How do I dispute a freelancers work?

[koukla01]

I hired a guy yesterday with some specific instructions regarding my Sales funnel. 4.5 hours later he says it's all done - but when I checked, nothing works.

I can hardly believe it. He must have lied about his skills!  I'm happy to pay if he can prove he's done what I asked and I'm in the wrong (but I don't think so). I have ended the contract and sent him specific details of what I aksed for and what he hasn't done.  He's charged me 4.5 hours and wasted about a whole day of my time.

My question is, how do I lodge a dispute about this - I couldn't find anything on Upwork platform.

I feel like charging him for all the time I've wasted on this - and I still don't have a funnel working!

[kat303]

This sounds like an hourly job since you mention that he charged for for 4/5 hours. With hourly contracts a freelancer is paid for the Hours they work, whereas on a fixed rate contract a freelancer is paid for the delivery of the work they produced. So, because of that, on hourly contracts you can dispute any hours that show the freelancer was not working on your job. 

Hours that Can be disputed include: manual hours entered. screenshots of hours showing the freelancer was working or doing something else (playing games, surfing the internet, reading personal email) and low keyboard activity. 

[koukla01]

It’s not the hours that I want to dispute, it’s that he doesn’t appear to be able to do the work that I advertised and hired him to do.

He hasn’t followed instructions and hasn’t completed the work - it’s all quite incorrect - I don’t have the result I need.

[prestonhunter]

How much total did you pay on this contract so far?

[koukla01]

I haven’t paid yet.

He booked 4.5 hours but doesn’t appear to be able to do the job I posted.

Do you know how I stop the payment and let Upwork know so they can verify I’m right (or not)?

[AveryO]

Hi Jan, 

I'm sorry to hear that this contract with this freelancer didn't turn out as expected. I checked your contract with the freelancer you have referred to on your post, and can see that the contract started and ended this week. This means that starting Monday, 18-Feb (UTC), you will have the opportunity to review the hours logged by your freelancer, and dispute any hours that you find questionable. You have until Friday, 22-February to complete your review. 

Should you wish to file a dispute, you may follow the steps noted here and the Dispute Team will assist you further. 

[prestonhunter · Accepted solution]

Jan:

You are actually in a fortunate situation, relatively speaking.

You are STILL within the review period.

The hours hasn't been charged to your card yet.

You still have options.

I can't tell you how many clients come here and ask what to do - long after they no longer have any options.

One thing you may not have tried yet - and it's something that won't cost you any money - is to ask the client to remove hours. The most effective way to do this is very calmly, and very positively. Tell him:

"Henry:

I appreciate your willingness to work on the project. It looks like there may have been some miscommunications, however. If my job posting wasn't clear enough, and you ended up with something that wasn't really within your area of specialization, that is clearly not your fault. Whatever happened, I won't be able to use the files you provided, as I'm sure you realize. It would be possible for me to dispute the hours officially with Upwork, but I would rather not do that. You have logged 4.5 hours. If you could go to your work diary and delete 2.5 of the hours, leaving 2 hours, I would consider that a reasonable compromise. We could end the contract with me feeling like a more satisfied client. Othewise, I am being advised to dispute all of the hours, which would leave you with nothing."

[koukla01]

Thanks Preston. He says he’ll cancel all the hours but wants a 5 star rating.

That’s not right and I won’t do that.

This is why these things happen i guess. Other people will have done the same and that swayed my decision to hire him.

How can we stop this happening. It wasted heaps of my weekend!

[prestonhunter]

Jan:

If he is offering to refund all the money, then go ahead and agree to give him a 5 star rating.

Because IT DOES NOT MATTER.

If he refunds all the money, then it is impossible for your feedback to appear in his work history.

Nobody will see your rating.

Your private rating, which he can't see, is what matters most to his Job Success Score.

You need to decide if you want the money back for Jan, or if you want to preserve this freelancer's karma by preventing there from being an invisible rating associated with his account which nobody will ever see. Choose between his karma or your wallet.

Just don't agree to CLOSE the contract BEFORE he gives you the refund. Because if you close the contract first, then there is no guarantee that he will actually give you a refund.

[koukla01]

Ok cool, thanks

[koukla01]

He’s offered to cancel the hours but wants a 5* rating! This is how and why this happens. How can we stop this? It just wasted heaps of my weekend too 😐

[hodgesh]

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Jan R wrote:
He’s offered to cancel the hours but wants a 5* rating! This is how and why this happens. How can we stop this? It just wasted heaps of my weekend too 😐

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In the future, you can limit the number of hours a freelancer can track (to 1 or 2 hours, for example), then check the work that's been done during those 1 or 2 hours. If it looks ok, allow the freelancer to continue with the job and increase the hours by whatever amount you think is necessary/prudent.

Before hiring anyone, you can ask freelancers to estimate how long the job will take if you are not sure how many hours to allow.

Feel free to ignore the freelancer's request for 5 star feedback. Do other clients a favor and give whatever feedback you feel is deserved. If the freelancer is offering to delete the tracked hours in exchange for perfect feedback, you can report this person to Upwork for feedback manipulation.

[koukla01]

Thanks v much

[AveryO]

Hi Jan, 

I'll share your concern with our Customer Support Team so that they can reach out to you and give a recommendation. 

[koukla01]

Thanks!

[petra_r]

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Jan R wrote:
He’s offered to cancel the hours but wants a 5* rating! This is how and why this happens. How can we stop this? It just wasted rheaps of my weekend too 😐

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He can't cancel the hours anyway, because you closed the contract. Freelancers no longer have any access to their work diary once a contract has been closed, and can not remove or edit hours.

All he can do now is issue a refund.

Also, when you closed the contract you already gave feedback anyway.