Can I end contract without leaving feedback /...

603e300c · ‎08-06-2016

I am finishing a contract - freelancer and I didn't work out. I don't really feel like reviewing them one way or the other. I just want to cancel the contract and move on.

How can I cancel contract and NOT fill out feedback.

VladimirG · ‎08-06-2016

Hi Justin,

I'm sorry to hear your collaboration with this freelancer wasn't successful. Please communicate with them before cancelling your contract. If a payment was processed for the contract you will be prompted to rate the freelancer, both publicly and privately. Only private feedback is left on jobs that ended without any payment. Please leave an honest and objective feedback for your freelancer.

~ Vladimir

603e300c · ‎08-06-2016

I dislike that. I don't appreciate being forced to rate. I'll end up giving them all 5+ or 10+ to avoid repurcussions.

prestonhunter · ‎08-06-2016

Justin:

You asked if you can end a contract without leaving feedback / rating?

The answer is "Yes" and "No."

You can not actually end the contract without doing SOMETHING.

But you don't have to do much, and you don't have to think about it.

You can end the contract and spend only a second or two on the feedback.

You do NOT have to write anything in the free-form text field.

You do NOT have to spend a lot of time thinking about the numbers.

You CAN (as you suggested) simply give all 5-stars in order to keep things as simple as possible.

OR you can think very quickly about each quality and try to provide an accurate assessment, without taking too much time to do so.

I think you should develop your own strategy for how to deal with providing feedback when you're not very happy with the results of a contract. Then you can simply re-use that same strategy any time you are in this situation.

You are an Upwork customer. You do not owe Upwork a lot of time or mental anguish with regards to feedback. If you don't want to spend a lot of time and energy on it, then don't. Just click what you need to click and get out of there.

ed09b40c · ‎11-26-2017

I agree. In my case, his bumbling got my website taken off line, and when i sent him the Index page so at least i'd have a presence, he said "i'm busy--Sunday" so my site was off a week. He said he could do things when he had no idea how. I just don't want anything to do with him and have another waiting in the wings. Nancy

tlsanders · ‎11-26-2017

@Karen K wrote:
I agree. In my case, his bumbling got my website taken off line, and when i sent him the Index page so at least i'd have a presence, he said "i'm busy--Sunday" so my site was off a week. He said he could do things when he had no idea how. I just don't want anything to do with him and have another waiting in the wings. Nancy

And why on earth would you choose not to leave honest feedback that would save other clients from encountering this same situation?

ed09b40c · ‎11-26-2017

After changing my password so he can't mess it up, I'll do just that.

ed09b40c · ‎11-26-2017

where do i leave my review? I can't find where to leave it. This guy did me wrong--he said he wouldn't work until after Thanksgiving (hung me up) then after I canceled the contract he said "he worked hours--I owe him". I have searched where to leave comments but can't find it.

melaniemaghanoy · ‎11-26-2017

Hi Karen,

If you are the one who ends the contract, you leave your feedback in the End Contract form. If the freelancer or agency ended the contract, you’ll have 14 days to leave feedback. You may check this link for details.

ed09b40c · ‎11-27-2017

STILL can't find a place to put the feedback. it doesn't say "leave feedback" they make this so hard. SCAMMER---SERIOUS SCAMMER----CALLS HIMSELF A LAWYER---LOOK OUT

VladimirG · ‎11-27-2017

Hi Karen,

I see you already ended the contract and left private feedback for the user. Private feedback can be left only on contracts on which a payment was made so please do keep checking and communicate with our team on your dispute ticket.

~ Vladimir

0c2ce873 · ‎05-18-2021

I totally agree!!!!

Being fored to leave feedbak is nonsence. Your only opening up lies to be told to discredit you!!

kristell_m · ‎02-06-2018

"Only private feedback is left on jobs that ended without any payment."

Vladimir,

Does it mean that the person hiring can only leave private feedback (without showing on the freelancer's profile) if both him and the freelancer agree to end the contract with no money paid?

Thanks.

cupidmedia · ‎08-07-2016

Justin, I know it feels like a waste of your time but constructive, honest feedback could help another client avoid a similar problem to you. You probably hired this person in part based on their JSS and/or past client feedback. If every client either didn't leave feedback or left dishonest feedback then it would make it harder for both you and other clients to hire on the platform. The feedback system is beneficial to you and other clients.

603e300c · ‎08-08-2016

Sorry - in this situation I don't want to risk any repercussions from an upset freelancer. Which is why I prefer the option of "no feedback" to "fake great feedback"

petra_r · ‎08-08-2016

@justin c wrote:
Sorry - in this situation I don't want to risk any repercussions from an upset freelancer.

Like what? What "repercussions" could there be?

By the way, you can avoid leaving feedback by getting the freelancer to end the contract, in which case you do not have to leave any.

603e300c · ‎08-08-2016

Thanks for that tip - that is how I will handle it in the future.

prestonhunter · ‎08-08-2016

re: "Like what? What 'repercussions' could there be?"

Petra, I know exactly what he is talking about, and I am sure most clients who have hired many contractors know.

Some contractors, no matter how poorly they do on a project, and no matter how honest and conscientious or even generous the feedback you provide is, will complain about anything other than a perfect 5 star feedback score.

It is unprofessional, it is annoying, and it certainly is not how the feedback system was intended to be used.

This behavior is especially prevalent among contractors from one particular country, which I won't name, but which frequent clients already know.

You could indeed point out that being pestered via messaging to change the feedback score is not the biggest hardship in the world, and you could say that a client should have a backbone and simply ignore such requests.

But whatever your opinion, there are indeed "repercussions," and I recognize why some clients who have been badgered by contractors in the past might prefer to leave no feedback at all.

603e300c · ‎08-08-2016

It can deeper than that - if you look at the types of things I have hired for - a given freelancer can have access to:

- My personal and business finances

- Servers / SaaS / Data from myself , and my Clients

- Email contacts for anyone included on the project - not to mention anything scraped from data they worked with

In an ideal world, it would be possible to firewall freelancers from anything important ( eg, unique logins, no access to actual data, etc ) - but that isn't always possible. For example, we are hiring for a SFDC data migration - there is no way to avoid giving freelancers access to the _actual_ data, as well as control of our systems for periods of time.

When I hire people, I don't much look at their reviews - I look at the quantity of work they have done, where possible review the quality of work, and then I ask 3+ clients I can contact as references. Preferably based in the US/Canada.

This is a pretty successful method, but occassionally I run into glitches. We had 1 very highly reviewed ( amazing references ) company back out just as we were starting the project. To date that has been the only negative review I have left on elance in over 10 years of use. In the past if vendor wasn't particularly noteworthy, I wouldn't leave a review / skip rating process.

When I had a good experience, I would rate and very clearly explain the work they did, challenges they faced, and why I would work with them again.

Hope that gives a bit more context for my concern.

bd37ce4b · ‎09-10-2017

I agree 100% with Justin. UpWork had a decision to make here. Does UpWork prioritize the companies that hire the contractors, or do they prioritize themselves (UpWork) so 'fake positive reviews' result in more work? Their choice is clear and we must all now realize that the entire system (reviews) upon which UpWork is built is on a faulty foundation.

yitwail · ‎11-26-2017

@Jake O wrote:
I agree 100% with Justin. UpWork had a decision to make here. Does UpWork prioritize the companies that hire the contractors, or do they prioritize themselves (UpWork) so 'fake positive reviews' result in more work? Their choice is clear and we must all now realize that the entire system (reviews) upon which UpWork is built is on a faulty foundation.

Jake, you're making an accusation based on some faulty assumptions. If you look at the freelancers section of this forum today, you'll see any number of complaints about dropping Job Success scores, and the primary reason for a drop in JS is one or more negative reviews. And while there may be freelancers who retaliate against clients who leave negative reviews, I expect Upwork to take appropriate corrective action against freelancers who engage in such misbehavior. Finally, not every job involves access to sensitive data that would allow a freelancer to retaliate in any meaningful way.

__________________________________________________
"No good deed goes unpunished." -- Clare Boothe Luce

parmee · ‎08-12-2018

And while there may be freelancers who retaliate against clients who leave negative reviews, I expect Upwork to take appropriate corrective action against freelancers who engage in such misbehavior.

They didn't in my case, freelancer claimed to be able to do something, and upon further inspection discovered the work he did was not useable and completely wrong. I asked them to fix this, they refused, so when I left a review warning people the skillset of the freelancer was misleading, he in turn left a scathing review for us when we had been nothing but professional and hired him in good faith.

Reported this to Upwork, who shrugged their shoulders and said well all your other 5 star reviews balances it out so whats ya problem? In a nutshell.

91086f74 · ‎01-27-2021

To whom it may concern,

I had a stellar hiring experience with Upwork until I got to hire someone I shouldn't.

I just want to to end the contract and move on.

I find it infuriating that I am forced to leave a feedback when in fact I have a delayed project that should be my PRIORITY.

Just saying.

petra_r · ‎01-27-2021

Josh H wrote:
I just want to to end the contract and move on.

I find it infuriating that I am forced to leave a feedback when in fact I have a delayed project that should be my PRIORITY.

Then the sooner you close the contract, the better. Leaving honest feedback helps others.

If you absolutely don't want to leave feedback, encourage the freelancer to close the contract. Then you don't have to leave feedback, but obviously the freelancer can.

jmeyn · ‎11-26-2017

edited

91086f74 · ‎01-27-2021

I strongly agree.

jmeyn · ‎09-11-2017

@justin c wrote:
I am finishing a contract - freelancer and I didn't work out. I don't really feel like reviewing them one way or the other. I just want to cancel the contract and move on.

How can I cancel contract and NOT fill out feedback.

Whilst I agree with Jennifer that you ought to leave fair feedback. If you don't feel like it, just wait. After about 3 months without activity the job is closed by Upwork automatically.

datasciencewonk · ‎09-11-2017

@Joachim M wrote:
@justin c wrote:
I am finishing a contract - freelancer and I didn't work out. I don't really feel like reviewing them one way or the other. I just want to cancel the contract and move on.

How can I cancel contract and NOT fill out feedback.

Whilst I agree with Jennifer that you ought to leave fair feedback. If you don't feel like it, just wait. After about 3 months without activity the job is closed by Upwork automatically.

ON hourly contracts, no.

On a Fixed Rate contract, UPwork only auto closes the contract if there is an amount in Escrow.

As far as I know, unless Upwork has changed something, there is no "auto close" on a contract unless it meets that last parameter stated above.

df2239f5 · ‎02-13-2018

If you are going to wait 3 months for the contract to automatically close by Upwork, make sure that the freelancer doesn't have the ability to bill to the contract in hourly work each week or have the option to manually add.

cupidmedia · ‎02-13-2018

@Theresa C wrote:
If you are going to wait 3 months for the contract to automatically close by Upwork, make sure that the freelancer doesn't have the ability to bill to the contract in hourly work each week or have the option to manually add.

Hourly contracts no longer get automatically closed by Upwork, and even when they were being closed previously, they wouldn't be if the freelancer was continuously billing hours.

bobafett999 · ‎02-13-2018

This may be too late, but my only suggestion when there is sensitive information involved is to hire locally to a contractor whom you can personally interview meet eye to eye and make a judgement. Sure it will cost you more, but a local contractor has lot more to lose than a person half way around the world. As I have said many times before, Upwork is not a vending machine where you get exact same drink after plopping few coins. If you are looking for bargain be prepared for the downside.

tta192 · ‎02-14-2018

An effective feedback system needs to offer at least three options: Negative, Neutral, and Excellent.

When a client sees a five-star feedback they will interpret it more as 'Neutral', not as ‘Excellent’. Anything lower is viewed as a big red flag.

That's where the problem comes from: on Upwork, there are only two options available (Neutral and Negative) instead of three; it's not immediately evident how to leave an 'Excellent' feedback.

In this case, OP intends to leave a Neutral feedback, but they are misled by thinking that a Five-star means ‘Excellent’. It doesn’t.

So on Upwork, an Excellent feedback needs to have (a) Five stars, and (b) a detailed, credible and very positive comment.

prestonhunter · ‎08-12-2018

re: "Reported this to Upwork, who shrugged their shoulders and said well all your other 5 star reviews balances it out so whats ya problem? In a nutshell."

That is kind of callous and thoughtless. I don't blame you if you were very unhappy with what they said.

By the way, what they said is correct.

You are a client, and you clearly have been a good, professional client who nearly all freelancers have had great things to say about. No reasonable potential freelancer is going to be dissuaded from working with you due to comments from one disgruntled outlier.

2e3159a5 · ‎04-13-2020

There's a fixed price contract with which the both parties have come in to an understanding that the end goal is impossible. So the client is also not interested in the contract anymore and no payment has been made. I think there's no need for anyone of us to give feedback because nothing happened.

How to end such a contract with no feedback at all without affecting JSS?

petra_r · ‎04-13-2020

Nalith U wrote:
There's a fixed price contract with which the both parties have come in to an understanding that the end goal is impossible. So the client is also not interested in the contract anymore and no payment has been made. I think there's no need for anyone of us to give feedback because nothing happened.

How to end such a contract with no feedback at all?

Contracts (or their feedback) with no earnings do not show on anyone's profile. So, you can just end the contract, but a "nothing paid" contract will have a severe negative effect on your job success score when you get one.

2e3159a5 · ‎04-13-2020

Petra R wrote:
Nalith U wrote:
There's a fixed price contract with which the both parties have come in to an understanding that the end goal is impossible. So the client is also not interested in the contract anymore and no payment has been made. I think there's no need for anyone of us to give feedback because nothing happened.

How to end such a contract with no feedback at all?
Contracts (or their feedback) with no earnings do not show on anyone's profile. So, you can just end the contract, but a "nothing paid" contract will have a severe negative effect on your job success score when you get one.

How to avoid negetively affecting on JSS. Should the client pay me for a job not done?

I don't want him to pay. And he perfectly undrstands that it is not due to a fault of mine and it's only because the goal is impossible. What are the possibilities here?

parmee · ‎04-14-2020

Throw out thought which may not work as I've never needed to try or research it, but could the client make a 1cent payment and end?

prestonhunter · ‎04-14-2020

re: "Throw out thought which may not work as I've never needed to try or research it, but could the client make a 1cent payment and end?"

If the total value of a contract is less than one dollar, then it will not show up a freelancer's work history.

2e3159a5 · ‎04-14-2020

Preston H wrote:
re: "Throw out thought which may not work as I've never needed to try or research it, but could the client make a 1cent payment and end?"

If the total value of a contract is less than one dollar, then it will not show up a freelancer's work history.

So can you help me how to end my contract which both me and my client has now found that it is technically impossible, without affecting my JSS? Are you saying that it can be done with a $1 payment? If so tell me how?

parmee · ‎04-14-2020

They can either set a new $1 milestone or just release $1 and close If funds already deposited (once you approve).

Ive closed out projects for a lower amount of initial fixed project price so the client will be able to do it.

Can I end contract without leaving feedback / rating?