Advice on what to do when the work you received was really bad

Hey guys,

So I have never posted on here before, but for a long time I would observe the discussions. Anyway, this lead me to a company that allot of people were talking about and was officially endorsed.

I asked for a piece of work, I was VERY specific as it was only a small chunk of a larger project so it needed to fit well with the existing material. I got the work back and it was honestly dreadful, I mean written by a twelve year old dreadful. I scrapped the whole thing and completed the section myself (which delayed the project and I actually missed the deadline) I contacted their customer service and explicit pointed to all the elements that were wrong, poorly formatted, little sense, little structure etc. I was very thorough. I also told them I can provide evidence of my work that shows how worlds apart they are, also I would be fine with them posting it on a platform that would make my work flag up as plagiarised by turnitin. But I wanted my money back, I am not a stingy person and I do not want to take the mick but the work I received wasn't worth the price of a big mac, it was an utter joke.

Here is where is gets sticky so the writer responds with "i'm only human" some other nonsense about short notice (she had to do no research as I sent her all of the sources, citations, and literally everything), I don't get it? why take on the work if its too much too soon. Then they offered 20% credit back? abundance of lols from my end. However, from the back and forth emailing it kind of felt like they were covertly blackmailing me, mentioning my institution in places where it wasn't even relevant, plus they had details of my supervisor which I had never given them. I kind of feel like they are trying to scare me out of taking it further with paypal, but not openly saying anything. I did nothing wrong nothing was plagiarised, everything was my own work, but it is the principle. My supervisor finding out I was remotely involved (they still have my emails asking for the work) it will look so bad on my part.

My work was already submitted late and I will be penalised for that I can't deal with that on top, at the same time I feel so ripped off. The shocking thing is they are SO well known I was so surprised.

What should I do?

Have you submitted the project as your own for a credit? If so, you risk more than you think and your claims may be invalid if their TOS don't allow it :(

Without seeing all the emails, it's hard to determine who is right. Could you post all the email correspondence here for us to review them?

I've experienced students like yourself. Never satisfied. Always complaining. When a space or a comma is missing, there is a tragedy. The work is supposed to be used as an example, not as something to turn in for a grade. They are supposed to believe that you haven't used the work at all?

LOL why you mad bro, I'd be happy to post both pieces of work side by side once I have submitted it, I really have nothing to hide.

If that's the case, you should just post it now without any title or references (if you used the same ones). Since you scrapped it and rewrote it all yourself, there's nothing to worry about by posting it. You don't need to bother posting your version for comparison, because the issue is how bad the writer's work was and nobody here needs to read what you wrote instead, just to recognize bad writing, especially if it's as bad as you describe.

Certain academic writing companies coming our of Eastern Europe or the third world have been known to do "background checks" on a student based on the information presented to them. These are the SOB companies that have absolutely no sense of honor and whose word isn't word the mud it was written in. Yes, they were trying to blackmail you in a way. The problem with their con is that you did not use the work that they turned in to you for a grade, nor did you use it as a sample paper. You developed your own, original presentation and submitted that instead.

Therefore, any claims they make about turning you in has no basis. Sure you placed an order, sure they can prove that they did work for you, but you can also prove that you did not use their work for your submission. Any professor who looks into this (if they actually follow through on the thread), will see the difference and realize that they are trying to con you. Will you get into trouble with the university? Probably. Then again, no study ever got into trouble for having an "intent" to do something against the moral code of the university. They would have to prove that you committed a violation first. So I don't think you have anything to worry about in this case.

They are just trying to scare you off from filing a case with PayPal. I am encouraging you to go ahead and do it. File the dispute and watch them come back to strike a deal with you, which I hope you will refuse. Don't be afraid. I did not read anything in your post that would give them any opportunity to make trouble for you in the university. Don't let them shock you into cowering into a corner and giving in to their demands.

So, the OP goes through the trouble to write a long post without giving more detail and despite saying s/he will post the work, doesn't. If they didn't use it, as they claimed, they would have posted it here. The post and disappearance makes the entire claim seem fishy.


In my experience, while customers generally mean it as being helpful, sending all the sources, etc. can do just the opposite. When I am researching, my brain is churning. I know what I'm looking for and I can get to it quickly. When I have a list of things a customer found or compiled, I have to literally sort through them all to see what is relevant for what part of the project, and a gazillion other factors. It's often easier for the customer to give me the instructions and let me to the rest. Sometimes "help" is a hindrance.

Also, bringing in a writer for a part of a larger project where the customer has done work already can present its own set of obstacles. Not knowing more about the project or what the writer was tasked to do, it's hard to say if the OP is correct. More pointedly, without seeing what the OP claims is not worth the price of a Big Mac, is even more suspicious.

Hold on ! Just because a client provides the materials for the paper does not mean that the writer doesn't need to do any research. All the OP did was provide the research material. The writer still had to read each and every page of the material that was sent, note the related portions, and choose which quotes to use in the paper (if allowed). So no, the writer still had to research the material before writing the paper. Having said that, I will not say that the client should not be complaining about receiving a bum paper. Since everything was practically spoon-fed to the writer, all that person had to do was research and do what he/she was paid to do, and do it properly. The poor client got stuck with a horrible writer and had to suffer for it.

Clearly, what the OP described hardly sounds like it was just a matter of a missing space or comma.


Unfortunately, the OP never followed through with this, making it impossible to know what really happened with the project and whether the OP was right to complain about it.


What the OP should have done is post the work right here; and if it was really as bad as described, the OP should also have revealed the name of the company, as well.

While I agree that stating the name of this writer and posting his bad job at this forum would be one way of getting even with the bad writer, I blame the OP for what happened and the bad experience. It is important that the students learn this one important rule when hiring a writer, ASK FOR A SAMPLE PIECE OF WRITING. As often pointed out, it is important to prove that the writer has the writing and research skills to complete the paper. This can only be done by testing the writer using a shorter, simple topic that relates to the major paper to prove that he should be hired for the job.