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Anthony Licari stole money from me
Just wanted to let everyone in the Drupal Community know about how I got screwed from a member of the drupal community.
I came to your forum looking for a Drupal Programmer to put up a website that I designed. Anthony Licari wrote me back. We talked on the phone and a little while later he said he was ready to build my site. He asked me to send him the PSD design files and a down payment of $300 dollars.
I sent him the files and a $300 dollar check and except for one email over two weeks ago saying he would have the site ready that weekend, I have never heard from him again. He won't return emails and I've noticed his own drupal site at anthonylicari.com has been down for two weeks.
He lives in Columbus, Nebraska and he has a second site at http://www.skylabservices.com/
His behavior brings down the entire Drupal community and any help anyone can give me would be greatly appreciated!
The Community
Please note that the Drupal community is a heterogeneous collection of people from around the world.
There is no common feature or trait other than using Drupal.
Since this is just a collection of human beings, you will find the usual mix that comes with any group of humans that is sufficiently large.
Neither the Drupal community nor the Drupal association can do anything in such matters.
Your only option is your local courts and/or local law enforcement.
--
Drupal development and customization: 2bits.com
Personal: Baheyeldin.com
I know...
I know Kbahey, but my only recourse is to let the community know so that no one else will be screwed over from Anthony Licari.
May be something wrong with
May be something wrong with this guy, may be he has been ill with meningitis.
That's not my job to figure
That's not my job to figure out. He had no problem replying to me till he cashed my check.
A cheap lesson to learn
You probably don't fall in this category, but a lot of people come to the forum looking for cheap developers. They want first class work done at penury prices (some even want it for free). There are unfortunately also some cash desperate "developers" who will be happy to give them all a bum steer - part a fool from his money. Moral: even if you're buying cheap try and get a recommendation. As much as possible I always get a client to recommend me for a job posting on this forum instead of haggling in competition with desperadoes - this is the path of respect. I have personally been many times trusted with $thousands deposits on single jobs (without even a single phone call) because the contract was conceived in mutual respect. Often the people who get burnt are those looking to buy or sell services at ridiculous prices.
When seeking a developer, my advice is that you use this as a guide : always assume a minimum rate of $45 per hour for a good developer, and then estimate your project cost from number of hours you think it would take to complete. That way, you will be able to determine if you are being quoted unrealistic prices, and also lower the risk of losing your money. If you can't afford what your estimate tells you - the project is probably not worth pursuing anyway.
www.websesame.com
I second that
Too many people on this forum are either seeking something for nothing, or do not understand the true cost of development. I've responded to many posts on this forum offering my services as a drupal developer. When I give a quote for a few thousand dollars, based on a rate of $50/hr, I never hear back from the people. I don't think most of them are actually serious about the projects, at least not serious enough to actually pay what it would take to get them done. One guy actually thought that he could pay someone a small fee to implement a youtube clone in drupal, and then just sit back while he made money off his new site. I haven't had much success so far with my consulting services because I can't compete with the low bids that that some of those teenage drupal hackers, or Indian companies offer. Be careful though because you get what you pay for. I've seen a lot of bad sites designed by people who didn't know what they were doing, and worst case, they might run off with your money. Yes, $50/hr might be a lot of money for some people, but compared to what the firm I work for charges, it's a bargain.
Stop Payment anyone?!
Dude... Seriously.. Duh. I've talked to this Anthony guy personally and I did a google search on his name because I liked the content on his sites. After talking with him a lot and seeing his personal myspace profile, I can tell he's been in some rough spots with money. He's had to move around alot, and he's still trying to figure his life out. I'm not offering this as a defense, but just something for you to think about. Again you could have done a Stop Payment on the check. I'm only 19 and I know that...
=-=
you can't stop payment on a check after its been cashed which was indeed mentioned in this thread. Maybe that part you didn't know at 19 ?
Beyond that why drag up such an old topic and choose this topic to be the first comment you make on drupal.org in the 4.5 hours you've been part of the community ?
sometimes it's best to leave sleeping dogs lie.
Payment issues
sorry to hear this... In our case it is almost the reverse i.e - clients (some of them fortune 1000 and large Drupal sites) ones signing contracts and not paying in time sometimes even paying after 90 days after many reminders.
My advise is to try and work with the current situation with you rdeveloper and give it at least 6 to 8 months before you go online like this. When you go online against someone you probably should have sufficient ground to back yourself up( which I am sure you would have) for any defamation litigations.
If you work patiently you'll get good results. Patience is the key here.
--
Roshan Shah
http://www.bpocanada.com
T : 604-630-4292
Vancouver, Canada
Skype/GoogleTalk/Yahoo : bpocanada
I really can't believe what
I really can't believe what I'm reading. Please stop defending a guy who stole money from a client. This guy disappeared with my $300 deposit. The site was simple, at least that's what he said, and I was going to pay him more than a thousand for a website that he said he could put up in a few days.
Patience is still what I believe in
My views were just what I do follow. Many people responding here - to my knowledge - are developers and truely believe in Drupal Community and support.
You do have to check the credentials. Best thing is to go with a reputed Drupal firm or a very reputed developer which would be hard to get unless you have top dollars.
Action of one developer can't reflect what others have to offer and have been offering to clients. Likewise action of clients who pay late does not mean that you stop working with them.
What I suggested is that before taking things on internet - try and work for some time to get through it. You never know what the other person may be going through. He might have some emergency situation ( still I think he should have informed you about it).
--
Roshan Shah
T : 604-630-4292
Vancouver, Canada
Skype/GoogleTalk/Yahoo : bpocanada
Patience?
Why should he be patient when some stupid developer took his money and didn't deliver the goods on time? In the real world, deadlines exist, and no good developer would tell the client to just be patient if he could not meet them. And to wait 6-8 months? That can be an eternity in the business world, where turnaround time can be as little as two weeks. The behavior of the developer in this case is simply unacceptable.
@bpocanada, 6-8 months? You
@bpocanada, 6-8 months? You have to be kidding! If a client doesn't pay on time, I don't release the changes or project. Once you start doing this it wont' take long for you to get the reputation that you "don't need to be paid" right away. I can't put food on the table like that.
@gpcreative, First, I am sorry this happened. As there are many good and trustworthy developers on drupal.org. Second, thanks for telling the community about this user.
Everyone is hinting too getting references and checking out the developers work. Personally, I don't trust what someone says they did. Anyone can say "I did this site and that site". If you feel that is the case ask if you can contact the developers client.
In the future, use an escrow service if you feel uneasy. Always give a detailed scope and ask the service provider to layout what tasks / items will be under milestone 1, 2 and so on. Also, don't be afraid to ask for the agreement terms to be modified or the payment schedule to fit your needs. As a developer I ask for 50% upfront then divide the remaining 50% by the number of milestones or phases + rollout + training. Sometimes the client wants to pay 35% and change the rest as well. I am flexible (under certain conditions) as most developers would be.
I would suggest to always read the agreement thoroughly and get it written or modified to where charges can be pursued in your state or the developers - if neccessary. If you request this the developer will know you are serious about legality concerns.
===
Elvis McNeely
Drupal services: http://www.elvisblogs.org/drupal
=-=
All of comments seem to revolve around the idea that the complaint being posted here is 100% true and correct.
To avoid this type of situation one should hire a well known, reputable developer, consultant or firm from the http://drupal.org/drupal-services page. If nothing else, seek out a developer who lives in your city where you can then take legal action easily.
You could always try small claims court, in the county where the check was cashed and the person resides. Seek out an attorney to handle such a matter, though I fear a lawyers retainer would cost you 10x the amount you've already allegedly lost. May also be totally fruitless if you didn't sign any legally binding contract. Which all responsible developers/clients should do.
In my opinion the actions of one is not at all indicative or otherwise related to the community as a whole as the OP is trying to put forth. To judge the entire community based on one person is, or to feel as though what this one person did casts a shadow on the community at large is irrational.
Whomever the alleged perpetrator may have been did not even leave a response on the original thread by the OP asking for paid services see: http://drupal.org/node/147334 (I note: that some reputable individuals did respond and were overlooked.)
I propose this thread be locked as nothing good can come from it at this point.
The search tool on Drupal.org really does work.
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Best idea of the day
Yes, I think it should be locked. Inasmuch as nobody was there when the agreement was reached, and nobody knows the terms of the agreement and if they have been truly breached. also, nobody knows the whereabout of the defendant or even if he's dead (but thanks for letting us know in case he wakes up again)
Problem is that you made this sound like the guy (his name does sound very mafia) came with you gun in hand. Definitely you must have beyond reasonable doubt been sure at the onset that Lucari could deliver before parting with your money and that is why patience is being suggested here - We are not defending deceit. Otherwise there is really nothing else anyone here can do to help if what you are seeking is retrieval of your money.
www.websesame.com
I feel like I'm in the land
I feel like I'm in the land of oz. I did find him from this site. He sent me a private message as did most of the people who wanted the job. He had two personal drupal websites that he used to put up drupal tutorials. He also had a bunch of links to drupal sites that he supposedly created. And you guys know as well as me that it is impossible to follow up on everything. I will never get my money back and i know that. I just made this post to warn anyone else that he might try and scam. And finally, to defend someone that hasn't even come here to defend himself (unless one of you are really him) is really frightening. I never meant this post to cast any bad light on this drupal community but at this it's now hard not to. I think it's time for wordpress.
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Even in the land of Oz people are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law and in front of 12 of their peers.
yes and? This site is public. That being said, there are no credentials needed to sign up nor private message anyone. I don't even see where you've given a drupal.org screenname ? or an email address ?
While I agree, that one can't follow up on "Everything" one can at least follow up, on sites that others state they create. Did you email the owners of the sites to ask who their developer was? Just because someone puts out a portfolio certainly doesn't mean that the portfolio is their own. The skylab site is merely a theme from the downloads area, with a few modules, hardly considered professional IMO.
Did you check said users, tracker ? how active are they in the community ? If inactive, this would have been a tip off. IMO.
If you were in a hurry to get a site created and you made the choice to cut corners, then i am afraid, the moral of this story is haste makes waste.
Really?
quoted from your first post
His behavior reflects on him, certainly not on the community as a whole. Just as your behavior reflects on you and my behavior on myself.
What I don't understand is that you've chosen no recourse. If you have a case, you have avenues open to you to get your money back. Yet... what you've chosen to do is post a forum post on drupal.org. If only world leaders would be so passive when seemingly wronged : )
I on behalf of the "lollipop gang" wish you the best of luck with your endeavors regardless of OSS you choose to use.
And don't forget?¿?
Follow the yellow brick road : )
The search tool on Drupal.org really does work.
This message has been brought to you by:
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Thanks for watching! : )
sorry to hear what happend
and thanks for posting details on the forum. it'll help others make informed decisions while
choosing a drupal services firm/developer.
yashesh bhatia
ps. like others have mentioned .. its a sad incident but it certainly does not generalize the overall community
Anthony Licari Stole Money from me too
Just so you know. I experienced the same thing. He seemed to do some work then just sort of quit on it. Stopped returning emails. Wanted money etc... Who knows. I just moved on.