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cynthiafreelance
Community Member

I think i got scammed?

 I applied to this job of adding descriptions to 100 images, the client made me do a "test" which I got approved for, then when I did the job he was not satisfied. I then redid the job, and he said I used words that weren't to be used, and he gave me an example, in his example he used the words I was not allowed to use. He said he would terminate the contract because I was creating more work for him (although i did the whole job). He said I needed to terminate it, so I terminated it and put "unfinished job" and his whole job, messages, and anything and everything about him disappeared. He said he wasn't going to rate me because it was not a good job and he had nothing to say, however, his due date was a week from yesterday, so he still had time to tell me how he wanted it yet he didn't. What if this client is just using this method to avoid paying, and making other people feel bad. It was 5$ but I did spend about 5 hours on this. I feel as if I got scammed, he said I wasn't doing it properly but wrote what his description was of the photos. Could this have been a scam?

5 REPLIES 5
prestonhunter
Community Member

re: "Could this have been a scam?"

 

Yes.

 

But... does it matter?

 

You made mistakes and wasted time. How would any of this be better if it wasn't a scam?

 

For future reference:

I do work, and then I get paid for that work.

I decide what the rate is.

I get paid whether or not a client claims to "like" or "not like" the work.

 

If this was not at all a scam but was all about a client genuinely being disappointed in the work, then the client is still supposed to pay you if you did the assigned task. But if that was the case, then the mistake was in accepting a contract that was not a good fit for you.

 

I don't know which it was. In the future, do a small amount of work first and verify that the client likes what you are doing and is going to pay you as expected.


Preston H wrote:

re: "Could this have been a scam?"

 

Yes.

 

But... does it matter?

 

You made mistakes and wasted time. How would any of this be better if it wasn't a scam?


Someone writing in her profile "i am also willing to accept any amount at this point" can not really claim to have gotten scammed.

jr-translation
Community Member


Cynthia B wrote:

 I applied to this job of adding descriptions to 100 images, the client made me do a "test" which I got approved for, then when I did the job he was not satisfied. I then redid the job, and he said I used words that weren't to be used, and he gave me an example, in his example he used the words I was not allowed to use. He said he would terminate the contract because I was creating more work for him (although i did the whole job). He said I needed to terminate it, so I terminated it and put "unfinished job" and his whole job, messages, and anything and everything about him disappeared. He said he wasn't going to rate me because it was not a good job and he had nothing to say, however, his due date was a week from yesterday, so he still had time to tell me how he wanted it yet he didn't. What if this client is just using this method to avoid paying, and making other people feel bad. It was 5$ but I did spend about 5 hours on this. I feel as if I got scammed, he said I wasn't doing it properly but wrote what his description was of the photos. Could this have been a scam?


No, you just paid $5 for a lesson other pay several hundred dollars. Consider yourself lucky.
While in a good mood, look at your profile and try to figure out how to improve it. If you want to be a successful freelancer it is wrong in too many ways.

gilbert-phyllis
Community Member

Cynthia, at the moment your profile screams, "Inexperienced and desperate for work" which translates into "Scam me now." No worthwhile client will give you a second glance but scammers will. To earn money freelancing you need marketable skills, confidence in yourself, a thick skin, and examples of your excellent work that illustrate how you can offer value to clients.

 

My advice is to set your profile to private for a few days while you re-group. Make a list of the skill categories you feel you could operate in and search out freelancers in each category. Study profiles of the most successful ones: their credentials, experience, portfolios, profile overviews. Eventually, you need to pick one category and find a niche within that category and focus on that. But it's probably worth your while to look around a bit, since you don't seem very focused right now. Think about what you do best, what kind of work you can perform at such an excellent level that it would stack up against anyone's.

 

This is a global marketplace, full of talented, successful professionals and also full of unscrupulous scammers and clueless, feckless wanna-be's. To find success here you will need to invest time and hard work -- I mean hard work figuring out how to do it, not just working hard once you land projects (but that, too). It's not easy but it's worth it to many.

 

Good luck!


Phyllis G wrote:

Cynthia, at the moment your profile screams, "Inexperienced and desperate for work" which translates into "Scam me now." No worthwhile client will give you a second glance but scammers will. To earn money freelancing you need marketable skills, confidence in yourself, a thick skin, and examples of your excellent work that illustrate how you can offer value to clients.

 

My advice is to set your profile to private for a few days while you re-group. Make a list of the skill categories you feel you could operate in and search out freelancers in each category. Study profiles of the most successful ones: their credentials, experience, portfolios, profile overviews. Eventually, you need to pick one category and find a niche within that category and focus on that. But it's probably worth your while to look around a bit, since you don't seem very focused right now. Think about what you do best, what kind of work you can perform at such an excellent level that it would stack up against anyone's.

 

This is a global marketplace, full of talented, successful professionals and also full of unscrupulous scammers and clueless, feckless wanna-be's. To find success here you will need to invest time and hard work -- I mean hard work figuring out how to do it, not just working hard once you land projects (but that, too). It's not easy but it's worth it to many.

 

Good luck!


I would like to add that from judging the information provided in your profile you should not try fields like translation (that requires to be bilingual in both languages) or anything that requires flawless writing skills in any language.

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