Hiring outsource programmers without getting cheated?

[cyberious]

I recently hired a company outside the US to work on a project that I posted on this site, and didn't receive what was supposed to be done.

[Mod Edit: Please resolve personal problems privately. Thanks! Brittany, Forum host]

Since they were out of the country, they forced me to use Western Union which doesn't have any insurance for payments sent, and when I called Western Union, they told me that this is usually a "Red Flag" - when people outside the US tell you to send money through their service, this is common practice because they know their money won't be able to be returned in circumstances like this.

So, I contacted the person I hired, asked for a refund, and never received it.

My question is, how do I prevent this from happening again? I sometimes hire outsiders to handle projects or parts of projects. How do other companies hire outsource programmers and developers without getting "Taken"?

If a company I hire doesn't provide the services that were agreed upon, and in the necessary timeframe agreed upon, how do you deal with them? In this case, I was told to pay in full up front. BIG MISTAKE. I lost money and had to go hire a competent company to fulfill the project requirements, and clean up the botched job that was left behind.

Does anyone have any advice for situations like this?

[phenix]

Hi,

When I have found the need to outsource, I use scriptlance.com

At scriptlance.com, you post your project, choose a winning bidder, then place the money in scriptlance's escrow account. When the project is completed, you release the payment and it is forwarded to the programmer.

Before you choose a programmer for your project, you can check out their reviews and make an informed decision.

I have found an excellent PHP programmer based in Romania and find his work, knowledge and communication to be excellent. By mistake, I once released the funds before the project was even started and he still completed the job on time. He could very well have taken the money and run.

I'm sure he wouldn't mind me putting in a good word for him, so if you ever need a PHP programmer, he goes by the name of "Crirus".

Sharon,
www.phenixwebdesign.com

[cyberious]

Thanks for the reference to your PHP programmer, I'll keep him in mind.

Usually I don't post in forums to hire freelancers but for this particular project, I was running behind schedule and didn't have much time.

I'll keep scriptlance in mind next time I need a programmer.

[matauri]

Cyberious, was it like an item purchase?

I ask because now you see them all over the net... Buy a logo, Buy a template, Buy a shopping cart. I seem to have seen so many complaints about these kinds of purchases lately. It's very different to contracting out work, even though they advertise that they are custom built. So it's like buying so many other things online, you take your chances unfortunately, and hope that you can get a refund.

But if it was a contracted job, then I want more clients like you! I do outsourced work for fellow designers/developers, and have never had payment up front.

It's so hard to protect yourself with things like this online. Especially in areas such as web design, programming, marketing, seo, etc. How are you ever sure that the business you are doing business with, is indeed a legit business, and what recource you will have in the event of refunds, etc? That's why I have taken to including my registered business number on my site to differentiate from those that aren't quite so legit. I'm not saying who you dealt with wasn't legit, but it's a bit of a safe guard I think with which businesses to deal with.

Hope you sort your problem out.

[cyberious]

It was for contracted work. And I assumed the person I was dealing with was a legitimate company.. I'll never assume anything again, after that mishap.

The project was supposed to be a specific shopping cart, and instead, another cart was installed, with no functionality (that I specified - and I'm very technical when it comes to giving details) - and then she abandoned the project! I complained, was assured, then after a few weeks of seeing nothing done to the site, I had to fire her. The site went live, as scheduled, a week later, and I lost my money. After asking for a refund 3 times, I've given up.

I have dealt with freelancers before, and have outsourced work to other companies, but I've never had to pay in full up front. I should have seen it coming, but again, I was assuming she was legitimate...

thanks for posting your thoughts, matauri ~

[Mod Edit: Again, please resolve personal problems elsewhere - Brittany, Forum Host]

[amorphic8]

1. obvously NEVER pay a stranger outside the US with western Union
---you could suggest using a service like Paypal and paying with a credit card instead

2. Never ASSUME anything on the internet is legit
---we all love the 'net (otherwise we wouldn't be reading this forum) but there is a danger that we all must regognize and respect: the 'net is very anonymous...this gives legit users a little privacy, but also allows entire packs of wolves to wear sheep's clothing

3. you say it was contract work...do you have a copy of the contract?
---you may have some recourse depending on how well your contract was written, however, international laws are a bit different than local ones and the International police may not come rimmediately running to your aid.

My suggestion would be to find out what your rights are regarding the hiring of international programmers and, of course, never pay until the code is working to your specifications.