Should I go to Arbitration over $150

mtnrabbit · ‎07-31-2018

On the 9th day having a freelancer working on the site he asked to get paid.

He missed the deadline and I gave him 24 hours to complete the job and he did not.

He broke the site and could not fix it ! I ended the contract.

I then rehired the the original developer to fix the site, which he did.

All of the work the freelancer did was deleted !

Now It looks like I need to go through Abitration , Should I ???

If I let the freelancer off and pay him I am sure he will do this again to another person !

This freelancer has a 5.6 rating and has had other problems with clients but I thought I could trust him after many conversations , I was wrong.

He also Lied about his location saying he was from Sydney , Australia but actually from Nairobi , Kenya , His IP address says Kenya and after I called him out one hour later he changed his bio to Kenya. Thanks

petra_r · ‎07-31-2018

@Dennis M wrote:

Now It looks like I need to go through Abitration , Should I ???
If I let the freelancer off and pay him I am sure he will do this again to another person !

Arbitration or mediation?

prestonhunter · ‎07-31-2018

You can do whatever you want, but I don't know why you want to waste your time and money helping this guy. He isn't worth it, but it sounds like you want to be his guardian angel and help balance his karma.

If you go to arbitration to help him learn a lesson, then you will be paying $291 in order to recoup $150.

After what he did, I don't think he is worth spending any money on.

I would be more inclined to report him to Upwork customer service and/or flag his account.

A freelancer like this should be removed from Upwork.

EDIT TO ADD: After posting this I saw Petra ask if you meant "dispute" instead of arbitration. A dispute does not cost anything, and would be a legitimate option for you.

But really, things he has done are grounds for termination from the site. This goes beyond simply a matter of a client dissatisfied with a freelancer's work on one project.

mtnrabbit · ‎07-31-2018

If I end the dispute can I then leave him a feedback ?

petra_r · ‎07-31-2018

@Dennis M wrote:
If I end the dispute can I then leave him a feedback ?

Didn't you leave feedback when you closed the contract?

petra_r · ‎07-31-2018

@Preston H wrote:
You can do whatever you want, but I don't know why you want to waste your time and money helping this guy. He isn't worth it, but it sounds like you want to be his guardian angel and help balance his karma.

He isn't trying to "help the guy" or "balance his karma" - how ridiculous - he wants his money back and not train the guy that scamming works.

mtnrabbit · ‎07-31-2018

If I end the dispute can I then leave him a feedback ?

Leah (Upwork Help Center) said Arbitration ?

petra_r · ‎07-31-2018

@Preston H wrote:

If you go to arbitration to help him learn a lesson, then you will be paying $291 in order to recoup $150.

ONLY if the freelancer ALSO pays $ 291. The freelancer won't so the OP would get both the Escrow money AND his Arbitration fee back.

@Dennis M wrote:

xxxxxx (Upwork Help Center) said Arbitration ?

Has the dispute mediation happened and was unsuccessful?

mtnrabbit · ‎07-31-2018

Thanks for the info ,

The dispute is still going on .

I was told by the Help center " Obviously it would not make financial sense for you to pay a fee of $291 and send this dispute to arbitration. "

So It looks to me It is easier for Upwork to put the trash under the rug rather than handle Fraud ...

petra_r · ‎07-31-2018

@Dennis M wrote:

I was told by the Help center " Obviously it would not make financial sense for you to pay a fee of $291 and send this dispute to arbitration. "
So It looks to me It is easier for Upwork to put the trash under the rug rather than handle Fraud ...

That's not it. Ultimately Escrow is strictly regulated and only an independent 3rd party can make a legally binding decision over the Escrow funds.

What was the freelancer's response to the dispute?

Personally I'd declare my intention to go forward with arbitration as that will make the freelancer back down.

The freelancer's identity and associated issues are a different kettle of fish altogether.

jr-translation · ‎08-01-2018

If it was a fixed rate contract, I would refuse to pay because the freelancer did not deliver.

If it was an hourly contract, you should dispute all the hours which are not covered by protection (manually tracked time, 'wrong' screenshots, no note on the work done, low activity level).

You can leave a private feedback when you close a contract. For a public feedback it is necessary to pay at least some money to the freelancer.

I am sure that the freelancer would not spent the money for arbitration, but I don't see the point in going there. It sounds more like you are disputing at the moment but some staff members like to crack a walnut with a sledgehammer and suggest arbitration without having a closer look. Maybe they need a certain amount of arbitrations every month or something.

You have reported the freelancer before and that was all you could do. Let's hope he soon be history on UW.

petra_r · ‎08-01-2018

@Jennifer R wrote:
If it was a fixed rate contract, I would refuse to pay because the freelancer did not deliver.

It was fixed. There is no arbitration on hourly jobs.

Maybe they need a certain amount of arbitrations every month or something.

Of course not. How would that even make sense considering that Upwork has to pay $ 291 as well!?

jr-translation · ‎08-01-2018

@Petra R wrote:
@Jennifer R wrote:
If it was a fixed rate contract, I would refuse to pay because the freelancer did not deliver.
It was fixed. There is no arbitration on hourly jobs.
In this case, no delivery no pay. There is no need for arbitration at all.

Maybe they need a certain amount of arbitrations every month or something.
Of course not. How would that even make sense considering that Upwork has to pay $ 291 as well!?
Considering the fees UW gets it makes sense in the longrun, but it would be a different topic and it does not serve the OP to discuss it here.

prestonhunter · ‎08-01-2018

Upwork would strenuously prefer to have zero disputes and zero arbitration. Neither serve it's interests. These things are only in place as a sort of emergents release valve to handle situations when things go wrong.