Freelancer said no upfront payment and delay,but later ask for early payment and otherwise delay

[d86d6b7f]

Before we finalize and start the contract, I asked the freelancer many times at Upwork on

- whether there will be some upfront payment needed to get things started, he said no

- whether the project will be delivered at the promise date 100%, he said yes

Then I started and funded the contract, now he comes back to me asking for

- some upfront payment for the project, not through Upwork. He needs it through platform like payoneer, bitcoin, etc. I dont have any, he even said he can not do paypal

- Otherwise, he said there will be 10-15 days delay for sure

What I really need is the delivery at the timeline, now it's clear that he is not going to deliver.

I asked for the refund, now there is no reply from him.

What can I do?

[g_vasilevski · Accepted solution]

Hi Jack,

I'm sorry to hear about the bad experience you've had and the inconvenience this has caused you. I would advise you to never release any upfront payments and only to release funds to your freelancers once you have reviewed their work.

One of our team members will reach out to you via ticket and email as soon as possible and will assist you further with your freelancer. Thank you.

[d86d6b7f]

Thank you thank you for the timely response,
he finally just approved the refund.
I really hope this won't happen again.

[rverang]

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Jack S wrote:

Thank you thank you for the timely response,
he finally just approved the refund.
I really hope this won't happen again.

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Don't forget to report the freelancer.

[prestonhunter]

re: "I really hope this won't happen again."

Every time you fund an escrow payment, it is possible that you will never get any of that money back. Something to keep in mind whenever hiring a freelancer using a fixed-price contract.

I am glad that you got all of the money back this time.

[petra_r]

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Jack S wrote:

What can I do?

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Report the freelancer, close the contract immediately asking for your escrow fund back, and hire someone else.

[prestonhunter]

re: "Then I started and funded the contract, now he comes back to me asking for

- some upfront payment for the project, not through Upwork. He needs it through platform like payoneer, bitcoin, etc. I dont have any, he even said he can not do paypal"

Jack, this person is not a real freelancer. He is just trying to trick people into sending him money. I don't believe he ever had any intention of doing any actual work for you.

A real Upwork freelancer knows that exchanging funds off-platform is strictly prohibited. And a real Upwork freelancer knows how escrow works, and knows that we don't do "up front" payments.

As an experienced Upwork freelancer, I have often had less experienced clients offer upfront payments. I always tell them no. I believe you should never make upfront payments on Upwork.

[prestonhunter]

re: "What I really need is the delivery at the timeline, now it's clear that he is not going to deliver"

You lack experience in these matters. I have hired 130 freelancers on Upwork, often for tight deadline projects. I will explain exactly how to accomplish your goals:

If you have an important, tight deadline, you only have two options to ensure success:

1) ONLY hire a freelancer that you have personally worked with multiple times before, and you know that she can provide the work you need, at the level of quality you require, within the required timeline.

[or]

2) Hire multiple freelancers, to hedge your bets.

You don't have somebody available that you have worked with before. So you need to hire multiple freelancers to do the same task.

Do NOT USE FIXED-PRICE contracts. That would waste money. You don't want money tied up in escrow.

Hire freelancers using hourly contracts. How many? It depends on the size and complexity of the project. It depends on the job niche and pay level.

Four different freelancers is typically sufficient.

Hire them using hourly contracts.

You may let them know that this is a team project.  (But you aren't required to inform them of that.)

Let them know what the deadline is.

Tell them that once you have the work that you need, the project will be over.

Once you have received the work that you need, then close all the contracts.

You hired Tom, Mary, Frank and Sue.

Tom completed the task. It was great. Mary was part of the way through at the time. Frank and Sue had not yet started. You paid Tom, and you paid Mary a little bit. You didn't need to pay Frank or Sue anything. Every freelancer was paid for all of the time that they logged. The deadline was Saturday. But because Tom started and finished so quickly, the work was finished by Wednesday, a few days early.

[d86d6b7f]

Thank you for the great advices!