Paid a lot of money and the work was done incorrectly

[1e10a22f]

I hired a freelancer to perform some work. $2000 was the price we which he agreed to. We needed tjhe work done quiclkly and he asked if we would agree to pay for a second worker in his agency. We agreed, up to $4000. This was to create a customized extension for a content management system (CMS).

They took a over a month to do the work and provided the extension but it also required customization to the core code of the website which negates the entire idea of what an extension is for. It still doesn't work. He keeps trying to "fix" it but so far it doesn't work, we are months behinds schedule and worst of all the CMS requires updating which means his work - even if the extension did work - is already obsolete. I want out and I want my money back. What do I do?

[michael_skaggs]

If it's a fixed price contract, you have 14 days from the time work is submitted to file a dispute, request changes, etc. If you released the funds already, or the 14 days have expired, then the freelancer is covered by Fixed Price Protection, as it is assumed that their work was satisfactory.

At that point, it seems your only recourse is to file a dispute, but that's not guaranteed to go your way.

In essence, this is why clear, explicit terms need to be laid out in the contract, and milestones used. The freelancer shouldn't begin any work before the corresponding milestone is funded, and the client should not release any funds until the milestone is completed to their satisfaction.

[kochubei_valeria]

Hi Greg,

You can communicate with the freelancer to come to a mutual agreement. If that's not possible, Dispute assistance is available on Upwork hourly and fixed-price contracts provided certain requirements are met.

Please, refer to this post for more information about Upwork dispute process.

[yitwail]

Greg, in case you do wind up in a dispute, inform the arbitrator that no competent developer will alter CMS core code, for the very reason you mentioned, because the changes will be lost with the next update. At the very least, the developer should ask for client permission before taking such a step.