood77 View Post

        Post his site on here and show him the thread
        Definitely don't try to use the forum for that purpose!
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  • Profile picture of the author shawnlebrun
    that's correct... if you indeed DID write the articles, they are yours and you're protected under copyright.

    Contact their web host and explain the situation and send a DCMA notice like Will mentioned.

    Last I checked, if his site is listed on Google, you can contact them and tell them that this site is using stolen content.

    https://support.google.com/legal/tro.../1114905?hl=en
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  • Profile picture of the author yukon
    Banned
    In the future either get the payment upfront or send the client a screenshot (image) of the article that only shows the first 50% of the article, blur out the rest of the article until the client pays.

    Example:


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    • Profile picture of the author MissTerraK
      What Lexy said!

      Ask for payment upfront, not only is it acceptable, but this will help help weed out those with less than stellar intentions regarding your writing skills and business.

      Terra
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      • Profile picture of the author kfount
        Make sure you show samples if you ask for payment upfront.

        As for what therealargo said, that's info I didn't know.

        But back to the OP... next time make sure you bill him WITH Paypal. I can't promise that will avoid problems, but it will ensure that he remembers to pay.

        Good luck otherwise.
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        • Profile picture of the author Karen Blundell
          I'm so sorry you got scammed - hopefully those articles will be removed and then you can move on and get better clients - and make plenty of money!

          I too would advise to always ask for some of the money up front for any service you provide.

          I would never ask for the whole amount upfront - because I believe trust works both ways - but depending on the scope of the project I ask 1/3 to 1/2 upfront always.

          When trust works both ways this is what could happen: I have one client who pays me 100% upfront monthly for my services. He offered it and I have been blessed with this arrangement for the past 15 months. Now this client tells me that he trusts me more than anyone else he works with!

          Trust doesn't happen over night - it is the Internet after all, and who really knows who you are dealing with? So by all means protect yourself if you are a service-provider, but also respect that your client also needs to know he/she can trust you.
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          • Profile picture of the author lerxtjr
            "ask for ½ payment now and the other ½ on completion by PayPal."

            Or, get better clients who know the long-term value of paying their helpers for a job well done.

            I have a couple of clients who have had a heck of a time finding writers that can actually write quality content (home improvement, health and wellness). I would be happy to collaborate with you where "I" get the payments up front from my clients for several things I'm doing for them and include your article content in the mix. PM me if we should talk.
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    • Profile picture of the author esuresh
      Originally Posted by yukon View Post

      In the future either get the payment upfront or send the client a screenshot (image) of the article that only shows the first 50% of the article, blur out the rest of the article until the client pays.

      Example:
      This is a good one. A real good idea.
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  • Profile picture of the author djneill
    Never give the full work until you've received payment otherwise they have no reason to pay you. Next time give them a sample of your work not the entire document, when you get the money then send them the work.

    Always work with pay pal so you're able to dispute the case or do a charge back and pay pal doesn't play with scamers, they'll shut down the account with all the money in it.
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  • Profile picture of the author alrikvincent
    Please don't let this go. He will feel confident in doing this to someone else and by you not taking action, you are doing the community a great disservice. Yes you could have been more careful, but file a DMCA complaint anyway. You said it was only a days work, so this will be a learning experience on how to file a DMCA complain if you have to do so in the future. Use escrow next time.
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  • Profile picture of the author goindeep
    I'd report him and walk away $100 bucks is not worth the fight. He sounds like a scum bag so Karma will kick his ass in the future.

    I had a lady I met on this very forum do a similar thing to me. She just changed some of it up but kept pretty much everything else I had written. I told her to go jump as it wasn't worth the fight in the end. The lesson's for me was stick with my gut feeling, and my gut was telling me she would be a nightmare customer from the start so I should have just told her I was too busy and also before that I had always asked for the money up front but didn't this time as she talked me out of it.

    If anyone ever says they don't feel comfortable paying you up front tell them it's easy for them to get their money back especially if it's via PayPal and especially if you provide a detailed invoice on the other hand if you provide the work and they don't pay you afterwards you have no where to go, so if they don't like those terms it's bad luck for them, find a new customer.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jtraits
    i don't think you will find your right here .. next time, money upfront or at least a part of the payment and then start working ... because you do work
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  • Profile picture of the author jgant
    Give notice that if not paid in full in 48 hours you will issue a DMCA notice. At the very least it's worth 5 minutes of your time to give the notice. Whether you go through the trouble of the DMCA notice is up to you. I'd probably do it if there isn't too much involved.

    Also, if they're using Adsense, notify Google that the content is stolen. Losing an Adsense account can't be fun.

    I agree that thieves should be taken to task to prevent the same nonsense in the future.
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  • Profile picture of the author xavierzou
    Dont worry, what goes around comes around.. Just let this go and instead use your time to earn more by finding new clients.
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  • Profile picture of the author vishwa
    Originally Posted by Slyknight View Post

    I wrote a few articles worth of about $100 for a client. After I submit them, I never heard from the client again. I thought he didn't like the articles so I let it go.

    Today, I checked his website and saw my articles are published on his site.

    So, is there anything I can do to receive my payment?
    Its really bad to heard that you had not paid for what you have done. I think just file a DMCA Claim as many others have said here. It will let that guy to remove the content from his site. By the way never disappoint. May be you will not paid by him, but always remember he only stolen your written few articles, but he never take your skills, your talent, your writing skills. So, Move ahead! Wish you a Great success in your life.
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  • Profile picture of the author JRJWrites
    ALWAYS ask for 1/2 payment NOW, and 1/2 payment after job done. I'm sorry man. I've been scammed out of earnings for over 200 ARTICLES!. It's a sad experience.
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  • Profile picture of the author laurencewins
    Issue the DCMA warning and tell him you will use the articles for other purposes so they won't be original. Then sell them as PLR so others can use them as well.
    Also post them on your site or create a separate free site just to post them. Anything to affect his use will help you and hinder him.
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  • Profile picture of the author Not So New
    Chalk it up to a lesson learned ... Make sure you receive payments upfront (or at least a portion)

    It's probably not worth your time to go after him ... Just go get another client : )

    -Shawn
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  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    Inform him that the articles he posted are copyrighted to you until paid for and that he is to remove them from his site or you will send a DMCA to his host within 24 hours. If he does not pay, send that DMCA. His host will make him remove them within 24 hours.
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  • Profile picture of the author carlamae
    I like the suggestion to contact him and tell him you own the copyright and then comment under each article that you are the actual writer and never got paid by the website owner. I just feel sick to read this kind of thing, there is way too much of it going on. So, my advice is to go for the jugular!
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  • Profile picture of the author monstermoney
    I hate people like this scammer. Send him a email. Tell him that if he does not pay you, you will send 10,000 Xrumer spam links to his website and drop his rank.

    Hope this helps,
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  • Profile picture of the author clever7
    You should ask for payment in advance like Alexa and Miss Terrak said; at least before submitting the articles to your clients, even though the best of all is to ask for payment before spending your time writing articles especially for them.

    Don't try to get revenge.

    You were very silly for sending these articles before being paid. It was your mistake. You shouldn’t trust this client.
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    • Profile picture of the author MissTerraK
      Slyknight,

      You didn't say if these articles were ordered from your own website or not, but if they were, you should have a policy in place stating your procedure for ordering in plain sight, before your contact form or order button.

      For instance, on mine, I state something to the effect that I receive payment upfront and offer a 100% money back guarantee for first time clients as I understand that ordering without knowing exactly what you'll get is sometimes scary.

      I have never been asked for a refund and have no need to worry with my repeat clientele. They already know what I deliver.

      I hope this helps you in doing further business.

      Terra
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  • Profile picture of the author therealargo
    I totally agree with MissTerraK. If you are confident about your work, there shouldn't be any problems with you requiring upfront payments with a 100% money back guarantee. In my website, I state in the **not so fine print** that all orders are backed by the guarantee of a refund if they are not pleased with my work.

    When you state your complaints about being done wrong by a person you trusted, enough to write content worth $100, it is not about revenge, or wanting to do another person harm. It is about protecting your work so that you don't totally lose on the deal, and protecting our industry as well.

    It may be difficult to get the money back, and it's so tempting to just shrug this incident off, but it's this shrug-off mentality that allows these scammers to proliferate and take advantage of your hard work, skills and time.
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  • Profile picture of the author JohnIsCool
    You could send me his URL, and I will take care of it. 700,000 Scrapbox comments selling pills should do it. }>

    Seriously though, email him, tell him you own copyright, if he does not pay or remove the content in 48 hours, you will take legal action. Then if he doesn't, file a DMCA with DMCA .com NOT him. The web host will threaten to delete his account if he doesn't remove the content.
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  • Profile picture of the author LilBlackDress
    You have gotten great suggestions here. Keep us posted on what happens.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ghoster
    Originally Posted by Slyknight View Post

    I wrote a few articles worth of about $100 for a client. After I submit them, I never heard from the client again. I thought he didn't like the articles so I let it go.

    Today, I checked his website and saw my articles are published on his site.

    So, is there anything I can do to receive my payment?
    You've received a lot of great suggestions.

    1) Use them as samples
    2) DMCA notice
    3) Forget about payment..it's too late now.

    Most importantly, IMHO...get payment up front. At the very least, get 1/2 now and 1/2 later. Requiring at least some payment up front accomplishes two things for you: it protects you from low-lifers like this, and it enhances your image as a professional.

    If someone flat-out refuses to pay anything up front just politely end the conversation.You have to look out for you. No one else is going to do it.
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    On the whole, you get what you pay for.

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  • Profile picture of the author Vanilla Gorilla
    I got ripped off in a similar fashion a while back. the only difference was that they had already paid through Paypal. Paypal sided with them and so did the credit card company regardless of the 15.jpg photos and the mountains of evidence.

    The site is god awful anyway so i let it be. I just checked and they added a "DMCA Protection Badge".
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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Harris
    Originally Posted by Slyknight View Post

    I wrote a few articles worth of about $100 for a client. After I submit them, I never heard from the client again. I thought he didn't like the articles so I let it go.

    Today, I checked his website and saw my articles are published on his site.

    So, is there anything I can do to receive my payment?
    Stand up for yourself!

    Value yourself, your time and your work!

    The cowards way out is to "let it go" and say "karma will get them"

    That is just B.S!

    All you are doing is dis-honoring yourself,
    and setting your-self up for this to happen again in some other way..

    There are many suggestions on this post as to how you can contact them with a DMCA notice and their host Etc.

    Follow through with ACTION!

    And Stand up for yourself.

    Because you are worth it..
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  • Profile picture of the author rmolina88
    Never, EVER, give anything out without getting the payment first!
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  • Profile picture of the author Melika Divine
    Hmmm... interesting. I think we have to have confidence in ourselves and in our products more especially if it's your own brain child before you give it up for free. Let's face it, most people on this earth are looking for short cuts and a way to get over on folks. No matter if their rich or poor folks people thrive off other peoples kindness.

    Don't be afraid to sell yourself and your articles first and at least get some type of upfront payment before giving up the goodies especially if you already have proof of a clientele.
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  • Profile picture of the author MeTellYou
    Don't worry about it man.

    It's going to take way too much energy to fight this. Not worth it, really.

    If you think about it, $100 is nothing compared to the experience you got. Just keep writing, and if you're good, you'll be in so much demand you won't know what to do.

    From now on, just ask for full time upfront payment. The whiners and losers will have a hard time with that, but you don't want to work with them anyway.

    The people who appreciate you will have no problem paying, and they'll be awesome clients as well.

    Seb.
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  • Profile picture of the author mrrightme
    Ok,it is easy to deal with, just contact with his hosting.
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  • Profile picture of the author dsuitor
    USE odesk.com and WORK hourly!
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  • Profile picture of the author dynamyt100
    Do NOT let it go. People like that always get away with things like this and they continue to do so because people 'let it go.' Fight it with everything you have. Post articles about his site all over the place and make it public as much as possible. Follow through with the DMCA notice as well.
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    • Profile picture of the author katiekate
      it is an awful feeling to do work and not get paid but keep in mind if the time you're going to spend pursuing this is worth it if the amounts involved are low, you did the right thing by exposing this person and warning others.
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      be nice to yourself

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  • Profile picture of the author Booster
    I had a similar issue few days ago and I decided for my next deals to use escrows or make the client pay upfront.

    You should have used odesk or a similar site to insure a minimum regulation.
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  • Profile picture of the author xohaibx
    Originally Posted by Slyknight View Post

    I wrote a few articles worth of about $100 for a client. After I submit them, I never heard from the client again. I thought he didn't like the articles so I let it go.

    Today, I checked his website and saw my articles are published on his site.

    So, is there anything I can do to receive my payment?
    I don't think you can do much to receive your payment but what you can do is be really careful in the future. One way to do this is to first learn about the client before you start working for them. Do your own little background check so that you know you're working with someone who is legitimate. Don't just jump on an opportunity when it comes your way. Take some time to analyze the pros and cons.

    - Mustafa
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  • Profile picture of the author Patbinc
    If you are writing articles as a business, then act like a business. Clients who don't want to pay upfront are probably not the kind of clients you want to have, so let them go...

    Clients who value your services will never have problems paying you upfront. Use that a criteria to separate scum from real clients and you will be fine.
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  • Profile picture of the author IMDESTROYER
    Banned
    Internet Lawyers do exist!!! I wish i can help more, i just cant think of the Law Firm i came across 2 days ago. Sorry but just know that their are legal entities that handle these kinds of cases. You can always use Legal Shield too. they are a legal insurance company, i use them for allot stuff.
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  • Profile picture of the author kash21
    Publish your articles on your own blog. Find out who is hosting his site and inform them.
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  • Profile picture of the author adss30
    You should have claimed for the money in advance. Agreed that next time use ESCROW
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  • Profile picture of the author himalayan
    If I would be in your place, I would have negatve SEOed that s*****g's website to drop his google ratings and ruin his business. There are many methods to do that! Let me know if you need my help in doing that.
    We should teach the scammers like him a good lesson!
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    • Profile picture of the author DailyIncome
      Originally Posted by monstermoney View Post

      I hate people like this scammer. Send him a email. Tell him that if he does not pay you, you will send 10,000 Xrumer spam links to his website and drop his rank.

      Hope this helps,
      MM-
      I second MM's suggestion. But instead of sending him an email, just spam link his website to hell, you most probably won't see a penny from this scammer... So slash and burn away!!
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  • Profile picture of the author eZyros
    Honestly, and unfortunately, there really is nothing much that you can do. It is not worth your time to fight, but it's a good lesson. My recommendation is to require half payment up-front, and the remaining half after completion of work.
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    Daniel B. - eZyros.com Website Builder

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  • Profile picture of the author johnben1444
    First thing first, as a seller always request for your money in full before you begin any job otherwise it's as good as you are working for FREE so long as you can't see the buyer face to face..

    And i were to be a writer how in the hell would i write article worth $100 without demanding for a dime or begin the job right before i get the payment, makes no sense...
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  • Profile picture of the author Colin Palfrey
    You should get the money upfront and always use a contract.

    The contract is your legal fallback, and lets them know upfront that scamming you is not an option.

    For this case I'd say chase him with a DMCA but failing that, at least you have learned a valuable lesson about keeping your business secure. It's a harsh lesson but one most of us have learned at one point or another.
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    I write articles and eBooks - PM me for details!
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  • Profile picture of the author Noel2010
    Sorry to hear that you didn't get paid. Based on the suggestions above, you can see this is just a lesson for the future.
    Ask for payment upfront in the future but I hope you will get some money from him.
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  • Profile picture of the author elijahdean24
    Did you use a 3rd party website for communication with the client?
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    • Profile picture of the author fmolina2010
      That's a hard lesson to learn. As a freelancer of 3 years myself I've had my fair share of that.

      Even in freelancing websites, "fixed-price" contracts don't have any protection at all. A written signed contract would be preferable if that's available. If not, you have to collect the payment upfront. If you would like to go through freelancing websites, make sure you get the hourly contract. That way you get paid while you work.
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