Changing Commission Prices AFTER You've Paid?

[sebelrai.livejournal.com]

EDIT: Okay guys, something really weird just happened here. One of my friends just got on MSN and told me that they had told said artist that I reported them to A_B. And they up and deactivated their DA account and everything >__>; They seem to have run. Their account is now gone, but their email address is LRSS93@aol.com. Oh, and since people are asking, their DA was 'shadyah-phoenix'. 

EDIT 2: Just got the following email from them. The thing that's blotched out is my real name.

 Hello A_B. This is my first post here, so please correct me if I am doing anything wrong @__@ Anyways, since I'm just looking for some advice, I'm going to keep the artist's name anonymous for now (but if the problem escalates, I'll edit and name them, but as far as I can tell, they have not done this to anyone else). 

About 4-5 weeks ago, I commissioned an artist on Deviantart for a fully-coloured copic illustration. Their prices were a bargain based on their abilities, so I went ahead and bought one. They said they only took cash through mail, so I sent them a money order and they noted me a few days later saying it arrived there safely and that they would begin work soon. 

Now a little later, they sent me another PM saying that some personal family issues had come up, and that my commission would be delayed. I told them that was fine, and I didn't hear from them for about 2 weeks. 

Now, just a bit ago, they contacted me and said that my piece was finished but before they would give it to me, they wanted me to pay them additional 10$ for the delay in completion, and another 30$ because they had raised their prices since I had commissioned them. 

Mind you, the delay was on THEIR part, but they're charging me for extra money....? Not to mention, that 15$ was the original price they OFFERED to me for the commission, and now they're saying that it wouldn't be fair to others who buy from them, so I have to pay the extra amounts that they added....

At first, I just requested a refund and for them to simply rip the picture up, though they are refusing. Now I am just a bit unsure of how to go about this situation. I don't really care for the picture anymore, but now they are hounding me. I simply blocked them on DA, though they somehow got my MSN messenger name and my email, or will have 'friends' of theirs send me things in their place. 

 

Any advice you can give me guys?

 

Screenshots:

Agreeing to the original comm price of 15$: http://img263.imageshack.us/i/note1k.png/

Note they sent me about their 'family problems': http://img508.imageshack.us/i/note3.png/

Asking me to pay the extra money (their original note is on the bottom and my response is on top): http://img191.imageshack.us/i/note2i.png/

 

 

Comments

[banrai.livejournal.com]

That's complete bullcrap, and I wouldn't pay them another cent.

You don't go to Wal-Mart and buy a pair of shoes, then see that the price has went up the next week and so you go back to the store and pay them an extra $10 for the change in price. You pay the price that the item is at the time of purchase.

[sebelrai.livejournal.com]

I know oAo I've said that to them at least twice

I dunno, I'm kind of getting the feeling that some little red flag should have went up from the start, but they never did anything vaguely suspicious or 'they're-probably-going-to-scam-me' worthy up until now.

[viothefoxbird.livejournal.com]

I have no advice to offer, since.. I really have no idea how to deal with this, but.. wow, that is weird >8/
very unprofessional.

[sebelrai.livejournal.com]

Yes, it's a very unusual situation >__>; I had no idea someone would try this, let alone have it happen to me. If nothing else, I'll likely just ignore them and move on with my life.

[blackberrypie.livejournal.com]

Uhh, no it would be wrong to charge you more since they decided at that time that their work was worth that. You agreed to the price you paid. You can't buy something at a store on sale and then they call you a month later saying the sale was over and they want more money. It just doesn't work like that. You should either get the work you paid for or a refund. Its just sick they want to charge YOU for THEIR delay. What the heck is that?

[breakspire.livejournal.com]

.... they want to charge YOU more because THEY were late???? I can't even begin to understand how that makes sense. And asking you to pay $45 for something agreed to at $15 is bad business.

Since you didn't pay through paypal, I think the only thing you can do is name them if they don't refund you or send you the art...

[silverfalln.livejournal.com]

This. There's NEVER a time the customer should pay more because the artist raised their prices one day, unless payment hadn't already been sent, or the customer hasn't decided/agreed on more than the original contract.

[kayla-la.livejournal.com]

This is absolutely unacceptable. They have two options that would be professional, here. They can either refund you and apologize for the delay and all, or they can do the art at the price you PAID for. They don't get to raise their prices on you retroactively.

They can't just 'refuse' to refund you after changing the terms. This is normally considered breaking the contract. What I would do is name them here and then link them to the post so they can see other people saying that this behaviour is unprofessional and unacceptable.

[ducttapeninja.livejournal.com]

they wanted me to pay them additional 10$ for the delay in completion, and another 30$ because they had raised their prices since I had commissioned them.

Wait... They wanted you to give them more money because they ended up having to delay the commission...? That doesn't even make sense! You shouldn't have to pay that. That was a problem on their side, out of your control, you shouldn't have to pay for that. Period.

As for the other $30$ because they'd raised their prices? Sucks on them, frankly, they cannot ethically do that (and I do believe there may be legal issues with that too, in some cases...? Correct me if I'm wrong). You commissioned them when their prices were only $15, they can't just delay the commission, then finally finish it and go "Oh buy the way I'm changing my prices, you can only have it once you give me more money."

Suddenly, what was a $15 is suddenly becoming a $55 commission, which is quite the jump from what they originally charged you. They're essentially holding your commission hostage, so to speak, and it comes off as suspicious; I'll admit that my first thought was "Either they're not the brightest crayons in the box and legitimately don't see what's wrong with this, or this is deliberate and they planned it."

As for advice? Don't give them the money. They only charged you for $15, they can't screw off for 4-5 weeks and then go "Changed our prices, plus you have to pay for our delay, more money plz." I also think they should be named here, as this could be a pretty serious situation, especially if they're harrassing you over the issue, and doing this to other commissioners at the same time they're doing it to you.

I really hope things get straightened out for you, this is actually ridiculous.

[sebelrai.livejournal.com]

Yes, I'm looking around online to see if it's possible to open a legal dispute, since I mailed them payment, this would be a mail fraud (? - I think, thanks to an admin that pointed that out to me).

I'll update once something either comes to a resolution, or some legal term takes place. ^^

[korth-dono.livejournal.com]

I can't even BEGIN to wrap my brain around this!! $10 because *they* were late - how does that even make sense? And you are in no way responsible to pay them more money if they suddenly decided to increase their prices. You agreed to the $15 beforehand, that is a contract of sorts that you two agreed upon.

I wouldn't attempt to shield them, this sounds like someone who needs to be named so others can avoid them.

[eewitsanne.livejournal.com]

Yeah no. You made an agreement that you would pay $15 for a commission. It's on them if they didn't charge enough and agreed to it anyway. And that bit about it not being fair to the other commissioners is off too; it would have been $15 for them too if they bought the commission when you did.

And charging you an extra fee for waiting is... one of the strangest and most backwards things I have ever heard.

[undertow26.livejournal.com]

Wait, did I read this correctly, that they're not only charging you extra because their commission prices went up, but they're charging an additional 10 USD for the delay? You didn't even cause the delay, that's completely unacceptable. That and the added 30 is ridiculous. I understand wanting to hike the commission prices up, but I don't think current commissions should be affected by it.

Edit: Nevermind, I see they deactivated. How incredibly low of them =/ But I bet they'll be back under a different username.

[sebelrai.livejournal.com]

Probably >__>; I'm looking out for them, and chances are they'll pop up eventually, so if they contact me again on DA, I'll be sure to update with their names.

[ducttapeninja.livejournal.com]

Seeing the edit, all I can think is... Yikes. This really is sounding more and more like a scam, if they were that quick to deactivate the second they heard they were on A_B. :/

[sebelrai.livejournal.com]

Yes, I think so too :\

[linksage.livejournal.com]

You owe them no favors dear; feel free to name them. This makes no sense whatsoever and is very suspicious.

I'm pretty sure that they could get into serious legal issues if they continue to hold your commission hostage and harass you over it. Smells like a scam to me; that would also explain why they only accept money orders.

[linksage.livejournal.com]

Holy crap @ all the edits. What a piece of work... o_o

simply put, she's so full of shit it's pouring out her ears. So sorry you got caught up in that as a commissioner D:

[megumi-kitten.livejournal.com]

Wow. Just. Wow.

I am flabbergasted that this person thinks this is ok.

Name names. They need to have others not fall for this crap.

Who knows? You might actually find out they've done this before.

[sebelrai.livejournal.com]

I just made an edit with their name ^^

Right now, I'm still googling around to see if they had any other accounts, and maybe see if they've done this to others.

[yashendwirh.livejournal.com]

Cant say anything that hasnt already been said, but I implore you name them and list them here so they know doing that is a horrible stunt on their part. They cant retroactively charge you more when you guys made an agreement. She is breaking a contract. you can actually get your money order back because of that. Just call the company you went through and go through the steps unless they decide to deliver.

[sebelrai.livejournal.com]

I just made an edit with their name ^^

And yeah, I'm looking into some legal terms and getting my money back. Currently, I'm just waiting for a response.

[zackfig.livejournal.com]

Wow.... the fact that the artist deactivated the account right away its really sketchy =(

I wish you would actually name the artist and not just give us their email address

[sebelrai.livejournal.com]

I did name them

[zackfig.livejournal.com]

LOLWUT!? Wow... my jaw dropped to the floor when I saw their new email... serious headcase here, seems not to grasp the concept of bait-n-switch

[sebelrai.livejournal.com]

I know, right? =w= I headdesked so hard lol

[kayla-la.livejournal.com]

Ahahahaha, no. She's bluffing, please don't fall for it and remove the post. It's against the rules anyway and would just be reposted.

There is nothing she could get you into legal trouble for, as you've not lied about her, merely brought up what she said in her own words. There is literally no bite behind her bark here. This isn't even remotely libel.

[kayla-la.livejournal.com]

Also, she can't get you in trouble for not paying the rest, either. Please don't let her scare you. She's totally full of it. If anything, she'd be the one in trouble for having your money and giving you no product.

What was it you asked for from her, if you don't mind me asking?

[amarafox.livejournal.com]

That's pretty shady. If I raise my commission prices, it is NEVER retroactively applied to commissions in the queue. I just let them know when I'm done that my prices have gone up for the next time they wish to commission me.

[breakspire.livejournal.com]

wooow that email X_X

I really don't know what to say except to re-enforce that you're in the right here.

[xianjaguar.livejournal.com]

Definitely bait-&-switch. I have to LOL that THEY are the ones threatening legal action against *you!*. Any judge would laugh them right out of court, and award you the damages. You have a definite case against them in any legal court.

As to how to collect your commission from them...unfortunately, unless they can be pressured to send you the picture without getting their extra bit of "extortion", then the only other way would be to get all your evidence together, and take them to Small Claims court. :/

Good luck.

[nauta.livejournal.com]

This is one of those things I never imagined someone would be so asinine to actually try and do, and then act like it's totally acceptable, but yeah. Someone did. Just wow.

I'm sorry you had to be the commissioner caught by what is so blatantly a scam on the artist's part. Were they planning to go back and email all the commissioners prior to you, and ask for more money as well?

[sebelrai.livejournal.com]

Knowing her now, she likely will =w= I'm still looking around for others she may have done this too

[kohaku-chimaera.livejournal.com]

Wow, that's sleazy.

You had to snail-mail them the money order, right? Can't you search their address and see if you can find anything else on them?

[sebelrai.livejournal.com]

yes, I'll probably try that.

[dirtiran.livejournal.com]

Hahaha oh man, I almost hope they go to legal services and explain what they did. That would be the best *shooting ones own foot* move ever made.

[sebelrai.livejournal.com]

I'd like to see the look on a judge's face if she does X3

[uozlulu.livejournal.com]

Personally, I don't think you owe them anything extra and even if they take legal action (which I think is an empty threat) they probably wouldn't win since the extra charges make no sense since if it was a family emergency, you can't help them taking longer on your piece. Also, since you commissioned them before they hiked prices I don't think they should be able to raise their price because for example, say you're ordering carpet. The carpet company can't come to you half way through and say "I know you paid $25 per square foot, but now it's $50, so you pony up the rest you owe us at the new amount." There is no legal leg for them to stand on here.

I'm a bit surprised that they threw such a hissy fit because nobody would have known that it was them if they just admitted they're overcharging and didn't act out. I think that perhaps you might have to consider this a $15 loss.

[purpule.livejournal.com]

I love that she can definitely see all these posts of people who can see through the painfully transparent scam, yet still has the gonads to actually still harass you for more money. That's... beyond missing a few screws.

Do you have any examples of their work? I highly doubt it was even theirs or if they've drawn anything

[sebelrai.livejournal.com]

I could probably dig something up ^^

[taasla.livejournal.com]

Oh goodness. This person has no business running commissions.