Flaky NP'er

[Phill11]

Hey everyone,

Just wanted to inform everyone of my disastrous investment.

I posted an ad a while ago (in July '08) for some web designs. PaytonDesigns, a guy who I had worked with before sent me a great deal and I knew he did good work so it was a no brainer. However, things started getting weird when it took forever for him to respond and it seems as though he kept telling me it'd be another day or two till he completed the sites.

The original deal was $200 upfront, once he finished 2 sites, I'd pay another $200 and he'd finish the last two sites. So really $400 for 4 sites.

Only July 15 he sent me an eMail saying that the site would be done in a week, it took over a month to actually get the first design even partially up. Part of the deal was for him to integrate a hosting program (as it was a hosting template). This never was done and in the end I was just sent the templates for myself to upload and customize.

EMails have been sent weekly, even bi-weekly and sometimes a response is given, usually saying "it'll be done in a week". Finally I was fed up with this and asked for my money back and I informed him that I had already started on the 2nd site anyways and if he'd just refund my final $100 I'd call it all off. He refused and insisted on working on the third site. He agreed to this on Dec. 23rd, 2008 and said he would have everything done in 2 days.

Here we are in mid January and I haven't been able to get a hold of him. No PM, eMail, AIM, nothing.

So for $200 I'm left with a template I can't use and a bunch of wasted time.

So just a heads up for anyone considering using PaytonDesigns. He's done great work in the past, but really dropped the ball this time. Hopefully I can get some answers or something, heck, anything soon.

 

[daj]

I'd never send anyone an upfront payment again, unless it's a person who has a real established history of work they can show you many examples of, they have contact information that isn't flaky, including a phone number, or you know them in real life, and can trust them. There is so many wannabe lazy unprofessional designers on forums like this one who aren't worthy of an upfront payment, and who can't stick to their own timeline of getting sh!t done.

The buyer should only pay after the work is completed, and shown to them, or an escrow service type payment should be set up, that holds the money while the seller does the work. I think there needs to be more guidelines on this forum for developers/designers, and for us buyers to follow so we don't get ripped off.

 

[PaytonDesigns]

Hello everyone,

I think this would be a great time to tell my side of the story and my past experiences with Phill.

I met Phill a couple years back when we both joined a website about sports cards. The forum was fun at first, but began to drag, so we decided to start up our own forum. Everything was great, the forum was a huge success, and we had thousands of members with many unique page views a day. Here's the thing, I was the ONLY person to perform any work on the forums including designing, coding, and graphics. Not really a problem, except for the fact he sold this forum to someone and collected the hundreds of dollars for himself.

To make a long story short, I created and ran about FIVE other sites for him. Some forums and a few web hosting websites.

Phill has no experience in web or graphic design, so he said since I helped him out, he'd be sure to compensate me. Next thing I knew he sent me $30. ARE YOU JOKING? He promised to send more when he got some, hah yeah right.

Once again, he sold them ALL, and collected everything for himself. Never saw a single dime after that...

Look for yourself at his post selling one of the hosting companies I designed and built:
http://www.namepros.com/developed-s...d-hosting-business-1000-annually-revenue.html
http://hostingfroggy.com/

HostingFroggy listed in my portfolio for reference: (You will also see xFactorHost)
http://www.paytondesigns.com/index.php?page=portfolio

If I could guess how much work I did for Phill in dollars without being compensated a dime (oh wait, $30), it would be at least $1,000

So, he contacted me a few months ago asking for four web sites done. I said only if he paid me BEFORE the work was done, so he agreed and I agreed to do the work ($100ea site). I completed the first template, xFactorHost within three weeks and supplied him with the template. Then I got working on the next project of his. This project took me roughly two months and I let him know it would take awhile so I then delivered that to him.

So, he paid me $200 upfront and would pay the additional $200 more after if I wanted to do the remaining two sites. So, $100 ea per site, two sites done, thats $200, EXACTLY what he paid me.

He's upset because one of the two designs I made for him, he failed to renew the domain for it. So, now he's taking it out on me I'm guessing.

Here's the details if your lost:
$400 for four sites - 100ea
He paid $200 for two sites
I delivered two web sites for him
He FAILED to renew the domain for one, so claimed the design I made didn't count...
I chose not to do the remaining two sites for obvious reasons
So, the deal is square. I guess, if you're not counting the hours of work I did for him in the past.
TWO SITES - $200


If he wants to get the two other sites done, he can pay someone else the $200 he was going to pay me because I'm not doing them.

To be honest, this kid has taken advantage of me. He's cheap and only wants to turn around and make a quick buck, but refuses to compensate those around him.

I HATE negative feedback, especially when its not warranted...

If you want to see my work for yourself, visit paytondesigns.com. Also, visit Webhostingtalk and read the MANY positive reviews about my company. (A few below)
I would conduct business here if I could, but no one is willing to spend a decent buck for a perfect web design. I guess namepros is mainly for domains... its alright, I still love you guys.

Here's only a few of the MANY on WHT:

Hello,

Recently I had a design, forum integration, and whmcs integration done by Payton Designs. The price was right and the service was great. We were in desperate need of a new design, Payton came through in the clutch. He got started on my project right away! Service was great, quick and easy. I simply sent him 1/2 the payment upfront and then when he was finished I sent him the rest. If you're looking for a design Payton Designs is the way to go, for sure!

So after hatchmyblog.com just disappearing, still haven't responded to my emails I decided to give it another shot.
Paytondesigns.com has done a fantastic job, I have already referred them 2 clients and would gladly refer more. I know nothing about design but they seem too.

I love what they did, and they kept in constant contact with me which was great!

They did everything we needed at a great price. They were professional about everything and had everything done in just over a week.

He integrated my vBulletin and WHMCS as well.

Great job guys!

Hi everyone,

a couple of days ago we switched over to our new site design and needed a WHMCS integration. We looked around the forums and stumbled upon Payton Designs.
We contacted them and they integrated my WHMCS within 30 minutes. Check it out for yourself: http://clientes.i-menet.com

Regards.

id have to say that im very satisfied with peytondesigns.
i hired them to do an integration for me, and they got it done!

id highly recommend them.

If you are looking for WHMCS integration then there is no better service then from paytondesigns.com

They delivered me amazing design within about 20min or maybe even a few minutes less.

I strongly recommend them for this type of service.

payton did a awesome job on our design.

Anyways, hope this sheds some light on the situation...