Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/08/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  UnresolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On July 27, 2022 I sat with *** of Harmony Graphic Design in a zoom meeting and we talked about the future path for my website. Id signed and fully paid for my service contract, and as far as I know our business relationship was in good standing.I clarified to *** that I was taking on a new partnership and much of the web work was going to them. I told her I would be meeting with these people for web changes in the month of August and I let her know of several minor things that I would need. They were covered under our service contract. *** made mention that she would be gone for the first two weeks of August on vacation. Otherwise, she would be available for the second half of the month. After several calls, texts and emails I finally heard from *** again on August 30, 2022. She was not only unavailable for the meetings she said shed be part of, she had also kept me locked out of the front facing part of my wordpress account for the entire 30 days of her absence. This was her email:I just changed your role to Admin in thestrategicplanningworkbook.com and you've always been an admin in club.thestrategicplanningworkbook.com. per *** At no time did she address being gone for a month or ignoring my requests for help, information and access. She has made no attempt to have an adult conversation with me since. If *** did not want to work with me she could have said on 7/27 when we met, and she could have cancelled the service contract and returned my fee so I could find someone else. She did nothing and she said nothing. She completely failed to manage the basic parameters of the contract that she all but forced me into. And as I mentioned, she was fully paid. Finally, this business is not license in WA state. My lawyer discovered this when he served her a demand letter. To which, *** agreed to pay me back for my service contract in a letter to my lawyer but failed to. Instead, she broke into the back end of my website three more times to sabotage it.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/12/2022

  Im grateful to the BBB for the opportunity to respond to the false claims in *************** statement. I have fulfilled the terms of my contract with **********, replied promptly to her correspondence, and have at all times acted professionally and within the highest standards of a web design professional. I am dismayed that a formerly happy customer has distorted the truth of this matter and seeks to harm my reputation.

  I designed a second website for ***************** earlier this year. It went live on May 13, 2022, with all indications that ********** was happy with the product and my efforts to accommodate her with customization features and schedule challenges that were above and beyond the fees I had charged. ***** also purchased a contract for website maintenance. That contract is the subject of her complaint, and covered services to keep her Wordpress software and plugins up-to-date. It also covered fixing any coding breakdowns related and ******************************************* other changes at ****** direction. Those services were provided for ****** prorated contract period, and I would have gladly refunded her balance for the remaining months, had ***** requested a cancellation and provided a 10-days notice.
  On July 27, 2022, ***** contacted me to explain that she was changing her business and wanted her website to reflect those changes and transfer to a new out-of-the-box system. I explained that these tasks required substantial time and were well outside of the scope of our contract. I shared my vacation schedule and informed ***** that I had already booked most of my time in the near future for other client websites. I asked her to contact me when I returned from vacation, so we could develop a detailed scope and schedule.

  
  ****** Website Owners Manual, provided as part of her service package, detailed multiple ways for clients to reach me regarding urgent matters, including my text and mobile number, as well as a her hosting provider who can assist her when I am unavailable. ***** did not utilize any of these methods to reach me about her problems, delays, or concerns during the periods covered by her complaint.
  A month after our July meeting, on Saturday, August 27, ***** sent an email complaining that she was locked out of her website, my first indication that she had any issues with her site or services.  Her statement was untrue, because not only did I fail to take any action to prohibit her from accessing the site, ***** controlled her hosting account with full access to the websites administrative functions.
  On Monday, August 29, I responded to ****** email and performed a reset to her dashboard user account. This corrected an unintentional oversight from May when I transferred her site to her preferred hosting platform.

  
  On Monday, September 5, without further contact, ***** posted a public request on ******** for a WordPress developer. I responded supportively by referring her to someone who could accommodate immediate requests for service.

  
  There was no further direct communication from *****. I was instead contacted this fall by a lawyer representing *****. The attorney requested a full refund of her fees and expressed ****** claims that I hadnt delivered on the contract. I was surprised and dismayed, because I had both performed the services and assisted ***** in a supportive manner. At that time, I agreed to a refund to avoid further stress and inconvenience. 

  
  Partway through the process, her lawyer sent an agreement that wasnt signable and failed to respond to my email. The next time I heard further about this matter was through her complaint to the BBB and a very unkind, childish text from her.

  
  I have always operated Harmony Graphic and Web Design in a professional and lawful manner. I take great pride in creating something that is beautiful and functional for my clients needs, and I would NEVER sabotage a clients website. Web maintenance contracts are offered as a convenience to my clients, and allow them to have peace of mind that their website wont crash because of issues with their software. ****** claims are unfounded, and should be dismissed.
  

  
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/12/2022

   
  Complaint: 18521961
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  

  *** was asked to change out admin permissions on the accounts associated with my website, return my assets, and repoint my domains. Essentially, I needed her to remove herself and give me and my new team access, something that takes less than an hour and a necessity in the circumstances. She agreed to this. 

  AT NO POINT WAS *** ASKED TO DO ANY MORE COMPLEX DESIGN WORK. I HIRED SOMEONE ELSE. I WAS PHASING HER OUT. I SAID THAT TO HER. *this may have been what made her mad
  
  I looked *** in the eye on 7/27, explained all this and asked her availability. She looked me in the eye back and confirmed the last two weeks of August.
  
  I made 8 attempts to contact *** in August. I was locked out of my account the entire time. When she finally responded it was not a phone call, it was a cold email. She was ignoring the elephant in the room on purpose. She does not have the integrity to own her behavior.
  
  Last contact was 8/30. I changed phones and relocated in September. I have heard nothing from *** and sent nothing to her since as I did not want her to have this number.
  
  When my lawyer got involved *** told him we still had a service agreement in place (the one she blew off the month before) to which he told her to Cease and Desist. She then tried to re-enter the backend of my website 3x without cause violating said ***** and Desist. I feel she did this to sabotage my account because she is angry with me. She had no other reason to be in there.
  
  *** is not a professional. Shes a housemarm turned busniessy when she could no longer superimpose herself on her kid. And typical of her genre she wants it both ways. She wants the title and the clout, but she also wants to be able to blow off work when it gets in her way, and she can because her husband pays her bills. And thats all I think this is about. She was complaining during our conversation on 7/27 about having to work during summer, and I think she just decided she didnt feel like working in August after all, and that she would get to me when she was good and ready.
  
  I live in the professional world with the big dogs and *** often expressed insecurity regarding my business life. Its a world shes not cool enough to walk in and that bothered ********* let her feelings slip often. Its why she keeps touting the word professional. She wants badly to be considered somebody. But from the abovementioned, she wants it without having to live up to the name.
  
  I dont know if she purposely locked me out, or if she just arrogantly said whatever as she hung up and didnt investigate any further to see if I could get in. But the fact that I set an appointment and took the time to clarify ought to have been enough for at least that courtesy. After all, that was what I paid for. And as I said before, if she was so mad that she was done working with me, she needed to return my money so she could hire someone else.
  
  Clearly, Im not going to get any sort of vindication from her. This gobbledygook she wrote is gaslighting, and it wreaks of self-righteousness.*** is too weak to admit she is wrong.
  
  Because she is not a professional.
  
  But, before I go my final point is this is not a legitimate business. *** is not licensed to do business with the state. My lawyer was unable to find anything to legitimize her. Shes got a lot of **** to write this garbage, considering. I called my buddies at the state and tipped them off about this, and the BBB should too, as this is illegal.
  
  ***, I called you a disgrace because you are lying, your cheating, you speak ill of your friends and your husband, and you dont act in integrity. It is your behavior that is childish, and disgraceful. This is the example that you are setting for your son.
  
  You go ahead and keep my money, kiddo. Youre gonna need it when the state takes you to court.
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************