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1bc52fa7
Community Member

Client came back after a month to get the work resumed

Hello Awesome Community Members

I had a contract with a client comprising three milestones - Initial draft report, Revised Final Report, Incorporations of Revisions. I submitted the initial draft. The client requested some revisions which I incorporated to the initial draft even without activating revision milestone and submitted the revised work. The client was decent until the second milestone. I was all ready to present the work for the third milestone, but then the client got some pressing engagements, and he requested to postpone the deadline to a new mutually agreed upon date. We decided on a date after two weeks. As the deadline was arriving, I sent him a reminder to which he didn't respond. I sent him three reminders, each after one week, but again no response. After six weeks he appeared and asked me to resume the work on the project, but I told him that it was not possible because all the statistics and figures included in the initial report were changed completely during this idle period of almost two months. Resumption of the work would have meant that I had to do all the research again from scratch, while this lapse of time was not done due to me, so I refused. I submitted the last milestone as done, the payment of which he didn't refuse, and I got paid automatically after a specific time. After that, we had a very long debate on the dispute but could not reach a point of agreement. He also raised questions on my professionalism, religion, nationality etc. during all this debate. Finally, now he has offered me two solutions
1. He will open a dispute with Upwork
2. He will get a full refund (for all three milestones)

What should be my course of action in such a situation? He hasn't ended the contract yet, but when he will, I am certainly expecting a 1-star feedback. I am really very cautious about my JSS too.

ACCEPTED SOLUTION
petra_r
Community Member


Ammar J wrote:
Shall I proceed with issuing a refund or taking it up with Upwork? Which one is better for JSS.
Most important thing i want to be assured of is whether my stance is right or not!

Best to politely work it out with the client, No point taking it up with Upwork. If the client does dispute you can make your case, but Upwork doesn't decide, only mediates, If the client ends the contract unhappily, it will affect your JSS either way, regardless of the outcome.

 

You may need to use your Top Rated Perk if you haven't used it in the last 3 months and 10 contracts.

 

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5 REPLIES 5
petra_r
Community Member


Ammar J wrote:

Finally, now he has offered me two solutions
1. He will open a dispute with Upwork
2. He will get a full refund (for all three milestones)

What should be my course of action in such a situation? 


Is there money in Escrow still? If not (!) - what is the invoice date of the last milestone? (The date the money was released from Escrow)

1bc52fa7
Community Member

Money for the last milestone was made available to me for withdraw on 27th September.

petra_r
Community Member


Ammar J wrote:

Money for the last milestone was made available to me for withdraw on 27th September.


Then the contract can still be disputed (all 3 milestones) if the client wants to go that way. 

1bc52fa7
Community Member

Shall I proceed with issuing a refund or taking it up with Upwork? Which one is better for JSS.
Most important thing i want to be assured of is whether my stance is right or not!
petra_r
Community Member


Ammar J wrote:
Shall I proceed with issuing a refund or taking it up with Upwork? Which one is better for JSS.
Most important thing i want to be assured of is whether my stance is right or not!

Best to politely work it out with the client, No point taking it up with Upwork. If the client does dispute you can make your case, but Upwork doesn't decide, only mediates, If the client ends the contract unhappily, it will affect your JSS either way, regardless of the outcome.

 

You may need to use your Top Rated Perk if you haven't used it in the last 3 months and 10 contracts.

 

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