Client Cancelled Contract then Apologizes. What should i do?

[better2best]

So i applied to a project on Sunday, were i had to do a minor audio editing job. In my proposal i sent the client a test demo of what he already needed. He said the demo reflects what he wants, and he will only need minor adjustments to that. He offered me an hourly contract. 

Then he told me to wait for him to send me next morning few more better recorded audio files in order to improve the quality of the final delivery.  He never sent those files. Waiting for those files i didnt start working and i didnt charge him. 

Then today he sends me a message that he wants to close the contract because he suddenly checked his other proposals that he received and he wants to work with another freelancer. 

I said, no problem. Please end the contract and provide feedback. 

Instead, He canceled the contract. No money were exchanged.  I know this will impact my JSS negatively because of it.

Then i go to his profile and i saw he hired 3 more freelancers for the same job, and i bet he will cancel the contracts of 2 of them the same way. 

In our private messages he apologized for this and  now wants to compensate me somehow. 

I have three questions
1. Is there anything that can be done so that this cancelled contract will not hurt my score? 
2. Can this client can be penalized in some way by upwork for starting multiple contracts on the same project then canceling them and just abusing the system? 
3. Can i dispute the cancelling of the contract, if no money were exchanged and i didnt even had the chance to work and be judged for my work? 

It feels very unfair to have my JSS dropped because one client just plays with the system.

[prestonhunter]

Adrian:

Personally, I avoid having my JSS take a hit due to zero-pay contracts because I never accept an hourly contract until I have enough information or input files in order to do at least ten minutes of work.

Then, when I accept the contract, I do at least ten minutes of work.

So if the client cancels the contract, I'm amicable and friendly and I wish him well. He is charged a very small amount of money, and he provides good feedback to me because he knows he was kind of wasting my time and I didn't give him a hard time about it.

So everything is good for my JSS, and the client is happy, and I'm happy.

[prestonhunter · Accepted solution]

re: "1. Is there anything that can be done so that this cancelled contract will not hurt my score?"

Yes. You could ask the client to pay you a $2.00 bonus, so that you won't end up with a zero-pay contract that hurts your score.

re: "2. Can this client can be penalized in some way by upwork for starting multiple contracts on the same project then canceling them and just abusing the system?"

No. There are no rules against starting multiple contracts at the same time for the same project.

I have personally hired 10 to 20 people for the same project.

There is no rule against this.

Cancelling ALL the contracts without any work being done is kind of rude. But there is no rule against it.

And even you yourself said that you don't think he will cancel the contracts on ALL of the freelancers.

re: "3. Can i dispute the cancelling of the contract, if no money were exchanged and i didnt even had the chance to work and be judged for my work?"

No. There is no basis for a dispute.

[better2best]

" Yes. You could ask the client to pay you a $2.00 bonus, so that you won't end up with a zero-pay contract that hurts your score."

Can he still pay this bonus after he cancelled the contract?

[prestonhunter]

re: "Can he still pay this bonus after he cancelled the contract?"

Yes.

Closing a contract does NOT prevent a client from using the Pay Bonus tool.

[kat303]

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Adrian S wrote:

So i applied to a project on Sunday, were i had to do a minor audio editing job. In my proposal i sent the client a test demo of what he already needed. He said the demo reflects what he wants, and he will only need minor adjustments to that. He offered me an hourly contract. 

What it sounds like is that you essentially provided this client free work. Although providing free work is not against Upwork's TOS it underminds this entire site. You have samples in your portfolio of the "style" of your work. You can upload and attach some samples that may be on your computer. I don't know if this is how you work (providing free work and hoping to be hired) but if it is, in the past it may have worked for you, but this time it backfired. Being on here as long as you have you should know that you take risks by providing free work. 

Then he told me to wait for him to send me next morning few more better recorded audio files in order to improve the quality of the final delivery.  He never sent those files. Waiting for those files i didnt start working and i didnt charge him. 

He never sent those files because he already got what he needed. He's probably going to hire a much cheaper freelancer to make those minor edits. Or maybe he's happy and will use what you sent him.

Then today he sends me a message that he wants to close the contract because he suddenly checked his other proposals that he received and he wants to work with another freelancer. 

I said, no problem. Please end the contract and provide feedback. 

Instead, He canceled the contract. No money were exchanged.  I know this will impact my JSS negatively because of it.

Then i go to his profile and i saw he hired 3 more freelancers for the same job, and i bet he will cancel the contracts of 2 of them the same way. 

In our private messages he apologized for this and  now wants to compensate me somehow. 

I have three questions
1. Is there anything that can be done so that this cancelled contract will not hurt my score? 

Yes, he can issue you a bonus about of a dollar or two so you won't have a job closed with no money earned. 
2. Can this client can be penalized in some way by upwork for starting multiple contracts on the same project then canceling them and just abusing the system? 

No, a client can create and hire as many freelancers as they want. Freelancers should not accept offers until they have the files or materials needed in order to start work. 

3. Can i dispute the cancelling of the contract, if no money were exchanged and i didnt even had the chance to work and be judged for my work? 

Well, you did work, you sent a sample with your proposal. A client can (as Preston says) cancel a contract for any reason or for no reason at all. 

It feels very unfair to have my JSS dropped because one client just plays with the system.

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[better2best]

Thanks for your replies. 

Kathy, you are right.  I dont usually send free demos in my proposals,  and i got burned in the past but i've seen this job before going to bed, it was really really fast, i did a demo in like 10 minutes and sent it because the guy is a fellow romanian living abroad. Maybe this kind of sentimentalism got to me.  And i really dont care about the payment,  it was after all just peanuts, 1 hour of  billable work. But i care about the impact on my score, due to my stupidity.  Lessson learned