I created a contest on their website designhill.com for a logo. The contest was a guaranteed 100% moneyback if a winner is not chosen.
Here is how the terms read on their site "What happens if I don't like any of the designs? We offer a 100% money-back guarantee! No questions asked!"
My contest ended and I only had a few designers submit logo's, unfortunatly I did not accept any of the designs, I did not accept a winner. I emailed and followed their guidelines for a refund and did not get a response. I emailed again with no response. I waited a few days and called and somebody on a bad connection in India, I'm guessing, said they would resolve it. As of todays date, I have not been contacted or given a refund.
They eventually sent me a docusign document demanding that I would pay them "no less than $50,000" (that exact language is in this document) if I or anybody associated with me violated any condition. ? They did not list the conditions that would make me pay the money, whoever wrote the document certainly was not a legal professional as it made no sense.
I crossed out the $50,000 dollar part and signed their ridiculas document and sent them an email stating that I would be liable for the cost of the contest, or something resonable but not $50,000. And let me be clear I have NO intentions of using anything the designers created but it would be stupid to sign such an inflated amount of damages with no clear terms.
They refuse to refund so I warned them that I would dispute with my bank and let the world know that they have not honored their refund promise.
Remember their website advertises "We offer a 100% money-back guarantee! No questions asked!" then they ask you to sign a document that only a fool would sign.
Designhill is a crowdsourcing platform for graphic design, similar to (much better) sites like Designcrowd and 99designs.
As a designer I won a total of 3 contests, the first 2 went fine and I was paid once the client accepted the work and approved payment. On the third project, they flat out refused to pay me despite client approval. They cited a "technical" requirement which isn't technically applicable to the type of project, and never came up on the first two jobs.
They didn't inform me they were holding my payment until I inquired about it, which was a week after it was due. Then there was about 3 weeks of useless back and forth emailing with their "tech support". Each of their responses was scripted and didn't address anything I tried to communicate. There's no way to escalate an issue or reach anyone except emailing, and waiting 3-4 days for a response.
The "technical requirement" they stated I didn't complete was submitting the design files in .ai format. This was a flyer layout project, so .ai format isn't applicable. .AI is Illustrator which is used for vector graphics and illustrations, not layout. I didn't create any original graphics for this project, it was only layout. Their request is ridiculous, unreasonable, and inapplicable, and would have generated an additional couple of work. The client stated this wasn't required and was happy with the files I submitted.
I gave up trying to reason with designhill. They make no sense and will grab onto any excuse to keep as much money as they can. They are liars, cheaters, and scammers. This company is based in India, yet most of the clients seem to be in the US, and they advertise heavily online in the US and Canada. Yet they don't have a phone number and you won't see any employee names besides "Lucy" who apparently handles everything all the time for everyone. Clients should be aware their projects are non refundable... although designhill claims otherwise. Designers shouldn't count on being paid, and they won't be paid fairly or promptly in any case.
Designhill.com Reviews
I created a contest on their website designhill.com for a logo. The contest was a guaranteed 100% moneyback if a winner is not chosen.
Here is how the terms read on their site "What happens if I don't like any of the designs? We offer a 100% money-back guarantee! No questions asked!"
My contest ended and I only had a few designers submit logo's, unfortunatly I did not accept any of the designs, I did not accept a winner. I emailed and followed their guidelines for a refund and did not get a response. I emailed again with no response. I waited a few days and called and somebody on a bad connection in India, I'm guessing, said they would resolve it. As of todays date, I have not been contacted or given a refund.
They eventually sent me a docusign document demanding that I would pay them "no less than $50,000" (that exact language is in this document) if I or anybody associated with me violated any condition. ? They did not list the conditions that would make me pay the money, whoever wrote the document certainly was not a legal professional as it made no sense.
I crossed out the $50,000 dollar part and signed their ridiculas document and sent them an email stating that I would be liable for the cost of the contest, or something resonable but not $50,000. And let me be clear I have NO intentions of using anything the designers created but it would be stupid to sign such an inflated amount of damages with no clear terms.
They refuse to refund so I warned them that I would dispute with my bank and let the world know that they have not honored their refund promise.
Remember their website advertises "We offer a 100% money-back guarantee! No questions asked!" then they ask you to sign a document that only a fool would sign.
My advice. Do not do business with this company.
Designhill is a crowdsourcing platform for graphic design, similar to (much better) sites like Designcrowd and 99designs.
As a designer I won a total of 3 contests, the first 2 went fine and I was paid once the client accepted the work and approved payment. On the third project, they flat out refused to pay me despite client approval. They cited a "technical" requirement which isn't technically applicable to the type of project, and never came up on the first two jobs.
They didn't inform me they were holding my payment until I inquired about it, which was a week after it was due. Then there was about 3 weeks of useless back and forth emailing with their "tech support". Each of their responses was scripted and didn't address anything I tried to communicate. There's no way to escalate an issue or reach anyone except emailing, and waiting 3-4 days for a response.
The "technical requirement" they stated I didn't complete was submitting the design files in .ai format. This was a flyer layout project, so .ai format isn't applicable. .AI is Illustrator which is used for vector graphics and illustrations, not layout. I didn't create any original graphics for this project, it was only layout. Their request is ridiculous, unreasonable, and inapplicable, and would have generated an additional couple of work. The client stated this wasn't required and was happy with the files I submitted.
I gave up trying to reason with designhill. They make no sense and will grab onto any excuse to keep as much money as they can. They are liars, cheaters, and scammers. This company is based in India, yet most of the clients seem to be in the US, and they advertise heavily online in the US and Canada. Yet they don't have a phone number and you won't see any employee names besides "Lucy" who apparently handles everything all the time for everyone. Clients should be aware their projects are non refundable... although designhill claims otherwise. Designers shouldn't count on being paid, and they won't be paid fairly or promptly in any case.