Video Editor Renames YouTuber's Page To 'Scumbag Beggar' After Payment Dispute. Company Responds

In recent years, scams and blackmail have been increasingly prevalent, affecting even high-profile individuals. Harris Sultan, the author known for The Curse of God: Why I Left Islam, encountered a troubling situation. Based in Australia, Sultan hired a video editor from India for his YouTube channel, which turned out to be a major mistake for him. According to a post by Sultan on X, the editor allegedly attempted to scam him by demanding additional payment. When Sultan refused, the editor retaliated by changing the name of his channel to “Scumbag Beggar.”

Unfortunately, when Sultan reached out to YouTube for help, he was informed that the channel name couldn’t be changed back for at least 14 days, which was originally called Harris Sultan Atheist. Taking to his handle, the author wrote, “I made the mistake of hiring a cheap video editor from India who tried to scam me for money. When I refused, he changed my channel’s name to ‘Scumbag Beggar.’ Now YouTube is telling me I have to wait 14 days before I can change it back.”

Soon after Harris Sultan’s tweet circulated online, YouTube replied, “Totally understand your frustration, we’ve sent you a DM with the next steps.”

Reacting to the post, a user wrote, “Be happy he didn’t delete your channel.”

Another shared, “Sorry for you. But India isn’t the issue here, working with companies with whom you cannot have a legal contract and take to court legally is the problem here. Try to work with a slightly higher budget with established contractors, you will find the best ones in India itself.”

“There are N number of fraudsters roaming around you should be careful whom you rely on,” a comment read.

One more added, “Disagreements happen all the time between people doing business, especially about payments. It does not give one party the right to sabotage the other.”

In a follow-up tweet, Harris Sultan shared a screenshot of his payment to the video editor, explaining that they had agreed on a rate of $40 (approximately ₹3,000) per video. Sultan had paid a total of $445 (approximately ₹37,000) for 11 videos over several weeks. He was puzzled by the editor’s demand for an additional $10 (approximately ₹800), particularly since the editor had previously tried to extract more money, which Sultan initially thought was an error. It became clear that the editor was attempting to cheat him repeatedly and even tried to damage his channel over just $10 (approximately ₹800).

Despite YouTube’s 14-day policy for resolving issues, Harris Sultan thanked the platform for their prompt action. He also shared with social media users that, ironically, his videos ended up gaining more views as a result of the video editor’s misguided stunt.

The YouTuber’s original post has garnered over 1 million views.