Not Getting Assets I Paid for

[33ab0d33]

Good Morning.  I need to know how to escalate an issue I'm having with a freelancer.  I have requested the assets she produced (.ai files) and I keep getting bits and pieces versus the completed work.  Unfortunately, I paid for the service and left a good review.  Is there a way to change my review and what can be done to ensure that I get all of the assets that I paid for?  You can read the messages between us to see that I've had to ask multiple times.  I've used you guys for years (back to elance) and usually everything goes well.  This has not been at the same level as prior engagements.  

Appreciate any help to escalate this.

Thanks.

[petra_r]

Did you pay less than 30 days ago and were the .ai files specified as part of the deliverables in the contract's spec? (You do now know that you should never have released the milestone until you had all the delverables, let alone end the contract. The contract wasn't over because you didn't have what you paid for (provided the .ai files were specified as the deliverables))

If the .ai files were to be the deliverables, maybe a dispute would make the freelancer more cooperative, but that is only possible up to 30 days since the last payment (assuming a fixed rate contract)

You will not be able to change your feedback, but can ask Upwork to remove it if you feel strongly about it.

For both (requesting the removal of the feedback and the dispute, if the contract is eligible) you'll have to contact Upwork Support.

[33ab0d33]

I just paid last week.  The .ai files were not specified per se but that is a non-issue as they are being passed over to me - just incomplete.  And, the engagement was to develop assets so that is work for hire.  I am sure I would prevail legally if it came to that.  Plan was for a broader engagement but the freelancer became non-responsive so I am gathering the assets.  I was kind (if not premature) in my review and, yes, I would like to remove that review given the way this is concluding.  Please let me know how to contact Upwork Support.  Thank you for your quick response.

[petra_r]

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John S wrote:

Please let me know how to contact Upwork Support.  Thank you for your quick response.

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Go to the Upwork Support page

and click on the question mark at the bottom right of the page. Complete the questions, eventually an option to type something or the option to contact support will pop up. If a text field appears, type "contact Support".

There is also a bot at the bottom of this forum page. To be honest I am suggesting the dispute mainly to kick the freelancer's backside into sending the files.

[prestonhunter]

If the purpose of the contract was to obtain .ai files, why didn't you specify that in the original contract agreement?

If the purpose of the contract was to obtain .ai files, why didn't you obtain the files and review them before leaving feedback and releasing payment?

I want you to feel that you have been made whole and dealt with fairly with this particular contract. But I hope you will use the Upwork tools as intended in the future in order to save yourself time and effort.

An important thing to keep in mind, for future use:

If you hire a freelancer using an HOURLY contract, then none of the files she produces while logging time belong to her. If she produces .ai files, they are your files.

If you hire using a fixed-price contract, you must specify what the deliverables are. If you don't specify .ai files in the task agreement, she does not need to provide .ai files.

[petra_r]

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Preston H wrote:

If you hire a freelancer using an HOURLY contract, then none of the files she produces while logging time belong to her. If she produces .ai files, they are your files.

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That doesn't get any more true the more often you repeat it. Who owns the .ai files in this case is the same whether the contract is hourly or fixed rate. It also doesn't matter either way because deliverables aren't considered in an hourly contract, only the work diary matters.

And this wasn't an hourly contract.

Edited as it was an hourly contract

[33ab0d33]

Actually it was an hourly contract....

[petra_r]

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John S wrote:

Actually it was an hourly contract....

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That makes a huge difference! Unless the freelancer last billed any hours last week you are out of time to dispute at all.

And hourly contracts do not take any deliverables into consideration, only the time spent working and whether it was tracked correctly with the tracker and with meaningful work memos.

[prestonhunter]

re: "That doesn't get any more true the more often you repeat it."

I'm not repeating it here because there is debate about what is true or not.

The purpose of pointing out these things is because these details are pertinent to the original poster's situation.

Even if the original poster is experienced and familiar with these details, these are useful things for other readers of the thread to understand.

The most salient point here pertains to hourly contracts:
Unlike fixed-price contracts, with hourly contracts, ALL files produced by the freelancer belong to the client. It doesn't matter if something was specified in the original task agreement.

This client faced a situation in which he had not received all files produced by the freelancer.

One always needs to keep in mind that there may be a difference between:

- the files that I contractually own as a client

- the files that I have received as a client

Upwork isn't in possession of files. So it is impossible to simply contact Upwork Customer Support and ask them for the files.

If a client ever faces a situation in which an hourly contract freelancer isn't delivering files, then this is a problem with the freelancer (not a problem with the contract or the Upwork system).

My recommendation is for clients to arrange things so that they receive files from the very beginning, and receive files regularly. In fact, when I set up a contract with a client, I set up a central onlne server and I provide root credentials to the client, and I do all my work there. That way, the client has continuous acces to all files, in real time. So I don't even need to "send" the files to the client. The client always has the files.

If a client ever hires a freelancer using an hourly contract, and that freelancer does not povide continuous access to files, or does not provide files whenever the client asks, then I consider that a baffling and untenable situation. As a client, if I encountered a situation like that, I would repeat the request once, just to make sure there was no confusion or communication problem. And then if the freelancer didn't provide the files, I would immediately close the contract. There is simply no reason to have a freelancer under contract who isn't providing the work files that a client is paying her to produce.

[petra_r]

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Preston H wrote:

Unlike fixed-price contracts, with hourly contracts, ALL files produced by the freelancer belong to the client. It doesn't matter if something was specified in the original task agreement.

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1. That isn't necessarily true and there is nothing of the sort in the terms of service at all.

2. it is entrely irrelevant as far as Upwork is concerned because Upwork can't force the freelancer to hand over the files and missing files aren't a ground for dispute. So the only way it would matter if true would be if the client wanted to take legal action.

[33ab0d33]

Thanks for the feedback.  It was hourly but will take your guidance to leverage the tools for further protection. I have used Upwork/elance for many years without issue.  Just one of those situations.

[AleksandarD]

Hi John,

I'm sorry to hear about what happened. One of our team members will reach out to you directly to assist you further.

Thank you.