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I am familiar with basic HTML and CSS and was asked by a relative to rework their company website. They were hoping for a Flash site, and I thought I would be able to accommodate them if I purchased a template to work from. I did all the design work and composed an eleven-page document detailing the specific changes I wanted performed on each page of the site. Once I started to work with the Flash application itself, I realized that the learning curve was too steep for the timeframe I hoped to deliver the website by. As a result, on February 1, I placed an ad on a message board seeking a web developer to perform the desired modifications to the existing Flash template.
Christopher Clegg, the owner of SplashMediaWeb.com (formerly CleggMediaDesign.com), contacted me that day and was sent my detailed set of notes. He quickly responded saying that the work would pose no problem and he could turn the project around in five to six days.
Work on the project was to begin as soon as I e-mailed him the tracking number of the payment (which was made in the form of a personal check since he stated he did not accept any form of electronic payment). The payment was mailed the following morning (February 2nd) and Christopher Clegg confirmed receipt of the tracking number later that same afternoon. The payment was deposited by Christopher Clegg and cleared by my bank on February 5.
A month and a half (and several missed deadlines) later, I filed an official complaint against Christopher Clegg with the Better Business Bureau, Internet Crime Complaint Center, and the Federal Trade Commission. Shortly after becoming aware of these complaints I filed, Christopher Clegg decided to send me a file (on March 21) with the work he had completed at that point.
It was embarrassing. So many changes were required that I submitted a twelve-page document highlighting everything that was still required (yes, it was longer than my original set of notes).
I wait... And wait... And wait.
Weeks later, on April 14, I get a final file from Christopher Clegg. It, too, was embarrassing. This second file was nearly (if not entirely) identical to the first file I had received from him weeks before. If anything was actually done to the file, it wasnt obvious. None of the changes I specifically requested were completed, thats for sure.
As this point, I am trying to recover anything I can from Christopher Clegg so I trim my desired changes from twelve pages down to seven pages.
Nothing.
My relatives eventually dropped me from their project (who can blame them?) and the process of obtaining a refund from Christopher Clegg has been as much a nightmare as trying to get him to complete any work in the first place.
Christopher Clegg maintains that 70% of the work was completed. I admit to not being familiar with Flash, but the template I purchased provided most of the functionality up front. The only (!) changes Christopher Clegg made in the three plus months he had been working on the project were simple, cosmetic changes (re-wording a few sections, changing fonts, etc...). The actual work was never even attempted — and it was 70% completed.
In many ways, the final file I received from him was WORSE than the untouched template file! Links were removed that shouldn't have been, an entire section was removed for some unknown reason, and some of the functionality was disabled (turning the sound on and off). Cosmetically, the fonts he chose were unprofessional as well.
It's a joke.
Christopher Clegg is a joke.
I had a correspondence with Christopher Clegg last night (May 15) where I informed him that I would (begrudgingly) accept a $300.00 refund... Just to be done with this entire situation. He is still sticking firm to his 70% completion rate and offering me a 30% refund, or $150.00.
I lost my client because of his failures.
His failure to meet any of his promises.
His failure to meet any of his deadlines.
This was one of the final things I said to him during our e-mail correspodance last night:
"If it isn't already obvious to you, the loss of my client makes hiring you in the first place a complete waste. Regardless whether the project was 50% completed (generous) or 70% completed (no chance), it is all worthless to me now. 100% worthless. If you were to complete the project tonight (and no, this is not an offer) it would still be useless to me. Any amount I paid you was for nothing.
I am not about to pay $350.00 for nothing. I don't want to pay $200.00 for nothing but, unlike you, I am making sacrifices to put this whole matter behind us."
Please, don't anyone else be fooled by Christopher Clegg. He is a fraud, despite his claims.
In addition to filing complaints with the previously mentioned agencies, I have filed an official police report with the Clearwater Police Department. A detective Virginia Gallon is researching the case and Christopher Clegg has admitted to having interactions with her before over a previous complaint.
While I await the results of the police investigation, I am in the process of documenting our entire history of e-mail conversations (of which I kept them all), and composing a document using screen shots to illustrate:
1) The condition and functionality of the untouched template file,
2) The detailed notes I provided Christopher Clegg which clearly explain my expectations, and
3) The final "completed" file I received from Christopher Clegg on April 14
It will not be difficult to prove to a judge — yes, barring some miraculous change of heart by Christopher Clegg, I fully intend on filing a small claims suit against him in Pinellas County Florida where I will be seeking full retribution plus any punitive damages and expenses/fees I am legally able to recover.
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