Setting aside the original poster's actual situation, about which we do not have a full set of details, we can post some "best practices" for any client who reads this thread:
Should clients pay an "upfront payment" or "down payment" to a freelancer on Upwork?
No.
It is NOT Upwork's intention that freelancers ever do that.
This means: Clients should not set up a milestone and then release payment before the freelancer actually does any work for them and gives the client that work.
Are there freelancers who ask for "upfront payments"? A small percentage of Upwork freelancers ask for that. The overwhelming majority of freelancers who ask for such are scammers. But there ARE some honest freelancers who also ask for such.
However: Regardless of whether or not it is an honest freelancer or scammer who asks for an upfront payment, it is NOT Upwork's intention that a client ever get that money back. Ever. Under any circumstances. A client who pays an upfront payment needs to understand that it is Upwork's intention that the freelancer keep that money forever, even if the freelancer never does anything else for the client. When a client clicks the button to release a fixed-price payment to a freelancer, what the client is telling Upwork is this: "I have RECEIVED the work. I have REVIEWED the work. I am in possession of the work. This milestone is FINISHED. And regardless of what the freelancer does in the future, this work is over and the freelancer should keep THIS money forever."
That is what clicking that button means. So if a client releases an escrow payment and then asks for that money back, that client is going back on their word.
(This is a GENERAL statement. I don't know if the original poster did anything along these lines. I don't know exactly what the original poster did, and these general observations and recommendations are not specifically about the original poster's own situation.)
Keep in mind that funding an escrow payment is the standard way that Upwork clients use the fixed-contract model. Funding an escrow payment is NOT the same thing as "releasing an upfront payment" or "paying a down payment."
EITHER WAY:
The fixed-price contract model is more complex and more risky for BOTH clients and freelancers. If Upwork clients want to use the SIMPLEST way to hire and pay freelancers, they need to use hourly contracts.
An important lesson from this and many other threads:
Refund thinking hurts clients.
Rather than engaging in "refund thinking" (which is a risky gamble), clients can save time and money by proactively deciding to never try to get money from freelancers, no matter what.
When clients decide that they will never try to get money from freelancers using techniques such as "refunds", "desputes" and "arbitration," it helps clients to focus their efforts in safer ways. For example, rather than paying an underperforming freelancer a bunch of money, and later asking for that money back... An effective client monitors a freelancer's work closely, especially early on. And if a freelancer is not providing work that a client loves, the client STOPS PAYING the freelancer. Then the client doesn't need to try to get that money back from the freelancer. Because the client never paid a bunch of money to the freelancer in the first place.
If, on occasion, some clients have managed to get some money back from underperforming freelancers using techniques such as refund requests... Then they should be congratulated. More power to them. But it is rare that clients pay money to freelancers and then get that money back. Upwork doesn't earn its commission when that happens, and that is NOT how Upwork has designed its systems. Money is intended to flow one way: From clients to freelancers. So if YOU are a client reading this, don't assume that you can pay money to a freelancer and then get that money back. Even if you feel disappointed by the end result. Even if the freelancer does nothing at all. If you are thinking about refunds before you start hiring freelancers, then you are taking a risk.
