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9356515f
Community Member

Charged for hourly work not related to contract?

This is my first hourly contract. When I reviewed the work diary I saw many instances of being charged but the attached images had nothing to do with the contract. Such as emailing another client about their contract, looking up random stuff on the internet, checking emails (that weren't mine), looking at his job feed, etc.

 

I sent him a message about it yesterday and he never responded. This is a highly reviewed freelancer with a lot of hours logged working on this platform so I don't want to jump to conclusions. Anyone else have this issue before? 

8 REPLIES 8
AveryO
Community Manager
Community Manager

I'm sorry to learn about your experience, Matt. If the freelancer doesn't remove the hours that are not related to your contract, you have the option to dispute these hours. You may refer to this help article for more information about how you can dispute your freelancer's logged time. 


~ Avery
Upwork
9356515f
Community Member

Should I formally request a refund on the invoice? Some of the charges are for this week as well which hasn't billed yet. All told, I'm 5 hours deep into this freelancer and I haven't received anything in return (he was hired to source product quotes). 

Hi Matt,

Please refer to the guide Avery shared with you on how to dispute your freelancer hours. At the moment you can dispute the hours from last  week, and if you`re still seeing this type of activity in this week you will be able to dispute it from Monday. One of our team members will also reach out to you to assist you further, thank you.

~ Goran
Upwork
versailles
Community Member


@Matt B wrote:

This is a highly reviewed freelancer with a lot of hours logged working on this platform so I don't want to jump to conclusions. Anyone else have this issue before? 


Whether he's a highly reviewed freelancer or not doesn't matter. No one can charge you for time not spent working on your job. Please follow the advice the Upwork agents gave you and dispute the improper time. If he did not respond to your message, he is demonstrating an unprofessional attitude, something you should remember when you leave an accurate feedback once you close the job.

 

This kind of attitude reflects poorly on each of the freelancers who use Upwork.

-----------
"Where darkness shines like dazzling light"   —William Ashbless


@Rene K wrote:

@Matt B wrote:

This is a highly reviewed freelancer with a lot of hours logged working on this platform so I don't want to jump to conclusions. Anyone else have this issue before? 


Whether he's a highly reviewed freelancer or not doesn't matter. No one can charge you for time not spent working on your job. Please follow the advice the Upwork agents gave you and dispute the improper time. If he did not respond to your message, he is demonstrating an unprofessional attitude, something you should remember when you leave an accurate feedback once you close the job.

 

This kind of attitude reflects poorly on each of the freelancers who use Upwork.


I second this. Unfortunatelly the rating does not always reflect the freelancers quality of work. Dispute the time you think is not related to your project following the instructions linked above. You might also want to consider to hire a different freelancer.

You can also pause the contract. This will prevent any more hours from being logged and will get the freelancer's attention to where they will probably communicate with you. 

"Fairness is giving all people the treatment they earn and deserve. It doesn't mean treating everyone alike-Coach John Wooden"

Unprofessional, unacceptable behavior on the part of the freelancer. You are being cheated. I agree that you should pause the contract and should seriously consider disputing the hours.

 

You were wise to select a freelancer whose ratings and feedback suggested that he/she would do your job well and would charge you honestly. Unfortunately, that seems not to have happened. However, Upwork's TimeTracker system and screenshots have worked as intended to give you a heads-up: not an ideal situation, but you do have options.

 

A pox on all such mountebanks!

mtngigi
Community Member

Matt,

 

The best advice you've received is from Katrina. Pause the contract immediately and then deal with the freelancer and do whatever you need to do, without worrying about ongoing time-tracker abuse.

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