Scammed by hotdew? - Not delivering in two months

So I didn't think I will make a shit list thread but..here we go.

Short story: On October 18 I paid $275 to hotdew for 10k words. I sent him the article details on 23 October. He delivered 0 words until now. Just some drafts. A lot of excuses, a lot of "it's better for both of us if we stay calm". aka don't bug me anymore" and other strange excuses.

I will assume my mistake that I didn't ask him for a TAT. But he was very responsive before sending him the payment. Of course, I wouldn't expect to receive 0 content in almost 2 months now.

I would like to receive the articles in the next few days or a refund from hotdew

It's easier if I just post our email and skype discussion with a short description. Some of you will say "WTF man, you are way too patient. Why didn't you create this shitlist a long time ago?"

Here we go:


MAY 16: I asked hotdew some samples for his rewrite services on his thread here
He sent me the samples and it was all good. Until I realized that he was accused on his thread by other BHW members for not delivery. He had a shitlist as well. I told him that on May 28 and then he stopped responding.

October 13: Out of the blue, he asked me if I still want articles. I checked his thread and the shitlist section and it seems the problems were resolved. I asked him some samples from the health niche which he provided.
I asked him again what happened with his shitlist thread and he replied the list was resolved.

October 18: We started to talk about my project details. We negotiate the price and finally sent him the payment $275(paid with BTC)

October 23: I sent him the first article details (2500 words).

October 24: He confirmed the payment and asked me some questions regarding that article. I replied later that day.



October 29: Asked him for updates

October 31: Asked him again for updates. He replied: "Not yet. I'll complete it next week."

November 5: Sent him the second article template and asked him about the status of the first article? He said :I'll update the status of both articles this week.:

November 8: Asked him for updates. It was on a Friday.

November 9: He replied "On Tuesday." and he told me to send other article details

November 12 (Tuesday): Told him I'm worried he still didn't deliver any article. I also told him I'm preparing a big 7k words guide article template and I will appreciate if he can deliver the first 2 articles so I can prepare that guide instructions better. Also, I realized that for the previous article details which I sent him on Nov 5 I forget to paste a youtube link(because for the second article I asked him to write the article based on some youtube video). It was probably the moment when I knew he didn't even read properly my article details lol.

November 14: I asked him for updates again. I told him I have the structure of the last article as well. Waiting for him to reply.

November 15: Asked him for updates again. Told him: "It's been over 3 weeks since I sent you the details for the first 2500 words and about 10 days since I sent you details for the second article of 1500 words"

November 16: He finally replies after 7 days saying: "It's been a rough few years for me. And I'm having my first breather in a long time. I intend to savor it. Certainly, I would prefer if it didn't take this long, but we'd both be better for it when I'm fully refreshed and gearing to go. I have started on the research of both articles in the meantime, and you'd begin to receive updates next week. Do send details of the main guide over."

He also asked for the main article guide which I later sent him via email on Nov 18

Anyway, after about 3 weeks he delivered nothing.



Our discussions will continue on skype:


November 16: Provided him some more details. He stated he is preparing the draft



November 18: Announced him that I emailed the last article(the big guide of 7k words)

November 21: I asked him for updates. He replied "Yes" and then he signed out

November 23: Hello?

November 24: Told him it's been a month and my patience is running out. Asked him how he wants to solve this issue



November 24: He replied: "There's no issue to solve." I'm telling him he couldn't deliver 2500 words in one month and what should be my expectations for the rest of 7500? He replies "Less than a week."
He asks to deliver me on OneNote a draft for the first article. It's a draft with no original content. Only the article template with copy-paste sentences. At least it's something.







November 26: He finally asks me for that youtube video which I forget to add on the second article details I sent. I paste him the video. He tells me the first article draft is ready.

November 27: I ask him for updates. He ignores me

November 28: I ask him for updates. He ignores me



November 29: I ask him for updates. He ignores me

November 30: I ask him for updates. He tells me: "Not yet"

December 1: I ask him for updates. He ignores me

December 2: He told me he is not ignoring me: "I simply do not want to give yet another deadline I may not meet." I give him a two days ultimatum telling him that I will ask him for a refund and that I'm gonna start a shitlist if he doesn't deliver something in the next 2 days.



December 3: He is saying he started my order and I should be relaxed because he is. (LOL WTF?)
I tell him it's been 6 weeks and I cannot be relaxed anymore. I tell him again to deliver in the next 2 days. That's Wednesday.

He continues with some lame excuses: "I've got things in motion. Your order isn't in the attic gathering dust...We'll talk weekend. " He also states he is going to provide micro-updates till weekend.





December 4: I ask him to just deliver and stop writing long excuses.



December 05: He is telling me: "The complete draft I sent is not "simply words." and that I will receive micro-updates. Telling me again to be calm (lol)



December 08: He sends me a mega folder with a document. It's the first article template(title, subheadings) - 125 words written. Basically is the template I sent him for the first article on October 23, a little bit modified and with about 50 original(researched) words.
He is telling me the next #24H Objectives it's to go deep into the research.

December 09: I ask him for updates. He ignores me



December 12: Tell him I'm gonna start the shitlist thread. He still doesn't get it




PS: I blurred our personal details and emails. Also blurred the niche and some stuff regarding the niche for obvious reasons. Of course, I can provide the original screenshot to mods. I will provide the draft files I received as well.

Shitlist Request Approved

@hotdew has been notified they have 48 hours to respond to this post.

Second SL and 4th complainant that I remember and the cavalier responses gives the staff cause to move forward.

PS. Reminder to all who have current issues, keep it PROFESSIONAL. No name calling or other insults.

If anyone else has issues with this service, ensure you supply screenshots etc.

Reminder to everyone else:

Shit list rule #4:
If you are not directly related to the situation, or are not offering information directly related to the situation: do not post in the thread

PART 1

I will do my best to be concise with my response, and I'll start at the beginning since he referenced it.

1. MAY 16: Alaltaierii contacted me to request a sample and inquire about my service

• Communication was smooth
• He needed me to complete one article for him
• I sent the last message of the day

2. MAY 31 (2 weeks later): He contacts me out of the blue to ask about the complaint on my sales thread

• I had a lot on my plate at the time and as such I certainly wasn't looking to take on a new client
• Consequently, I did not respond

3. OCT 13: I re-establish contact to inquire if by chance he was in need of a writer

I did this after 4+ months for 4 reasons:

• I had resolved the complaint I had
• I had taken no new clients in that time to manage the sh*tstorm
• I had finally been able to build a relatively solid run of deliveries for an old client with whom things ended poorly on our first run; but returned seemingly out of the blue 8 months later to give it another shot
• It was supposed to be the next step in rehabilitating my service before I relaunch my sales thread

4. OCT 15: We shake hands on a deal

• The core reason he agreed to it was that I specifically told him if he had any issues with my service and he took it up, it'd likely result in a permanent ban
• I was very clear about the concerns he raised and why I contacted him
• He was supposed to have the details of the order ready by the end of the day as he was already preparing it

5. OCT 23 (1 week later): He sends details for one article. Details for the last of 3 articles was sent 3 weeks later.

PART 2

For the avoidance of doubt, I do not claim I'm clean as a whistle in this.

But how and why have I gone from plainly admitting, to him nonetheless, an issue with him that he takes up could lead to a permanent ban; to having an issue that he felt obliged to take up?

I've had anything but a storied run with my writing service. For the longest time, it's been okay. But the last two years have been bad. This year in particular has been awful.

There have been some bright spots, but all together, it's been a disaster.

When I secured the confirmation to complete an order for Alaltaierii, I was on a redemption tour. I still am. I hadn't resolved a SL and 4 complaints to get into another.

I've had no complaints about the quality of my articles. Only how long it takes me to complete them. And that's precisely what I wanted to resolve once and for all.

I have a bespoke system of writing.

• I carry out thorough research
• I note the pages and information I'd use
• I create a descriptive draft with the closest outline to the finished article
• I copy-paste most of the information I need to complete the article into each of the subheadings of the draft
• I use that draft as the main (not only) resource to craft an article

It is a time-intensive process, and I've been told I don't charge enough for the amount of work I put in.

But this way I don't miss crucial information. The finished article is thorough and comprehensive. And I never have to worry about revision requests.

Because I write alone and I need multiple clients to make a living, if it can be called that, I simply cannot go through all five cardinal steps highlighted above for one article before heading to another. And then for one client before another. Tried to make that work for years, but if I was successful, I wouldn't be typing this.

I HAVE TO work on multiple articles from multiple clients consecutively, such that there's no lag time between when I deliver one article and when I finish the next, be it for one client or several.

____

This is why I kicked back and did not take any other new order to perfect this objective:

For instance, I declined a $4/100 order on NOV 4 from a new client. That's not how a scammer operates.



Two other clients have offered same $4/100 words rate, both BHW members, when I'm done with their current batches. My response: I'll accept when I reliably resolve this TAT headache.

I kicked back to:

• clear my head; I've been in a dark place
• guarantee timely deliveries
• guarantee consistency; not complete the first article or first batch, meet same-old problems, then we potentially have a different version of this SL
• end the practice where I go way overboard with the word count in my naive attempt to squeeze in any information of note. As the response is almost always the same: "didn't ask for it".

I didn't fold my hands.

I started on his order. I finished the research, prepared the draft, and started writing the first article; and he received proof that I indeed had done that. I started researching the second and third articles simultaneously.

That's not how a scammer operates.

He is aware of the tumultuous history leading up to receiving article details.
He is aware I'm putting everything on the line that taking advantage of this delay is the magic bullet that corrects everything and that there's no do-over.
He has received proof of progress, not at the pace anyone'd prefer, but progress all the same.
He is aware I'm one complaint away from a potential ban, even after I've resolved the others.

Yet:

On the week that I start completing the first article, FINALLY, as glaring indication that I'd gotten everything in order, he heads off to the SL section.

Sure, I'd leave 3 other higher-paying clients to scam the sole new client I take on. AFTER I'd laboriously resolved a previous SL.

PART 3

I own up to my sh*t. No one should have to wait 2 months to receive a completed 10k order.

I didn't ever make it seem like that was okay. I sure as hell NEVER ATTEMPTED to scam him or anyone else for that matter.

I had to, nay, I NEEDED to take the time to do whatever was necessary to avoid missing a deadline again.

Everyone has a down stretch and I've dug in and done my darnest to change things for the better. It's certainly not been smooth, but I haven't thrown in the towel either.

I've declined orders from new clients when I've had to. I've avoided the Hire A Freelancer section. I've accepted sanctions meted out in good faith even after resolving complaints.

So I'm not asking for or expecting a pity party.

Alaltaierii doesn't need a SL to receive his articles. He knows as much and did not want the SL to go live at the last minute. I'm still in communication with him and there's no bad blood at the time of writing.

The mods insisted on having an Inquisition.

Well, the defense rests.

____

As for the final deadline for completing the 10k order. I propose a fair 14 days (2 weeks).

He'd definitely receive the articles as I complete them and reorder before then, because as I told him on October 13:

In the end, I'm asking you to take a chance with me. And I'd make it worth your while.

Click to expand...

#TheEnd

hotdew said:

The mods insisted on having an Inquisition.

Click to expand...

Given your history and how your last SL was resolved we thought it best for the buyer and the community to make this live.

We are charged with making sure the community is on the right path and you have, again, screwed a client.

As for the final deadline for completing the 10k order. I propose a fair 14 days (2 weeks).

Click to expand...

Fair would have been as you and he originally agreed but if he is fine with that I am certainly fine with that.

[/QUOTE]

I wasn't satisfied with the 14 days deadline hotdew proposed and I asked him to deliver the articles in 7 days(considering a big part of the research for the first two articles is already done).

After a long talk with him via skype he stated he's sure he will complete all the articles before the 14 days deadline but he doesn't want to risk anything by offering me a better deadline.

I'll bite again and I will agree with the 14 days period for him to delivery all the articles.

I will update this thread when he will finish the first article and then the second and finally the third.

alaltaierii said:

I wasn't satisfied with the 14 days deadline hotdew proposed and I asked him to deliver the articles in 7 days(considering a big part of the research for the first two articles is already done).

After a long talk with him via skype he stated he's sure he will complete all the articles before the 14 days deadline but he doesn't want to risk anything by offering me a better deadline.

I'll bite again and I will agree with the 14 days period for him to delivery all the articles.

I will update this thread when he will finish the first article and then the second and finally the third.

Click to expand...

Have you had these delivered and to your satisfaction?

I don't want this to end up the same way as this SL; https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/jamesblake-not-delivering-content.1165021/

Let me know when you're next on here please @alaltaierii , thanks

Hi there

Hotdew delivered and over delivered the order. The quality of the articles is very good

So yes, overall I'm satisfied that I finally got what I paid for.