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sarahroberts32
Community Member

A client has refused to adhere to the upwork terms of payment

A client of mine, my firsrt official web development job on upwork, has refused to adhere to the upwork terms of payment which is payment on milestone completion. He want a modification which is elementor implementation to his website, (this will cause a bit of a redesign) which i explained to him, we agreed an extra $50 which i felt bad because he told me it was coming from his pocket as his boss had already given him the exact initial bill i gave him. Now he accepted the new milestone which states another $50 after the elementor thing is done, he is now saying i won't get any payment till i finish all, that is the only time he will give me the remaining $350 ($300 - milestone 2 and $50 milestone 3). I have done so many extra things in this contract like video editing and another logo design not related to the project, i did all this in goodwill. All i ask now is that i get paid what i deserve. I have attached necessary proof.

 

Website: **Edited for Community Guidelines**

12 REPLIES 12
g_vasilevski
Retired Team Member
Retired Team Member

Hi Oluwatosin,

 

You will need to submit the work on the milestone created for you. After 14 days the funds will be transferred to your account if no actions are taken on the milestone. Keep in mind that if you resubmit the work again you will reset the 14 days period. To learn more details about fixed price protection, check out this Help Article. Also, please keep in mind that our fixed price protection does not cover promised funds or unfunded milestones. Thank you.

~ Goran
Upwork

I have already submitted the job, the website link and some images

Don't worry, if you have all the proof you have submitted they work, and you supply this proof when you submit for milestone payment, as long as the client has funded the project with Upwork, you are protected.

 

Shane,

 

It is my understanding that the only way to force payment from a client under a fixed price project on Upwork is to win at arbitration, which costs the freelancer $291 regardless how much project-related payment is being contested.

 

One advantage to going to arbitration would be the fact that the arbitrator will likely consider the full amount of the contract under dispute. Unlike Upwork, an arbitrator would likely not consider whether the client had put some or no money at all into escrow in making a decision on what monies are due to a freelancer - if a contract is for a total amount of $700 and the freelancer fulfilled all elements of the original project contract, that would be the amount under dispute.

 

Upwork's use of escrow is just part of its payment protection mechanism, not a limiting factor on the arbitratable value of the project.

Hi Will, no didn't mean go to arbitration, I meant as long as you have proof of work done, and you submit it with payment request on milestone, you will get your money. Unless client disputes of course.

Yes the milestone has been funded, he just won't clear it for payment, he wants things done on his terms not Upworks'


Oluwatosin A wrote:

Yes the milestone has been funded, he just won't clear it for payment, he wants things done on his terms not Upworks'


Did you use the "Submit for Payment" function on the contract? to submit the work? 

 

submit.png

Shane B wrote:

Hi Will, no didn't mean go to arbitration, I meant as long as you have proof of work done, and you submit it with payment request on milestone, you will get your money. Unless client disputes of course.


Clients can't dispute a milestone, just request the return of the funds in Escrow.

The freelancer would then be the one to dispute-

 

It's not as simple as "If you do the work you get paid."

The only way to be guarantee payment of the client does not want to pay is (ultimately) arbitration.

 

Should i work on the 3rd milestone without him accepting milestone 2? and it seems you didn't get the message i sent. He has approved it by all standards he just wants to be stubborn and not pay me till the 3rd milestone, and for all i know upwork doesn't work that way, it is a structured paltform, he can't get away with that, i have done my quota, i deserve my milestone payment.

Oluwatosin A,

 

Don't begin work on a new milestone until all previous milestones have been funded and released to you and the client has fully funded the new milestone.

 

Any other approach puts your full payment on this project at further risk of non-payment.

 

Good luck!

Noted.


Oluwatosin A wrote:

Should i work on the 3rd milestone without him accepting milestone 2? and it seems you didn't get the message i sent. He has approved it by all standards he just wants to be stubborn and not pay me till the 3rd milestone, and for all i know upwork doesn't work that way, it is a structured paltform, he can't get away with that, i have done my quota, i deserve my milestone payment.


The terms and phrases you are using don't conform to how the payment process works, so everyone is having trouble figuring out what your issue is. 

If you have submitted the work for payment and the milestone was funded, then, after 14 days the funds are released whether the client acts or not. 
If the client wants you to begin working on the next milestone, but won't release the funds for the previous one (before the 14-day automatic release), you say no. You do not begin working on the next milestone until the client has released the funds for the previous. 
If the client doesn't like that, then you wait 14 days for your funds for the completed milestone to be released. Once the funds are released, close the contract and block the client. Also, leave them a review that reflects their bad behavior.  

 

Thanks A lot...
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