How to Cancel Contract after 1st Milestone?

[cc05f1aa]

I'm a relatively new member/client in the community and I would like
to seek advise on how to handle one certain issue.

I hired a freelancer to write a specific e-book.  I chose her because
first, she was tagged "RECOMMENDED" by Upwork; second, based on her
profile, she has quite an experience in writing over 200++ e-books
under her belt.  I hired her last week.

Just two days ago I received the "final" (first) draft of the project
with a request for payment.  I was excited to review the draft and if
okay, will make my 1st milestone payment.  But to my surprise, i found
that the draft basically doesn't follow my requirements.  The outline
did not conform with what I sent her and the content was not
"well-researched" when she said she will do one.  the Chapters are not
interconnected at all that it gives me the impression that the draft
was written/prepared by more than 1 person.  Plus the "highlight" of
the e-book was not highlighted at all.  I also found that some
chapters are not at all related to my main topic.

Sorry about the rants but I would like to seek your advise, can I
CANCEL the contract given that she has given me an initial draft?  I
admit some portion of the draft may be useful, but I would want to
transfer the project to someone else and maybe restart anew - hoping
to find a better freelancer to work with.  I'm also concerned that I
may be violating a certain policy if I cancel right away.

Thank you and hoping to hear from you soon.

[prestonhunter]

Jef:

This is freelancing. Feel free to cancel the contract!

It is NORMAL to cancel contracts on Upwork. You can cancel for any reason, and you do not need to explain yourself to anybody. You are under no obligation to create additional milestones or continue working with any freelancer.

It does not violate any Upwork rules to cancel a contract.

After you release payment for the milestone that the freelancer submitted (if this was a fixed-price contract), then simply navigate to your contracts list. Click on the contract. You'll see a screen specific to this contract. Select End contract from the Actions menu.

It is often considered polite to leave the freelancer a short note making it clear that you are cancelling:

"Nancy: Thank you again for your work on this project. We don't need any more help at this time."

You may find this Help section article informative:

End a Freelancer's Contract

[e4f0233a]

Hi, 

I just want to determine if this still stands today in 2021? 

I have provided work in milestone 3 to an upworker, and she completely messed it up. I have released funds in escrow however she is requesting i approve and pay but it wasn't up to standard. 

Can I just cancel the contract? and can I cancel and get my money back as well so she isn't paid? She was also very disrespectful to me in her final message to me. 

[NikolaS]

Hi Asanka,

If you are ending a fixed-price contract and there are remaining funds in escrow that are no longer required for the project, you can request an escrow refund. If you want to continue with the contract, but not release all of the escrowed funds, you can instead release a partial milestone payment (including if you set the milestone at the $5 minimum). The leftover funds can then be used towards the next milestone. For instructions on how to request a refund for payments already released from escrow, click here.

You can find more information in this help article.

[prestonhunter]

re: "I just want to determine if this still stands today in 2021? I have provided work in milestone 3 to an upworker, and she completely messed it up. I have released funds in escrow however she is requesting i approve and pay but it wasn't up to standard. Can I just cancel the contract? and can I cancel and get my money back as well so she isn't paid? She was also very disrespectful to me in her final message to me. "

I think the most important thing to understand is that you are a client, and a businessperson.

You are not a "mentor" or "teacher" or "uncle" for the freelancer.

Which means: You do NOT owe any freelancer your continued time or attention.

If a freelancer disappoints you, the most expedient thing to do is usually to just release any remaining escrow money and close the contract.

The "ultimate dis" is to pay the freelancer, and then not use their work. Don't even talk to them. Just move on.

If you really want to AVOID paying a freelancer like that, there are ways to do so. But it takes more effort on your part as a client, and it means you need to engage in further interaction with the freelancer.

[prestonhunter]

re: "I'm also concerned that I may be violating a certain policy if I cancel right away."

Oh my goodness, no. It's fine.

I have cancelled contracts five minutes after hiring a freelancer.

[VladimirG]

Hi Jef,

I can confirm Preston shared correct information. 

[64cdf43a]

I am having trouble to communicate with my freelancer.

There is one milestone that I will honor although I have not received the work.

But I would like to cancel the remaining work as I woud like to work with another freelancer due to the timing and etc. 

Once I proceed the payment process of our first milestone escrow, am I automatically obligied to proceed to the remaing balance payment/work? I just want to ensure that I don't click the wrong buttons which will pull out more moreny from my credit card into escrow.  

[nkocendova]

Hi David,

I see that you have funded only 1 milestone in escrow and when you release that milestone to the freelancer you are under no obligation to fund additional milestones. You can simply end the contract under the process which Preston advised previously in this thread.

[ruth_bowles]

Hi Jef,

You have gotten great information regarding your immediate question, but I have some advice for the future. Perhaps instead of hiring someone for the whole eBook immediately, you should create that first milestone to cover the first chapter or two, so that way you can be certain that you like that person's style, quality, etc.

Unfortunately, it sounds like you got a hot mess of an eBook, and that is a shame.