On 11/13/2017 I first Contacted 'Geek Chimp Designs' from Etsy to update my website menu as I wanted it to be 'fancy and interactive'. We agreed on a price of $125 for this task. After a couple weeks, I was told to get my menu to function as I would like I would need to rebuild my website as the current coding and modules were not compatible. They claimed my previous developer didn't have the coding done correctly so they could fix that along with a new design for me. So while I did get a menu for my website, it was ultimately boring, plain and did not do what was originally agreed due, which I was told was due to my site and such which is why I ultimately agreed for the site update.
On 11/26/2017 I hired 'Geek Chimp Designs' from Etsy to redesign my website for $1,100 with a due date of if being completed within 4 weeks. This price included not only a new site, but the menu as functioning as originally agreed when I hired them.
I accepted the offer for my site to be redone, have the coding fixed & have my menu working as discussed. It's nearly a year later & I have nothing to show for it except the (incomplete) menu design. I have over 500 messages on Etsy with this seller in regards to asking for updates & proof of progress, such as screenshots, that were never provided. (Oh wait, I had a template I said I liked - but was never applied using my site content, just a basic template which I later discovered was not even custom made for me, but found elsewhere on the internet and I was provided a screenshot of how my new menu was looking in the design... the design I never ultimately saw). There was always an excuse. I was consistently told that I would see something by X date or it would be completed by X date. The date would come & nothing would be done & another date was pushed back. I tried to continue working with them, expressed my frustration multiple times to no avail.
Finally, I reached out to Etsy to help resolve this issue as this was the platform I hired the seller on & they claimed too much time had passed and they would not help me despite the fact this was an on-going project that was not delivered. They said to keep working with the seller (I have a copy of the email). The fact that this was on their platform and they would not even investigate to see that this was an ongoing project and not a "one time purchase and done" transaction I certainly expected a little more support as a buyer. Of course, I got no help. I continued to try & work with the seller hoping for some results.
On 9/10/2018 I filed a dispute with my credit card company for the $1,100 & am awaiting their decision. This does not include the $125 I paid for the menu which is not functioning as promised. On October 4th, 2018, I also filed a dispute with my credit card company in regards to the $125 spent on a non-completed menu since I would need the new site in order to get the new menu I originally paid for.
As a result of the sellers negligence with my website, my sites analytics DRASTICALLY changed from the month prior to me hiring the seller in October 2017, from when he started the work. For reference, in October 2017 (from the 1st to the 31st) I had 18,375 sessions and 23,941 page views according to Google Analytics. From that point, my numbers steadily declined. Less traffic means less users clicking on affiliate links meaning less income coming in. However, that is hard to prove, I understand. What I do want to point out though, is that my website does not work properly since the seller was working my site. One example being some links no longer work. While the content and categories still show, whatever was done by the seller made this stop working. Additionally, I had to purchase a new RSS feed link generating system as the seller made changes without my consent making my previous (and free) RSS feed link generator no longer working. I also had an instance of my site going offline due to a file being delete in July of 2018. No one else was accessing my site and this was only found by the amazing developers from my web hosting company. These are just the issues I know about from what the developer has done. My hosting company developer took a look and recommended I have the site re-done to fix the errors my site has. I don't know 'tech talk' however, we can prove that there was FTP access where files were either added, removed, or modified during the time period the seller worked on my site.
Ultimately, I am seeking to not only be reimbursed, but the cost of repairing my site properly due to the sellers 'work' done to the site. I would also like compensation for the loss of traffic and income due to what happened.
Geek Chimp Design Reviews
On 11/13/2017 I first Contacted 'Geek Chimp Designs' from Etsy to update my website menu as I wanted it to be 'fancy and interactive'. We agreed on a price of $125 for this task. After a couple weeks, I was told to get my menu to function as I would like I would need to rebuild my website as the current coding and modules were not compatible. They claimed my previous developer didn't have the coding done correctly so they could fix that along with a new design for me. So while I did get a menu for my website, it was ultimately boring, plain and did not do what was originally agreed due, which I was told was due to my site and such which is why I ultimately agreed for the site update.
On 11/26/2017 I hired 'Geek Chimp Designs' from Etsy to redesign my website for $1,100 with a due date of if being completed within 4 weeks. This price included not only a new site, but the menu as functioning as originally agreed when I hired them.
I accepted the offer for my site to be redone, have the coding fixed & have my menu working as discussed. It's nearly a year later & I have nothing to show for it except the (incomplete) menu design. I have over 500 messages on Etsy with this seller in regards to asking for updates & proof of progress, such as screenshots, that were never provided. (Oh wait, I had a template I said I liked - but was never applied using my site content, just a basic template which I later discovered was not even custom made for me, but found elsewhere on the internet and I was provided a screenshot of how my new menu was looking in the design... the design I never ultimately saw). There was always an excuse. I was consistently told that I would see something by X date or it would be completed by X date. The date would come & nothing would be done & another date was pushed back. I tried to continue working with them, expressed my frustration multiple times to no avail.
Finally, I reached out to Etsy to help resolve this issue as this was the platform I hired the seller on & they claimed too much time had passed and they would not help me despite the fact this was an on-going project that was not delivered. They said to keep working with the seller (I have a copy of the email). The fact that this was on their platform and they would not even investigate to see that this was an ongoing project and not a "one time purchase and done" transaction I certainly expected a little more support as a buyer. Of course, I got no help. I continued to try & work with the seller hoping for some results.
On 9/10/2018 I filed a dispute with my credit card company for the $1,100 & am awaiting their decision. This does not include the $125 I paid for the menu which is not functioning as promised. On October 4th, 2018, I also filed a dispute with my credit card company in regards to the $125 spent on a non-completed menu since I would need the new site in order to get the new menu I originally paid for.
As a result of the sellers negligence with my website, my sites analytics DRASTICALLY changed from the month prior to me hiring the seller in October 2017, from when he started the work. For reference, in October 2017 (from the 1st to the 31st) I had 18,375 sessions and 23,941 page views according to Google Analytics. From that point, my numbers steadily declined. Less traffic means less users clicking on affiliate links meaning less income coming in. However, that is hard to prove, I understand. What I do want to point out though, is that my website does not work properly since the seller was working my site. One example being some links no longer work. While the content and categories still show, whatever was done by the seller made this stop working. Additionally, I had to purchase a new RSS feed link generating system as the seller made changes without my consent making my previous (and free) RSS feed link generator no longer working. I also had an instance of my site going offline due to a file being delete in July of 2018. No one else was accessing my site and this was only found by the amazing developers from my web hosting company. These are just the issues I know about from what the developer has done. My hosting company developer took a look and recommended I have the site re-done to fix the errors my site has. I don't know 'tech talk' however, we can prove that there was FTP access where files were either added, removed, or modified during the time period the seller worked on my site.
Ultimately, I am seeking to not only be reimbursed, but the cost of repairing my site properly due to the sellers 'work' done to the site. I would also like compensation for the loss of traffic and income due to what happened.