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Jeremiah's avatar
Jeremiah B Community Member

Client bait and switch

I have a client that I am dealing with that has decided to pull the ol bait and switch on me.

We started out with an initial zoom consult, the client laid out their vision and ideas for the project, we spoke about the different options and things that I can provide.  Overall, it was about a 1 hour meeting to get everything figured out.

Near the end of the meeting, and I saw it coming, the client said that they were interviewing other clients and wanted to be sure I could do the work.  The client then asked for a sample.  I already know how the sample game works so I very politely informed the client that I would be happy to provide a sample but would need to charge a 1-hour minimum for this.  If hired, I would simply roll this into the project.

After the meeting, I was given photos of the objects I needed to make a design of (using elements from both objects to create one).  I created the sample, included the appropriate features, and spent about 1-1/4 hours putting it together, along with the words "sample" embossed on it.  The client messaged me, asking if I had started on it and when they would get it...  second red flag since we just got off the meeting and we had no agreed upon time frame.

I submitted screenshots and didn't hear back.

Today, I find messages where the client is telling me that the sample is not what was talked about and that it was missing certain features, dimensions were not correct, and there was a part missing.  All items that were never agreed to.  Basically, the client is prodding me to make the entire object under the 1-hour sample rate rather than paying for the full desing process.  Sad thing is that its a business.  Dimensions and measurements were never provided, I never received the item to ensure the various features were correct - these were all things to be done once hired for the full project.

So I reminded the client that this was a sample and that I never agreed to provide the full item for a 1-hour charge.  I would have needed to be on full hourly contract for that.

Rather than fight with the client, I simply stated that I would like for him to honor the 1-hour sample fee and that I would be discontinuing our business relationship - because I can already see that anything going forward will be worse than it is now.

Question is, I would like to have someone look into this.  I have a feeling this client is going to leave negative reviews because they aren't getting the free work that they are trying to obtain.  I also believe that it was their intention to be deceptive from the start - asking for a sample, then attempting to get the partially or fully finished item by making it seem like they would leave a bad review (the switch).  At this point, I dont care if I get paid at all, I am only out 1 hour rather than many hours.  I would rather sever this relationship and walk away.  Any advice on this?  

ACCEPTED SOLUTION
Will's avatar
Will L Community Member

Everybody runs their Upwork business in the way that suits them best. Upwork's business model sometimes requires compromises in how things can be done, creating imperfect situations and contributing to client abuse of those situations.

 

Considering that this is only an hour's worth of feedback compared to what I assume is a history you have of substantial Upwork earnings, proportionally any negative feedback from this client will have little to no effect on your Job Success Score.

 

And you can leave accurate and professional feedback for this client when the project is closed, so other freelancers will know what they're in for with this clown and potential future clients for you will understand why he was a problem. No good potential future client will hold it against you for trusting such a client; you have no choice but to take such chances on Upwork and we've all dealt with this type of person in our lives.

 

Good luck!

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35 REPLIES 35
Phyllis's avatar
Phyllis G Community Member


Jeremiah B wrote:

It sure seems like they are siding with the client.  When it is written as "client will be issued a refund from escrow" and freelancer "will be issued a courtesy payment from Upwork" it tells me that the client sees the determination in his favor (his money refunded from escrow).  Then the freelancer is being given a pittance for speaking up.  


Oh, for crying out loud. It's written that way because the money in escrow is being returned to the client and the funds disbursed to you are coming from UW. Would it make you feel better if they gave you the money from escrow and gave the client different money?

 

Jeremiah's avatar
Jeremiah B Community Member

Yes.  Yes it would.  Very much so!

 

Because it sends the message that "we are paying the freelancer what they rightfully earned".  

 

Petra's avatar
Petra R Community Member

You're being paid in full.

Take it and move on.

 

Would you rather have paid $291 to go to arbitration? (that being the only alternative)!

Jeremiah's avatar
Jeremiah B Community Member

Sorry, I have a little more self-respect than to be a pushover.  

Going to arbitration is the biggest joke out there.  Arbitration for what?  

Client asked for an item, I provided exactly what was asked.  Client got upset because he couldn't take it for his own use to be modified and manipulated.  So, client makes a false claim that I didn't include the list of items that he, himself, admits are not included in the initial item.  So he asks for a refund on the basis that I didn't provide what he wanted.  Even though, he literally says in writing that all of those other things are to be addressed on a separate contract.

Petra's avatar
Petra R Community Member

But the process is such that Upwork as the escrow agent don't make a binding decision one way or the other,

 

The outcome you had means you were paid in full. Take it and move on.

 

The only alternative (bar the client giving in) would have been paying for arbitration.


That's the way it is.

Jeremiah's avatar
Jeremiah B Community Member

Ok, but it still sends the message to the client that they are being awarded a refund.  That the decision is to award the client a refund and reinforce the act of attempting to acquire material through baiting a freelancer to do one thing that is clearly spelled out, then switching their story and claiming all of these other things were never done and they refuse to pay.  Even though they admit those other things were requested on a separate contract after the initial request was completed.

 

They're upset that I provided screenshots instead of a source file.  

Tonya's avatar
Tonya P Community Member


Jeremiah B wrote:

Upwork is going to issue me what they call a "courtesy payment" and issue a refund to the client.  

I am grateful to receive the payment that I am rightfully owed.  However, the fact that Upwork seems to be siding with the client is very telling.  The client has the work spelled out in writing, has several photo examples of what the item should resemble, and goes on to state further detail will be added after the basic sample job is complete.

I fulfilled these obligations and then some.

Looks like the client will get away with it and go on to scam another freelancer.  I already see a new job posting where the clients name has been removed and any name/business identifiers are no longer present.    


Didn't get the outcome I believed was fair and proper =/= Upwork sided with the client

Jeremiah's avatar
Jeremiah B Community Member

You're free to believe whatever suits you.  

 

In case you've ever wondered why Upwork continues to have problems with scammers, it's because they consistently enable them.

Deborah's avatar
Deborah P Community Member

Once a client with budget issues (that she would deny but were there) at the end of the interview required me to provide "at least 3 names of buyers as a sample" while she was interviewing several others and I set the cost at 100$ (that she regarded as $1000). She sounded outraged, I explained that it's my minimum for any commitment, nothing personal, just a work model, and then she decided to give up the "sample" idea and to proceed with a full contract. Another client convinced me to accept a 1-hour test contract, I accepted as he is a common sense, professional and nice person, he gave me a fair feedback at the end, but I remained anxious for all the time and decided that I won't accept any test contract anymore. Definitely not worth the effort. 

Will's avatar
Will L Community Member

Jeremiah,

 

I don’t think you should see Upwork’s solution as siding with the client.

 

It’s a business decision that Upwork hopes will keep both parties using the platform and, if this was a fixed price contract, this solution allows Upwork to avoid paying $291 for arbitration.

 

You get paid in full – for your work product, if not the time, effort and worry this client has caused you.

 

The client gets money back for the work they actually contracted for. (Free or very cheap is a very nice price to pay, but few businesses can make it a regular habit.)

 

Upwork says that the feedback from consistently difficult-to-work-with clients is not counted toward those clients’ freelancers’ Job Success Score calculations, so this client may already be among those clients who already are in or who are working their way toward that status. We’ll never know.

 

But this is the sort of situation that should be part of a client’s public profile. Without such information, we freelancers are left to having to decide whether less-than-stellar feedback from a potential client’s previous freelancers gives us pause in deciding to work with that client. I hope you have left clear feedback for this client, and responded to any inaccuracies in their feedback for you.

Jeremiah's avatar
Jeremiah B Community Member

Thank you for the well-reasoned and thoughtful response.