Can I get my money back from escrow?

ceb79329 · ‎06-02-2021

Hi Everyone!

I'm about to hire a freelancer to help me with my project. I would have to put 80$ into escrow. I'm wondering, if I don't like the end result, can I get my 80$ back? Even without the freelancer agreeing to it? I'd love to hear your awnsers! I could really use some help 🙂

Thanks,

Avelinde

petra_r · ‎06-02-2021

Avelinde D wrote:
I'm about to hire a freelancer to help me with my project. I would have to put 80$ into escrow. I'm wondering, if I don't like the end result, can I get my 80$ back? Even without the freelancer agreeing to it?

Not without the freelancer's agreement or a dispute. If you choose your freelancer wisely and pay market rates, there shouldn't be a situation where that is needed or appropriate.

When you hire someone to work for you, their time is valuable too and should be compensated.

prestonhunter · ‎06-02-2021

Avelinde:

You should never hire a freelancer unless you are ready to never get the escrow money back.

If there is a certain amount of money that you can't really afford to lose, then divide up the project into smaller milestones and fund only a small milestone to start out with.

I needed to hire a freelancer to create ten modules for me. But I have never worked with her before. What if I don't like her work?

Instead of hiring her to do 10 modules for $100, I hired her to do one module for $10.

She did the work and I hated it!
Oh my goodness... just terrible.

But I she did the task she was asked to do. I just don't like her style. Oh well. That is part of hiring freelancers. I released the $10 and then closed the contract. I threw her module in the trash.

I hired a different freelancer for $10. That module is great! I set up additional milestones for him to do the remaining nine modules.

richardrader · ‎06-02-2021

Escrow is designed to protect both you and the freelancer. It protects the freelancer in case the client decides to take the money back and run after receiving the deliverables. It protects the client in the case the client wants to create a dispute of the freelancer's work. In case you end up in a dispute you would try to come to an agreed solution with the freelancer. If no agreeement is met you would begin the arbritration process where both you and the freelancer would pay an arbritation fee. If the freelancer decided not to pay this fee you would be refunded the escrow, and arbritration fee automatically (vice versa as well).

If I were you I would spend more energy on vetting and finding good quality freelancers over thinking about worse case scenarios. Most contracts do not end up being disputed. If you do your homework finding great freelancers, the odds of coming to a dispute are minimized.

prestonhunter · ‎06-02-2021

I believe that refund thinking hurts clients.

In my opinion, one of the best ways for clients to save money is to proactively decide that they will never ask for a refund, no matter what. This decision then shapes their hiring and project management decisions.

In the Forum, I have seen clients with complaints along these lines: "I paid this freelancer $10,000 and can't use the work. Can I get a refund?"

The answer is usually: No. You can't get that money back.

And I have seen other clients who say something like this: "As soon as this freelancer started working I reviewed his work and it was terrible. I lost $50 in payments to a terrible freelancer."

Which would you rather be?

The client who was counting on a "refund" and lost $10,000?

Or the client who never planned to ask for a refund, so he monitored the work, and lost $50?