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Muhammad Junaid's avatar
Muhammad Junaid K Community Member

Client has ended the contract without paying for the milestone

Hi, I have a problem with a client. I was hired by a client to write buying guides for a product. The project was divided into milestones.
He set the first milestone for one buying guide for $30. I wrote the buying guide and submit the first draft to the client. The client was happy with the work. He only suggest two modifications which I did. Now when I submit the final version of the guide after modification,
he suddenly took a U-turn and saying that he is not happy with the guide and has ended the contract without paying me for the first milestone that I completed.

 

Now I want to ask if I should file a dispute and ask him to pay for the milestone and then end the contract if he wants? I have completed the milestone and submit the complete buying guide so I should be paid. The only thing that I fear is that if he agrees to the payment then he might give a negative review which could affect my profile. What should I do? Should I go to file a dispute? or accept his request to end the project without getting my payment for the milestone?

ACCEPTED SOLUTION
Preston's avatar
Preston H Community Member

This is what you can do:

 

https://support.upwork.com/hc/en-us/articles/211068528-Dispute-Non-Release-of-a-Milestone-Payment

 

Your analysis is correct.

You were hired by a client who is essentially a thief. He hired you to do a task, you did the task, and now he wants to NOT pay you for that. Obviously that makes no sense.

 

If HE ended the contract, then his ability to leave feedback is OVER. So you may as well try to get paid.

 

You can DECLINE his refund request, which will create a dispute. Then you can tell the mediator that you are not willing to give any refund.

 

But if the contract is still open, he can still leave feedback. If the contract is open  and he wants to not pay you anything, then you still have the option to agree, and not get paid, and maybe he will not leave negative feedback.

View solution in original post

Petra's avatar
Petra R Community Member


Muhammad Junaid K wrote:
I want to know what is this "Courtesy Credit"? How can I use it? Can I withdraw it? 

That means the amount in dispute was too small to make it worth Upwork's time to mediate, so they gave the client the esxrow funds and paid you out of their own pocket.


Yes, you'll be able to withdeaw it and "in good standing" means you are not suspended or have any account issues.

View solution in original post

14 REPLIES 14
Preston's avatar
Preston H Community Member

This is what you can do:

 

https://support.upwork.com/hc/en-us/articles/211068528-Dispute-Non-Release-of-a-Milestone-Payment

 

Your analysis is correct.

You were hired by a client who is essentially a thief. He hired you to do a task, you did the task, and now he wants to NOT pay you for that. Obviously that makes no sense.

 

If HE ended the contract, then his ability to leave feedback is OVER. So you may as well try to get paid.

 

You can DECLINE his refund request, which will create a dispute. Then you can tell the mediator that you are not willing to give any refund.

 

But if the contract is still open, he can still leave feedback. If the contract is open  and he wants to not pay you anything, then you still have the option to agree, and not get paid, and maybe he will not leave negative feedback.

Muhammad Junaid's avatar
Muhammad Junaid K Community Member

Hi Preston, 

 

Thanks for the clarification. After your clarification, I can now decide that what I should do. As he has ended the contract and losses his ability to give feedback, I can now go to file a dispute.

Petra's avatar
Petra R Community Member

 


Muhammad Junaid K wrote

After your clarification, I can now decide that what I should do. As he has ended the contract and losses his ability to give feedback, I can now go to file a dispute.


Not quite! The client closed the contract, so has already left private feedback (which is what affects your JSS).

 

If you end up getting paid, the client will also be able to leave public feedback of it was within 14 days.

Muhammad Junaid's avatar
Muhammad Junaid K Community Member

Now It's confusing. Preston and you have totally opposite views. He says that the client losses his ability to leave feedback and you are saying that he can still leave feedback after the dispute.

Petra's avatar
Petra R Community Member


Muhammad Junaid K wrote:

Now It's confusing. Preston and you have totally opposite views. 


Not really, he just wrote the same thing (with omissions) in a confusing way which made you think that it would work the complete opposite of how it really works.


What I wrote is both correct and clear. 

Private feedback has already been left, that is what affects your metrics and that ship has sailed. Whether additional public feedback can be left depends on whether money changes hands. If you are paid anything more than $1, the client can additionally leave public feedback, which will show on your profile, if it's within 14 days.

.

Muhammad Junaid's avatar
Muhammad Junaid K Community Member

Hi,

I have an update regarding my dispute. I have received the following reply from the dispute team:

 

**Edited for Community Guidelines**
 
I want to know what is this "Courtesy Credit"? How can I use it? Can I withdraw it? And what does "Your account must be in good standing at the time of credit approval" means? What do they mean by "in good standing"?
Petra's avatar
Petra R Community Member


Muhammad Junaid K wrote:
I want to know what is this "Courtesy Credit"? How can I use it? Can I withdraw it? 

That means the amount in dispute was too small to make it worth Upwork's time to mediate, so they gave the client the esxrow funds and paid you out of their own pocket.


Yes, you'll be able to withdeaw it and "in good standing" means you are not suspended or have any account issues.

Preston's avatar
Preston H Community Member

Muhammad Junaid:

 

Thank you for taking the time to let us know how this ended.

 

I am sorry that this client abused the system, but the good thing is that Upwork did right by you.

Muhammad Junaid's avatar
Muhammad Junaid K Community Member

Thanks Preston..

Muhammad Junaid's avatar
Muhammad Junaid K Community Member

Well, the client left no review. I have checked the client's feedback and there is written "N/A".  Either he did not leave feedback or he has no ability to do so...

Muhammad Junaid's avatar
Muhammad Junaid K Community Member

Thanks for the clarification.  Smiley Happy

Hammad's avatar
Hammad H Community Member

Hi Upwork Family,
I completed my work but the client did not release the payment and also blocked me.
As per client requirement i make changes in website, also deploy on his domain also do backed work as well but client does not release payment.
Client also did not give me good feedback. I will show you all the things which I completed.
Please help me.

Luiggi's avatar
Luiggi R Moderator

Hi Hammad,

 

I'm sorry to learn about your experience and thanks for bringing this to our attention. We’ve escalated your community post to a support ticket. One of our agents will be in touch with you soon to assist.

~ Luiggi
Hammad's avatar
Hammad H Community Member

yes please i also provide you all details.

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