[SATLUG] Watch out for this louse...

[octalpus]

Ugh, I wish I had seen this earlier.  This guy contacted a friend of 
mine through an online ad and he passed it off to me.  I got in touch 
with him and he requested a very specific package of security hardening 
procedures that another company was offering for $100.  I gave him my 
hourly rate, which was significantly higher than this company's off-site 
service, and he was satisfied with that, so I went out to take care of 
it.  In a couple hours, I finished all the services he requested. 

All through it, he's talking about how Ensim will take care of all the 
setup he needs done.  After I finish the security stuff, he then pulls 
out the email from Ensim and asks that I install it.  I reminded him of 
my hourly rate and he said it wasn't a problem, he had $200 budgeted (my 
rate is low compared to some, but not terribly low... at this point, I 
only had about and hour and a half invested).  I did some of the 
additional installs that he requested and left for the day, agreeing to 
return on Monday to finish what he asked. 

On Monday, I ran the Ensim install script and it chokes, because 
although Centos is based on Red Hat, it is slightly different, and this 
commercial product wanted Red Hat.  So, I gave him his options on how to 
get the setup he wanted, collected my pay for the work done, and left. 

Now, he's phoning me asking why I didn't show up the next day (He 
specifically mentioned that he did not have the money to follow through 
with any of the options and did not request further services from me).  
He called to ask me questions about error messages and the like (off the 
clock, of course).  He left a lengthy phone message about me not 
completing services and having poor business ethic.  Sorry, I don't work 
like that.  I finished what was requested and even attempted to assist 
him further at my agreed-upon rate. 

This @$$hole is now hounding me to finish (for free) a job I never 
agreed to.  Also, he IS a spammer, hosting "off-shore" pharmaceutical 
companies that are absolutely not legal in the US (I had to listen to 
all his stories of Viagra and steroids).  Personally, I hope he DOES get 
his server running, so that I can immediately call Grande and have him 
cut off.

So, this guy is still going to be looking for service.  He is also VERY 
pissed with me and Chuck.  He claims that Chuck threatend to hack his 
website and that he forwarded the e-mail to the FBI (shah, right...).  
Be doubly-warned!!

Jesika

Chuck wrote:

>Hi everyone,
>
>I want to put the word out to all the other Linux folks here in SA. 
>I've run into a louse using Linux here in SA.  And I hope you can steer
>clear of this louse if I warn you about him.
>
>There is a "businessman" in this area (up near New Braunfels if I
>remember right) who told me on the phone that the websites he hosts are
>"quasi-legal".  He explained that they are legal in some countries and
>illegal in others.  He's hosting companies that sell DRUGS over the
>Internet -- so you can make a pretty good guess as to their legality.
>
>This Roger Wilson sent me a e-mail direct a couple weeks ago.  Claims it
>was the second time he's asked for help on the SATLUG list.  But I
>checked and he's never posted to the list -- in fact, he wasn't even
>signed up to the list.  OK, no matter -- I figured I'd see what I could
>do to help.
>
>He asked me to build a new server for him and do all the customization
>to make it a full "virtual domain host".  That means EVERYTHING to host
>multiple domains -- Apache for the websites, a MTA for e-mail to/from
>the domains, POP/IMAP to download/upload e-mail, FTP access to load the
>sites, FULL GUI management packages, and of course -- lock it down for
>security.  On top of that, he wants to use a multiple processor machine
>and wants full RAID support on multiple drives.  As I'm sure everyone on
>this list will agree -- between the initial server load, setup, and
>custom software configurations -- that's at least a four hour job
>(personally -- I'd guess more like six-eight hours).
>
>This guy led me on for over a week eating up my time asking for
>recommendations on this and that, how to do this job or that one, and
>even asking to be given a demonstration of the current GUI management
>packages (which I spent two hours demo'ing for him).
>
>THEN -- just as he's about to have me do the work, he wants me to do it
>at his place so he can watch.  I've got no problem, but I mention to him
>that my rate for "on-site" work is higher than if I do it at my office. 
>OH -- that sets him off.  He claims that he's only got $100 to do the
>whole job and that he had stated that in the first e-mail (which he
>DIDN'T).  That's when I realized what a worm this guy is and told him to
>forget it -- that he's already eaten up that much in hogging up my time.
>
>I just wanted to put out the facts and warn everyone else on the list. 
>WATCH OUT for this guy.  Basically he's looking to get commercial work
>-- either free or only paying a pittance.  
>
>Don't get me wrong -- I volunteer my time constantly.  I spent more than
>six hours loading Linux on people's computers this past Saturday.  BUT
>-- that's wasn't businesses getting money for using those computers as
>servers.  For that kind of commercial work -- its only fair that my or
>your time be compensated.  Roger Wilson doesn't seem to think that way
>though.  Be warned!!!
>
>
>Chuck
>
>
>
>
>
>
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