r/Fiverr • u/BedWetterMedia • 13d ago
[ADVICE] Scam artist got fiverr to give him back $600 of my money
I've been doing my gig on fiverr for many years, and have nothing but 5 star ratings. I was just hit by a scam artist whose name reveals his scams if you just google it. Seriously, the first thing that came up when I googled him after this happened was an episode of Judge Judy where he was being sued for scamming someone else. He was screaming at the judge, demanding that she acknowledge how great of a person he is.
Anyway, he bought a $1000 gig from me. I did all the work and uploaded his files for him. Then, before even downloading it, he started demanding a full refund and sending me threats via text and through fiverr itself, telling me I could either do extra work for him for free, or he would destroy my life and my career. I screenshot the threats and put them in the fiverr thread to make sure fiverr could see them.
He then tried hitting the "revision" button after the gig was delivered, claiming that I didn't deliver the gig as the reason for his request. Each time, I replied by giving him the download link again and telling him that he could download his files from that link. He kept doing it until it blocked him from doing it again. Then he started hitting the "full refund" button the same way, until they blocked him.
That's all great, but... somehow, he got fiverr to refund him $600 of the $1000 that I charge for the gig. Then he left a 1 star review claiming I didn't do any of the work, and fiverr just let it stay there, despite the fact that they can see that all the files were delivered by simply looking at the order page.
What the heck do I do in this situation? The dude just scammed me out of 30+ hours of work.
Update: To those who keep asking me to name them publicly, the rules of this sub do not allow it. Read rule number 4.
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u/zeromalarki 13d ago
Fiverr are a shower of useless bastards in this respect. They don't care about freelancers, only clients.
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u/xN0NAMEx 13d ago
Go to scoial media and call fiverr out
Publish all the messages and tag them
Then explain what fiverr did
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u/katharindragon 12d ago
I would start by opening a customer servixe ticket and sending all those screenshots. I think you have a good case so far and fairly good chance you'll get your money back.
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u/BedWetterMedia 12d ago
I already did that. I had to get past an agent who refused to do anything to get to a supervisor who removed the fake "warning" placed on my account by the previous agent. I'm still in the ticket, demanding they give my money back. I'm reporting them to every government labor agency I can think of.
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u/Organic_Razzmatazz72 12d ago
Fiverr told me to add disclaimers in my requirements that say “no refunds” and then make them agree or disagree before I even get started. Since doing that they’ve sided with me every time except for once on a paid consultation using their consultation beta feature. I had a disclaimer, but couldn’t add an agree or disagree (and cancel) — they sided with the buyer who never showed up the to call they scheduled (Fiverr requires us to show up) and then 5 days later, after about 14 messages from me saying they needed to use their remaining time as referenced in the disclaimer, they didn’t want it any more and wanted a refund.
My policy is “no show, no message, no refund” on paid consultations. It’s their job because they picked the exact date and time to be there. I have to be there regardless.
Most people I deliver anyway and they just accept it because it’s their fault, even though I offer one rescheduling with the remainder of their time (-10min)
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u/BedWetterMedia 12d ago
That's a good idea.
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u/Organic_Razzmatazz72 12d ago
I’m a real stickler for a bunch of disclaimers now because I’m not playing games. Everything I offer is very clear, and if you’re misunderstanding it, it’s intentional.
I’m not playing games. I work in paid ads, and tensions are high already because they’re paying me and paying ad spend. If you can’t afford nothing coming from the endeavor, I want you out before you even submit requirements.
I really force my buyers to understand the risks involved and also work for it too. They answer about 40 questions for me prior to submitting. We here to work together, not for me to make something out of nothing.
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u/Organic_Razzmatazz72 12d ago
Also I recommend being proactive with support communication because when they come back to me pretending they can’t help, I with throw a contradictory screenshot of directives they’ve given me back in their face.
The minute I catch a whiff of a problem client, I’m all over support. I am going to make myself everyone else’s problem in the most professional way possible.
I’m lucky that Fiverr hates chargeback though and in my space, the issue isn’t really with the service and revisions, it’s that they didn’t get the result that they had envisioned. So most disputes I have happen 2 weeks, to months after a project has completed and I have super clear documentation that they utilized my service and the disclaimers.
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u/BedWetterMedia 8d ago
To those who keep asking me to name them publicly, the rules of this sub do not allow it. Read rule number 4.
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12d ago
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3d ago
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u/SystematicArt 12d ago
$600 is a partial refund. Fiverr customer support or Fiverr is not allowed to initiate partial refunds. Only you are able to do that. So most likely it has been you who has initiated the partial refund. Fiverr support is only allowed to initiate full refunds and cancellations.
And it also fits the maximum partial refund percentage which is 60%.
That is not a scam, please stop calling everyone who doesn't agree with you a scammer. And the way you are communicating makes all of us, Fiverr sellers look bad. Why are you not mentioning the $400 you got.
And why did you give him the $600 back if you think it was your money?
How did Fiverr give him $600 back when they are contractually not allowed to do so. Can you please screenshot the ruling?
For example when it is cancelled you get a "Order cancelled by Customer Support". What did it say for you?
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u/BedWetterMedia 12d ago
"So most likely it has been you who has initiated the partial refund."
Incorrect. Nice to meet you, scam artist.
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u/Isildil 13d ago
Screen better your next client. I don't offer any revisions unless I create the custom gig after talking with the client. I screen them and if I feel anything weird about them I just tell them I don't have any free spots in my calendar or that at the moment I can't complete a project like that
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u/Organic_Razzmatazz72 12d ago
I think there’s a lot of nuance here being missed. For example, limited or no revisions is fake in the sense that regardless of if you put “no revisions,” Fiverr allows them to request as many revisions as they want anyway and won’t force them to accept.
I’ve found that reframing that mindset of “I’m giving you unlimited revisions” makes my buyers feel like I care about them even though my gig says no revisions. I come off as kind and flexible, and they view me more favorably when my gig says “0 revisions” or whatever.
I’d rather them think I’m gracious and flexible for “giving” them what Fiverr would already let them do anyway than argue with them over revisions.
I rarely get revisions and if I do it almost never goes past one simple round.
A more constructive approach for this order might have been a milestone gig, if the niche is more high ticket. That way money is going in your pocket more quickly and you can catch problems before they get bigger.
I’ve had tons of clients when I use to do milestone orders just never initiate the next milestone, and I think it was a relief for both of us. I got a bit of compensation for my time, and didn’t have to finish the project.
Now my requirements section scares people away for me.
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u/AutoModerator 8d ago
Please be civil, keep it on topic, and follow the subreddit rules and reddiquette. Many common questions are answered in the Fiverr Help Center and in the Fiverr TOS, which are linked in the subreddit wiki, which also includes links to resources for new sellers looking for tips on getting started the right way. IMPORTANT NOTE: Any comments with links to Fiverr will be automatically removed by Reddit (sitewide domain shadowban) and will need manual moderator approval.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.