Hello. I hoped I wouldn't have to make this post, but a well respected user of these forums, Sem-Advance (Sem) has left me little option. Towards the end of last year (2007) I entered into an SEO service with Sem using the site, GetAFreelancer. I had used several people to carry out in SEO in the past and decided on Sem based on him putting himself out as offering a superior service which is what I was after. Obviously, this did not come cheap and I was paying in excess of $750/month, but I was prepared to pay a premium price for a premium service. Sem was paid both a monthly fee and a budget to be used to pay for various services (article writing, submission, etc). At the end of the year the business decision was made that the increased returns based on the search engine advances did not justify the cost, so I asked Sem to stop providing the service and return the outstanding balance. At this time Sem informed be that he had already stopped performing any tasks as he had not been paid at the beginning of December. This is fair enough, but he had also told 3rd parties, e.g. article writers to stop writing. Nonetheless, he agreed to offer a refund of the outstanding balance and supply me with the articles, which I was happy with. He supplied a rough balance statement, which I asked for verification of, mainly due to things such as payments for article writing being on there which it was understood had not been done. This verification was not forthcoming. Instead at the on 26 December he made an offer for $500. Again I requested verification of how this figure was arrived at. I received no response to my emails, and only when I threatened to post this matter or proceed to formal action did I receive any sort of response on 24 January, accusing me of blackmail and extortion. Sem informed me that he was withdrawing his "genuine offer", though quite how genuine it was, I don't think so. He has quoted advances in search positions which I am quite happy with, but importantly this did not form any part of our agreement and the balance remains outstanding. I really hope Sem-Advance reads this and he decides to do the right thing and he's quite clearly a respected user on this forum. I don't believe, however, this gives him the right to do whatever he wants. I will happily provide verification for all these details if necessary. Should he decide to do the right thing, and perhaps this was just a misunderstanding I will quite happily update this post. In the meantime I would warn people to be careful in their dealings. Regards John
Hello, I'm quite an old member of these forums but never had the chance to know Sem better apart from a bit of argument we had here. While I have noticed that he use to bitch on some other people's threads and to post as a "superior" service provider, I wouldn't say he is not actually entitled to but I just found this being disgusting. I'd say you are pretty wrong. Firstly you are wrong by starting this thread and trying to destroy his reputation. People work hard to achieve a status and it takes time to prove themselves as being good in a field so what you are doing here...coming to destroy what he built over a long period of time it's just wrong. Do you have a written agreement with Sem? If you have, does the agreement states that he has to deliver a full report of his activities at any time you request? Does the agreement specify your rights if you are the one to end the contract before completion? Also bear in mind that technically you are not his client at the moment so he is not forced by any agreement in place to show you any reports. Working with people is a damn hard job, working with demanding clients is even harder. I remember I had a client calling me a 2 A.M to let me know that his website dropped one spot in SERPS, some other used to pay $xxxx monthly and was demanding $xxxxxx services (btw...$750/month is not a premium service). Sometimes it is hard to keep track of all the work you done and all expenses, especially when it comes to link building. It takes quite a bit of time to put on paper any transaction you made, any result you achieved and if you have several clients you might not have time to waste on this. You know what I would do if I would be Sem? I would agree to work on a full report for you and I would charge you extra for this if your agreement does not clearly state that he has to provide you a full report on this case. I would charge you on a fair hourly rate and I'll make sure that at the end of the report you'll be the one to owe me money for the time spent on this. If you have built 5000 backlinks for a client and you need to provide him a report, it's quite a pain in the a**e to check where every single link is coming from and how much you spent on each of them. I understand that he agreed to give you a $500 refund...this is fair enough and proves that he's not taking the money and run like many other "cowboys" on these forums. As for the part with posting on public forums your private business I would advice to keep it private. When you agreed the work on your website I guess you did it on private, not shouting on public forums, right? Same rule applies when you break the contract. Wish you well and hopefully both of you are men enough to sort this out in private Thanks
loredan: Thank you for your post. I did not take the decision to post this matter lightly, and would much rather have resolved this issue in private as I mentioned to Sem on several occastions. Unfortunately, however, Sem has not been prepared to do this and I warned him I would make such a post, unless it was resolved. When you hear no response for in excess of 1 month you are left with few options. A reputation is earnt, but it also must be maintained and one cannot simply rely on an old reputation and somehow think that entitles you to deliver a poor service. I did not ask Sem for a detailed report. He had detailed approx 10 items which were deducted from an expense account, leaving a balance. In addition to this it appeared certain items had not actually been incurred by Sem, e.g. he had paid a 50% advance to a writer, but deducted the whole amount. In any event I have not received these items. If he could simply let me know what has and hasn't been done that would be acceptable. I am not asking for proof of every back link. After pointing him to this thread, he has since send he is not refunding for services rendered, although he is fully aware that these expense items have never been incurred. I sure hope he is man enough to see and do the right thing.
The red & bold bit of text is something to remember!!! (for everyone, obviously) Well said! As for him not refunding, this might damage his image even more. I would love to hear his version of the story as well...that would be interesting
There is ALWAYS two sides to every story. This thread should NOT have been posted here and will hopefully be locked or deleted. This is a private matter between SEM and Bonus Baggers. From get a freelancer or wherever it was. The work was not taken from DP and is nothing to do with DP. Also, Bonus Baggers...SEO is not an exact science...at all, and things sometime go much faster than expected, as well as much slower. if you are trying to develop an internet business......you really DO need to know this
seo daddy, Thank you for your post. There are indeed two sides to every story and I would invite Sem to explain why he feels entitled to keep money for a service he did not provide. Unfortunately, I have seen little to suggest he is thinking of anything but stealing my money. Likewise this was a private matter, but in failing to respond for in excess of a month, and having been warned, this issue became a public one. I'm sure people would like to know the sort of person Sem is, so if he offers his services, people may think twice. Furthermore, it is not an issue of SEO results. It is simple: money was paid into an account to be used to pay for 3rd party services in addition to a monthly management/seo fee. The money in this first account was not expended and so a credit balance is outstanding and has not bee returned. Once again, I would invite Sem to explain how he is justified to steel.
i followed the link on the comment by loradan and see that sem is a senior DP member. i'm sure he/they will come and explain this. as everyone says above, there are 2 sides of the story.
Creating threads and Posting negative comments against other forum members is against the DP forum policies. - not to mention it isn't very professional. http://forums.digitalpoint.com/faq.php?faq=dp_faq#faq_posting_guidelines
I trust Sem will come and resolve this then. Hanging on to someones money without cause I would suggest is even more unprofessional? As I have stated, when there is no response in excess of a month, resending emails on a private basis is virtually worthless.
Unfortunately Sem-Advance, Clint Dixon, has failed to answer any email or respond in this thread. I am therefore left with no option option, but to conclude that he is a conman and thief. I would strongly advise anyone working with this guy. He clearly has no respect for usual business practice.
I was ripped off by Sem-advance / clint dixon too - the guy mnakes a living out of this type of thing i believe. Did he get agressive with you and hang up during phone converstaions too? He did that to me and then poof - gone with my money, and left a big mess to clean up.No results, no work done, nothing....at least you seemed to get something done... I was left with a feeling that there wasnt much i could do. Which there wasnt and still isnt really but im glad i came accross this thread as it confirms to me what i already knew about him. Hopefully people who might be considering using him will find this thread and same thermselves some money and hassle...
Dont believe him and post in an article about how cheaters are and give example of sam with complete detials of his addresss his office and post in thousands of blog, forums, social media sites, aritcles, geocities, send mails to thousands of website owner then see how he dont give you the money back. If he replies you the ok otherwise make him nowhere to go. Also send him this message and wait for 15 days if he doesnot give reply then start your work please give me reply dont worry i will do seo for you and better than anybody. send me pm if you are satisfied
Buddy i think Sem-Advance is a gud n nice guy !! As far i know he Never delayed ny of his payments ..... rest i dnt know !!
The dispute doesn't have anything to do with DP as you have stated you sterted working with SEM through GetAFreelancer. $750 a month really insn't a premimum services and it seems that you had SEM working a couple of months for you and you didn't give any advance notice that you would be terminating his services. This really seems like a nicke and dime dispute anyway. How much do you expect SEM to refund you? Did you consider that some of the work that he outsourced may not have been satisfactory or not have been delivered. There's going to be small losses and not every dollar can be accounted for.
What was in the contract? Whenever I contract something, I make the client pay for everything up to the point the job was terminated....but they know exactly what the hourly fee will be, and get a daily report on how many hours were spent on the job that day.
I have suffered exactly the same problem with Clint Dixon, USASEO, Sem-Advance or whatever you would like to call him He took my money, $3,000 and I got nothing other than a couple of hours work! Do not trust this man.! Please see:- http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=1020347&highlight=sem-advance