Tuesday 1 December 2015

UPDATED: Wronged Customer or Fraud and Cyberbullying? : You decide

Hi Everyone,

As some of you know, I've been the victim of Cyberbullying on Kindle Boards and Tumblr. To investigate this, KB has said that I need to put the evidence online.  So, here it is.

First up is Blanche King who made the following untrue statements about us on Kindle Boards on 22 Nov 2015 http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,227136.msg3165183.html#msg3165183:

"Flurriesofwords on fiverr: ($5) This business misrepresented its product. It promised to advertise in 2 blogs (one in the US and one in the UK), facebook, and twitter (the two latter ones allegedly have 35,000 followers.) It turned out that the two blogs are actually one blog with two URLs; the followers for both are the same people. Upon asking for proof of their facebook and twitter post, the seller refused. I got a refund, but not before a "mysterious" review on my book. This business was investigated by Fiverr's Trust & Safety team. This business is now closed.
edited to remove WHOA link, and commentary beyond basic facts.  PM me if you have any questions.  --Betsy/Ann "


The link originally provided (which was subsequently deleted by Kindle Boards) was this:  http://genegeter.tumblr.com/post/111588672835/flurries-of-words-or-flurries-of-hate.  We will provide the evidence refuting this too, in a subsequent post...

But first, please be aware that Ms. King edited her comments several times before this.  She originally referred to this site as a "scam".  Also I didn't close the service until 27 Nov...

Hmmm....

Obviously, the KB discussion obviously no longer says this either.  Partly because I objected and partly because it has undergone further edits (as shown on that site).  However, the above is a direct quote from Blanche King as posted on KB on 29 Nov.

So, does she have any legitimate complaints?  What's the evidence?

Well, here is the proof that her ad ran.


and here is the proof that it ran on Twitter



and here is the proof that it ran on Facebook


and here is proof that it ran on Pinterest



and here is the proof it ran on G+



Now, here is the exchange on Fiverr.  Apologies but it is in several pieces.  You will see that she started off abusive and confrontational. Never once was she civil or businesslike.  Her behavior got so bad that I actually cited the Cyber Harassment and Cyber Stalking statutes at her (she evidently is in California).








Now, I will admit to being perplexed about what she wanted because usually people want a change to an ad when they require a modification on Fiverr.  So I kept asking how she wanted the ad changed.  When I realized that she wanted proof of my followers, I was stunned.  Clearly that's not a part of any gig or service (especially since you can just look yourself--duh!). 

Note how she misrepresents to Fiverr about what I said.  Note too that she doesn't ask for proof that the ads have run but rather proof of my following.  You can also see how she is very abusive and continues to badger me to agree to mutually cancel the gig AFTER I've already provided the service and she's benefited from my ads. 

Anyway, she made the above and other defamatory posts about this service and cited to Gene Geter as a source (remember him above?)

Well, here's some proof that the two of them are in cahoots. 



Makes you wonder about the connection and real reason for Ms. King's behavior.  More on Mr Geter later...

Now, KB did step in to some degree.  However, that didn't stop Ms. King.  On 30 November 2015, despite being warned by KB to stop targeting me and Flurries of Words, Ms. King put up a long thread claiming, amongst other things, that I was harassing her with emails and demands that she take down her negative comments about Flurries of Words/me.  She seemed to be trying to elicit sympathy. There were seven responses when I first caught it. I immediately reported it to KB and the thread was locked and taken down within moments.

So, was there any validity to her new claims?  No. None whatsoever. I have never attempted to contact her.

Ms. King, on the other hand, sent me a long, rambling email (also on 30 Nov) of nearly 500 words.  Interestingly, in it she admits to having received the service I offered via Fiverr and to a connection with Mr. Geter.  Hmmm....

I briefly responded to this email, asking her to desist in her cyberbullying behavior and to not contact me in any way in the future.  That has been the extent of my contact with her.

Oh, and I just got word that Fiverr is going to reimburse me for the service I provided to Ms. King...

So there you have it.  Is it evidence of a wronged customer or fraud and cyberbullying?  You decide....

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