Just got scammed

O

o hai guyz

New member
Jan 15, 2010
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I hired Liam Toller of thisizhot.com to do a web design for me for $2500 with a $1000 down payment. A week later, he sent me a horrible design that looked like it was done by a 2 year old in MS Paint in about 30 seconds. Obviously it wasn't consistent with the work in his portfolio and he was either (a) displaying stolen work from other designers in his portfolio, or (b) deliberately putting 0 effort into this project for some reason or other. So I immediately told him I wanted a refund - he said no, so I filed a chargeback. I also contacted Google (I paid him through Google Checkout) and told them everything, and they replied telling me that they had suspended his account because they had received complaints about him from other buyers as well (but I didn't get the money back from them because he had already withdrawn it).

The chargeback was "investigated" for about 3 weeks and then it was denied because I "did not provide the seller with adequate time to revise the designs." This is a bullshit answer because anyone who looks at the design he did for me compared to the designs in his portfolio can tell that the difference in quality is laughable. Everyone knows that online marketing is incredibly time sensitive and it would have made absolutely no sense to sit around for a couple months waiting for this shitface to revise a design that he obviously wasn't planning to put any effort into anyway. It's not like he did a decent design and I just didn't like it for some reason or other - no, it's more like he got his 2 year old son to draw a picture of a dick with a pink crayon and send it to me, that's how useless the design was.

How did this chargeback not go through? Do I just have the shittiest bank in the world or is this type of stuff actually legal? I really hope not, because as soon as Warrior Forum hears about this there's gonna be an entire wave of ridiculous new scam sites popping up.
 


tumblr_m3o4s6oliO1rpfk9qo1_500.jpg
 
I thought the guy was legit because he does stuff for the big guys on soundclick like vybe, superstar O, and johnny juliano. But they are the only guys on there that can afford custom stuff, the rest of the people buy his templates. I was going to get a new design for my soundclick page from him too.
 
I assume they only sent you a preview of the design and not the full site via html/css?

If it was just a preview of what the site would look like, and they refused to refund you, they're idiots. The potential negative exposure they could receive would negate a measly $1k (this thread being proof).

If they actually did send you a full design with html and css without you first approving the design, they're still idiots.
 
danke said:
post a screenshot of the design in question...
Click to expand...

There's not any way to post it without blocking everything out. That's not really the issue though - They agreed that the design was useless and that Liam was bullshitting around, but their point was that I didn't give him enough time to come around and make a real design. I didn't see why I would be required to waste my time trying to convince him to revise it when it's obvious he's already decided he doesn't care about doing it.

dreamache said:
I assume they only sent you a preview of the design and not the full site via html/css?

If it was just a preview of what the site would look like, and they refused to refund you, they're idiots. The potential negative exposure they could receive would negate a measly $1k (this thread being proof).

If they actually did send you a full design with html and css without you first approving the design, they're still idiots.
Click to expand...

It was basically an almost-finished design. It was so ridiculously horrible that there was no point letting him go any further.

He did try to proceed with the coding while I was telling him how bad the design was, and he even asked for the host's FTP info so he could "start configuring some things" while the contract clearly states he was to finish the design and get it approved before moving on to the code. I assumed he was either trying to do something stupid like install malware on my server, or he was just so unprofessional that this was the first semi-large job he had ever done and he didn't know how to follow the terms of a contract. Either way, I think I was justified in not wanting to do business with him any longer.
 
Rofl, after reading their site it turns out the client doesn't even own the design. They only own a one time license to it.
 
ItsYoBuddy said:
I thought the guy was legit because he does stuff for the big guys on soundclick like vybe, superstar O, and johnny juliano. But they are the only guys on there that can afford custom stuff, the rest of the people buy his templates. I was going to get a new design for my soundclick page from him too.
Click to expand...

You're "o hai guyz" or are you just another person who was about to order design from the same dude? Not that I give a fuck or anything, perhaps it's known already, I'm buzzed, whatever.
 
It says Thisizhot.com - The Best or Nothing. I don't want to be a dick but if they couldn't deliver the best then you got a second option....
 
Had the same happen here somewhat, and actually, basically exact same price tag. Had a UI design done, paid the $1100 deposit, and here's what he sent.

1.png


I'm fairly pissed because it looks like he spent an hour or two tweaking the CSS of the existing design, then said he was done. Especially since I know this guy is a good designer, because I've worked with him before, then he sends me this slop. I decide it's my fault for allowing him to view the existing CSS code, so tell him to give it another try, but use his creativity.

Then he sends this:

2.png


Ok, now I'm just simply pissed off, and tell him how I feel. Already lost $600 on one designer, and now I may lose another $1100. After a small back and forth, he asks for another chance, and I tell him to go for it. Then he sends this:

#3
4.png


#4
3.png


There we go! Now those are redesigns, and something I'm happy to pay for. Bit of a headache to get him to produce something he's worthy of, but it worked!
 
Sorry to hear about that. This is the risk we take when dealing with people online. I've been scammed a few times and it sucks. Only thing you can do is learn from your mistakes and try to be more careful next time. Get personal references for the guy and talk to him on Skype for abit to feel him out. Whenever you send a deposit though online, it's still risky.

I recommend using Alex at Hyper6 – Custom Websites, Landing Pages, Wordpress Themes, Business cards and More!. He pumps out great stuff and is awesome to deal with.
 
You hired a 'web designer' who's own website is a FREE WORDPRESS TEMPLATE.

What the fuck did you think was going to happen?

Edit.

Looked at his portfolio - What the fuck did you think was going to happen? This guy is a joke, shit design.
 
That's too much for a desing way too much.

If you paid using a credit card contact your bank as soon as possible for a chargeback, bank will deny it if you wait too long.

You wouldn't be able to use google checkout again but you'd get your money back, just act fast. As bank will ask you "how come you've waited so long" happened to me once lost $3,000 because I had waited 7 months.
 
o hai guyz said:
There's not any way to post it without blocking everything out. That's not really the issue though - They agreed that the design was useless and that Liam was bullshitting around, but their point was that I didn't give him enough time to come around and make a real design. I didn't see why I would be required to waste my time trying to convince him to revise it when it's obvious he's already decided he doesn't care about doing it.
Click to expand...

I hate to break it to you, but (in the UK at least), if you were to hypothetically take this to court, it's unlikely a judge would side with you.

When you buy something that proves to be defective, you need to:

a. Tell the vendor promptly
b. Give them adequate opportunity to put it right
c. Behave in a "reasonable manner" in helping them to put it right.

Before demanding a refund.

If I were in the designer's position, I'd argue you haven't done b or c.

The only exceptions to this are if:

1. They give a clear guarantee (we'll get it right first time or your money back)
2. In your initial agreement with them, you make it very clear that "time is of the essence", and that a satisfactory design has to be provided within 14 days (or whatever), or you'll require a refund.

"everybody knows I don't have time to wait" isn't a clear enough argument.
 
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