Ending a contract prematurely

[0954fefe]

Hi,

I entered a contract with a freelancer which had 3 milestones. 2 of the milestones were completed and paid but the freelancer's account got suspended before they completed the third milestone. I have now ended the contract but need the remaining funds refunded. Are you able to confirm that this will occur?

[prestonhunter]

Escrow money that wasn't released to the freelancer will be returned automatically to the client.

If you (the client) ended the contract, and when you did so, you requested an escrow refund, then this will trigger a refund request that is presented to the freelancer.

Because the freelaner is suspended, he will presumably be unable to reply to the refund request. Therefore, after 7 days, the refund request will automatically be granted to you. Then your money will automatically be returned to your funding account (credit card or PayPal) within 5 business days.

[0954fefe]

Hi, thanks for the reply Preston.

It looks like the money is not in the escrow fund – see screenshot below. Is there a way to transfer the upaid funds int escrop so that I can request an escrow refund? Or will this happen automatically?

[prestonhunter]

Just close the contract. You have nothing to worry about.

The screenshot you posted shows zero dollars in escrow.

So close the contract.

You will not lose any money.

You will not be charged anything.

Don't be distracted or confused by the "budget." The budget means nothing. Upwork is not going to charge you anything based on the budget.

re: "I have now ended the contract but need the remaining funds refunded. Are you able to confirm that this will occur?"

Your screenshot shows zero dollars in remaining funds. So don't worry.

re: "Is there a way to transfer the upaid funds intro escrow so that I can request an escrow refund?"

You do not need to transfer anything. If there is any money you actually were billed which was never released to the freelancer, that money will automatically be refunded back to you.

[0954fefe]

Hi, I have ended the contract but have not received a refund of my remaining funds. It has been over 20 days since the contract has ended. Do I need to take any extra steps to receive the money?

[LuiggiR · Accepted solution]

Hi Hon,

I checked the contract you were referring to and I can confirm that there were no funds in escrow pending being refunded. The only funds released were for the two milestones you confirmed that the freelancer completed. A third milestone was never funded in escrow, and therefore, no funds were pending to be returned.