Scammed by Creator?

[MacFlotsam]

I made an agreement with a creator on SL to do some work for me with regards to making a custom skin and custom shape for a specific body type I had in mind. The creator assured me many times that the work would be done in a timely fashion. Unfortunately we are now 3 weeks out from the promised date of completion and still no work has been shown to me. 

Luckily she has not cut contact with me. She gives me a different reason why the work was not done and  each time she promises a  new deadline.  Now once again a new deadline has come and gone and still no work to be shown. This time she claims to be sick.  My question is, am I entitled to pursue a refund? Would SL help me in doing so? 

 

TLDR: Made a private agreement with a creator to do some work for me, paid a large amount of Lindens in advance. Work has not been completed many weeks passed the promised deadline. Will SL give me any sort of refund if I report the creator?

[Rolig Loon]

13 minutes ago, MacFlotsam said:

Made a private agreement with a creator to do some work for me, paid a large amount of Lindens in advance. Work has not been completed many weeks passed the promised deadline. Will SL give me any sort of refund if I report the creator?

Nope.  It's between you and the creator.  There's no TOS violation involved, so this is a "dispute between residents".  It's a good thing that you only made a partial payment in advance ..... you did, right?

BTW, creators do get sick, or have sick family members, or get tossed in jail, ......

[Alwin Alcott]

16 minutes ago, MacFlotsam said:

Will SL give me any sort of refund if I report the creator?

let's start with this : No you won't, reporting the creator will do nothing.

The TOS governs disputes between a Resident and Linden Lab. The dispute resolution procedure does not apply to Resident-to-Resident disputes.

LL will not take a position in Resident to Resident issues.

This is a agreement between you and the creator. If you have proof of it, and want to get your product delivered or a refund, you need to bring it to RL court.

But seriously doubting many issues are worth the trouble doing that.

[MacFlotsam]

Thank you for your advice.  I was of course anticipating that there is nothing SL can do because it is a private agreement between two residents, so it is not surprising news to me.

No, I paid in advance in full, she told me that she would be purchasing a lot of the materials and such so she convinced me to pay her. I first offered half now and half when the job is done but she didn't agree to that. I understand that creators can get sick, numerous uncountable number of reasons etc I don't fault anyone for that. The only issue is buyer beware, particularly on SL where RL business ethics should not be counted on. 

It's in my best interests to just wait then. And looking back on it now, I doubt she wants to run away with the money since she is a creator and has a reputation to uphold for the sake of her SL business. 

Edited August 18, 2017 by MacFlotsam

[Rolig Loon]

9 minutes ago, MacFlotsam said:

It's in my best interests to just wait then. And looking back on it now, I doubt she wants to run away with the money since she is a creator and has a reputation to uphold for the sake of her SL business.

That's probably the best way to look at it.  As a creator myself, I can see the other side here too.  I have been lucky that I never had a client fail to pay me after I had put in a lot of work, but I know people who have had that happen.  We're on the honor system here, so we have no options other than to trust each other.  In my experience, that's a pretty good bet.

[Chic Aeon]

1 hour ago, MacFlotsam said:

No, I paid in advance in full, she told me that she would be purchasing a lot of the materials and such so she convinced me to pay her. I first offered half now and half when the job is done but she didn't agree to that. I understand that creators can get sick, numerous uncountable number of reasons etc I don't fault anyone for that. The only issue is buyer beware, particularly on SL where RL business ethics should not be counted on. 

Just wanted to say two things. One -- that "would be buying a lot of materials" thing should have set off some bells. Seems pretty fishy for what you were ordering. 

Two -- RL business ethics as well as SL business ethics are only as good as the people who follow them. Makes absolutely no difference in my mind anyway. I had plenty of folks in RL cheat and steal my creations. It happens just as often there but for more money involved 

[LittleMe Jewell]

1 hour ago, MacFlotsam said:

making a custom skin and custom shape for a specific body type

 

1 hour ago, MacFlotsam said:

I paid in advance in full, she told me that she would be purchasing a lot of the materials and such

Yeah, how much materials can be involved in a special skin and shape.

[MacFlotsam]

1 hour ago, LittleMe Jewell said:

 

Yeah, how much materials can be involved in a special skin and shape.

 

 

2 hours ago, Chic Aeon said:

Just wanted to say two things. One -- that "would be buying a lot of materials" thing should have set off some bells. Seems pretty fishy for what you were ordering. 

Two -- RL business ethics as well as SL business ethics are only as good as the people who follow them. Makes absolutely no difference in my mind anyway. I had plenty of folks in RL cheat and steal my creations. It happens just as often there but for more money involved 

Of course I have done my research and have checked the costs. In case you are curious, Essentially we were talking about 5K of the fee for the materials; the dev kit for the body, as well as a bento head (which by themselves are costly). The rest was was for the labour I would imagine. In total it added up to about 15k. So yeah 1/3 for materials. 

[LittleMe Jewell]

1 hour ago, MacFlotsam said:

 

 

Of course I have done my research and have checked the costs. In case you are curious, Essentially we were talking about 5K of the fee for the materials; the dev kit for the body, as well as a bento head (which by themselves are costly). The rest was was for the labour I would imagine. In total it added up to about 15k. So yeah 1/3 for materials. 

Ahhh, mesh stuff and bento head involved - that makes a bit more sense.