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.