We signed-up for service with them without doing our homework and based on a HEAVILY modified agreement with our attorney. We paid them only 1 of 3 payments because after the 1st month of service our account representative Melissa never called us back (although she would mark in her CRM system that she did) and each time we would bid on projects they would be closed.

I even had one of my employees sign-up as a client and submit project details that fit with our EXACT qualifications in our exact region and we never received the lead nor was she given our companies name as an option to bid on (with their “premium” service).

So we continue to not pay them based on not getting any emails or calls returned (I’ve got the phone logs to prove it) and they then have a Senior account representative Mike McMurray contact me by email saying I have 2 weeks to pay or they’ll close my account.

I emailed him back and we agreed on a payment arrangement where the same account representative will contact us, help us setup our account so that we can receive bids (the excused on our own internal test was because “we failed to complete our setup”) and we would pay them 1 of the 2 remaining payments. This account representative NEVER called back.

The next call was made to us by their collections agency where I explained the situation to her and she divulged that they are in similar situations with other consultants and she’s seen them sue for less.

Close to one year later I emailed them saying that I would like to give them one more chance to see if their services have changed and this idiot Mike McMurray emails me back saying the account is with his collections agency and he’s going to file lawsuit.

I emailed him reminding him that he was the one that agreed to our payment arrangement and that this written arrangement was never fulfilled because this “dedicated” account representative STILL has not contacted me although I sent several emails and even demanded to work with someone more responsive.

I explained to him that my offer still stands true however he will need to act on our agreement before they see a dime from our company. He replied back saying “so be it”… we’ll see you in court.

I’ve explained the situation to our attorney, forwarded him all emails that we have with eWork Markets and he feels we have a very strong defense against them based on them failing to fulfill their agreed upon obligations.

I decided to email the “President” of the company David Proestos dproestos@eworkmarkets.com to explain him the situation with Mike McMurray but he never replied back, so now it seems we’re going to have to deal with this situation the good old fashion way through the legal system.

My advise to anyone reading this is to stay clear of this company. Do yourself a favor take the $4000.00 and put it into a good old fashion marketing campaign of appointment setting you’ll see a better return on your investment than with this company.

STAY AWAY!!!!

I agree, I was assuming a ton of risk by sending in an upfront fee, and even asked for this fee to be pulled from future work found from the company… as I expected… no reply.

I would recommend avoiding this firm.

If you have to go to a contract auction site then you have probably already felt the pinch, and I feel sorry for you. There is a general rule of thumb: If a business relationship requires an NRE (nonrecoverable expense) up front, and they are not actually manufacturing anything and thus need it to begin work, then they are either ripping you off, or they are taking the actual contracts to their outsourcing firm and using the idea of a low price auction to get you in the door. Either way it is no good, and certainly illegal in more than a few states.

Either it is a Ponzi scheme or it is fraudulent advertising and representation. For the person who was told they had to pay according to the contract another month’s installment, don’t call the BBB call the FBI instead. I’m sure with a little digging, the FBI frequently investigates these matters and either refers them to local jurisdiction or in the case where the crime crosses state boundaries, will pursue it themselves.

Once again, if they want the money up front for a broker service they rarely deliver on, then you have other avenues of defense. Better Business Bureau in your town is not a legal organization, and while the contract may appear legitimate in in all likelihood is not fully compliant with state and federal law.

Try to avoid signing something before you get a lawyer to look at it, since while the initial contract may be for a small sum, if you are forced to continue the relationship against your will and after receiving poor service, you may be into it for more than just money.

I would be very interested in participating in any type of lawsuit.
I would be happy to hear from anyone pursuing this form of action.

LockL4@yahoo.com

Thanks
and RUN RUN RUN if you are considering signing up with eWorks!

Haven’t posted here in a while…I’ve used Rent-a-coder as a buyer and had incredibly good luck. Don’t know much about the others, just eScam Markets.

An update to those of you who might owe EWM some money….when there collection law firm called on us we practically begged them to sue us (it would have to be in Georgia
). My attorney says that opens up the avenue for counter-suing and a possible class action….they havent contacted us since.

elance.com
getafreelancer.com
guru.com
getacoder.com
scriptlance.com
rentacoder.com

Anyone have good luck with any of these? Have some additional suggestions?