Complaint Review: The Gossip Gyspy - internet British Columbia

I signed on to write for her gossip site, The Gossip Gypsy.  She offered me a really great rate of pay, but I had to agree to write for free for 2 weeks---new writers NEVER agree to do this--EVER.  It sends the wrong message and I shouldn't have done it, either, but I was dazzled by the chance to earn what she was offering.  Despite my experience, and despite my instincts, I agreed to her terms of writing for free for two weeks.

When my 2 weeks were almost over, I sent her a standard contract that no freelancer should ever work without, and no client should ever hire a freelancer without.  

I should have known something was up when The Gossip Gypsy refused to tell me the name of the site.  A full week passed before she let me know what site I was writing for, probably because she didn't want anyone to research whether or not she was on the level.  As it happens, she isn't.  I didn't know her real name, either, probably for the same reason---she didn't want me to research her to see if she was a scam artist.

When I asked the name of the site, she said she needed to keep it quiet awhile to build it up, which made no sense at all.  I asked if it was even online yet, or if the site was still being built.  She finally revealed it was the Gossip Gypsy site, which was a site I'd never heard of.  I checked the site on Alexa, and that site had never heard of her, either.

Immediately, she wanted to get out of paying me because she had "so many people on staff".  Last I checked, she had me and 2 other writers, one of which quit shortly after I got hired---probably because she didn't get paid either.  The Gossip Gypsy asked if I would be willing to write for an "internship" for 3 months.  I've paid my dues with internships, I'm a paid professional so I told her I would not and why.  She said "the least she could do" was pay me for the work I'd already submitted only her next pay period came and went and no money was put in my Paypal account.

I then invoiced her for all submitted work, whether published or not.  She couldn't understand where I got the dollar amount listed, despite the invoice being detailed and itemized.  She then said she was severing all ties with me, as if I were ripping her off when it was the other way around.

She severed ties by not agreeing to pay what she offered, and by not being honest about the pay she originally offered.  What that tells me is that there never WAS a salary, she never had any intention of paying me anything, and she has no writers for her site at all, probably because she ripped them off, too, and they all quit.

I  wanted to expose her and found this Ripoff Report site and it looks like I'm not the only person she's lied to.  Interestingly, the issue in the other report has to do with Kelly Clarkson.  The Gossip Gypsy is only capable of writing about Kelly for some reason.  A visitor to the site can bet that if there is anything written about any other celebrity, it was written by some other writer who didn't get paid.  The only things the Gossip Gypsy writes herself are about Kelly.

In other news, the Gossip Gypsy changes articles.  I have gone through my things that were published and found her own errors where the work had been perfect before.  She doesn't even have writing skills to match the people she hires, and then she goes through what they give her and changes things.  It's just as well she puts everything in her own name on her site because I don't want my name anywhere near the mistakes she added to my work!

She lies, cheats, and steals.  Do NOT work for her.  If you learn she's hired you---RUN!