THe website of freelancer.com says: Pay only once satisfied....nice right ? WRONG !!! I had a $400 project with $300 milestone for a script i needed. The freelancer i choosed was quite busy for weeks before he started..then suddenly he wanted to stress this finish becouse he needed money urgently..the only problem was it was not completed. Then his solution was to create a dispute.. Then freelancer do a 50/50 solution...and give the guy $150. So he got $150 and i got a useless unfinish not working code. That was my goodbye to Freelancer.com
That doesn't mean Freelancer is a scam, it means the individual you hired was a scam. If you can't see that you're too immature to do business.
If, as it's stated here, Freelancer sides with the developer who hasn't delivered as promised, then it does seem Freelancer isn't doing what it should be doing, and while that is quite far from being a scam, it's not a proper way to be a middleman either. What Freelancer should do is make sure both developer and hirer get what they want and have agreed on - if either creates a dispute, it should be fairly easy to decide if what's been deliverd is matching the requirements put forth in the contract. And, of course, if the requirements are lacking, or non-existent, then the developer might be in the clear. It would benefit both parties if they did it this way - it would make the contracts and requirements more specific, and the developer could easier understand what s/he is supposed to be doing. For, lets face it, most requirements put forth in these business agreements are a joke. But hey, so is the payment offered for most Freelancer projects, and lets be honest: you get what you pay for.
This is why a reputation system exists on Freelancer.com, review each user's reputation carefully before selecting someone to do the job. That being said, if you provided sufficient evidence that he did not complete the job how you two agreed upon then they should have sided with you and not him. If you are looking for someone to finish the job I can do it for you most likely. Shoot me a message and describe it to me and I'll let you know, I'd probably do it cheaper too.
Well, til that person gets negative or what ever, they can build up many accounts, scam many people and midleman do nothing. I don't agree with this system as well!
I know 2 good coders on this forum that I will guarantee will deliver the job. And maybe they can complete the project. I think they only charge $40per hour. Pm me if you want their DP usernames. On another note, only ever put one project in freelancer and vowed never again. The fees are ridiculous and the support were clueless. Additionally I hate having to openly discuss my plan in public... just too easy for people to see the idea and pull a Facebook on you(IE, steal your idea)
I wouldn't even call them a business agreement, as the complete and utter lack of proper business practices shown by the website AND it's users (on both sides) should send up warning flags to anyone who's taken at the very least a small business class at the local community college; Something I recommend every freelancer or small business owner at least take the time to do. (which will raise a few eyebrows given my well documented feelings on higher education.) When it comes to freelancing, I would NEVER trust a website to handle the monetary exchange... I would never trust an agreement made on a website to be legally binding... Theres' a reason when I was freelancing I would send the client a NOTARIZED contract outlining the time schedule, work, and payment levels (usually broken into three to four payments as each stage of the project is reached)... and work wouldn't begin until I got the contract back with a notarized signature and the initial down-payment. That way you have an actual legally binding contract. It's also why I rarely if ever took on non-domestic clients unless it was a quick throwaway one-off; legal issues across borders are a nightmare that will bankrupt you sooner than later. There were also "litmus tests" I used to determine if a freelancer I was outsourcing to or client I was working for was worth even dealing with; if they balk at the time it takes for the mail to deliver and return a contract, they're probably not worth dealing with. If they balk at the ten bucks it takes to have a notory water-stamp the contract, they're probably not worth dealing with. If they will only work with online payments and won't give you a proper legal paper trail with a CHECK, they are probably so not worth dealing with you're going to feel like a pre-teen boy in a catholic church in the Boston area by the time you're done. A clearly defined contract outlining both client and vendor responsibilities, with a full breakdown and realistic timeline for the project is a must have; if either party is unwilling to work towards developing that before the work starts, you are basically playing Russian roulette with your business. PERIOD! Of course with the unrealistic budgets, unrealistic time expectations, unrealistic desires for design and layout, flash over substance attitude, and general "I can haz intarnets" idiocy shown by both freelancers and clients, I really don't miss doing work for/with others. I look upon the entire industry now with disgust to the point of nausea, as the simple fact is most freelancers have no business developing jack ****, and most people hiring them don't know enough about the topic to even be allowed to have a website in the first place! Look at 99% of the crap people vomit up with turdpress.
I wouldn't really demand a notarized contract, nor would I be very happy if anyone issued me a check (checks are NOT used outside the US, more or less) - but the rest of the points are good. However, a legally binding contract does not have to be notarized or such, at least not here in Norway, especially between businesses - a signed contract with proper stipulations and regulations, which doesn't contradict any existing laws will be legally binding, simply by signing it. Notarizing and / or having a lawyer look it over will of course add to the legal bindings, but is not needed.
Freelancer.com is not a scam. It is just that they don't have very good tracking and screening system for freelancers as well as for buyers. Elance and odesk win in this case. I am a freelancer since a long time. and I ended up leaving freelancer due to monetary issues. Now, I only work on Elance. I have some transaction reversals at freelancer for no reason; and that were older than 2-6 months. When I tried to contact Freelancer for the same, they ended up in replying "there was an issue with buyer account. As such, all transactions are now reversed". Now, I lost all that money even after finishing and delivering the work. I believe there are many low quality and scamming buyers/freelancers out there. Freelancer.com needs to find and stop them asap before freelancer.com loses it reputation. Crazy thing is that freelancer.com is also gone Public Limited company at Australian Stock Exchange recently.
That doesn't mean freelancer.com is a scam. sometimes this types of problems occurs and freelancer.com should take this responsibility so that neither the freelancer nor the work provider get into a problem like this. We can ignore this type of difficulty because freelancer.com has helped thousands of people get their work done . Even though you should claim against freelancer.com to get you money back or your work done at right time.
The problem with Freelancer, and most other sites like it, is that they not only provide an employeer to get in contact with potential employees, it also provides payment and escrow and middle-man options - which, unless done properly, might end in financial messups. A site like Freelancer, doing just that - connecting two (or more) people needing and providing services, would be fine. Personally, I wouldn't use Freelancer for the finances - I would suggest using a stand-alone escrow-service, or payment portal, and have a separate contract.