I recently worked for a client whom I had never worked for before, but after being paid straight away for the job, I thought none other than suspicious. The request was for some design work, the job being pretty small.

Upon agreement I would do the work, then if not completely happy, I would continue the work till full satisfaction was there.


I worked to comply with all specs of the job, and eventually came up with the required designs. After completing the job I sent out the design work with info etc, just the formal way. Shortly I received e-mail from the client picking out what he didn’t like, but no specs of what he wanted changing.

After a few days of sorting out current work loads and prioritising tasks, I e-mailed the client to request the new specs he wanted me to work with to achieve the result he wanted, but to an unexpected reply, he wanted a refund, straight up, without question.


Now I can almost put my heart with the client when they decide to turn out on a deal from the start if they have paid and they change their mind for some reason, if be for financial or other; Even if the project had been merely started etc, but this project had been completed, with drafts made up and the work sent out to the client.

I pleasantly e-mailed the client informing how our agreement clearly stated that we would work with you until you are completely satisfied, and this was just a mere hurdle which was to be overcome after we were presented with the new specs that we could work with. The client did not want to know, and was dominant of going ahead with a chargeback for the paypal payment.

Now, I'm unsure what I am to do. Do I refund to the client so the business reputation remains excellent within the community? ..Or do I keep to the word so all is fair?

I don't want to come out of this as bad, but I don't want to be unfair to myself just to settle with an unprofessional client.


Your help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks.

Best Regards,
Leigh Hewitt.

What is your stated refund policy?

First figure out why he wants a refund. If you did it to how he wants it, you should at LEAST only give a partial refund. Also, when you showed him the examples, did they have like "sample"
on them or something similar? Like so if he gets his refund, will he still be able to use your design?

He is ripping you off. He got his design and no whe makes use of the "no sign, no shine" crap intentionally.

If it is a larger amount then just get it our of PayPal ASAP and open a new account with anothger cc just in case.

Sorry if I reflect negatively on people now with what I say but I have seen rip offs all over and I am sick of it.

I agree with Nocsol, he has your design now so he doesnt care. :rolleyes:

our agreement clearly stated that we would work with you until you are completely satisfied
I think he owes you a better explaination if he is truly intent on any refund.
In the future, I suggest a cancellation clause including a "per hour fee for the amount of work completed" added to the agreement.
I mean whats to keep someone from having you do the work, they say they don't like it, and get their money back, then awhile later, you see the site is up with 90% or more of your design?
With a "per hour fee for cancellation" if they use some of your design, at least they paid for it.
I think some people look for paypal merchants, as an easy way to get something for free, by paying, get the service, then charging back. Maybe that cancellation clause would deter them.

Oooh, I just had a thought (look out).
What if you take the design and make a simular (to the one you made for them) logo using the word "Sample" in place of their logo, change their sites name to your sites name on the pages, put your sites copywrite on every page, and put it in a samples directory. The idea is to get this "up" before he does, just in case it's an issue.
Don't make this "live" unless he pushes the refund issue, and does not offer you any sort of compensation for your work. (because then, it is yours to do with as you please) Then link to it on your front page as a sample, and if he dares to use it, you simply tell his hosting provider he stole your sample site.
This should pretty much make the design unusable to him.
and you might just make some money off it by getting new customers after all.

Right at this point, you have no other choice then to provide them the refund that they requested unless you have a signed contract agreement between you and your client. I consider this as the best course of action since a charge back would be more detrimental (because of charge back fees) and you wouldn't even come out even in terms of net gain from this work.

If you do have a signed contract between you and the client (signed... not one of those check this box if you agree to the terms of service above forms) - You should send an email to your client quoting specific passages of the agreement and also tell him that his lack of communication with you to resolve this issue for the good of both sides will force you to seek legal cousel. However, I am guessing you won't be able to go through with this suggestion since you don't have a signed contract.

Also, I am assuming here, but when you say 'draft' - I hope you didn't provide him/her with the source (PSD or PSP files) but just a JPG or GIF image with or without a watermark because a PSD or a PSP file is proof of original work; nevertheless, if you sent your client a PSD/PSP file, then you have a slim chance of proving that the work in question was your original work. So if he does take the draft and use it somewhere, you will be able to ask his/her web service provider that he did not obtain your permission (as the original designer) to use the design on his site and his site will (should be) removed.

There are many people out there who pay for 100% upfront for some kind of work and tells the hired that they can trust them and doesn't have to place the watermark in the drafts - their intent might be more disconcerting then just "wanting to see the draft better without the messy watermarks"... so that's just my tip for any designers out there - It might have worked with some clients, but it won't work for all as the internet is full of uneducated people whose only intent is to scam other people for money or some product.

Although right now, this is a lose/lose situation - you can still come out lose/win. First, definately place the design in your portfolio as you have every right to this as the original artist. Secondly, take the design and make it more generic (without company name or anything like that) and try selling it/auctioning it off somewhere (there are a lot of design/template seekers on WHT). Third... and the most important... take this experience as a lesson and learn that trust is not the best decision in the online market.

Good luck :)