Money not refunded to original payment method after dispute

[0679cbf3]

I hired a freelancer and paid for the first milestone.

The freelancer could not complete the first milestone but still wanted payment as he had spent time on it.

After talking to Upwork, I cancelled the contract and requested a full refund.

He disputed and we went through Upwork mediation where it was decided I would get a full refund as he did not complete the required work.

The refund was over a week ago and appears in my list of Transactions, but the money has not been refunded to my bank account. Can I get this balance transferred to my bank account or must I use it on Upwork?

Also, will cancelling a job affect my profile in a negative way?

[0679cbf3]

Forgot to mention that when I created a new job and hired someone after the above incident, my payment method was still charged instead of using the balance in the Transaction History i.e. instead of using the refunded amount which is sitting in my Upwork balance.

[ArjayM]

Hi Ray,

I'm sorry to learn about this disappointing experience you had with a talent. Unfortunately, we can't disclose any information about an ongoing dispute here in the Community due to privacy and security reasons. We highly suggest you continue coordinating with the team by responding to their notification and they will surely assist you accordingly.

Please note that if your freelancer approves the refund or does not respond within seven days, we will refund the money in escrow. Refund credits can take up to five business days to appear. In the meantime, you may want to check this help article to learn more about the process. Thank you!

[0679cbf3]

Hi Arjay

The question is not related to the dispute because the dispute has been resolved.

My question is why is the money from the dispute (lets say $100) is sitting in my Upwork balance? Why has it not automatically been refunded to the bank account it was paid from (as is normal when a job is cancelled).

Also, since I have this money ($100) in my Upwork balance, why are new contracts (say $10) being charged to my bank account - surely the money for new contracts should be deducted from the Upwork balance.

[0679cbf3 · Accepted solution]

I contacted Upwork Support and they refunded the money to my account. I am just waiting for it to appear in my account.

I do not know why Upwork didn't do this at the beginning and they didn't explain why either.