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75495d4f
Community Member

Refund

Hello , I need a help. What is the contact email for Upwork as I have an issue with the freelancer. The freelancer is holding my refund and is not trying to process it as there is some disputes. ( willing to provide further details )  I would require some help on it. Thanks

5 REPLIES 5
prestonhunter
Community Member

Jacob, it sounds like there is some confusion on your part about how Upwork works. Refunds are a freelancer-side operation. If a freelancer wants to refund money to you, then she may do so.

 

It is not possible for a freelancer to "block" or "hold" money that belongs to a client. That simply is not how the user interface works.

 

Would you like to tell the Forum more about your situation or ask some questions about this?

 

You are certainly welcome to talk to Customer Support, which you may do by creating a Support ticket. (There is no email address that you can use.) Or by sending a private message to a Forum Moderator.

 

But as a practical matter, clients who are familiar with the Upwork system never need to "talk to customer support to ask for a refund." It is possible to ask freelancers for a refund, and (more importantly) it is possible for clients to close a contract (or "fire a freelancer") at any time. There is literally no restriction at all on your ability to do so.

Hello ,

Thanks for the prompt reply. I feel I should rephrase my question in a better way. Here’s the context of the situation and I will provide details below.

My team and the freelancer decided to begin with a contract of $500 after days of messaging and negotiating and a voice call interview. The freelancer stated that the payment/milestones should be broken down in $200 , $150 and $150. Fast forward to milestone 2 , the freelancer told me that the source codes for the project is done and told me to release milestone 3 in order to receive the codes. However, based on the preview he had sent us previously, we realised that the code was coded in a wrong language. My team told him to change the codes however he insist that we did not specify it properly. So.. my team did a research and found out that if we were to insist on a refund and if both parties don’t agree , arbitration fee has to been paid. As a result , my team decided not to waste anymore money. Hence , my team decided not to pursue milestones 1 and 2 and to let it go for FREE without receiving any source codes ( side note: milestones 1 and 2 was already released beforehand ) However, milestones 3 was deposited into my escrow account and was not yet paid to the freelancer. So.. my team spoke to the freelancer and discuss with him that if we were to release 1 and 2 without seeking for refund , he ( freelancer ) will refund us back milestones 3. He said Okay. Therefore , I decided to end contract and request for refund for milestones 3. And I happen to saw a feedback section and put my feedback based on what I felt. However , things took a turn. The freelancer wasn’t happy with the feedback I had given him and told me to change to 5 stars in order for me to receive my refund. However , I argue that feedback is one personal opinion and how one feels. But , he said that the scope of the contract was completed as mentioned. Eventually, I gave in as my team wants to cut off ties with him as fast as possible. But, I realised that the feedback wasn’t able to be edited . My team told him about it and since then he had not been replying my text and my fund in escrow is still pending and stuck.

Would like to check with you on how can I solve this issue ? How am I able to get my funds out of escrow without the permission of the freelancer.

With regards ,
Jacob

re: "How am I able to get my funds out of escrow without the permission of the freelancer."

 

There are four ways to get funds out of escrow.

 

The simplest way is to release funds to the freelancer. This is what clients normally do, and this requires no permission from the freelancer.

 

Other ways:

Request that the freelancer refund the money back to you. This requires that the freelancer click a button to approve the refund.

 

Or, if the freelancer DOES NOTHING, the refund request is AUTOMATICALLY approved after seven days.

 

Or, if the freelancer declines the refund request, then a "dispute" is created. This means that an Upwork mediator facilitates communication between the freelancer and client. Upwork itself can not make a decision about the matter. It can only encourage the two parties to come to a conclusion about who gets how much money.

 

If no resolution comes out of the dispute, then if both freelancer and client agree to pay for arbitration, then the matter goes to binding arbitration. This means that three parties (client, freelancer, Upwork) all pay $291 each and the matter goes to binding arbitration. The $291 fee is non-refundable. The arbitrator decides where the money goes. In extremely rare cases, the money is awarded to the client.

re: "I gave in as my team wants to cut off ties with him as fast as possible."

 

The fastest way to cut off ties with the freelancer is to release any remaining escrow funds, close the contract, and block communications.

 

You do not anybody's permission to do this.

Hello ,

With regards to the statement , “Or, if the freelancer DOES NOTHING, the refund request is AUTOMATICALLY approved after seven days.”

How would I know if the freelancer does nothing Or clicks Yes ? Will there be a email notification if the freelancer clicks No ? One last thing , how does the approval of refund procedure works on the freelancer side ?

My team hopes to be able to retrieve the $150 that is stuck in escrow

Thanks
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