Freelancer did not complete work - Paid Milestone Refund Request

[50fc988a]

Hello,

I had a project for a freelancer with two milestones. First milestone was completed and paid, after which the freelancer did not follow through with the second milestone. 

I was able to recieve refund for the funded second milestone but now I'm having a hard time to get my first milestone refund. Without the second milestone the first milestone work is useless to us. 

Can you please assist with the refund? 

Thank you

[BojanS]

Hi Evanston,

Please check this help article to learn more about how to request a refund from the Freelancer for the payment that was released from escrow.

Thank you.

[50fc988a]

Hello Bojan,

Thank you for responding to my post. I actually did request but the Freelancer does not respond. What can I do to address this issue? 

Thanks

[prestonhunter]

Evanston:

I understand you are frustrated by this situation, but I think you do not completely appreciate Upwork's policies regarding fixed-price contracts.

Purely to save you time, I will explain something that may absolutely not be what you want to hear:

Clients are allowed to end a fixed-price contract AT ANY TIME. If a client starts out with 5 tasks (or "milestones"), a client could choose at any time to end the contract. Even if the project has not been completed.

Freelancers can do the same.

Upwork absolutely allows you to request a refund.

Freelancers are not required to respond to such a request.

[50fc988a]

Preston - thanks for getting back to me. Not sure the word "appreciation" is the right word to use but that's ok. 

Now that we have been burned, we will change our business model and only have one milestone for all of our projcets - small or large. I'm sure the freelancers won't like that but we simply need to be more in control as Upwork can't help with situations like this. 

Thanks,

EM

[prestonhunter]

The important thing is that you understand what Upwork will and will not do in terms of supporting you (or not), letting you control how projects are done, etc.

And it is clear that you do undertand that.

I actually agree with the idea to manage fixed-price projects as single-milestone projects. I think you're definitely on the right track there.

The one thing I would add to your plan is that any large project is more likely to be successful if it is divided up into smaller, usable components. You do not want components that don't work for you because a freelancer left them half-done. But you will find more success in creating somehing big if you use a modular approach.

[AveryO]

Hi Evanston, 

I'm sorry to learn that you feel that we cannot assist you with this case. I have shared your concern with the team so that they can reach out to you and assist you with your concern.

[prestonhunter]

Avery:

You are kind, and you are trying to help.

But the original poster is correct if he has concluded that the proper way to use Upwork as a client is to be aware of how the platform functions, and then work within the framework and limitations of the platform - without requiring help from Customer Support.

Successful clients understand the features of the hourly and fixed-price contracts, use those features to their advantage to further the goals of their business, do not request refunds for work that freelancers have actually done, and do not incorporate Upwork Customer Service into their project development plans.

[a_lipsey]

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Preston H wrote:

Avery:

You are kind, and you are trying to help.

But the original poster is correct if he has concluded that the proper way to use Upwork as a client is to be aware of how the platform functions, and then work within the framework and limitations of the platform - without requiring help from Customer Support.

Successful clients understand the features of the hourly and fixed-price contracts, use those features to their advantage to further the goals of their business, do not request refunds for work that freelancers have actually done, and do not incorporate Upwork Customer Service into their project development plans.

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I would agree that understanding how to work within UpWork's framework is crucial. For me, the only time I've had a contract break down was because of this. 

I do recommend also breaking up contracts into usable milestones, so that if you need to walk away, even if you've finished a milestone, that work is usable by the next person. For example, my grant writing projects are broken into components that can be taken over and used by someone else for the next milestone or by the client, regardless if I continue the next milestone. So each milestone in itself is almost a product/project that can stand alone. If there are no mid-way points, especially on a big project, I would need to use hourly billing, since it's a big risk to do a fixed-term for a large project with no payment midway. Milestones are also useful because it will allow you to assess the freelancer's work and not lose ALL your budget should you need to discontinue work with them and find someone else. You can set a first milestone as a test, and if doesn't work out, you didn't blow your whole project budget. I think being wise as to what the output is for each milestone is a good practice. 

[yitwail]

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Evanston M wrote:

Now that we have been burned, we will change our business model and only have one milestone for all of our projcets - small or large. I'm sure the freelancers won't like that but we simply need to be more in control as Upwork can't help with situations like this. 

Thanks,

EM

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Evanston, I'm a bit late joining this discussion, but could you hire another freelancer to finish the job the first one started, or does it have to be redone completely? If the former, then you would get some value for the money you spent.