Solved: Client ended contract unexpectedly

c52d1393 · ‎06-17-2020

Hi there! Is it okay for a client to end contract before we reach the amount of money we agreed on? He promised USD 150 in a month, which was divided into small milestones for USD 5 each. He was supposed to send enough work in order to reach USD 150. He ended contract without any previous notice, and only made USD 45 instead of USD 150. We had agreed on a USD 5 price per milestone -JUST BECAUSE- he would send a lot of work. Otherwise I would have charged more per milestone.
Hoping you can help me better understand what's acceptable and what's not.

Thank you!

9b660019 · ‎06-17-2020

The client may have been trying to take advantage, or (as Martina pointed out) may have just become frustrated at having to approve small milestones on a daily basis.

For your part, your concern about not being paid for the work you completed is reasonable - but 30 milestones for $5 each in the course of a month is a bit much. Three to five milestones in a month would have been much more reasonable, and still would have given you an opportunity to cut your losses if the client refused to pay.

It's safe to say that most of us made some mistakes at the start, so take some time to figure out what you can learn from the experience and then focus on moving forward.

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9b660019 · ‎06-17-2020

Either you or the client can end the contract at any time. The behavior you describe is shady (and should be reflected in your feedback to the client), but not on its own a violation of Upwork's terms of service.

Were you paid for all submitted milestones before the contract was closed?

martina_plaschka · ‎06-17-2020

Adam A wrote:
Either you or the client can end the contract at any time. The behavior you describe is shady (and should be reflected in your feedback to the client), but not on its own a violation of Upwork's terms of service.

Were you paid for all submitted milestones before the contract was closed?

The client needs to approve one milestone before he can activate the next, so ......

c52d1393 · ‎06-17-2020

Yes, he did pay for all milestones but I'm so upset because I charged so
little just because he promised more work and for 6 months duration. It
only lasted 1 month and money was a joke.
How can this be okay? But well...
Of course I left a terrible feedback.
Thanks Adam!

96bc9105 · ‎03-11-2021

Spoiler

Recently I started a contract with a client. Both of us agreed to the terms via an Upwork call. He sent me the contract and everything was going well till then. But after I accepted the contract, while we were discussing it, he started saying oh this is your job, aren't you the writer here, isn't this your job and soon. I said that it was a bit rude. Then he suddenly got hugely offended and decided to end the contract without any notice. It was the client's first project here on Upwork so I think he is a bit irrational. But I was midway through the work and he has now requested a refund before I submitted the work. What should I do now? This just decreases my JSS and the client goes unhurt by anything.

eshaan_shah · ‎03-23-2021

I have a small question- the client i was working with started an hourly contract and then felt more comfortable with a fixed price contract so he ended the hourly one...will that affect my profile?

martina_plaschka · ‎06-17-2020

Angie C wrote:
Hi there! Is it okay for a client to end contract before we reach the amount of money we agreed on? He promised USD 150 in a month, which was divided into small milestones for USD 5 each. He was supposed to send enough work in order to reach USD 150. He ended contract without any previous notice, and only made USD 45 instead of USD 150. We had agreed on a USD 5 price per milestone -JUST BECAUSE- he would send a lot of work. Otherwise I would have charged more per milestone.
Hoping you can help me better understand what's acceptable and what's not.
Thank you!

He probably went stark raving mad creating and approving milestones for miniscule amounts and decided to end it all. The contract, I mean.

This arrangement makes no sense at all and one of you should have been the voice of reason and find a better arrangement.

Yes, he can end it any time he wants, and so can you.

c52d1393 · ‎06-17-2020

Hi Martina, yes, it was my first project and I wasn't comfortable working for someone "for free" all month and then just expect him to pay all that I had done before. I was afraid, so I asked for the milestones but then realized it was a pain... We started with 5usd milestones and then I asked to send more work, like 3 or 4 milestones together. But he kept taking so long to reply my messages and it was really complicated. Also, he kept adding tasks to me, that werent on the agreement. Like, it's already too cheap, I can't do more and more and more for the same price. I told him that he should make a side project so I could charge the extra work he was giving me. That's when he ended the contract. I think all the time he was trying to take advantage of me being new to this.

9b660019 · ‎06-17-2020

The client may have been trying to take advantage, or (as Martina pointed out) may have just become frustrated at having to approve small milestones on a daily basis.

For your part, your concern about not being paid for the work you completed is reasonable - but 30 milestones for $5 each in the course of a month is a bit much. Three to five milestones in a month would have been much more reasonable, and still would have given you an opportunity to cut your losses if the client refused to pay.

It's safe to say that most of us made some mistakes at the start, so take some time to figure out what you can learn from the experience and then focus on moving forward.

c52d1393 · ‎06-17-2020

Yes, I proposed to make less milestones and he didn't do it. Frustration might be possible, but also so easy to solve by talking. He really didn't say a thing.

But hey, thanks Adam and Martina for your help.

I will be more careful moving forward.

lysis10 · ‎06-17-2020

Angie C wrote:
Hi there! Is it okay for a client to end contract before we reach the amount of money we agreed on? He promised USD 150 in a month, which was divided into small milestones for USD 5 each. He was supposed to send enough work in order to reach USD 150. He ended contract without any previous notice, and only made USD 45 instead of USD 150. We had agreed on a USD 5 price per milestone -JUST BECAUSE- he would send a lot of work. Otherwise I would have charged more per milestone.
Hoping you can help me better understand what's acceptable and what's not.
Thank you!

lol you got scammed by the "I have so much work so you work for cheap" trick.

prestonhunter · ‎06-17-2020

If we are using the word "acceptable" to mean something that is okay according to Upwork's rules..

It is acceptable for a client to end a contract at any time.

It is also acceptable for a freelancer to end a contract at any time.

There are times when it may be impolite or unprofessional for (to give an example) a freelancer to end a contract right in the middle of helping a client with an important, time-sensitive contract.

But no Upwork ToS rule has been broken if a person ends a contract abruptly or unexpectedly.