Incomplete deliverables, poor quality, and no proportionate refund for $800 podcast project
I contracted Allied Social in January 2026 with Allied Social (Nepean/Ottawa) for $800 CAD to edit podcast episodes, create short-form reels from those episodes, and matching graphics for launch of my podcast and its social media.
Overall work quality and execution were incredibly poor—repeated deviations from approved branding/templates, workflow issues requiring client-led corrections/content selection, and skill set not matching the demands for clean, professional, podcast/video/graphic content.
Timelines were missed repeatedly (pre-launch originally set for ~Jan 30, then revised to a Feb 13 launch, also delayed; by Feb 17, content still delayed).
Only partial deliverables were received (roughly 30% of contracted agreement by Feb 17th) with errors in spelling, consistency, and branding, requiring additional fixes, and other episodes were largely incomplete.
Contract was terminated on Feb 17th, after founder claimed "family issues and holiday" for delay of scheduled deliverables. As such, a proportional refund for items not completed was requested.
Founders and points of contact, Thabiso Bakelaar and Carmine Urbani refused a proportionate refund to non-deliverables or to provide source files for delivered items requiring edits, i.e. graphics labeled with past launch dates following multiple delays of deliverables.
Overall, majority scope of contract was undelivered per their own admissions. This delayed my launch, caused financial loss, and required swift recovery for a successful launch with other hired professionals.
Do not recommend—especially for complex projects such as podcast, video editing, social media launches, or graphic projects requiring strong execution and reliability. Skill set appears below average for professional-level deliverables, and contractual terms heavily favor the provider in early termination scenarios despite subpar performance.