I left a contract open by mistake

[bfbe6a3e]

After having a horible experience with a freelancer I told him to stop work and i will look for someone else. This was around 4 or 5 months ago and I forgot to close the contract. So today I log back onto upwork to realise that i have been billed by this freelancer for hours of work that he has logged 5 months after the last time we spoke. How do I resolve this?

[petra_r]

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Matthew T wrote:

 How do I resolve this?

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You close the contract and leave appropriate feedback.

You can dispute hours logged last week.

Hours logged months ago can't be disputed any longer.

[AndreaG]

Hi Matthew,

I checked and it looks like the freelancer logged hours for last week and you were able to request a refund. If the freelancer does not reply or accept the refund request, please know you have until Friday to file a dispute, here's how.

[prestonhunter]

re: "I left a contract open by mistake."

The good news is that this is a mistake you are unlikely to make in the future.

It is also good news to realize that this is something you have total control over.

It is always better when we, as clients, have control of these situations, rather than needing to rely on others. The truth is, as a client, I can close a contract at any time, for any reason. With no advance notice. Upwork provides clients with an extremely high level of control. Far more flexible than if we are an employer hiring employees.

re: "After having a horrible experience with a freelancer I told him to stop work and i will look for someone else. This was around 4 or 5 months ago and I forgot to close the contract. So today I log back onto upwork to realise that i have been billed by this freelancer for hours of work that he has logged 5 months after the last time we spoke."

If there are no missing details to this story (such as if you asked the freelancer to do additional work but forgot that you asked), then the freelancer's actions in this situation are morally wrong. HIs actions can not be defended.

re: "How do I resolve this?"

Close the contract now so that this freelancer can no longer log time and bill your account.

When you close the contract, leave accurate feedback that reflects your experience working with this freelancer.

If the freelancer logged time during the past week, then you may still go to the work diary and click on hours and dispute those hours. If those hours do not qualify for Upwork Payment Protection, then Upwork will not make you pay for that time.

[tagrendy]

Ha! There was another client that forgot too, only he got billed for 6 months before he noticed. Must've been rich 😄

[aitringo]

You can always ask the freelancer to reimburse you for what they owe you.

That said:

1.  The first thing to do, as my colleagues have said, is to close the contract. ASAP
2. Then, you start by initiating a refund request via customer service, up to the refundable amount.
3. And finally, you can contact the freelancer, and request a reimbursement (for the rest).

You can also ask him for explanations: it is possible that he made a momentary mistake (by billing the wrong contract).
If this is the case, it would be a bad idea to get into an argument, when a simple request for an explanation could resolve the matter.

👉 And finally, don't forget to leave a comment to let everyone know about your satisfaction+experience with the freelancer. (when closing the contract)