A client had purchased my $295 package which includes a premium WordPress theme, 1 hour of customization, basic SEO and installation of my 7 recommended plugins.

I completed all the aspects of the installation and customization, and sent my notes to the client for her to review and let me know what she wanted changed. An error I made in the graphics was fixed, at no cost to her of course, and I thought we were getting close to being finished.

Today, she sent an email saying she had contacted her credit card company to dispute the charge for my invoice.

She said she was not happy and that she would not pay for the work. I logged in via the FTP info she gave me, removed the customized theme and graphics files, and deleted her FTP information from my computer. All her content was not touched, and the installation of WordPress itself was not touched and left intact on her server.

When I emailed to let her know I had removed the files and would refund her payment via PayPal (the original payment method) this was her reply:

“I sent u all the info u requested including the pages and contact info. U never did anything with it. Why would u have billed me when u knew the work was not completed. It is un lawful to go into my files. I am out of the office. Not sure how u would like to resolve this. Does not seem possible since u violated my privacy. I was clear under what terms u could access my files j”

I explained to her that I billed up front for the services, and did not invoice her after I finished. I thought that was clear when she paid the invoice via Paypal. After explaining, again, the items included in the package she purchased, she warned me not to touch her files again (which I would never do) and that “I will be reporting your unauthorized access of my files to the FBI ”

I’m not sure what the FBI will do about it, but I’m rather confused. Not once did she ask for her money back. Not once did she say she was unhappy. When I fixed my mistake in graphics, she was extremely happy and said the header graphic looked “yummy”!

She did not reply to my last two emails asking about revisions. No where in our emails is there a notation about “I was clear under what terms u could access my files” – I’ve been back through all correspondence and can find no such document. I asked her for a copy of it, and of course she declined (it doesn’t exist!).

So this is a cautionary tale. Do your homework.

Because this was a referral from another client, I agreed to create the site. I gave the client the choice of 3 packages, and she opted for the one with the 1 hour customization. She needed a rather basic site, which I gave her. Her quickness to jump to threats is upsetting, but it does tell me a great deal about how she handles conflict and how she interacts with those she works with.

I really should have done much more homework before agreeing to work with her. I did not ask for references and that was a mistake.

I will definitely be changing my potential client screening process. This is definitely something I do NOT want to have happen again!