"Essay writer for university course papers and assignments" on gumtree - should I pay after threats?

"Essay writer for university course papers and assignments" on gumtree is the service.
they have sent me a really crappy sample to which i replied with feedback. they proceeded to not address the feedback at all and it became obvious i wasn't getting a decent paper out of this. i think they assumed i wasn't going to pay based on my tone and immediately started to threaten to contact the university.

i haven't paid or had the paper sent to me in full. i wasnt even sure if or how i was going to use it. im totally put off obviously and couldn't use it even if i wanted to now.

they dont have any info of mine except the university and the info for the assessment which would reveal the unit.
should i just block them and leave it? or pay and just not use the paper?

Just ignore them. If you haven't already submitted their work for credit, there's really nothing for them to report. You ordered a model essay to help you learn how to write your own essay.

Presumably, the purpose of the "sample" is for their customers to review their work and then decide whether or not to order and purchase the entire project. You read the sample and decided not to go ahead with the order based on the sample. At most, offer to pay them only for the portion of the project that they already delivered, mainly for your peace of mind.

Since you did not actually request for an actual paper to be written for you and, you have not paid for the sample paper, I do not believe that you have anything to worry about. Sure they have information on you, but, if you do not use the paper, then what do they have on you in the form of blackmail? They are just trying to rattle you. They cannot do anything to cause you academic harm.

At this point though, I would not advise that you continue to seek a writing service within a company format. Reach out to an independent writer from this forum instead. There are several trustworthy ones to choose from. You already got burned by a writing company, be weary of dealing with them going forward. There are no grounds for actual blackmail. Block their email address and go on with your life. Do not pay them.

Hey! Sorry to hear about your unpleasant experience with the essay writing service on Gumtree. It's frustrating when they don't address your feedback and resort to threatening you. Since they don't have much personal information, it's probably best to block them and move on.

I bet that the OP decided to ignore the emails from the blackmailer. It would seem like a no-brainer in this case since he actually did not do any move that would be considered a successful contracting of the writing service for his paper. Since no money exchanged hands and he submitted a totally different paper to the university, he is in no danger of being exposed for academic dishonesty or contract cheating. Gumtree was just trying to test the waters, without really knowing how that blackmail game works.