Please scroll down for an update on this post.
My posts on Freelance Work Exchange (now GoFreelance.com) have always attracted a lot of hits -- I think at least one visitor every day comes via that post. Rob Palmer, the president of the company, has taken note of this in the past, as you can see in the comments from last year.
Apparently it's not working, as he has tried a different approach: Emailing me directly. I know exactly what he wants, and that is to talk me into removing my posts, which I'm not going to do because I feel the complaints are valid and that other writers deserve to have access to them. However, I am going to post his note here, voice my opinions, and give my readers new information with which to make their own opinions.
Hi Katherine
I noticed you published a blog entry regarding GoFreelance. I would appreciate the chance to discuss this with you, and to help clear up any issues regarding our site.
The issues we experienced with Craig's List were due to a rogue affiliate who was terminated as soon as we realized the problem. Any issues with cancellations can be dealt with by contact me directly - I will be happy to refund anyone who has had a less than satisfactory experience with our site.
Assuring you of our best intentions.
Rob Palmer
GoFreelance
Well, first off, I couldn't help but notice that he misspelled my name. It's Katharine, not Katherine. While this happens a lot and I'm usually pretty understanding, when someone is making an appeal to me they had better mind their p's and q's -- or a's and e's, as the case may be!
It is also noteworthy that Rob claims anyone with cancellation issues should contact him directly -- but if you've read my previous posts and the complaints posted elsewhere on the internet, you'll know that a common problem is trying to figure out how to contact him directly. Other writers tell stories of getting the run-around from the help desk and being unable to pin down any direct contact information. For this reason, I responded to Rob with one simple question:
May I post your email address on my blog so that any of my readers with cancellation issues may contact you directly?
Sincerely,
Katharine S. Leppert
www.katharineswan.com
I'll update this post when (or if) I receive a response.
Update (6/20/2007):
Rob did indeed give me permission to post his email address. GoFreelance.com membership complaints can be forwarded directly to rob (at) gofreelance (dot) com.
If you contact him about a problem with your membership, I'd like to know how it turns out. Please comment on this post by clicking on the post title and scrolling down to the bottom of the post page, or email me directly.
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Tuesday, June 19, 2007
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23 comments:
Way to go! If he declines or ignores the opportunity to post an valid email address (which we all know he probably will) then he's just making himself look like more of an idiot. A year or so back, when I was experiencing a work lull, I almost fell for the $2.95 trial offer. Thank goodness work picked up and I forgot about it. Otherwise, I'd probably still be trying to cancel my membership.
I almost fell for it too. Mere weeks later I started reading about people's problems cancelling their membership, so naturally I was very glad I hadn't signed up!
Rob gave me permission to post his email address. Please, if anyone contacts him with complaints, comment here to let us know how it goes!
Well, hallelujah! I'd eat my words, but I'd like to see if anyone actually gets anywhere with this email address of his before I resort to such drastic measures. ;o)
Agreed... ;o)
Unfortunatey I fell for the trial and despite cancelling the subscription within the 7 day period my CC has still been debited - I have emailed this guy and will let you know what happens
Cheyne --
Sorry to hear about it. Please do let us know what happens -- either way!
Surprise surpise - he hasnt responded. Im trying to get my money back via paypal. I cant get it back by disputing the subscription but becasue this mob didnt send me all the books and videos I was promised when i joined I may be able to argue that Im deserved a refund under the "undelivered goods" refund policy. Ive also told paypal that they should disassociate themsleves from these leeches and not process payments for them becasue its a scam and by processing payments they are in fact helping the scammers - Ill let you know what happens
I guess we're not hugely surprised, though I'm really sorry to hear it, for your sake.
Let us know if you get refunded through PayPal, and whether PayPal responds to your complaints about them assisting a scam.
In fact, maybe all of us should complain to PayPal about them enabling scammers..........
Well I opened an "item not recieved" claim and it was awarded in my favor and the money was refunded - these cretins didnt bother to respond to any of Paypals emails re the dispute. I should mention that Paypal will not become involved in any disputes about subscriptions so you have to use "items not recived" as your grounds for lodging the claim - you can only do this if when you joined Go Freelance they promised you the free gifts which never arrive. Hope this might help some other people
That's a great idea, Cheyne. Thank you for sharing!
I'm glad I did research before I fell for this scam. Thanks to your blog and several other articles I found. I stumbled upon the "reinvented" website of Freelance Work Exchange (they even advertise that this is their former name) through
GigCrib.com
4010 William D. Tate
Grapevine
TX 76051
United States
Let others know that there are 3rd party sites out there already... probably cashing in on a portion of the stolen $29.95 of it's suckered in members.
Mahalo for keeping people from falling for such traps.
This outfit is still listing in the help wanted sections of numerous communities on Craig's list, posing as a local corporation offering a part-time job. If you reply, you get sent a link to apply at GigCrib, and an implication that you will be added to their freelance list and notified when they have a request fo your area. The ads are miscategorized as they are offering a service, not a job; and they violate Craig's terms of service as they post similar ads in multiple communities even though there is no local connection. If you respond and discover an ad is misleading, flag it as miscategorized and prohibited.
Thanks to both anonymous posters for the information about GigCrib.com and its affiliation with GoFreelance.com (Freelance Work Exchange).
Anonymous has a great point. Please flag any ads from GoFreelance.com or GigCrib.com that are listed in the Craigslist job or gig categories!
Glad I researched the net and found your blog before signing up with this scammer. Thanks!
Anonymous,
No problem! As always, I am glad others find the information helpful.
Glad I checked here first. I just came across an ad in the Miami Craigslist for a freelance writing job.
After I responded to the ad, I get an email asking me to go to (you guessed it) GigCrib.com.
I'll flag the ad today.
Hello. I just came across this blog and I am very glad you have posted this Katharine. I ran into his posting on Craigslist. The ad was for a freelance writing job. when I got the link for GigCrib I e-mailed him back and told him he should be ashamed of himself. Luckily my time on the internet has taught me well how to recognize the scammers.
Long story short. Thank you Katharine for all those people who will find your blog before they sign up for this guys $2.95 lie.
Another thanks from me here.. I responded to a CL ad and got an email back with a link to an 'apply' page on GigCrib.com. I was suspicious before I even answered, considering they didn't provide a website, name, or information for the company.
I got even more suspicious when the link took me to a set of forms requesting my name and email address. So I Googled it and found your site.
Thanks for saving me some time and potentially money. :)
The CL ad I applied to in Orlando was for Administratie work performed from home. I know there are a lot of WAH scams out there so I was wary when I got a response asking me to provide more information at http://www.gigcrib.com/recruiting/. When I went there I was autoredirected to another site ('Duvet' something or another)that just looked 'wrong'. (If you leave off the 'recruiting' in the above address you get to gigcrib (another questionable site) and later if you go to the cited address again it autoredirects you to yet another site of dubious character, mycashbailout.com) That's when checked and found you!
It's a darn shame. I DO really work from home part time doing work for a real law firm, and I was hoping I had found another client. Instead some sleaze-ball is working the dark side of the web try to steal the little I have.
Thanks for being on the bright side of the web and making a place available that helps folks avoid jerts like this. I will report this misleading CL ad. Thanks, again.
A jump to http://whois.domaintools.com/gigcrib.com reveals that the registered owner of the GigCrib URL is one Shane Luther of Fort Worth Texas (address and telephone number are provided at whois) and that Mr. "Luther" is associated with some 146 other URLS. Anyone want to wager that the 146 other URLs include Freelance Work Exchange, Duvet something or another, and MyCashBailOut.com?
A quick Google search of his name shows that he is quite easy to find and contact at YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, and LinkedIn. He has writen some (not very good) articles on how to dominate Web 2.0 and how to design web sites (though he never mentions 'scams'.
Has anyone knows where to report this scumbag and be rotted in jail? I am one of the victim.
I reported him to the bbb.org just now. Hope BBB authorities will do something about it.
Anonymous, the BBB is the authorities -- just an organization that businesses can join in order to prove to customers that they uphold a certain level of excellence. The BBB likely won't be able to do anything to this guy, because they can't threaten him with revoking his membership.
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