Here is the summary, you can read below for the whole story if you want details.in short, I was billed for work which I never approved to be completed in the first place, and then was extorted to get the final website files. They demanded that I pay more and more money before they released the website files.
I might also mention that this is not the first web development company I have dealt with.in fact, I have dealt with somewhere around 5-6 other firms in my career with no problems.
* Quick Note: Have you noticed how there is nothing but raving reviews about Apotheis Internet/MyWebStars? Seem too good to be true? Here is why:
Before you start a job with them, they make you agree to give them perfect feedback. They say this is how they can offer such low prices.
It seems to me that you should be able to give them a rating on par with the quality of work/service they provided. Don't fall for this.
What Happened:
2) My website design project was progressing smoothly until last a few days ago when I received a notification that I had to re-charge my account beyond the original $960 payment I made with the provider.
This normally wouldn't be a problem, even though I wasn't sure why they wanted me to do this. Perhaps it was because they were going to go over the budget or because they already had.
After trying to clarify the situation, I discovered that the project manager wanted me to pay for work (a balance) that had already been completed and/or was continuing to be completed without me ever having given permission to continue.
It was the old bum windshield washing trick. The bum comes starts washing your windshield without telling you he's charging. Then, when he demands payment and you refuse, he holds a knife to your throat. That is pretty much what happened next.
It was at this time I learned that I had an unpaid balance due. Apotheis bills work hourly, and this is OK. I did agree to being billed hourly, but *never* gave permission to continue additional work without payment and without notifying me first.
The project manager Assumed that I wanted the work to be completed and proceeded to spend my money for me (money I hadn't paid them yet).
At this point, I was made an offer by the project manager (Michelle) that stated if I paid before she went offline, the work would be finished and completed. If I didn't pay before she left, I was out of luck.
This was starting to feel like a bad situation to me. I clearly didn't know what was going on and attempted to gain clarification. An excel sheet was sent that had the un-approved hours they had billed me for shown.
Soon I would learn that I would not be able to receive the deliverables and source files without first paying a large sum of money. I had missed their 'offer' to pay them $500 earlier.
Now they wanted even more. If I didn't pay, they would give me a version of the website from several weeks ago and not include the source files or finish the work. Hardly the deliverables that had been originally specified in the project specs.
We were clearly over the liens of extortion from my point of view.
I missed the original payment deadline (to receive their 'special offer'). Hours later I paid anyway out of good faith figuring that Apotheis would understand and continue finish off as offered. They did not. So now I was out $590 over budget and had still not received the current version of the site nor the source files (which I would need to finish the job on my own).
After all of this payment, they sent an old version of the site without flash files wrapped up in a ZIP file. This was clearly not to spec.
I thought that at the very least since I had 'settled my balance', the site would be uploaded and I could receive the Flash files and that it would be posted to my server. At least it would be over. I was wrong.
To my further injury, I was notified that I still owed another $213, even after my account was apparently 'settled'. This overage was in blatant violation of my previous request to stop work and not bill me again for further work.
This was also the first time I had heard about this extra charge.
They also stated that I had not performed' my end of the bargain, even after I had paid them everything they asked, albeit an hour or two after their deadline.
To add insult to injury, they state that I was never asked to pay for deliverables I did not order.in fact, I was never notified that I was ordering additional deliverables, and I never gave permission for continued billing before I was billed.
The Project Manager, Michelle also stated that I was not forced to pay for any deliverables. This is true.instead of being physically forced, I was extorted. If I did not pay a total sum of around $803 over the original $960 (which I did pay) then I would not get the full deliverables as posted on the website at that point in time.
After I paid the extra $213, the semi-finished deliverables were posted to my server, however it was done sloppily and not put in the correct spot.
The project originally specified that it had to be completed with a CMS built-in as well (content management system which would allow me to update the content of the website myself).
They did not install the CMS. Figuratively speaking, they left a bag of dog poop smeared at my front door and left me to sort it out for myself even after I met their demands for payment.
Thus, the job was not even completed to spec. I paid them $803 extra to settle my balances and I was ripped-off anyway. If they had finished the work or admitted wrongdoing, I would not have written this report and would not be smearing their name all over the Internet.
I would file a lawsuite, however they do not provide a physical mailing address. I believe that this may be because they all work from home and they don't want anyone mailing them anything, especially lawsuites.
* Conclusion:
I feel like I was extorted in order to receive the final website project and have it posted on my server.
I paid $803 and finally got my half-finished deliverables after this whole mess (CMS still not installed). I don't feel that I should have been responsible for paying this additional $803. Nothing in their Terms of Service lead me to believe anything like this this would happen.
The way they handled my project was fine at first, but turned into an unethical, even illegal mess after it was all said and done with. I feel I've been raped.
Http://www.apotheis.com
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