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1f6a1ab7
Community Member

Client Requesting for Revisions

Hi all,

 

I am new to Upwork and submitted my first work a couple of days ago.

 

Prior to starting the job, I explained to the client the limitations of the work he wanted me to do. He needed help to download satellite imagery on a monthly basis and required "clear" images, but images may or may not be clear since the interval he wanted was really short. This is the limitation of the sensor collecting the images, which I tried my very best to explain to him before starting the contract. He later said that since there would be many images, it would be fine for his purpose. Then, we agreed to start a contract, fixed price. I shared with him all the outputs a day before the agreed deadline and I was even sharing them part by part in duration of the contract.

 

Now that I submitted the work, it sounds like he is coming back to his original argument that he needed "clear" images. I tried my best to send him the outputs as soon as I generated them. He only responded to me once during the duration of the contract and told me he was out of town. He responded a day later after the contract ended and said I needed to revise everything I sent him. No payment has been made at this point. 

 

I feel that this is quite unfair - I explained everything in the beginning and delivered earlier. 

 

How do I deal with this situation? I am new here and I am trying to build a reputation. I am open to not getting paid and giving it up if the client will still insist about the "clear" images and if he will just give me a bad rating.

 

Your advice would be very much appreciated. 

18 REPLIES 18
danieldobson
Community Member

I can't comment on the quality of the work or whether having clear images is a reasonable expectation (clear as in no clouds?) but it does sound as if you have tried to set expectations with the client and provided an adequate amount of feedback during the process. Unfortunately, clients can be quite capricious and often don't care about a project until it is time to make a payment. You should definately seek to find a way forward with the client if it is reasonable and possible.

I wouldn't sweat the rating too much, sure it sucks but if you are professional and skilled then in the long run it won't make a difference. If you were to recieve bad feedback and willing to give a full refund then the project wouldn't appear on your profile and count towards your rating.

Try to sort it out with the client and if not, sayonara. 

Sheryl, bad luck to encounter an unreasonable client on your first job, but if there was a milestone funded, then you can dispute the refund request, and then there's a chance you'll get some payment, albeit the client will likely leave you negative feedback. If you let it go, then this will eventually count against your job success as an unsuccessful outcome, so you're between Scylla and Charybdis.

__________________________________________________
"No good deed goes unpunished." -- Clare Boothe Luce
petra_r
Community Member


Sheryl Rose R wrote:

He responded a day later after the contract ended and said I needed to revise everything I sent him. No payment has been made at this point. 


How can the contract have been ended without you being paid?

 

Was it a fixed rate contract? Hourly?

If fixed rate, was it funded with the money in Escrow? Did you submit the work properly through the "Submit Work for Payment" button?

 

If hourly, did you track your time?

 

1f6a1ab7
Community Member

So sorry for using the wrong term. The contract is not yet closed, but the deadline has passed (this is what I meant for the"contract has ended"). That's why the payment is not yet made. 

 

It's a fixed term contract and I properly submitted the work using the "Submit Work" button. 

 

I am agreeable if he needed revisions, but I just don't think it is fair to go back to the beginning and be asked to revise everything. 

petra_r
Community Member


Sheryl Rose R wrote:

So sorry for using the wrong term. The contract is not yet closed, but the deadline has passed (this is what I meant for the"contract has ended"). That's why the payment is not yet made. 

 

It's a fixed term contract and I properly submitted the work using the "Submit Work" button. 

 

I am agreeable if he needed revisions, but I just don't think it is fair to go back to the beginning and be asked to revise everything. 


Has the client used the official "request changes" function?

Did you originally send the client a sample of the output to make sure his expectations were properly alligned with reality?

Is it "possible" to achieve what the client was hoping for?

 

1f6a1ab7
Community Member

Hi,

 

He did not use that function yet. 

 

Yes, I sent him some images before he hired me. I even explained to him that the monthly images he wanted may not be useful for his purpose and proposed a longer interval so I can use a more sophisticated algorithm to produce the images. But he said that he needed more data, so he needs monthly. In addition, I also downloaded radar images for the available years, which are cloud free.

 

The possibility of achieving his expectations depends on the satellite mission collecting the data and the interval you will be working with, in this case, you are likely to have 1-2 images to work with since it is monthly. There will be months that images will have too much clouds  (e.g. rainy season) and if weather is good (e.g. summer), you can get clearer images with more data. I explained this to him repeatedly in the beginning before we started with the contract and he said let's proceed. So I assumed he understood the limitations. But he is now saying it is not what he needed. 

AveryO
Community Manager
Community Manager

Hi Sheryl, 

I checked your account and would like to clarify that you only have one contract with the client, and the contract is still ongoing and hasn't ended yet. I can see that the first milestone has already been funded, and you submitted work just one day ago. We always recommend for freelancers to use the milestone-submission system when submitting work to the client for a fixed-price contract. Your client will have 14-days to review your submitted work. During this timeframe, your client may request for some changes to your work, or release the payment ahead of the 14-days. If your client doesn't come back, and the 14-days has ended, the money in escrow will automatically be paid to your account. You may read more about it here

 

If your client refuses to release the milestone to you, or pay you for the work you have submitted, you have the option to dispute the money in escrow. If you opt to open a dispute, a Mediation Specialist will reach out to you and your client to assist you further. You may read more about filing disputes here.

Hopefully you are able to sort this with your client.


~ Avery
Upwork
1f6a1ab7
Community Member

Hi Avery,

 

Thanks for your kind clarification. I clarified in one of my replies that the contract has not ended but the deadline passed already for the deliverables. 

 

Can I ask how long does the dispute take? If I also consider that the revisions being requested are out of scope or already been addressed, is there a way for me to refuse doing further revision? Or is there a way for me to close/end the contract? 

 

Thank you. 

petra_r
Community Member


Sheryl Rose R wrote:

Hi Avery,

 

Thanks for your kind clarification. I clarified in one of my replies that the contract has not ended but the deadline passed already for the deliverables. 

 

Can I ask how long does the dispute take? If I also consider that the revisions being requested are out of scope or already been addressed, is there a way for me to refuse doing further revision? Or is there a way for me to close/end the contract? 

 

Thank you. 


There is no dispute yet. If you can avoid a dispute, do so.

Explain your position to the client clearly, professionally, and firmly.

Give the client options (Such as $ XXX for the additional work etc)

 

 

yitwail
Community Member


Sheryl Rose R wrote:

 

Or is there a way for me to close/end the contract? 

 

Sheryl, a freelancer can always close a contract herself. However, if it's a fixed price job and the client hasn't approved the milestone, then you won't get paid and your JSS will eventually suffer. In your case, I suggest you simply wait until the client responds to the work you submitted. If they choose not to respond within 14 days then you'll get paid as Avery stated.

__________________________________________________
"No good deed goes unpunished." -- Clare Boothe Luce
36e02291
Community Member

Hi Support,

I am working for my client and before the contract started I clarified to the client that Fixing things takes time (GSC Issue in SEO).

But now just after 14 days when I have to receive the payment, client added the work revision. Now I want to know when I will receive my payment as earlier I was supposed to receive the payment after 14 days and now the client has added the work revision.

Hi Dimple,

 

I am sorry to hear about your experience with the client. I understand that your client requested a revision after submitting work on the contract. You may reach out to the client to discuss the revision requested by them and resubmit the work on the contract once the revision is completed. Please refer to this help page for more information. 

 

- Pradeep

Upwork

Hi Pradeep,

I have completed the work from my end and told many time to client but at the time of milestone releasing automatically, client is putting the revision work so that payement hold for next 14 days and I am assuming he will do the same after 14 days.

I am concerned that my hard earned money is stuck. Can you please let me know Is there any alternative to get my payment from the client. 

yofazza
Community Member

You need to clarify that they must pay for the work, not for the result (unless it's agreed otherwise at the start).

 

If they don't like it, you file a dispute.

 

--

 

It's kind of a normal problem on marketing (or your GSC/SEO) jobs where actually a 'great strategist' here, a 'top voice', the 'man with hot-in-demand-skills', could reverse the problem into an advantage by immediate contract-close and to get payments and good reviews by sweet talks and calling the client twice a day asking for 5 stars.

36e02291
Community Member

I am not getting the option of raising disputes under my jobs - all contracts. 

As when I am selecting to raise a dispute there is no option to raise a dispute.

36e02291_0-1702224129695.png

Please help me and if possible please share the direct dispute link with me.

 

Hi Dimple,

 

That's because the steps you're trying to follow are for contracts that have ended. Since this is an active contract, the client must decline the release of the milestone payment you've already requested, which I see is still pending the client's response. If they decline the release of the milestone payment, you will then have the option to dispute the non-release of a milestone payment on the same contract page. 

~ Luiggi
Upwork
36e02291
Community Member

Hi Luiggi,

Client is very smart he is not even declining the payment request so I can't raise the dispute. However at the time when payment seems to be automatically credited in my account after 14 days, he will raise the revision of work so that payment will stuck again for 14 days as he did the last time.

At the last moment when the payment seemed to be automatically released after 14 days, On 13 days client put in the revision work and I am concerned that he will do that again. 

If I submit the payment request again from HERE. Does it take again 14 days to get payment automatically if the client does not release payment himself?

 

Hi Dimple,

 

Yes, the 14 days will restart if you click the 'Resubmit Payment Request' button.

 

- Pradeep

Upwork
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