Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  11/08/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  On July 16th, 2022, I signed a contract with ****** Editorial Services LLC (***) in order to have my book edited ($1,572.94). When the results and time management weren't up to standard, I requested a refund. The contract states the booking fee/ deposit is nonrefundable. *** did not complete the refund of our contract in full accordance to the contract details. She claims her website states refunds are 50% of the entire booking fee ($786.47) and not the $400 stated in our contract under "booking fees". They have denied me the remaining balance ($386.96) as she claims we are focusing on her website and not the contents of our contract. I believe this *** is doing this in retaliation to my initial attempt to fire ***** ******. I highlighted my concerns with failing to follow the timeline, the lack of communication, the lack of professionalism, as well as the poor quality of work. I requested a refund excluding the deposit of $400. In response, ***** requested 48 hours to fix the situation. I obliged and agreed to the terms. On Sept 28, I received an updated version of my manuscript with her edits and was satisfied. I mentioned on Sept 30 I am content with the quality of work. ***** expressed she was happy to hear that we reached an agreement. On October 5th, 2022, ***** ****** terminated the contract on the grounds of "disrespect" and "poor communication". In this email, ***** highlighted a scheduled repayment plan based on the contract we have in place. On October 28th, 2022, I received a PayPal payment of $50 titled "Final installment of contract termination payment". According to our contract and her last email (Oct 5th), I was still expecting two installations of $218.48. After mentioning this, ***** ****** stated we are going by the rules outlined on her website rather than the contract we signed. I can provide the Editing Contract, Client Termination Email, Business Termination Email, and Refusal to Pay Email.

  Business response

  11/08/2022

  Complaint ID: ********

   

  Hi ****,

   

  The issue, as I see it, is in the amount of money ****** feels she is owed. So I’d like to focus on that for my response. If you need more information, please feel free to call me at ***** ********. I would be more than happy to speak with you.

   

  On July 3^rd, 2022, I told ****** the schedule of fees to work with me. I’ve attached that email below for your review, please see Attachments 1-9. At that time, I told her I required a 50% deposit and the remaining balance would be due when the initial edit was complete. A few days later, I followed up with her because she hadn’t responded. She responded to let me know she had been on my website to calculate the amount of the deposit and couldn’t afford it. However, she did want to work with me. Because of this, I offered her a self-directed payment plan in which she was able to dictate when she’d make payments and how much each would be. Using her model, I created our editing agreement to show her manuscript evaluation would not be returned until the deposit was satisfied, when two installments were made. She upgraded her service, we agreed on a cost, payment schedule and both signed the agreement.

   

  The total cost of her services was $1,573.92. The 50% deposit on that amount was $786.96. She agreed to pay in four installments. I believe the first two installments were $400 each and would satisfy the deposit amount. According to the contract we both signed, deposits are non-refundable. What may be returned to the client is the remaining balance less the deposit. So, instead of the full $786.96 she would have been entitled to had she finished paying, I only owed her $486.96 because she never completed payment for services. She only paid $1,273.92, owing another $300 on our agreement. I have explained all of this to her in detail via email and included those explanations and receipts in Attachments 10-12.

   

  ***** is attempting to alter the terms of our agreement by asserting the first installment she made of $400 should be considered the deposit instead of the 50% I’d told her was required on June 3^rd. I never agreed to that. My contract and website reflect the same sentiments. I believe the confusion is that since I offered a payment plan, ****** feels that eliminated or altered the need for a 50% deposit, but that isn’t true. I allowed her to pay the deposit in two installments instead of one, I didn’t do away with the deposit amount. I wish she would call me so we could discuss and rectify this. It didn’t have to come to this.

   

  My policy for nearly five years has been to receive a 50% deposit. That has never changed and has always been clearly cited on my website and in the contracts all clients are required to sign. I also make it a point to explain that to clients. ****** knew on June 3^rd from the email I sent her what the deposit amount was. In fact, she told me she couldn’t afford it. She’d done her own independent research to find out the amount, so I’m positive she knew. We never discussed alterations to the deposit amount and it’s dishonest for her to paint that picture now.

   

  In my haste to satisfy ******, I agreed to her repayment plan. I do not like conflict and try to resolve things as quickly as I can. My business runs off of word of mouth primarily and so I wanted to keep the peace with her as much as possible. However, when I audited my records and realized she’d never finished paying for her editing services and was asking for part of her deposit as well, I knew I was overpaying her and needed to rectify that.

  I emailed ****** as soon as I discovered the error and explained the situation. She disregarded what I was saying. Instead, she threatened me with a lawsuit if I didn’t repay her the amount she demanded, and also refunded her deposit in full as well. In essence, she wants the $486.96 I've paid her, an additional $436.96 she feels I still owe her, and her $786.96 deposit she paid, which is a total of almost $1,700. Please see Attachment 11 for her response. 

   

  At this point, I’ve done all I can to rectify the situation. I’ve repaid ****** everything I owe her. I’ve attached those receipts below for your review. I’ve explained and I’ve begged for a phone call to discuss this. She refuses. I don’t know what else to do and must uphold our signed contract.

   

  I want to make this clear. I never at any point told ****** her first installment would satisfy the deposit requirement. I did let her know from the beginning that the deposit amount was 50% of the service. I also made it clear in her signed contract that should a refund be given; it would be less the deposit. I have satisfied that requirement, repaying her the $486.96 she was owed a few weeks ago. I’ve asked her to call me several times so we could rectify this issue and each time she refuses to call. If she would call, I’d explain to her that there is no discrepancy between my contract, website, and what we spoke about via email. The deposit has always been and will always be 50% of the cost of services, which is standard for my industry.

   

  Please let me know if additional information is needed and thank you again for the opportunity to set the record straight. ******’s book is amazing. In my opinion, she’s one of the next generation of amazing authors and I’m very sorry I wasn’t able to assist her. But I’m more than confident that she’s got what it takes to win in this industry and wish her well.

   

  Respectfully,

  ***** B. ******, Owner

  ****** Editorial Services, LLC.

  Customer response

  11/08/2022

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

  Better Business Bureau:

  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

  Regards,

  ****** *******

   

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