Am I crazy?

[ColeB126]

I am not sure if this is the right place and if it isn't please feel free to move it or delete.  So I hired a prominent builder, or at least someone who I thought was.  Two people who have been in SL longer than me told me this builder was well known.  Anyways I hired her to build two full perm homes for me.  I paid her in full.  Our agreement was she was going to deliver prim homes and my business partner was going to retexture them.  Anyways she kinds ghosts me for over a week.  I IMed her when she was offline and just left a couple messages asking her if I could get an update, maybe even see it while she was building.  I figured that was a normal thing to do.  When a friend of mine Imed her on her alt she got on her other alt (the one i know of) and she seemed annoyed that I was asking about her.  Anyways a few days later, while i was out of town and not on in a few days she leaves a message for me saying shes done and she delivered the homes to my partner.  My partner has had some RL issues and hasnt and wont be able to get on for a while.  I messaged her that I want them delivered to me so i can get someone to texture them and I don't know when my partner is getting back on etc.  I have messaged her like 10 times since, and my friend who knows her alt has left messages too asking her to im me and shes been ignoring them all (she told me that she gets emails for away messages so i know shes getting them all).  I feel like I have totally been ripped off.  Its for a large sum , multiple 100s of ks.  I have contacted LL and they said they don't get involved. Should I just move on?

[Alwin Alcott]

21 minutes ago, ColeB126 said:

I am not sure if this is the right place and if it isn't please feel free to move it or delete.  So I hired a prominent builder, or at least someone who I thought was.  Two people who have been in SL longer than me told me this builder was well known.  Anyways I hired her to build two full perm homes for me.  I paid her in full.  Our agreement was she was going to deliver prim homes and my business partner was going to retexture them.  Anyways she kinds ghosts me for over a week.  I IMed her when she was offline and just left a couple messages asking her if I could get an update, maybe even see it while she was building.  I figured that was a normal thing to do.  When a friend of mine Imed her on her alt she got on her other alt (the one i know of) and she seemed annoyed that I was asking about her.  Anyways a few days later, while i was out of town and not on in a few days she leaves a message for me saying shes done and she delivered the homes to my partner.  My partner has had some RL issues and hasnt and wont be able to get on for a while.  I messaged her that I want them delivered to me so i can get someone to texture them and I don't know when my partner is getting back on etc.  I have messaged her like 10 times since, and my friend who knows her alt has left messages too asking her to im me and shes been ignoring them all (she told me that she gets emails for away messages so i know shes getting them all).  I feel like I have totally been ripped off.  Its for a large sum , multiple 100s of ks.  I have contacted LL and they said they don't get involved. Should I just move on?

ask yourself:
did she build your homes ... answer = yes
did she deliver... answer = yes
order completed?...answer = yes

she can't be blamed for your businesspartner not being online.
The issue isn't between the builder and you, but you and your partner.

[ColeB126]

Your right.  But i just cant believe a builder would do that.  Take 300k from some one and then not double and triple check that 1.  i was happy with the product.  I never saw the final build or anything for that matter and 2. to confirm that its being delivered to the right place. I mean even if what you say is true, builders can just build their homes and the people buying them don't get to approve it or anything?  I can't imagine that other customers of hers is ok with this. 

[ColeB126]

o and then ghost me afterwards....

[Lillith Hapmouche]

That all depends on the contract both ... or rather all three... of you agreed upon.

Don't expect unsaid things, don't say "but I thought / I can't imagine", make it part of your deal (in future).

Without feedback from your texture friend, you're not the wiser.

[Bebe Bunny]

She did what she was expected to? Yes, but she is also doing a very bad business practice called "being an idiot", she could simply send him it, it doesn't take long. She's not a good "professional" and depending on what she delivered, you just wasted your money. Always always ask more people for references, even the person you're hiring, ask for reference. But at the same time I can't tell how were your messages to her, because if she was annoyed something is wrong, it can be either her personality or the way you spoke to her.

[Alyona Su]

1. Your business partner had no reason to be part of it at all; you paid for it then you should have received it in full perms. Then you can pass it to your business partner, etc.
2. Wait, you paid for them BEFORE they were delivered to YOU?

These are the two fatal flaws of your interaction with work-for-hire.

Live and learn.

[Alwin Alcott]

25 minutes ago, Alyona Su said:

1. Your business partner had no reason to be part of it at all; you paid for it then you should have received it in full perms. Then you can pass it to your business partner, etc.

it sounds to me it was part of the deal the businesspartner would texture it, so he did get it. And that partner got it in full perms. You can't expect a contractor starts sending her work around to everybody. She did her part, but now the other partnes isn't comming online... builder is nothing to blame.

[LexxiXhan]

300K? Not replying to messages?

She's probably just gone on holiday. That's what I'd do

[Sparetta]

As a designer/artist I never allow my clients to pay me in full. It's always half up front and half before you receive the final. That was simply just a bit of naïvete' on your part but a very fatal mistake had this builder just went off with your money. Also I rarely let my clients contact me unless they left something out and want to quickly add it in for reference. I show progress throughout the duration of the project. Then you had your friend IM the builder on her alt, which is quite unprofessional, this isn't your lover that might be cheating this is a contractor you (and you only unless you want to involve a lawyer) hired for services and you should be the only person contacting them; unless stated otherwise.

Depending on your attitude some contractors don't show progress and will simply just finish it up and deliver it to you to get you out of their hair.  Paying in full shows that you trusted her/her work and didn't want any progress updates (as you already paid in full). 

The job was done,  your business partner accepted on your behalf (plus you oaid in full), the job is complete and over on the builders side. Next time tell the builder you want it delivered to you instead of counting on a third party. How can she double check with you if you weren't the recipient of the house?

I'm sorry you don't feel satisfied but this is definitely something to learn from. Next time get a contractual agreement stating your needs/expectations. Hire someone you actually researched rather than word of mouth. Be a bit more professional in terms of contact, no one other than you should be contacting the contractor. 

 

 

[Monti Messmer]

Hi, thats bad buisness.

I would never send something - for that amount of money anyway - to an offline person.

Always IM before and make clear that they received it. SL isn´t always that reliable.

This sound just being ignorant. Taking the money rushing some work and tell the customer to get lost.

You can´t do anything and i´m shocked that even on SL we need contracts that are water-tight like the 1000... pages of FB TOS.

Monti

[Alyona Su]

16 hours ago, Alwin Alcott said:

it sounds to me it was part of the deal the businesspartner would texture it, so he did get it. And that partner got it in full perms. You can't expect a contractor starts sending her work around to everybody. She did her part, but now the other partnes isn't comming online... builder is nothing to blame.

I apologize if my point wasn't clearly stated: The OP made the partner part of the contract, so the failure isn't on the part of the creator, it's on the part of the client.

13 hours ago, Sparetta said:

As a designer/artist I never allow my clients to pay me in full. It's always half up front and half before you receive the final. That was simply just a bit of naïvete' on your part but a very fatal mistake had this builder just went off with your money. Also I rarely let my clients contact me unless they left something out and want to quickly add it in for reference. I show progress throughout the duration of the project. Then you had your friend IM the builder on her alt, which is quite unprofessional, this isn't your lover that might be cheating this is a contractor you (and you only unless you want to involve a lawyer) hired for services and you should be the only person contacting them; unless stated otherwise.

Depending on your attitude some contractors don't show progress and will simply just finish it up and deliver it to you to get you out of their hair.  Paying in full shows that you trusted her/her work and didn't want any progress updates (as you already paid in full). 

The job was done,  your business partner accepted on your behalf (plus you oaid in full), the job is complete and over on the builders side. Next time tell the builder you want it delivered to you instead of counting on a third party. How can she double check with you if you weren't the recipient of the house?

I'm sorry you don't feel satisfied but this is definitely something to learn from. Next time get a contractual agreement stating your needs/expectations. Hire someone you actually researched rather than word of mouth. Be a bit more professional in terms of contact, no one other than you should be contacting the contractor. 

4

THIS.

Perfectly-stated and the way it often works even in RL.

Edited May 31, 2018 by Alyona Su

[Kyrah Abattoir]

I'm not exactly sure what's the deal.

• Money was exchanged.
• Work was delivered.

They probably consider the deal done and got annoyed that you sought them on their non-work alt to talk to them about work?

[Orwar]

The notion that 'the customer is always right' is an outright plague upon commerce. As an artisan, I can relate to customers who keep calling you up, stressing you and thinking that the world revolves around them - whether you're satisfied or not, this person has held up their end of their bargain, the contract is completed as per your own instructions.

Sure, one could call her unprofessional in her unresponsiveness - but as far as I can tell from what you've said, you never mentioned that reporting the progress or having you hanging over her shoulder was part of the deal.

[ColeB126]

not sure if anyone cares, since from most responses the creator did absolutely nothing wrong and i am indeed crazy, but It is now going on a month and I don't have the homes.  And just to be clear, i never told her to deliver the homes to my partner.  And also i never nagged her.  I messaged twice in the span of two weeks then asked a friend to message her alt so i can at least get some sort of update because i was started to feel like she was scamming me.  but what most of you have said is true, i should have done more research, and not just gone by word of mouth. 

but im also glad that i have some of your responses.  because if your a builder or artist and you think its ok to take 300k from someone and produce that kind of work then you probably arent worth being hired as well and I can refer back to this if i am ever looking to hire again. 

[Rya Nitely]

@ColeB126, I care.

in your case, as a customer you are definitely right. And you are also right NOT to do business with anyone who says differently. 300k is a lot of money, and for that you should expect fantastic customer service. You dealt with the wrong person. It's unfortunate. But this is SL, and these people exist everywhere.

I have never understood the attitudes of some people, and the lack of empathy. Empathy is my favourite word.

 

Edited June 6, 2018 by Rya Nitely
edit: to put in a picture, because I like it

[Zoxin UwU]

Sucks to hear you got burned, 300k is one hell of a price to pay upfront - I'd suggest you do business as I do from now on (should you continue to do such); Half on start, half upon completion.

[ColeB126]

So here is an update if anyone cares.  Pretty sure I have been scammed.  Not sure if I mentioned this but I was told by my friend who recommended this builder that she was an instructor at Builder Brewery.  I went to builder brewery and talked to their security and they confirmed that none of their instructors uses the alt name I provided them with(the one i met, and paid). So I asked my friend if he could give me the alt name since he was the only one who knew it, (remember he messaged her alt and she came on and talked to me). He told me no, that it's against the LL TOS.  Ever since that conversation he has ghosted me.  There are other conversations and things that happened in the past which have now led me to believe that he has scammed me.  I have filed an abuse (for fraud) report with LL.  I know nothing will be done, and they have already told me that they will not let me know the outcome of the report because of identity issues, which makes me wonder whats the point of filing a report if you never find out what happens?  Any way this person who I believe scammed me is a big prominent land owner and club owner in SL.  I am not looking for sympathy, I know this is my own doing and I deserve it. Just wanted to give the thread an update. 

[Zoxin UwU]

3 hours ago, ColeB126 said:

So here is an update if anyone cares.  Pretty sure I have been scammed.  Not sure if I mentioned this but I was told by my friend who recommended this builder that she was an instructor at Builder Brewery.  I went to builder brewery and talked to their security and they confirmed that none of their instructors uses the alt name I provided them with(the one i met, and paid). So I asked my friend if he could give me the alt name since he was the only one who knew it, (remember he messaged her alt and she came on and talked to me). He told me no, that it's against the LL TOS.  Ever since that conversation he has ghosted me.  There are other conversations and things that happened in the past which have now led me to believe that he has scammed me.  I have filed an abuse (for fraud) report with LL.  I know nothing will be done, and they have already told me that they will not let me know the outcome of the report because of identity issues, which makes me wonder whats the point of filing a report if you never find out what happens?  Any way this person who I believe scammed me is a big prominent land owner and club owner in SL.  I am not looking for sympathy, I know this is my own doing and I deserve it. Just wanted to give the thread an update. 

Not sure if ya deserve it mate but you're certainly right about one thing; LL doesn't get involved with these kinds of things, if you really wanted to go ahead and do anything about it I'm afraid you'd probably have to go legal and get the info from them that way... I'm not sure where to even start on that process and I'm certainly in no position to recommend it or advise you how.

[Axel Naxos]

Well ... what's the problem of your partner logging in to the world, and supposedly "solving" this problem? 300K make any dead get up from the pit!
However, I'm sorry for your loss ... it was a pretty expensive apprenticeship ...
The builder must have gone to Russia to watch the Cup!

With your money ...

[ColeB126]

Pretty sure her (my partner), the builder and my "friend" are all the same person or are in on the scam together. I included all of them in my abuse report.

[Axel Naxos]

 I am sorry... 

[Luna Bliss]

13 hours ago, ColeB126 said:

I am not looking for sympathy, I know this is my own doing and I deserve it.

There are worse things than being too trusting

Do you think your 'friend' scammed you, or do you think the builder did?  Can you PM me the name of this builder? It would be good for me to know personally as I sometimes hire them.

Is there any chance the builder/friend and yourself reside in the same state?  If so, small claims court could be an option (I believe small claims court only applies locally, and not sure your $1,200 usd exceeds the limit, but would be something to check on).  Be sure and record (from our website sales records) your payment to them.

If I had the money to spare I think I'd sue them just on principle.

[ColeB126]

9 minutes ago, Luna Bliss said:

There are worse things than being too trusting

Do you think your 'friend' scammed you, or do you think the builder did?  Can you PM me the name of this builder? It would be good for me to know personally as I sometimes hire them.

Is there any chance the builder/friend and yourself reside in the same state?  If so, small claims court could be an option (I believe small claims court only applies locally, and not sure your $1,200 usd exceeds the limit, but would be something to check on).  Be sure and record (from our website sales records) your payment to them.

If I had the money to spare I think I'd sue them just on principle.

My former Business Partner, and former friend (who's still buying and selling a large part of SL) are both from the same country(im in US, they arent).  I am not sure where the builder is from except that its not from the US.  I got the impression it was europe or asia.  Its way more than just the 300k i gave the builder.  All in all I was misled to spend close to 1 million LL.

[Pamela Galli]

I am sorry this happened to you. Posting about it here may impress on readers the lessons you learned the hard way —- chief of which is that in SL nothing and no one may be what they seem.