🐈
» Forums » Freelancers » Client doesn't want to pay the hours I worked
Page options
michele_laporta
Community Member

Client doesn't want to pay the hours I worked

Started to work with this new client few days ago. All went smooth until client started to talk about fixed price while I applied for a hourly rate job.

Just found out the same job was advertised twice and I sent my proposal for the hourly one while the client persisted to talk about a fixed price one so low I would never applied. When we sent each other pictures of the job offers I found out the truth. Now I feel sorry for the client but problem is now client is telling me its boss will never pay me the hourly rate but I have already worked many hours and I want to be paid for the work I did as it should be.

Is there anything I can do to make sure I will receive the the amount I see in my contract currently ? Or I just need to wait the end of the week to let that money start to be processed ? Is there anything the client can do to prevent to pay me ? What can I do in that case ?

43 REPLIES 43
prestonhunter
Community Member

re: "Client doesn't want to pay the hours I worked"

 

Sounds like a bad client. You should stop working for him.

 

re: "problem is now client is telling me its boss will never pay me the hourly rate but I have already worked many hours and I want to be paid for the work I did as it should be."

 

Your client is being a bad client, and a bad person.

 

Your client hired you using an hourly contract. The client needs to pay you for the hours that you worked. If the client has a boss, or another client above him, or a nagging mother, or a secret cabal he works for, or anything else, that HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU.

 

re: "Is there anything I can do to make sure I will receive the the amount I see in my contract currently?"

Generally speaking, you don't need to do anything. If you simply log time, you get paid for it automatically. Upwork AUTOMATICALLY bills the client's credit card or PayPal account.

 

re: "Or I just need to wait the end of the week to let that money start to be processed?"

 

Yes. If you logged time properly, you get paid automatically.

 

re: "Is there anything the client can do to prevent to pay me?"

Typically clients don't do anyting. They are happy with a freelancer working for them, and they don't interfer with the payment process. BUT: A client CAN dispute time logged during the past week, if the client contacts Customer Support and makes the effort to say he doesn't want to pay for certain hours. Typically this is only effective for them if the freelancer made mistakes in logging time, such as by not entering meaningful memos, not having high-enough activity levels, or having screenshots that don't appear to be actual work on the client's project.

Thank you very much. Yes, I tracked time throuth the Upwork app, So I should do nothing basically. Just read the client is going to fill a dispute and that I conned her and take advantage of the situation ie tracking time of a hourly rate contact. She is saying really not true things and now I want to report the client explaining my point.

What should I do ?


Michele L wrote:

Thank you very much. Yes, I tracked time throuth the Upwork app,


did you have  meaningful work memos and high activity levels?

petra_r
Community Member


Michele L wrote:

now client is telling me its boss will never pay me the hourly rate but I have already worked many hours and I want to be paid for the work I did as it should be.


Did you track your time with the Upwork tracker, had meaningful work memos and high activity levels? (ALL THREE)

 

 

Yes, the only thing client is complaining is the time I took. She did't mention I had to copy the text character for character not copy pasting from a document and it was quite a verbose flyer.  Wih who can I talk to explain my point since she is saying several untrue things ?

kat303
Community Member


Michele L wrote:

Started to work with this new client few days ago. All went smooth until client started to talk about fixed price while I applied for a hourly rate job.

Just found out the same job was advertised twice and I sent my proposal for the hourly one while the client persisted to talk about a fixed price one so low I would never applied. When we sent each other pictures of the job offers I found out the truth. Now I feel sorry for the client but problem is now client is telling me its boss will never pay me the hourly rate but I have already worked many hours and I want to be paid for the work I did as it should be.

Is there anything I can do to make sure I will receive the the amount I see in my contract currently ?

 

As long as you - used the Tracker - wrote notes on the screen shots Tracker took - had normal reasonable keystroke activity - and only recorded hours where you were actually working on this job, then there's nothing you need to do. If the client doesn't pay you Upwork will pay you for the hours you worked.

Or I just need to wait the end of the week to let that money start to be processed ? Is there anything the client can do to prevent to pay me ?

 

If you did the above, then just wait until the end of the week for your payment to go through the processing/holding stages. 

The client can dispute manually entered hours and any hours recorded showing you were doing something else besides working on the clients job (surfing the internet, playing games, reading personal email, watching Youtube videos etc.) Also, Upwork will not pay you if you didn't enter notes on the screenshots, or had unusually high or low/no keystroke activity. 

What can I do in that case ?

 

Nothing.


 

michele_laporta
Community Member

IMPORTANT UPDATE

 

Client is threatening me to sue me if I don't erase the time I worked.

This person is from UK I from Italy, so what the client could really do if this is not just a bluff ?

 


Michele L wrote:

IMPORTANT UPDATE

 

Client is threatening me to sue me if I don't erase the time I worked.

This person is from UK I from Italy, so what the client could really do if this is not just a bluff ?

 


It's (obviously) a bluff. Sure, the client could try to sue, but has no basis on which to win a lawsuit from what I can see and trying to take someone to court in a different country is prohibitively expensive.

 

 


Michele L wrote:

IMPORTANT UPDATE

 

Client is threatening me to sue me if I don't erase the time I worked.

This person is from UK I from Italy, so what the client could really do if this is not just a bluff ?

 


-----------------

Don't fall victim to this meaningless threat. He's using that to try and frighten you into giving a refund. I don't know how much you've made on this job but I can say that sueing when the parties are located in different countries is extremely expensive, much much more then what you've probably been paid. The client will be dealing with international law and jurisdictions. As long as I have been on here, I have heard threats posted by clients threatening to sue freelancers and freelancers being threaten but I have never heard of anything like that ever happening never mind anyone getting type of restitution. . 

As long as you followed the procedures of Upwork's hourly payment protection, there's nothing to worry about. You will be paid, if the client for any reason doesn't pay you, Upwork will out of their own pocket. (just wait) and you won't be sued. Don't communicate with this person. When the payment goes into your account, just close the contrat. 

How much do you think it would cost the client to file a lawsuit? If the boss won't pay for your hours, how is the client going to get him to pay for a lawyer? 

Michele:

The client who hired you is WAY out of line in threatening to sue you, and in saying he doesn't want to pay you.

 

HOWEVER:
If you think something can be gained by offering a compromise... It isn't against Upwork's rules for you to do so.

 

You were the one who was talking to this client. You are the one who knows how much you worked and how much you were paid. You are the one who knows how much you want that money.

 

It isn't right for the client to try to avoid paying you. But if you think this client is really in a panic (not just playing you), and if you think it would make your life better to do so... then it is up to you if you want to consider showing this client some compassion and asking him if he would be willing to settle on paying an amount - somewhere between zero an 100% - that will make him feel better, and also work for you.

This client is simply out of control : closed and losed the dispute she want to open another one and go ahead until she will refunded ! Is this something she can do ?

Honestly I am really fed up with this person and this behaviour, it already was and it's getting more and more and more offensive. Can I ask to close this person Upwork account showing the message where she says like that besides all the previous threats and mafia style harrassment ? Since this is what she wanted to do with mine. And just because I asked to be paid for my work ! Also what would change if I block her ? How can I ask her a refund to pay compensation for the non-material damage caused since she wanted to destroy my preofessional reputation and now I can't keep calm no more after all this and I want to destroy this person and raze her outraugeous behaviours ?

Moreover now she closed the contract and she can't wait to leave me a feedback in order to lower my 100% JSS, how preventing her untruthful feedback will appear on my account ?

 

What can I do to stop this person ?


Michele L wrote:

This client is simply out of control : closed and losed the dispute she want to open another one and go ahead until she will refunded ! Is this something she can do ?

Honestly I am really fed up with this person and this behaviour, it already was and it's getting more and more and more offensive. Can I ask to close this person Upwork account showing the message where she says like that besides all the previous threats and mafia style harrassment ? Since this is what she wanted to do with mine. And just because I asked to be paid for my work ! Also what would change if I block her ? How can I ask her a refund to pay compensation for the non-material damage caused since she wanted to destroy my preofessional reputation and now I can't keep calm no more after all this and I want to destroy this person and raze her outraugeous behaviours ?

Moreover now she closed the contract and she can't wait to leave me a feedback in order to lower my 100% JSS, how preventing her untruthful feedback will appear on my account ?

 

What can I do to stop this person ?


You're top rated so you can just have the bad feedback removed. If she's already closed the contract, you can put in for it now and it'll never see the light of day. You can giggle to the fact that she ranted into the void. If you're lucky enough, she'll come here to rant about it. It will be good for dramacoin.

Yes she already closed the contract. How can I just have the bad feedback removed ? Btw as expected she already wrote her feedback, she can't wait to do that. I didn't understand what you mean for " you can put in for it now "


Michele L wrote:

Yes she already closed the contract. How can I just have the bad feedback removed ?


I have given you the link in my previous post. Stop engaging with her, block her in messages, and move on.


Michele L wrote:

 

Moreover now she closed the contract and she can't wait to leave me a feedback in order to lower my 100% JSS, how preventing her untruthful feedback will appear on my account

What can I do to stop this person ?


Block her and use your top rated perk to eliminate her feedback from your JSS calculation and profile. (provided you have not used it in the last 3 months and 10 contracts.)

 

Stop engaging unless Upwork asks you to.

 


Just found out that perk. my fault, I didn't read all the perks I have access being one of the 100% JSS freelancers, where could I read the whole perk list please ?

So She closed our contract today. Once I block her what this scammer will be able to do or less about continue to asking refund, stalking and harrass me ? I didn't block her yet because I want to know what this monster is doing against me since it's so smart to send me messages about what she will be about to do and I am reading this like that meme on social media where there is Michael Jackson eating pop corns..

 

 

Sadly this wasn't the case to compromise, please read my update to discover how much limitles oultrageous the client is. Short long story this scammer will go ahead until I will give her all the money I earned for the work I did.

Do you realize how much this is no-sense. Do you realize this person must be stopped immediately because no one right in their mind would even only think that ? 

This person don't know how reality works, how Job works and I am paying for its huge, chronic, persistent and obstinate ignorance and will to taking advantage of me. How can I ask through upwork to gave a compensation non-material damages ?

Please help me understand how I can stop this parasite scammer. money and time thief.

I am fed up of all this.

Im not sure how old this thread is, but i assume you have been paid now as you say the contract is ended?

 

If it was me, i would use your perk to remove thier feedback and make sure you leave appropriate feedback for the client so other freelancers can be made aware - just stay to facts and dont get personal! (im not sure if the clients feedback will show if you remove theirs from your profile?)

 

Other than that i would personally forget about it. Unless they contact further, at which point i would advise them that if they wish to have further consultations they will need to start a new contract for $xx per hour!


Michele L wrote:

Sadly this wasn't the case to compromise, please read my update to discover how much limitles oultrageous the client is. Short long story this scammer will go ahead until I will give her all the money I earned for the work I did.

Do you realize how much this is no-sense. Do you realize this person must be stopped immediately because no one right in their mind would even only think that ? 

This person don't know how reality works, how Job works and I am paying for its huge, chronic, persistent and obstinate ignorance and will to taking advantage of me. How can I ask through upwork to gave a compensation non-material damages ?

Please help me understand how I can stop this parasite scammer. money and time thief.

I am fed up of all this.

 

Michele, stop letting this client make you feel this way - it's exactly what they want.

 

Petra and Jennifer have told you exactly what to do, follow their advice, block this deeply unpleasant individual and move on.

 

You do not owe them ANYTHING.


 

Blocked this person, Actually I already feel better. Never in my life I dealt with such a strong will to take advantage of others and the fun fact this client introduced herself as an innocent girl ! I really didn't see that coming. Thank you guys for the precious help ! 🙂

re: "Never in my life I dealt with such a strong will to take advantage of others and the fun fact this client introduced herself as an innocent girl ! I really didn't see that coming."

 

One quickly gets to a point where it doesn't even make any economic sense for clients (or "clients") to do some of these weird things.

 

Clients who try to break the rules and cheat freelancers out of work and money with such gusto end up spending more time and money than if they simply worked within the system the way that Upwork intends.

 

So in situations like these, I am forced to assume that the client is not acting in ways that best benefit themselves or their businesses economically, but that they have crossed over into behavior based on other motivations: They are acting emotionally and seeking revenge. Or they have some kind of pastor/priest/rabbi complex and they want to teach a freelancer to "do the right thing." Or they simple derive pleasure out of bullying people.

 

[Speaking generally, of course, and not about the original poster's situation or any specific client.]

Fully agree, looked like I was the very first person in the life of this animal to tell her she was fully wrong and got it all wrong explaining why and I would like to point out I explained why from the very beginning and she switched instantly in a " Let's start a war Mode, now it's me VS you and nothing else matter " . So yes, definitely a deep rooted desire of vendetta, a morbid, unhealthy and obsessive desire of vendetta, something pathological, to use a metaphor like she remembered me when in horror movies people become flesh hungry zombies always trying to catch you for devuor you and the only thing to do then is shooting/beat them to the head. Coming back to reality, really this person was out of control at all and I am more then glad for stopped her thanks the help of everybody here too.

To me their parents spoiled her so much or she really for some other reason totally lacks a sense of being humble/empathy in her mind, like a black hole in her brain about this aspect because she really looks like one of those persons always looked to others from above, from a skyscraper last floor in her case, because she reacted like my words to be paid for the work I did were an intolerable shock to be punished in the most destructive and harmful way possible. Dream on baby.. Out of My Way now.

Michele, it sounds like this was stressful and I'm sorry it happened, but this is kind of a lot of unnecessary drama, isn't it? In a world filled with child molesters and murderers, you want to call this woman an animal and compare her to flesh eating zombies because she made a mistake that left her in a bad spot with her boss and handled it badly?

Actually she lied even about the story on her boss. No boss would let him/herself be mocked as soon as I told him the truth about she lied to everyone and above all no boss start to harass and threat external people to the company like me if I wouldn't have to refund them at 100% because otherwise unpleasant consequences would happened starting from their will to destroy my professional reputation here on Upwork to potential threats to my private life. despite this by the way yes, mine was unecessary drama indeed I was replying to Preston H last comment that started to profile this scammer and I was interested to give my 2 cents as well. Because hopefully is loud and clear here it is not a matter of men and women but behaviour, the lack of basic rules of behaviours in front of such disrespectful, unthinking, inconsiderate and outraugeous behaviours against me from a professional and human point of view only because I politely let noticed the client their mistake was enough to punish me starting once again from making sure I will lost my business and there were threats potentially to my private life too. So after a month these persons go ahead despite everything wasting my time and energies for their whims you will understand I am human too therefor I could reach a boiling point as well, after a month keeping all inside me carefully therefor every once in a while I could use some term like that. I apologize if you were offended and I will avoid as I did so far basically, I just wanted to explain you in which context I said this, give you a bird view of the situation. I would never call no one like that for no reason. I won't start a war like they did but they really crossed the line and after a month all this goes ahead you will pardon me if sometimes I could call them like that, she and her(accomplice) "boss").

re: "it sounds like this was stressful and I'm sorry it happened, but this is kind of a lot of unnecessary drama, isn't it? ...because she made a mistake that left her in a bad spot with her boss and handled it badly?"

 

The original poster is talking about a client who repeatedly threatened suing a freelancer over work she hired him to do on Upwork.

 

It doesn't get much lower than that.

 

Obviously if he is comparing the client to zombies, he is using hyperbole.

Exactly

How can the client continue to send me refund requests and messages if I blocked her ?

How to stop this scammer once for all ?

 


Michele L wrote:

How can the client continue to send me refund requests and messages if I blocked her ?

How to stop this scammer once for all ?

 


Just ignore her.


Petra R wrote:

Michele L wrote:

How can the client continue to send me refund requests and messages if I blocked her ?

How to stop this scammer once for all ?

 


Just ignore her.

 

If he blocked the person, he shouldn't have to be ignoring her?

 

I'm suprised that during the course of Michele's thread at no point has someone from Upwork reached out to help.

 

I appreciate that we've only heard one side of the story, but they're quick enough to get involved with when there's a bit of 'bantz', but not when someone feels bullied, threatened and intimidated by a client (not to mention that they've pointed out that a feature of the site apparently isn't working for them)?


 


Richard S wrote:


 

I'm suprised that during the course of Michele's thread at no point has someone from Upwork reached out to help.

 

Based on what he's posted here, it sounds as if he has interacted extensively with CS over this issue.


Tiffany S wrote:

Richard S wrote:


 

I'm suprised that during the course of Michele's thread at no point has someone from Upwork reached out to help.

 

Based on what he's posted here, it sounds as if he has interacted extensively with CS over this issue.


He's tried to block the person and he can't. So his extensive interaction has been pointless.


Richard S wrote:


He's tried to block the person and he can't. So his extensive interaction has been pointless.


If I had a guess, he's talking about that room they create when a dispute is filed. Can't block those since it's an ongoing dispute and lots of times people have meltdowns in them. I just ignore the rants but I have a feeling this guy is probably still responding.


Jennifer M wrote:

Richard S wrote:


He's tried to block the person and he can't. So his extensive interaction has been pointless.


If I had a guess, he's talking about that room they create when a dispute is filed. Can't block those since it's an ongoing dispute and lots of times people have meltdowns in them. I just ignore the rants but I have a feeling this guy is probably still responding.

 

Thanks Jennifer, that would explain it. I just feel for the OP. He's blocked someone then has to put up with the same crap all over again.

 

Again, only heard one side of the story, but if it's ok for someone to talk to someone else in the way the OP has descibed via the site, then there's something wrong.


 

The best advice the OP has had is from Petra and that is to ignore her. 

 

This sort of situation is galling - very galling. However, if something really does not work out either here or in real life, the most effective thing to do is to move on and not to allow one crappy client to generate the debilitating sort of meltdown being experienced by the OP.  

 

That said, Upwork really ought to knock this sort of "client"on the head, because even if in the short term, they generate income, they can only be harmful eventually, to the business image Upwork would like to present. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fully agree with you, Nichola, I just wanted to understand now how to block for real this person, I will contact the help center

Excuse me Richard, what does mean OP ?

re: "Excuse me Richard, what does mean OP?"

 

OP = "Original Poster"

 

 

The original poster in this thread is Michele.

Thank you and apologies for the late reply
Latest Articles
Featured Topics
Learning Paths