PDA

View Full Version : ForumCandy forum posting service. Buyer beware!



DorianJ
04-29-2006, 11:50 PM
I wanted to share my experience with this company. I've read numerous articles about posting services so I decided to hire one (ForumCandy.com) for getting my forums off the ground.

The owner was very responsive to my e-mails at the very beginning, usually replying back to me within 15-30 minutes. He told me that he had a staff of writers with the necessary knowledge to post on my forums and they would begin posting immediately so I purchased a $30 package from him which included 75 threads and 200 posts. We agreed that there would be 10 posts per day or no more than 30 days to complete the job. Once he had my money, his responsiveness to e-mails went by the wayside.

12 days after purchasing the "SWEET PACKAGE", his "writer" had posted a grand total of 11 times (yes 11)! I asked him (very politely) to ask his writer to please make more posts as we had agreed upon. He then tells me that this writer is no longer posting, but will send me a new writer who is "capable of committing to the job".

Eight days later (day 20) and still nothing so I send a polite e-mail asking for my money back. I inform that he has not lived up to a single "guarantee" as stated from his web site, so please don't make any more promises for a new writer and just refund my money.

Two days later (day 22) I get an email full of apologies because he has been "out of town" and so busy (blah, blah, blah), but he has now found a writer who is qualified to make knowledgable posts on my forums. He then goes on to say this:

"Please give him another shot and if he's no use, I'll refund your money. No questions asked."

10 days later (day 32) and his writer has made a grand total of eight posts (yes 8) so I ask that my money be refunded.

Four days later (day 36) I still did not have a reply to my request for a refund so I ask again and advise that if he doesn't refund my money, then I will file a complaint with Paypal.

Three days later (day 39) he send me an e-mail that goes like this:

"I'm terribly sorry for this but we do not provide any refunds and it is indicated in our policy."

WHAT POLICY?!? Their web site does not have any such policy. If so, then I challenge anyone to find it.

Three days later (day 42) I demand that he refunds my money. Still no reply so I file the chargeback complaint with Paypal.

Three days later (day 45) Paypal tells me that they will not investigate this matter because it was a sale involving intangible property. Paypal tells me that they will only investigate complaints that involve physical merchandise and because my complaint was about a "service", they are closing the case. They inform that if I want my money back, then I will have to settle with the seller outside of Paypal!!!

When all has been said and done, I paid ForumCandy $30 for 19 posts in my forums (and the posts were terrible quality). I gave the owner of this "company" NUMEROUS chances to make good of this situation, but he absolutely refused to refund my money. He no longer replies to any e-mail I send. Seven days ago, I sent him one last e-mail. I told him that if he didn't refund my money, then I would let other web site owners know of the shady operation he runs. He's had plenty of time to make good on that, but still refused to even reply so that is why I'm letting all those on Website Publisher know of my experience. Everything I write here is 100% truth and I have every piece of correspondence to prove it.

CAVEAT EMPTOR!

PS: Not that it's bad enough getting cheated by this guy, I find it so disturbing that Paypal does not protect the buyer in cases like this!

Giles
04-30-2006, 01:29 AM
Thanks for the heads up. I nearly went for one of these services but I decided against it. That guy is seriously in the wrong. Sucks to be you.

Cloughie
04-30-2006, 02:22 AM
plus he offered you the refund in writing anyway?

Its 30 bucks. Just walk away and donīt let it consume any more of your time or stress you out.

darker
04-30-2006, 04:42 AM
I've had the same problem with paypal, regarding a web design company. they didn't deliver and paypal wont do a chargeback as they don't do this with services..

Westech
04-30-2006, 08:26 AM
If you're looking for a more reliable service, check out this forum posting service launched by a couple of reliable members from this forum: http://www.websitepublisher.net/forums/showthread.php?t=4930 .

DorianJ
04-30-2006, 01:25 PM
Its 30 bucks. Just walk away and donīt let it consume any more of your time or stress you out.
Yeah, I know, it's just 30 bucks so I'm not sweating it. It's the principal of the matter that irritates me most. Well, as long as people read this post, then I consider it 30 bucks well spent because the business he'll lose is worth far more (not to mention the reputation that'll stick with his name).

derek
05-04-2006, 12:31 AM
One of my customers had brought this thread to my attention and I would like to tell my side of the story. It's for everyone else to decide whether they want to use my services or not after reading this. I agree with Dorian on several points but I have told her to wait for a couple more days while I searched for another writer for her forum since the last writer I assigned to her forum decided to drop her project. I'll admit the wait was longer than expected but I have maintained a consistent communication with her about this issue. It is our company's policy to provide only the best customer service and quality to our customers but providing services means there are bound to be someone who will be upset about something. There are plenty of other webmasters who have purchased our services and were very satisfied with their purchase and I can give a list of references to anyone who request it. I do not like people slandering my company's reputation and I ask that you do not continue to make accusations about ForumCandy. Thank you.

Derek Spaulding

Uzzz
05-04-2006, 06:54 AM
ooo this should be intresting :D

DorianJ
05-05-2006, 11:38 PM
Derek, you have NOT maintained open communication otherwise this thread would have never been started! When was the last time you contacted me? I'll remind you. It was April 14! I notified you on April 11 that I would like the refund (that you had previously promised me) and it took you until April 14 to reply with your phantom policy about no refunds. Since then I have e-mailed you FOUR times and you have yet to reply to any of them. 21 days (and counting) without a reply. How can you possibly say that you've maintained a consistent communication?

And last, but not least, I'M NOT A GIRL! :rolleyes:

allout
05-06-2006, 10:26 AM
Just my two cents... :idea: No offense to either party, but if Dorian has an email stating that his money will be refunded and if derek wants to clear this up just refund the $30 bucks if you didn't fill the order as promised!! And on your part Dorian, I would post again to let everyone know when you receive the refund.

Mistakes happen and you can't please everyone, so just do the right thing !

Cloughie
05-06-2006, 10:32 AM
I agree, get things refunded and lets hear from Dorian that they have been.

Giles
05-07-2006, 10:43 PM
I concur. Give him a refund

DorianJ
05-10-2006, 05:34 PM
And on your part Dorian, I would post again to let everyone know when you receive the refund.

Mistakes happen and you can't please everyone, so just do the right thing!
To keep everyone updated, I have been monitoring this thread and Derek still has not replied to any e-mail I've sent him since April 14. Consequently, this also means I have not received a refund, and considering if you now google 'forumcandy', this thread appears third in the results (which Derek is aware of) so he probably won't be giving me a refund because he knows his "company" won't be around much longer. He needs to keep every dime he can get.

shadowbox
05-11-2006, 01:00 AM
Paypal's policies certainly chop and change. I sell digital 'intangible' products and if a customer ever instigates a chargeback (claiming they never received the product), Paypal always sides with the customer - I've never won a single case, even when I've offered up server logs and emails to prove the customer received and downloaded their product.

Toucan42
05-24-2006, 08:11 PM
Forum posting services in general have gotten a bad reputation by several bad apples in the bunch. There are quality firms that guarantee satisfaction as well as provide value for the money invested in content creation. I run one.

KelliShaver
05-24-2006, 11:06 PM
Paypal's policies certainly chop and change. I sell digital 'intangible' products and if a customer ever instigates a chargeback (claiming they never received the product), Paypal always sides with the customer - I've never won a single case, even when I've offered up server logs and emails to prove the customer received and downloaded their product.

I've had them go both ways with PayPal. They are horribly incosistant about not following their own policies.

If payment was made from a bank account or credit card and simply processed through PayPal (i.e. if it wasn't made with funds just sitting in your PayPal account) you can always file a chargeback with your bank/credit card company.