Screwed by www.guru.com, or a Lesson in the Perils of Outsourcing

Outsourcing work is a nerve-wracking crap shoot. My company recently selected http://www.guru.com/ to locate a freelancer to complete work on a special project. The whole experience was a NIGHTMARE. The programmer, Robert Samuel White, never delivered, and referred to himself as "Robert" or "Samuel" depending on his mood. Guess that should have been my first clue that I was dealing with someone special....

Never the less, it is http://www.guru.com/ I want people to know about. While they have postings on their site to the effect that they cannot recover client funds once a freelancer has been paid, and they encourage clients to use their SafePay escrow service for the "HIGHEST" level of consumer protection, I have learned this is all FALSE. Furthermore, they incentive-ize clients to use e-Check to receive a portion of all funds spent as a credit toward future purchases. DO NOT USE e-Check! Use your Visa card for payment, and keep all email, invoices, and project agreements in a folder (and backup) until the project is complete.

After 2 months of working with the programmer, I did not have a finished product. When asked about the project, delays and deadlines, he became increasingly abusive and insulting, then stopped answering questions altogether; so I turned to http://www.guru.com/ for help. There I dealt with Stacy Norman, Customer Service Manager (snorman@guru.com) and her underling Joe. At first they refused to assist me, telling me I had made a choice at my own risk and that they were not responsible to assist me, nor would they. Not one to accept "no" as an answer, I continued to push. Once they learned I had paid for GURU services with my Visa card, they offered Guru's mediation assistance program as a one-time courtesy on the condition that I sign a waiver relinquishing all of my consumer rights to VISA's product protection and dispute resolution services. When I refused to do this, they also quit communicating with me.

Lo and behold, when I filed the chargebacks with Visa, I received an email from Stacy to Robert notifying him that http://www.guru.com/ would indeed be pulling the funds back from his account with them, and that it was not their policy to fight Visa on chargebacks--hence their demands that I not contact Visa, and relinquish my rights to any recourse through Visa. Fortunately, the investigators at Visa were most helpful and absolutely correct in advising me against signing any sort of waiver. Visa is the BEST!!! (In this case, my Visa is through http://www.capitalone.com/, and I strongly recommed them to everyone.)

The liars at http://www.guru.com/ also locked my account access so that I could not post truthful feedback concerning Robert Samuel White's performance (or lack thereof). If you are seeking a freelance professional through http://www.guru.com/, understand that their feedback rating system is inherently flawed, as I cannot possibly be the first person to have this happen. Also note that if you use their e-check system for payment, you do not have any recourse. The money is gone and gone forever, unless you chose to sue--likely across state lines.

Finally, make wise decisions at work and at play. In this case, I did my best by researching the company, and chosing a freelancer with high-ranking and positive feedback located in the United States. None of this mattered much, in retrospect, now that I know how http://www.guru.com/ operates. Only Visa served me well.

My advice to professionals everywhere is to become familiar with the policies of the card you carry. For example, I learned that the MasterCard check/debit card issued on my Business checking account offers NO consumer protection, following another bad experience with a Canadian firm doing business online. Protect yourself, protect your business, and seek the assistance and insight of fellow professionals when the 'bad guys' seek to push you up against the wall.