re: "How do I get a refund that have been already released?"
You may or may not be able to get a refund.
Generally speaking, you can not receive a refund for money that has already been released. But there are straightforward ways to get a refund for money that hasn't been released or paid to the freelancer yet.
If this is an hourly contract, then you are paying for the freelancer's time, and not a specific deliverable. So you can get a "refund" (in other words: NOT be billed for time) if you see that there are time segments in the freelancer's work diary (from the previous week) that:
- were logged manually
- were not annotated with memos
- the screenshot shows the freelancer doing something other than working on your project
- inadequate activity levels
Under any of those conditions, if you dispute those time segments, then Upwork will comply with your request.
If this is a fixed-price contract, then you may close out the contract and request a refund for any escrow funds that have not yet been released to the freelancer.
This will send a request to the freelancer to confirm or deny the refund request. If the freelancer is truly non-responsive and does nothing, then after 7 days, all of the money you request to be refunded to you will AUTOMATICALLY be send to you.
If you request a refund for fixed-price escrow funds and the freelancer REJECTS your request, then it is possible to raise a "dispute". In a dispute, an Upwork representative will encourage a freelancer and client to come to an agreement regarding disbersement of any funds in escrow. But Upwork can not compell either side to make a decision. If no decision can be made,then the step beyond a "dispute" is binding arbitration, which costs $291 each for the client, freelancer, and Upwork. In arbitration, a third-party arbitrator will consider both sides' arguments and look at evidence and make a binding decision. It is extremely rare that arbitration ends up with the client receiving money.
It is possible to request a refund for funds that have already been released. There is a button clients can use to request a refund. That basically just sends a message to the freelancer that asks them to send you a refund. There is no force behind that.
It is also possible to open a customer service ticket to ask Upwork to mediate between you and the freelancer. This would mean that an Upwork representative encourages you and the freelancer to come to an agreement regarding your request for a refund. The Upwork representative can not compell the freelancer to refund money to the client, but can facilitate communications between the two sides.
If you would like to discuss your situation further in this thread, you are welcome to provide additional context. For example, you could tell us:
- Was this a fixed-price or hourly contract?
- How much money have you paid so far?
- How much work did the freelancer do (what percentage did he complete of the overall task that you wanted him to do)?
EDITED TO ADD:
Based on the forum moderator's note, it sounds like you requested a refund of escrow funds. If the freelancer is not responding (as you said), then you're in luck: You don't need to do anything. Just wait a few days and you'll get that money back.
