Zerys

I’ve written blog posts for Zerys for over a decade. Last month, I couldn’t log in. I assumed there were site issues. Days later, I tried again. So, I contacted them via email saying I couldn’t log in.

Later, I got a response saying my account had been flagged, but they didn’t speculate as to why. That’s been almost four weeks. I missed a deadline for the only client I have left on there. I can’t even access my old work or my account for taxes.

Worst of all, why did I not receive notification that my account was flagged to begin with? I had to contact them, and I still have no idea why it was flagged. (I’m assuming because I work in Microsoft Word and then copy and paste back and forth to their interface [especially when I’m in the spell or grammar checking phase], but this has never been an issue before…

Furthermore, there is no way to defend myself at this point as charges are unknown.

This person is not a client, but a previous freelance writer that just used our software platformThis person violated our Writer Terms of Service, which state that writers are not allowed to solicit clients to work directly with them outside of ZerysI can see in his message that he is even brazenly demanding that we put him in touch with OUR client so that he can steal our client from usThe writer caused financial damage to us by causing clients to leave us and we are therefore considering our legal options to recover these damagesWe can provide proof of his attempts to solicit our clients if required

This person is not a client, but a previous freelance writer that just used our software platform. This person violated our Writer Terms of Service, which state that writers are not allowed to solicit clients to work directly with them outside of Zerys. I can see in his message that he is even...

brazenly demanding that we put him in touch with OUR client so that he can steal our client from us. The writer caused financial damage to us by causing clients to leave us and we are therefore considering our legal options to recover these damages. We can provide proof of his attempts to solicit our clients if required.

In Mid-August, I lost access to my account on Zerys, an intermediary networking platform owned and operated by [redacted]. After four months of attempting to contact them through numerous channels and receiving no response, I filed a complaint hoping to find answers. [redacted] did not respond directly to me, choosing instead to send a derogatory and threatening response to the Revdex.com. The response was not only inexcusably unprofessional, it proved that [redacted] had no intention of resolving the issue or even listening to the complaint.My original complaint stated that I had lost a large portion of my income due to [redacted] refusing to respond and explain the issue with my account. I also stated that their terms of service prevent users from giving each other personal information, including direct contact information. I have a client whom I have worked with for several years, and whom I had chosen to work with over Zerys instead of continuing a private partnership because Zerys was more convenient for both of us at the time. In my conclusion, I asked for them to fix my account OR connect me with said client (this did NOT require them to give me personal contact information, which I am sure I still have in my records from four years ago) and release my payment history so that I may complete my taxes for 2017.In their response, Zerys claimed that they were losing money because I was not working through their site. They also insinuated that their terms of service had an exclusivity clause and that my client, as well as any other client using the site, were THEIR clients exclusively and could not have business dealings with anyone outside of Zerys. They claimed that I am not a client of their's, which I never was. They then suggested that I was still affiliated with their site and that I was soliciting THEIR clients (presumably under this nonexistent exclusivity clause) and that they were going to pursue legal action over the money they have lost because I am no longer able to provide writing services over their site.Zerys is a business networking site where writers and clients may connect and use a built-in word processor to complete writing projects. Zerys gets approximately 30 percent of the writer's payment in exchange for this convenience. Zerys itself does not provide its own writing or editing services and instead relies upon freelance writers to provide these services to the clients. Clients sign on with the expectation that freelance writers will complete their jobs, NOT Zerys. It is NOT stated in the terms of service that writers or clients cannot have business relationships on other sites or otherwise independent of the Zerys platform. In addition, I have yet to hear of any client being required to sign an exclusivity contract prior to, or during, their time using the networking platform.I made my initial attempts to resolve this complaint in mid-August when I was prevented from completing a job for a client due to being unable to access the site. Zerys claims that I had ended my working relationship with them, yet also suggests I am still working with them. This is a direct contradiction. They also suddenly claim that I have solicited their clients, threatening legal action - after four months of silence. I cannot see this as anything more than vindictive, and would be interested to know the real reason they are behaving so unprofessionally.The timing of these events raise further questions. I had a child support hearing days prior to losing access to my account, during which time I reported Zerys as a source of income. They made no effort to tell the State of Pennsylvania that I was NOT working with them, nor did they insinuate that I was soliciting their clients or responsible for a financial loss at this time. Their refusal to even address my inability to access my 2017 payment history is going to provide issues with my taxes and with updating my financial information with the State. Furthermore, their claims that I have solicited "their clients" and are pursuing legal action did not exist prior to my contacting a reputable third party (the Revdex.com) for intervention.Zerys has been horribly managed over the past two years, and both clients and writers have been leaving the site in increasing numbers. The once-busy message boards are barely used anymore, and complaints about the new screening methods for job availability and additional difficulties posed to clients trying to post jobs have met with no response. The one member of Zerys staff who was always helpful seems to have disappeared. By the time I had lost access, only one of my regular clients was still using Zerys (the client mentioned earlier), and the site was interfering with my ability to submit completed jobs to him. Most of my clients over Zerys I have lost all contact with upon their leaving the site, and now barely make enough money to cover my bills. Yet [redacted] seems intent on blaming me for the state of their platform and has made no effort to apologise for or explain their four-month silence.After the disgusting response by [redacted] and being threatened with legal action after four months of ignored complaints and growing debt, it is obvious that any further relationship with Zerys or its parent company would be detrimental to my reputation and cause me further financial and emotional distress. I am ashamed for having recommended the platform to so many of my clients and fellow writers, who may now be facing the same unprofessional treatment. I want no further communication from [redacted], except for my 2017 payment history so that I won't have to explain to the [redacted] and State of Pennsylvania why my income had to be estimated. Any further threats of retaliation by Zerys or [redacted] will be considered defamation and harassment with intent to cause emotional and financial distress, and shall be handled accordingly.