FEAR!!!
rickard 90 posts
I edited the old version of my post HEAVILY , to make the situation more clear!
Hello,
I got hired on 06/16/09 for a fixed price job ($1111.11). Prior to being hired the communication part with the employer was extremely good & detailed and many a times we exchanged emails in the size of 1 DIN A4 page! This "INTERVIEW" was stretched over 5 days with several VERY long emails, at that point of time I thought that I wouldn't get hired because I had already given away a lot of information on how to work on this project....
I agreed to work on this project without a down-payment, because he was just not willed to pay a cent in advance...
My buyer does not have any feedback here on Odesk (his very first project it seems) and we exchanged "Trust-Issues-Email" correspondence from the very start...
He does not agree to make a down-payment and wants to receive the complete work before making any sort of payment.
Shortly after being hired (1 or 2 day/s later I think it was) my employer send me an email stating that he won't be available until 25June09.
However, it should be noted that this project required him to give me some more information and to stay in touch...
In those ten days we exchanged 2 very short "one-liners", since he didn't have access to the internet most of the time...
As promised he returned from his journey on 25 June 2009 and explained a bit more about the project.
I replied to him the next day 26 June 2009.
My weekends are reserved for myself and I did not intend to contact him again before Monday 29 June 2009, which should not be a big deal because two weeks earlier within the "stretched out" interview he also disappeared on the weekend without notice...
My new internet connection gave me some trouble, because of heavy rains, and I was shut off the net for 48 hours till Tuesday 30 June 09 at night. I checked my mail and received two worried mails from him asking me if everything was ok. I replied immediately and explained the situation.
I also pointed out that I had him requested to give me his cellphone number ( I gave him my number shortly after I was hired) and that if we would have a second way two communicate in emergency except the net that it would be a great advantage...)
However, he replied to that request already on 26 June 2009 with: that he does not have a working cellphone but he might have an Australian SIM card "somewhere", furthermore he has also not shown any intention to share his house or work landline phone number.
What shook me a bit was not even that he said that he does not have a working cell phone but the part with " Australian SIM card". - Obviously if you are an Australian Citizen and live the last couple of years in Brisbane, your old SIM card (from your broken cell phone) would be an Australian one!
From the very beginning of our acquaintance I have asked him at least twice for suitable timings for a either a text or voice chat via Gtalk/Skype. He only once replied that he would prefer Gtalk - NO TIMINGS though...and he is never online....
"Since my buyer is payment verified" , I would like to know if the billing department would be allowed to check if the Identity, ( First Name, Last Name) which the buyer has given to me, is the same as on the credit card on file.
Means: I would like to raise a ticket and give the support staff the buyers name and then Odesk staff just tells if it's the same name as on the credit card. A simple Yes or No would suffice.
Until now he has not replied to my last e-mail, I will wait another day or two but:
I might want to END this assignment, if I do not get a reasonable response.
HOW DO I CANCEL THIS ASSIGNMENT (if I think it will be the right thing to do in the next two or three days) WITHOUT GETTING A BAD FEEDBACK???
ANY OTHER ADVICE IS ALSO HIGHLY APPRECIATED !
Cheers,
Rick
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pkalimuthu 474 posts - India - Joined Mar 07 2008
Don't you believe in yourself in getting another assignment, in case if you were not hired in this assignment in the first place?
I *personally* wouldn't take the risk of getting paid $1000 after the completion of the assignment.
I know that it won't be a payment guaranty, but I wonder:
"Since my buyer is payment verified" , I would like to know if the
billing department would be allowed to check if the Identity, ( First
Name, Last Name) which the buyer has given to me, is the same as on the
credit card on file.
Means: I would like to raise a ticket and give the support staff the
buyers name and then Odesk staff just tells if it's the same name as on
the credit card. A simple Yes or No would suffice. Even if oDesk says "Yes", what's the guarantee that you would get paid for this assignment?
rickard 90 posts
"Don't you believe in yourself in getting another assignment, in case if
you were not hired in this assignment in the first place?"
-Actually, I got a private invitation for an interview for a $ 2000 job from a very reputable buyer at around the same time, unfortunately he was almost at the end of his budget and the project got put on ice after a couple of days...
However, a decent paying job in my area of expertise is here on Odesk quit rare.
Yes, there is no payment guaranty on fixed price jobs, even if the name would match on the cc..., but if the name would NOT match...
Cheers,
Rick
brandonbrown 1 post - United States - Joined Jul 01 2009
Well im only 19 so my experience in the work field is only minimal but i have to say i do find it odd that the buyer's only means of communication is email. I would imagine most buyers would of atleast given you a home/work phone number incase you needed to get a hold of them quickly.
Has he asked for your phone number? or a way to get in touch other then email? if not i would be just a bit cautious aswell.
rhaden 222 posts - United States - Joined Aug 27 2008
I just email and IM, for choice. I'll phone if people insist, but I don't think that's a red flag.
I don't take fixed-price jobs without a down payment, though. That amount is a lot to take on trust.
rickard 90 posts
UPDATE 02JULY09:
Because I didn't get an answer here about the cc check, I submitted a Helpdesk ticket to get an answer to this question:
Since my buyer is payment verified" , I would like to know if the
billing department would be allowed to check if the Identity, ( First
Name, Last Name) which the buyer has given to me, is the same as on the
credit card on file.
The answer I got:
A silly COPY & PASTE JOB, TOTALLY IGNORING MY QUESTION!!!
THANK YOU JASMINE!
QUOTE:
Dear Rickard,
Thank you for contacting oDesk Support.
oDesk Payment guarantee only applies to Hourly assignments. To qualify for the oDesk payment guarantee you need:
-an hourly assignment
-a buyer with a verified payment method
-to log your time online with the oDesk Team application
-adequate activity (generally at least 5 out of 10 on the activity meter)
-to be visibly working on an assignment-related activity
-adequate memos describing your work
-to stay within the assignment's weekly limit (time over the weekly limit does not qualify)
-an account in good standing with regards to oDesk policies and guidelines
If you are working on a fixed price assignment, however, this does not carry any oDesk Payment guarantee.
You may want to refer to the link below:
http://www.odesk.com/help/help/payments/financial_activity/guarantee
Please let us know if you have additional questions.
---
Respectfully,
Jasmine
oDesk
THANK YOU JASMINE!
THANK YOU JASMINE!
THANK YOU JASMINE! FOR NOT ANSWERING MY QUESTION!!!
jobuckley 31 posts - Ireland - Joined Feb 29 2008
Richard,
Did you really expect oDesk staff to give you such sensitive information on the buyer?? Whether the name on his credit card and the name on his account are the same means nothing, and I would imagine that it would be classed as private information.
I'm pretty sure many buyers would use a company credit card or perhaps maybe their bosses card so if the names don't match up it means nothing!
The only problem here is accepting such a high value job without using milestone payments. If you end this job on odesk now and you have not been paid anything, then no matter what feedback the buyer leaves you will not see it on your profile. In fact you won't see the job on your profile until you have been paid some money. So there is no problem ending the assignment.
I would just advise that in the future you are more careful about accepting such large value jobs on a fixed price basis. Perhaps you could ask the buyer to change the job to hourly and you could break it up that way?
rickard 90 posts
@Jo
Did you really expect oDesk staff to give you such sensitive information on the buyer??
I did at least expected to hear them say: "Sorry, that kind of info is confidential..."
However, SPAMMING me with some USELESS copy&paste info was for the responsible Odesk staff much more easy, I guess.
You are totally right about milestone payments and I will offer this as a solution to the buyer. (in case he does contact me again... )
An hourly conversion of this project is most probably not feasible, because it's very difficult to calculate how many work-hours are required to complete this job.
Thanks for your input.
Cheers,
Rick
jpittenger
Clearly, you're uncomfortable working with this buyer. No one should ever stay in a situation where they don't trust their workteam. I really thought I'd replied already suggesting you end the assignment and that the support team is unlikely to be able to confirm or deny anything about the buyer's billing details. It seems that I didn't, so I apologize.
To end the assignment, just go to My Jobs > Assignments. Choose end assignment in the Actions column.
If you haven't received any money for the assignment yet (I'm not clear whether you've been paid at all), it wont' appear on your job history (any feedback you receive won't count. Do make sure you leave comments to explain your decision and appropriate feedback for the buyer (whether it'll show or not).
---
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rickard 90 posts
@Jacqui
There was absolutely no need to apologize! - I do not expect you to read every single post on this forum and additionally give a response. However, your advice was very much appreciated.
Just to keep you updated:
I got a response from my buyer, he was sick and all of a sudden he seems to be in Germany. We will have a chat in a couple of hours and if he still does not agree to a small retainer & milestones then I will end my assignment. By the way, I haven't received a single dime till now. (Hopefully the " end candidacy/assignment" buttons will work by then again.
Thanks a ton.
Cheers,
Rick
rickard 90 posts
This post is just to let anyone who is interested to know, how this story ended:
On 5th of July09, on my free weekend, I logged into the Gmail messenger waiting patiently for my employer to appear.
He is a prevaricator like no other
( DAN YOU SCUMBAG, I HOPE YOU READ THIS ).
He gave me all sorts of BS:Starting from : Oh, I didn't know you wanted to speak to me via the voice chat -that's why I don't have a mic .... to No, I don't have a cellphone, I can buy a second hand one, Yes, I have a phone, I have a simcard, if you are going to call now then I don't have a phone nor sim but I can buy one, Family and friends don't have phones either, I don't have neighbors, Roaming charges are costly, Yes,2 hours ago I was in Australia, Now I'm in Germany, in 1minute I'll be in NY than I'll go to Korea........ 40 minutes of text chat crap!
Whatever solution I offered - he declined...
Even milestones without down-payment, means the first 25% of the job I do on credit and I get payed after... NoNoNo....
Needless to say:
I ended my candidacy within 2 minutes after the chat.
And I'm HAPPY
Love, Light & Peace
Rick
pkalimuthu 474 posts - India - Joined Mar 07 2008
Hi Rick,
Very happy to hear you were able to sort it out.
Pothi.
rickard 90 posts
This buyer has posted once more the same job, which I ended my assignment for...
NOW I see:
Jobs Posted: 12
Jobs Filled: 4
Jobs Not Yet Filled: 2
Current Team size: 2
Hours billed, last 30 days: 0
Total oDesk Hours: 0.00
Feedback Score: -
How can this be? He has hired people but never paid anyone?
pkalimuthu 474 posts - India - Joined Mar 07 2008
Current Team Size 2 - The buyer must have hired those two providers for fixed-price jobs. In a fixed-price assignment, the buyer can pay at any time, (of course, before he/she ends the assignment)!
Jobs Filled: 4 - The buyer hired 4 people for 4 assignments. Out of 4, only 2 assignments are active and 2 providers are shown in the 'Current Team Size'. The remaining two jobs must have been closed for some reason without the transfer of money from buyer to the providers through oDesk! I believe you closed your assignment with this buyer without getting paid (whether you worked or not!). It is possible that another provider would've closed his/her assignment in the same way (for some other reason) with this buyer.
rickard 90 posts
Good Morning Pothi,
something is just wrong. Basically here are two job-openings by this provider, for one and the same job. Also No Feedback & NO Buyer's Assignment History and No current assignments.
Yes, you are right.- I have not received any money for work done.
If you'd like, I can send you the link of the job post via email.
Cheers,
Rick
pkalimuthu 474 posts - India - Joined Mar 07 2008
Yes, you are right.- I have not received any money for work done.
Hi Rick,
Not only you, but no one who is working (or worked) with this buyer received any money. Otherwise, it would've been shown in the feedback, assignment history or in current assignments.
Pothi.
rickard 90 posts
Thanks for clarifying one more time.
Have a nice day.
Rick