You said MULTIPLE places. That is why I requested you disclose 1 place without giving all your sources away.
Anyway, it does not matter. Ample amount of time has passed, those who can do something about it SHOULD do.
Those who can't, unfortunately will learn 2 very important things at a high costs:
1. All work on these forums is 1-MAN-SHOW. There is no team fellas, there is no others. If they are, they are subcontracted from 1-MAN. 1-MAN catches flu, subcontracters die, so does the whole thing.
2. You should not trust your money to a person you have never seen. A person who does not own a company, a person who does not have any identifiable information. THIS IS EVERYONE ON THESE FORUMS including you and me.
If you want to still pay for the work, you must make sure:
a. You don't send it as GIFT in PayPal
b. You monitor your status for 30-40 days and make sure you can dispute it if you smell a rat.
c. You use your CC with PayPal to extend your dispute process to 6 months even if you miss PayPal boat.
These should be done to leverage your investment (money) against mishaps even if the service provider is not outright scam.
Lesson learnt hard way. Sorry for you all fellas.