ATTENTION - BEWARE OF eLance.com SCAM !

[Tomasz Skalczynski]

ATTENTION - BEWARE OF eLance.com SCAM !

We are small IT consulting company located in Warsaw, Poland. Since
May 2001 we have had an account at eLance.com named
"SkalczynskiNagrodzki" (Account #: EL5923000346755). We have been using
this site for several monthsand finally would like to withdraw money from
our account ($1161,00).
But suddenly some technical problems appeared (input field for bank
account number was simply too short to type in our bank account #). To
resolve them, we have sent around 15 (!!!) e-mails to eLance customer
service. Usually, we did not get ANY response! The only responses came,
when we made phone calls (twice) from Poland to eLance office (and phone
calls from Poland to USA cost a lot, believe me!). Each time eLance
representative was surprised with our case, and each time help was
promised. And each time ... nothing was done! Now it starts the third
month (!) of our battle with eLance.com to withdraw our money. The
amount is not big, but we have earned this money and would like to use
it! What should we do? Does anybody know, where to go with such case?
Are there any organisations/companies which resolve such scam issues?
We would also like to warn You before subscribing to eLance.com. They
will promptly take Your money (subscription, transaction fee), but later
You will have horrible problems to get from them what You have earned.

Best regards,

Tomasz Skalczynski & Kamil Nagrodzki

--
Skalczynski Nagrodzki sc,
Wilcza St. 14A/21B,
00-532 Warsaw, Poland,
ph./fax: +48 22 629 33 95,
mobile: +48 501-71-44-97,
e-mail: tskalc...@sncube.com,
www: sncube.com

[Mark Hilger]

Here's my advice. First, read the fine print of any contract you have
agreed to by doing service through elance. This will dictate the
legality of your situation and may be used as pressure to receive
immediate resolution. For example, if you say "Under article 4 of the
contract that I agreed to, you promise avalibility of funds for
transfer within 48 hours of a request. I waited for 2 weeks and have
not received the transfer. Please abide by teh contract and transfer
the money to my account in the next business day.".

You can also put the pressure of the BBB on your side. The BBB (the
Better Business Bureau) is an independent organization that will file
a claim on your behalf against someone who you feel has conducted
business poorly with you. Their site is www.bbb.com and you can file
a claim online. Before you do so, though, threaten elance with your
future action. "If I do not receive immediate resolution of this
issue, I will be forced to contact the Better Business Bureau to
report your poor handling of this situation.". As the BBB has mostly
public records, most companies will do anything they can to avoid
being reported.

Also, next time you speak to elance, try to get a firm date when you
can expect the transfer. Also, ask for the name of the person you
speak with for future reference. You may even want to ask for a
confirmation letter or and email so you have proof of their intended
action. This can then be held over their heads if payment does not
occur. Lastly, be as nice as possible. As someone working in
Application Support, I know that I am far more receptive to "pity"
calls, than I am from customers that scream at me. After all, it is
very likely that the problem is not with the person you spoke to, but
their manager, or someone at the bank! If you receive no
satisfaction, ask to speak to a manager. Well, good luck!!

--Mark, Chicago

tskalc...@sncube.com (Tomasz Skalczynski) wrote in message news:<89487e35.01112...@posting.google.com>...

[Mark Hilger]

I jsut found this from a user called "MCMAZZY" about elance:

"Warning: Stay away from elance (www.elance.com). Their contract listings
don't contain location, company name, or contact information.

If you've used elance (www.elance.com) and have felt ripped off and want to
file a formal complaint against them, contact the following agencies:

Federal Trade Commission: www.ftc.gov (has on-line complaint form)
California State Attorney General's Office:
www.caag.state.ca.us/consumers/mailform.htm
Better Business Bureau (San Jose Office): www.bbbsilicon.org

Please note that the Better Business Bureau doesn't seem to be too
responsive. If they don't get back to you, call them. If
enough people call them, perhaps elance will change their ways since
they'll get a lousy history with them.
"

Again, good luck.

--Mark, Chicago

tskalc...@sncube.com (Tomasz Skalczynski) wrote in message news:<89487e35.01112...@posting.google.com>...

[Kimberlytin]

Yes I too have same experience. Moreover, most of the Freelance sites on the web can’t simply help you when you need a complex, abstract project done in those domains. This is because those sites have no expertise or tools to support you about the pricing, deadlines or management of the project. However, they are good in tangible services like web development, logo development etc.
Statlance from tutorteddy helps you with projects needing abstract thinking.