I hired freelancer

[nandees]

Hi there, I hired one freelancer for writing project we agreed at some rates at the beginning of the project and now at mid of project, she orders me to increase the rates or else she won't work. Now, what shall I do? I already funded milestone so will I get my money back if I cancel the contract?

[prestonhunter]

re: "I hired one freelancer for writing project we agreed at some rates at the beginning of the project and now at mid of project, she orders me to increase the rates or else she won't work. Now, what shall I do? I already funded milestone so will I get my money back if I cancel the contract?"

She agreet to a certain rate and then asks for more money mid-way through the project?

That doesn't sound very professional of her.

What shall you do?

You can do whatever you want.

You may continue working with her. Or you can choose to stop working with her.

The easiest way to stop working with her is to close the contract and release any funds that are in escrow to her. If you do that, there is nothing she can do to stop you.

If you don't want to pay her, then you need to get her permission to get a refund. She is likely to reject your refund request if you just try to get a full refund by pushing the refund button without consulting her first.

I suggest you pay her and move on.

But IF you want to get some money back, then you need to talk to her. You could say:

"Janet,

I appreciate the effort you have put into this so far. I undersand that the rate we set up for this project is not what you need to earn in order to continue working on this project. Unfortunately, I can't afford your higher rate at this time, but I would like to pay you for the work you have done so far. So far, you have sent 3 of the 6 articles that were part of this milestone. So I would like to immediately pay you 50% of the agreed-upon total price. Will you accept that? Otherwise, I would need to pay zero, and I would prefer to not do that."

[petra_r]

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Otherwise, I would need to pay zero, and I would prefer to not do that."

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 So you are suggesting that he threatens a freelancer with paying nothing for work already done and done correctly.

How utterly disgusting.

[prestonhunter]

Petra, I was suggesting the opposite.

I suggested that he pay the full amount regardless of how much work she has done.

But he indicated he wanted to pay nothing. I told him if he does not want to pay her, he should offer to pay for whatever portion of the work she has done.

I specifically told him to tell her that he does NOT want to pay her nothing.

[petra_r]

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@Preston H wrote:

Petra, I was suggesting the opposite.

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**Edited for Community Guidelines**

You know as well as I do that "paying 0" is either fraud or the work was disputable. Asking for more money for future work does not make the work already done at the price agreed disputable.

Hence the advice to threaten the freelancer with not paying anything for the work already done at the agreed price is beyond disgusting.

[prestonhunter]

Anybody reading this thread might think that there are freelancers here with wildly divergent viewpoints.

That's not actually the case.

We're all on the same page, including Petra and myself.

The apparent difference of opinion is due to the fact that Petra misread the original poster's situation and thought that the freelancer had finished the task she had been hired to do. She thought that the client didn't want to pay her because she asked for more pay for future work.

But that wasn't what happened. The freelancer had never finished the work, and was in fact asking for more money for the fully funded but yet-unfinished milestone, saying she wouldn't deliver the work if she didn't get the pay increase.

So her discomfort with my advice toward me was understandable, given what she believed had occurred. I would feel the same way if a client wanted to NOT pay a freelancer for work she had actually done.

It was a simple mistake. No hard feelings. I've made the same mistake myself. Sometimes I have misread a post and responding inappropriately based in an incorrect understanding of the situation.

To be fair: I have re-read the client's original post a few times and I can see how the meaning of what he said could be interpreted differently.

Just to be clear: My advice to the client was spot on or (if anything) overly generous to the freelancer.

On August 1 the client posted more details about his difficulties with this freelancer.

This sheds new light on the freelancer and her behavior. But my advice to the client remains the same as before: Pay the complete amount of any outstanding fixed-price contract. If he can't bring himself to do that, then he should pay her for whatever portion of the current milestone she has completed and ask her to accept that amount and the end things. (Keep in mind she is threatening to not turn over the work at all if he doesn't increase the payment for the already-agreed-upon milestone.) Only if she is completely uncreasonable and won't accept this complete payment for whatever proportion of the work she has actually finished did I ever suggest that she not be paid. (That is the part that Petra reacted negatively to, characterizing my suggestion in a way that actually was the opposite of what I was advising.)

[petra_r]

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@Preston H wrote:

The apparent difference of opinion is due to the fact that Petra misread the original poster's situation

---

 I did?  You know that how, exactly?  In the same way you "know" all the other stuff you assume and post as fact? 

So you have evidence that the OP's client had agreed to the work being farmed out?

And of course you have examined, in detail, the contract and the deliverables, and are qualified to judge the merit of both?

That's interesting...

Sort of.

[nitesh123]

what kind of project is this ? 

Make dispute if she reject refund request and also give negative review.. 

I am an Web developer. Let me know if this project is of web development? 

[tamashita]

I do not think it is correct to ask for an increase in rates if it has not been formerly agreed. You might explain that you did not have such an agreement before you started working together. If it does not work just do whatever you think is right, either increase the rate or stop working anymore!

_________________________________________________________

''Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.''

Regards,

Tamara

[BojanS]

Hi Nandeesh,

I'm sorry about your experience with this freelancer. Please follow up with your freelancer if you haven't already and try to resolve the issue directly. I'll also ask our team to follow up with you, review your complaint and advise you about the options you have.

[nandees]

Bojan, I really need ur help, no one from upwork team has contacted me. 
The whole story is:
I posted one job and this freelancer applied there and requested that she needs a job to feed her baby, so I hired her, before hiring her I have told her about rates and it was already written on my job offer and she also agreed on it happily. Then as soon as I hired her and gave her 1st project she started crying that she has to feed her baby and started cursing me, so I increased rates and increased by almost double. Then she did one task and then again when I gave other task to her she again said she needs more money, in fact at one point she demanded $80/ powerpoint slide. Once, she also asked me $280 and said she will work for me in future. Now its really enough every day I give like 1 hour to her to explain how transactions are done in upwork and she, again and again, message me and say that she has not got cash till now. Each day this happens and now I have lost my patience. Please let me know what actions can be taken. I have all chat and can send screenshots if needed by your team.
Just now I send her one task and asked if she could do, she said ok and asked to raise milestone and as soon as I raised milestone she again started that she has not got any cash till now, and then again I explained everything to her. And then she says she will not send the work to me (milestone is already been raised).

While I am writing this I received this from her end 

"am waiting for the legal action

am doing no order"

This is already mental torture I really need help from upwork team. I am just fed up very badly. Please guys help, I can even provide snaps of whole chat

[BojanS · Accepted solution]

Hi Nandeesh,

I'm sorry about your experience with this freelancer. Our team will follow up on your ticket to assist you and advise on further steps.

[nandees]

Really thanks Bojan for that ticket, it will help me with the said issue

[nandees]

Hi Bojan, this ticket is not opening up anymore, pls look into this matter

[BojanS]

Hi Nandeesh,

I have followed up with the team about your concern. Someone from the team will reach out to you directly. Thank you for your patience!

[kat303]

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@Nandeesh P wrote:

Hi there, I hired one freelancer for writing project we agreed at some rates at the beginning of the project and now at mid of project, she orders me to increase the rates or else she won't work. Now, what shall I do? I already funded milestone so will I get my money back if I cancel the contract?

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You stated you were at mid point with this project. Did you receive all the work according to the requirements set forth up to this point? If you did, and only if you did, then you can explain to the freelancer that the terms of the contract was $XX and your budget does not allow any increases in the agreed amount.

So, IF you have received work up to this point you can then tell the freelancer that you will pay her what is owed ,,, up to this point, assuming you haven't paid her anything yet. If you have paid her up to this point, then close the contract and ask for a refund. I don't think it will go into dispute. because the freelancer changed the terms of the contract and you didn't agree to that. IMO you can't change the terms of a contract and start a dispute because the client doesn't agree to that change.

[petra_r]

I wonder if Nandeesh's client has agreed to their work being farmed out...

[nandees]

Nice stuff to wonder, keep wondering Petra, hope you get to some conclusion soon 😄

[4b29de6f]

I would not give her a penny! Cancel the contract and let Upworks deal with her.  In regards to the work she has done, the job is incomplete and as she did not stick to the agreement, you have every right to withdraw at this stage.

I guess it's her loss, she should have never bidded for the project in the first place.  Too many scam artist on Upworks these day and something needs to be done!

[4b29de6f]

I am surprised at the responses on here but they are coming from Freelancers and not Clients so here's a bit more advice from a Client... if you paid via PayPal and explain to them what she did, you are getting a refund.

Depending on you country of residence and bank, you can also reclaim this money through Visa.

Freelancers will bid for a project knowing they do not meet the requirements just to squeeze money out of you.  How can you be sure she has even done anything!  There is no way one could enter into a contract and change it mid-way, it's binding.  I've studied Law and have a Degree in Common Sense.

[holymell]

Wow. I'd expect someone who studied law with a Degree in Common Sense to know that chargebacks are a violation of Upwork's ToS!

Where did you acquire such a degree? I'd advise everyone to stay away from that university!

Freelancers aren't slaves. I don't know the specifics here, but if the freelancer has done work, they should be paid for what they've done, or perhaps through proper communication, the client and the freelancer can come to an agreement.

There are just as many terrible clients out there as there are freelancers. Turns out, not a lot of humans care much about anyone but themselves. Sucks, but that's life.

I personally would never expect a client to raise my rate just because I decided they were paying me too little based on a contract to which I agreed. I would also hope that if a certain job became more of a financial burden than a boon, that my current client would still pay for the work I'd completed for them. That's fair.

Issuing a chargeback will get you kicked off the platform. I would expect someone well versed in law to have read the ToS...