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ritadelr
Community Member

Client Exploiting me for free work and stealing drafts

Hello, so I've found this client who I started working with and he seemed so serious and strict about the work we do which I respect. However, it started with asking double versions of a draft for the price of one which I said yes to, then I get a message saying that they want me to give them the source file so that they can create a flyer with it, what's that about?? That's not all so I created a graphic and they asked me to change it (and give the source file for it) So, while working I check their instagram and there is a picture of my (unwanted) draft POSTED!!!! I am furious and I feel like I was exploited and disrespected!!!! How do I deal with this? I am sure it's going to backfire on me for sure.

15 REPLIES 15
abinadab-agbo
Community Member

In your future proposals, it is usually helpful to specify how many concepts and and revisions you can provide for a particular price. Also tell them if you'll be providing source files or not, or ask them if they would need this.

If the client asks for more free work, you may say "Since we agreed on x number of drafts for this project, would you like to fund another milestone for this extra one?"

tlsanders
Community Member

Well,you were (disrespected and exploited). But, it sounds like you consented to 80% of the exploitation and disrespect. Why?

I do believe that clients no matter what have the upperhand on this platform so in order to avoid bad reviews which can be unfair and losing a job, I am forced to say yes to everything sometimes but I might not be right after all

lysis10
Community Member


Ghita S wrote:

I do believe that clients no matter what have the upperhand on this platform so in order to avoid bad reviews which can be unfair and losing a job, I am forced to say yes to everything sometimes but I might not be right after all


lol There are no victims here. Only volunteers.

 

Smart freelancers know that they have the upperhand on upwork. Upwork has all the power, but when it comes to client vs freelancer, aside from a flat-out chargeback, freelancers have the upperhand. With hourly, clients really have 0 power other than the ability to close a contract.

ritadelr
Community Member


Jennifer M wrote:

Ghita S wrote:

I do believe that clients no matter what have the upperhand on this platform so in order to avoid bad reviews which can be unfair and losing a job, I am forced to say yes to everything sometimes but I might not be right after all


lol There are no victims here. Only volunteers.

 

Smart freelancers know that they have the upperhand on upwork. Upwork has all the power, but when it comes to client vs freelancer, aside from a flat-out chargeback, freelancers have the upperhand. With hourly, clients really have 0 power other than the ability to close a contract.



Thank you, Jennifer, for sharing your opinion. However I don't see why it is necessary to use the term SMART,  are you implying that I or anyone who shares my opinion is a dummy. From my perspective, I see that I have a different method of working which doesn't always work best for me and with the help and advice shared by everyone on this discussion, I'll be correcting my mistakes. And one last thing, I speak from personal experience and from complications I've met in the past, doesn't mean that I am not smart, it simply means that bad things happen. 


Ghita S wrote:

I do believe that clients no matter what have the upperhand on this platform so in order to avoid bad reviews which can be unfair and losing a job, I am forced to say yes to everything sometimes but I might not be right after all


This is the mentality of someone who should not be freelancing. I'm sorry if that sounds harsh, but as a freelancer you are an independent business person. You and you alone are responsible for the decisions you make, the relationships you form, and the priorities you set.

 

Now, if you're saying, "I'm willing to do tons of work for peanuts because keeping a good rating is the most important thing to me," that's your choice. I personally think it's a bad business decision, but it's not my business.

 

But, as a grown up professional, the word "Forced" has no place in your business vocabulary. Every choice is yours, and if you don't recognize that and feel like a helpless victim, your chances of success are near zero.


Tiffany S wrote:

Ghita S wrote:

I do believe that clients no matter what have the upperhand on this platform so in order to avoid bad reviews which can be unfair and losing a job, I am forced to say yes to everything sometimes but I might not be right after all


This is the mentality of someone who should not be freelancing. I'm sorry if that sounds harsh, but as a freelancer you are an independent business person. You and you alone are responsible for the decisions you make, the relationships you form, and the priorities you set.

 

Now, if you're saying, "I'm willing to do tons of work for peanuts because keeping a good rating is the most important thing to me," that's your choice. I personally think it's a bad business decision, but it's not my business.

 

But, as a grown up professional, the word "Forced" has no place in your business vocabulary. Every choice is yours, and if you don't recognize that and feel like a helpless victim, your chances of success are near zero.


Thank you, Tiffany, I respect your opinion but I am also speaking based off a horrible experience I had to face so I am being cautious maybe a little bit too much.

prestonhunter
Community Member

re: "How do I deal with this?"

 

You put a stop to it the VERY FIRST time it happens.

 

Tell the client:

"Carlos,

 Thank you for your note. That sounds like a good idea. I would be willing to do it, but I need to stay withing Upwork's guidelines, so I can't actually do any tasks that are outside of the agreed-upon milestone task. Would you like to close out the current contract now, and set up an hourly contract, so that I can work on whatever you need? Or would you prefer to have me finish the current milestone task, and then set up a new milestone for $50.00 to do that? Either way that you prefer will be fine."

Anonymous-User
Not applicable

Well, they stole it for sure because you own the work until they pay. You can issue a legal take-down notice yourself, pay an attorney to do it on your behalf, and good luck with that.

But one should never give their designs to the client before it's paid for. Period. No checkie, no workie.

Thank you Cairenn, in fact it was a screenshot of the work

Anonymous-User
Not applicable

Wow so they copied the copy?

Use watermarks for drafts. Then they get nothing usable but something to review.

It'll work out. Hang in there.


Cairenn R wrote:
Wow so they copied the copy?

Use watermarks for drafts. Then they get nothing usable but something to review.

It'll work out. Hang in there.


Indeed, unfortunately, I like to stay open with my clients and show them that I completely trust them so I don't mind handing out screenshots with no watermark but I guess that's not an option anymore.

Hi Ghita,

 

I'm sorry to hear about your experience with this client. We appreciate you bringing this to our attention, we’ll share this for a review with the team and they will take action if any violations are found. Let me know if anything comes up.

~ Riri
angelajean04
Community Member

This is called scope creep. It's super common in freelance. They start adding more work without paying more. Put your foot down now or they'll keep pushing. 

I'd go with something like,  "Per our original agreement this is the work (XYZ) that you're paying for. If you need additional work, I charge XYZ." Don't be rude, but don't be wishy-washy either. 😉 

Anonymous-User
Not applicable


Angela B wrote:

This is called scope creep. It's super common in freelance. They start adding more work without paying more. Put your foot down now or they'll keep pushing. 

I'd go with something like,  "Per our original agreement this is the work (XYZ) that you're paying for. If you need additional work, I charge XYZ." Don't be rude, but don't be wishy-washy either. 😉 


Spot on. 

 

I'm thinking the changes coming next month with FLs being able to add/change milestones is going to (hopefully) cut down on these types of problems. If a client wants more work, etc., we can tack it on and they can take it or leave it. 

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