[Talisman]

Sure, Tony..... in that situation, it wouldn't be a problem and the dishonest person would be drummed out.

But that's not how it goes most of the time. There really are two equally-valid-sounding sides to a story. One person complains that the guy he hired didn't do the work...... then that person complains that the guy who hired him wanted 320 hours worth of work for 4 hours worth of pay. Or he didn't know enough about the technical side of the job in the first place to explain what he wanted up front, etc...

Or the reason the deal falls apart is because one person gets mad at the other for who-know-what reason. There's no way we can know who's being fair/unfair or who's being honest vs. who's lying to protect their reputation with everyone here.

Just because a reputable person does great work for a dozen other vb.org-ers doesn't mean they might not get ticked off at the next person who hires them (for a "good reason") and blow them off. Or they know they have a good reputation established, so they can afford to let a few people down if they get too busy or they don't feel like finishing what they started...... or they get started on a job only to discover they don't know how to do it.

So when well-meaning friends speak up to defend their accused friend..... that public support is nice, but it's not valid, verifiable, etc.

(PS ~ roester ...... please understand that, by this comment, I don't mean to suggest that you're the problem in the case you're dealing with. Don't want you or anyone else to think I'm siding with the person who didn't do the work you paid for.)