Okay so, I’m not entirely sure this warrants a beware so that’s why I put this under Caution.
This may be a potential scam, reason why I say “may” is because the reasons that popped up didn’t seem 100% BS.
Basically, FoiFouu lied about sending me 70$ for a reference sheet they tried to commission off me. They repeatedly tried to send me signs that it was really being sent and maybe trying to guilt me into doing it for free, but I specifically told them that I would not be starting it until payment was verified (thus me getting an annoyed response back) I offered to refund them the hundreds of dollars they supposedly sent me tons of times, if they’d show me proof that they did pay it. Sadly they quietly refused to send me any proof. A day later and I contact them again letting them know that payment has still not been received and proof of payment would be appreciated (At this point I sort of believed they actually sent money and was offering to start on it if they would just send me proof that it was paid for.)
I got no response and I contacted the server mods I encountered “FoiFouu” in. They asked me to forward proof and once I did, they told me they would investigate further about the situation. 2 days passed and no reply from the Mod Mail Bot so I bumped the thread. A few hours I get a response telling me that they have reviewed the content and have contacted “FoiFouu” about the situation and that if they don’t reply there would be consequences. Thus “FoiFouu” did not reply resulting in them getting banned and getting labeled as potentially scamming members(As shown in picture). I have included FoiFouu’s discord username below just in case anyone encounters someone similar and is not sure if they’re FoiFouu or not. Please be cautious of this person!!
(Apologies if some of this doesn’t make sense, it’s early in the morning for me. I’ll be happy to clear up some misunderstandings!)
Based on a prior satisfactory experience I commissioned BluHuny for a half-body name badge at BLFC in May, 2019. The commission was fully paid, $150, by credit card at the con. The commission was accepted and acknowledgement sent. I was #41 in the BLFC queue. BluHuny still had a considerable backlog of commissions from GSFC and did not start BLFC commissions until August 17. BluHuny promised to complete all BLFC commissions in 4 weeks. I sent in a ref sheet for my badge.
BluHuny took a break of several days in early September to begin school. By this point 14 completed BLFC commissions had been posted on his telegram channel. However, updates to the channel, other than two posts promising to get back to work on art, ceased. There has been no communication from the artist and his FA is inactive. His personal telegram states not to contact him regarding commissions. I have no way to ascertain whether the commission will ever be completed.
Telegram posts and detail line from my credit card statement attached.
I posted a comment looking for logo makers to make me a logo, LilDogMeat responded and on 5/15/19 we began discussing the logo, I was sent their paypal and I sent payment. I was then told that they were getting started on it. June 14 I asked for an update and got no response, a total of 4 months pass before I receive a response that they are waiting for their laptop charger thats been stuck in customs and that their files were on the computer that the charger is for. I asked if they provided and ETA for the charger and got no response. I went checking their twitter on the 23rd to see if they had been active (I'm guessing there is a time zone difference which would explain why their post is dated for a later date than it should be) and saw that they posted about sending out refunds to those they felt waited a long time and thus I went and asked for a refund on the 23rd. I was told I would get the refund on Thursday which would have been the 26th of September. Thursday comes and go and no refund so I send them a message asking if they needed my paypal on Sept 28th. No response, Oct 3rd I contact them again about the refund, it's now been a week past the date I was supposed to get the refund and a total of 11 days since I initially asked for the refund. No response. I sent a 'Hello?' Message on the 4th and informed them that if I didn't receive a response by Monday I will file a paypal dispute. No reponse. The paypal dispute was filed on Monday, I get a response the next day on the 8th and that is the last message I ever got from them. The paypal dispute was escalated on the 10th in order to give them time to issue the refund without paypal having to do so. Neither paypal nor I got a response from the artist and the dispute drug on until the 20th in which paypal closed it in my favour due to the artist never getting in touch with them. They have since changed the email that was attached to their paypal account, it is no longer they one they provided me when we first spoke.
Back in February of 2019, Kenket posted on DeviantArt that they were taking money to "sponsor" Pokemon stickers. What this means was, she posted a grid of different Pokemon stickers, and a person would choose to send money to her to "unlock" one of the Pokemon. A paying sponsor would, in return, receive stickers in the mail, from a choice of either one of each unlocked sticker, or five copies of the Pokemon you sponsored. I paid the original sponsor price to unlock the Jolteon sticker (I paid $25; though it was later increased to $40 for future sponsors) and opted for getting one of each sponsored sticker. I contacted her via email about sponsoring, and she responded within five minutes, and gave me her Paypal email address to send the $25 to. After sending her the money and letting her know, I never heard anything else from her afterwards. Furthermore, once the deadline for the deal hit (I believe it was 24 hours?), she removed the original post from her DeviantArt, and I have not been able to find it on other accounts either.
I waited a few months, as I was unsure of how long it may take for the stickers to be made and mailed out (no estimated arrival was ever given). During these months I never heard from Kenket, nor did she ever post anything on DeviantArt about the stickers. In July, as I still had not received the stickers in the mail, I decided to contact her again through email. I informed her that I still had not received the stickers, and asked if she had sent them yet, and if not, if she had an estimated time of when they would be shipped out. She responded the next day, saying she had received two packages returned to her in the mail, and asked for my mailing address again to check if one of the packages that returned was mine. I gave her my address again in response (the same address I had given her originally, of course). She never responded again after that, therefore I still was left not knowing the whereabouts of my stickers.
About three months went by without me hearing anything from her again (though keep in mind she has been fairly active on her art accounts). So now, in October, on the 17th, I have emailed her once again, again saying I still have not received any stickers, and attempting to ask her if one of the returned packages she mentioned before was mine or not. And/or if it may have gotten lost in transit, how I would go about possibly tracking it down. It has been a few days now since I emailed her, with still no response, despite her being active on Twitter during these days. I don't really appreciate the lack of communication here when I am just attempting to problem solve what may have happened to my order. Leads me to say that I have never received a product I paid for, and nearly non-existent customer service from the seller.
In April of 2019 I purchased a $60 YCH from AbigailDS with a week or two turn around time expected as that what their listing promised. I got a fairly quick wip from them and was super excited to get my finished work. A month went by with no communication so I was unsure if what I saw was my final art so I messaged them and asked and was told the file was on another computer and they couldn't work on it, they'd work later. Another month, no contact from them, I inquire again. They say sorry again, they gotta add some background and effects and will send it. ANOTHER MONTH. I message again this time they say they were out of the country and will resolve my issue soon. I try to press for details, a deadline. They say they will try to get it to me in a few days.
It's then I notice a lot of comments on their profile from others who are owed art and haven't gotten it yet (the only thing I don't have ss of before they deleted it). At this point I can't even get a paypal refund because it's beyond the time frame. I've come to realize I'm not going to get my finished art, I'm lucky I even have half way finished art. Some people have nothing right now. They are now deleting all comments on their profile of anyone complaining. They have deleted their journal postings saying sorry about owing art because people are complaining.
They say they had a problem where they offered a lot of art and took a lot of money then had an art block. That everyone is refusing art and wants their money back but they don't have the money because they are helping a sick relative. Yet they are continuing to post up a new YCH and take new art. They've even posted new art. Yet I've waited since April for mine and there are others who've been waiting a three or more months still also. They tried to lecture me in their now deleted journal about me making up my mind if I wanted art or a refund which I can't lie really kinda irritated me. I wanted my art which I paid for. That's why I bought it. But as I kept getting false promises I just figured I'd have to start demanding a refund. But I did again, let them know in a message that I do want my art and if they can complete it I would really much rather just have that and be done with it.
The images are my paypal payment & my personal messages. ramaloki is myself on FA which is why I did not block out that name in the images. I am ok with my name being shown.
In april, I hired DemonLordDante to do a picture of one of my OC. We came to an agreement. I would pay 80$ upfront and he would start working on it in June.
June came and went and nothing was produced. I sent a message in July and he said he'd work on it soon. I asked how progress was going in August and he sent me a rough sketch, that I approved. In september I contacted him again and was told he'd get on it soon. At the end of september, I sent him an ultimatum: Finish my picture by the 14 october or give me a refund. Once again I was told it would be done. On the 14th, I filed a claim with paypal. A day later he refunded the money.
Shortly after he took my order, he stopped taking OC commission. It would be fanart only unless you subscribe to his patreon. Also, every few days, he would post an ad to advertise his services, which I found really annoying considering his backlog.
This ended peacefully in my favor, but I'm convinced he would have continued to string me along for months if I didn't ask for a refund on paypal. This is why I wrote this caution.
I had worked with this person in the past (like, last few years) on occasional commissions/in stream slots, and had a friendship with them. In march shortly after my birthday they had an emergency chibi sale due to some life issues they were having, so I got a chibi slot. On the journal (which unfortunately was deleted after the fact so I cannot go back to screenshot directly) it was stated that the chibis would be done pretty quickly, if i remember correctly it had either same day or within a week I think?
It was not mentioned that it was part of a larger queue. Never got any updates or the art piece so after 2 months I asked the first time for an update. Didn't get one and was told they were moving so there was no update.
So I waited until June... In a Picarto stream i pmed/wisped them directly and asked if they would be working on mine in the stream, they told me they were working on their Trello backlog...I checked out their Trello and my art was nowhere to be found. Mentioned this and they finally added it.
Waited another 2 months (so August), watching their Trello board, seeing them add new things all the time, and do work on the newly added things, but never any update on mine.
During this time they were doing in streams constantly, and also trying to advertise to me to buy from them again.
Confronted them in August that i was uncomfortable with the lack of communication, with things being bumped ahead in the trello que, and that as there had clearly been no update (as I hadn't ever gotten one, and the Trello still had it marked as not started) that I'd like a refund.
They flipped out, claimed there was actually a sketch done (no proof of one was ever given)
I asked them to either finish the piece, or refund me as I had been waiting a long time, had been super patient and not pestering for updates.
They said they would rather refund, and it would take up to a month and that they would turn the supposed sketch into a YCH. Still never showed it to me. I agreed to wait the month.
I gave them almost 2 months, still nothing but them asking me to wait so they could get their nephew a birthday gift.
I offered again for them to do a cheaper art piece. this occurred in one of their Picarto streams in a wisp chat so unfortunately I dont have screenshots of this as at that point I wasn't thinking I would have to do a beware, but had offered if it would be easier they could do an in stream sketch instead of the refund as I didn't want to cause financial hardship for them, again they refused. Just to note, the chibi was 20 and the in streams were 16, so i would have been fine accepting lower cost art in place of a refund if it would have been easier for them!
I confronted her about it last night as I have been super patient, not badgering for updates, and actively trying to work with her on this. As can be seen in the screenshots they flipped out, then had her bf message on her account to insult and be rude AF, and finally she agreed to actually refund me.
This morning I got an email showing that I was partially refunded because of claiming she started a sketch which honestly, there was never any proof of if and only mentioned after I expressed wanting a refund, so I'm almost entirely certain it was a lie to try to keep the money as on their trello it was clearly marked as not started, had zero updates and even now ive never seen the supposed sketch.
I attempted to contact her again, expressing that a partial refund was not acceptable, and she had blocked me on Discord so I had to leave a shout on her FA.
This was a complete disaster of a situation and I wouldnt wish it on anyone. I am still waiting for the other half of my refund but I am skeptical on if they will ever send it.
I left a shout on their FA, expecting that they finish refunding me. They removed the shout, screenshots to show the new shouts that were posted as well as email I sent after they blocked me.
After contacting them via email and making it clear I was not just going to drop it and provided the sketch. The sketch provided however, is very clearly NOT my character as it is a generic feline with a small mouth, and long tail. The character requested to have draw is a saber cat, with a nub tail. Sketch is included below to show it is clearly not the character shown in the ref
On the 9th October I talked to quick about commissioning a gift for my friend and we set on a price and date.
Due to the rushed commission I asked him if he could send me the invoice before the sketches. He did so and I paid quick.
The next day I woke up i get the sketches and one emote being finished.
later on I also got the last 2 emotes
I wasn't able to notice that the smug emote was traced but someone else did and proved it here.
I approached Voegel in February of 2016 for a chibi style commission, they promptly replied and we discussed prices. I immediately sent payment, and waited patiently for a response.
June 3rd, i gently poked for an update and pretty much insisted that i wasn't in a rush. Being a full-time artist myself, i understand and know that it takes time. I never recieved a WIP, either.
I then poked again on November 13th, i sent my final set of notes before I lost contact. Saying that i understand that things happen, and that i understand it taking a while. I did not want a rushed product, or to stress them out. So i unfortunately did not put my foot down after 9 months of waiting without a single WIP and sparse communication.
Someone else had taken over their account and Trello (queue) to do small updates for customers. Fortunately i still see my name on this trello, but the links are broken and it hasnt been updated since 2017.
https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/7748095/ (trello)
https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/8187732/ (Google docs refund form)
Time passes, and an artist i follow posts a finished commission on twitter and i recognize the character, so i very politely message them and ask if i can get the handle to the owner. They give me the new handle of Voegel and im able to message them once more. If not for this one random occurrence i would have never found them again.
This last set of screenshots is our very short conversation about how to deal with this situation, that i never got a response to. I left the conversation open ended to get their feedback because at the time they were offering a refund AND the art, and i really didnt feel like that was necessary. I was okay with either, but i wouldnt feel right with taking both. I said i needed to make a new reference for my character and that if they wanted to do the art, that was fine. And i never got a response.
Its coming back around to that same time of year in a few months, and i honestly think ive waited long enough without any contact. Like i said, im a full-time artist and have been for many years. I know things slip through the cracks, illness and self doubts/anxiety get in the way, and it takes time to put out work. Its hard. And i would have been okay with the wait if they would have kept contact with me, which they did not do. Account hopping without trying to get in contact with your commissioners is also not okay.
I had to hunt this artist down to have them leave without a word AGAIN, and its become unacceptable. I just want to make it aware that this person may resurface again and that they still owe people work that they have not done.
Last year I commissioned the artist Seoir for an image of one of my OCs. They were offering $25 bust commissions, which was a bit steep for me at the time, but I really liked their art style.
So, I send them their money and all is fine. I wait a couple months, because I know how long art can take, and go to message them to see what's happening and where they are at. Turns out that they have deactivated their account, and I have no other way to get in contact with them.
So, in conclusion, this is somewhat of an undelivered commission story and definitely a beware story.
Hopefully the attachments work. Here are some guides to understand what is happening:
png 1-4: My back and forth with Seoir about getting a commission from them.
$25 Bust Commission Sheet: One of the pieces that Seoir was using to advertise their commissions. (Sorry I didn't include their name, this was found on Google Images after the fact.)
