How to get refund for a funded, but unpaid, milestone?

[brennerdomenik]

I want a refund for the milestone that I already funded, and the freelancer agrees to do so, but somehow it is greyed out and can't just refund it. Apparently he submitted work to get paid. How do I get the refund now? Do I have to pay him first?

I don't want to close the contract for future work.

[prestonhunter · Accepted solution]

https://support.upwork.com/hc/en-us/articles/211062058-Get-an-Escrow-Refund

I recommend that you click the button to "close" (or "cancel" or "end") the contract.

When you do this, you will be given an opportunity to EDIT the amount of money that you will release to the freelancer. CHANGE the number to ZERO.

Then proceed to close the contract.

This will trigger an AUTOMATIC message sent to the freelancer, which will let him click a button to "Accept" the refund request.

Then the money will go back to your account automatically within five business days.

re: "I don't want to close the contract for future work."

I have described the proper way for you to get the refund. It might look like it is "closing" a contract, but this action DOES NOT CLOSE you off from assigning the freelancer to do future work. You can easily click a few buttons to set up a new task contract. You can even pay the freelancer using the client-side "Send bonus" tool WITHOUT setting up a new contract.