Client is Refusing to Pay

ldink · ‎10-08-2022

Upwork Team,

I am upset to have to write this. It's been a wonderful two years on this platform and I have never had a client issue. But that ended today.

A client reached out to me early this morning for a cover letter project. He needed a cover letter as he was applying to roles in marketing. I accepted the offer to interview and he hired me immediately. I have over 20 years of experience in marketing and was confident I could deliver what he needed.

He hired me for one hour. He sent me a draft cover letter and his resume. I re-wrote the cover letter completely in under an hour (at about 30 minutes he asked if I was done yet) and I sent it to him. He requested marketing terms and keywords be added, which I did. He replied and said he thought more of his personality needed to come through with the letter and he would be reworking it. I said I understood (I cannot write about a strangers personality and he never asked me to call him or connect so that I could interview him). I responded by offering some more tips and even commented on his resume and offered solid advice recruiters have given me about marketing resumes.

He then wrote back and said he was pausing the contract, considering cancelling it and said we should "call it a wash." I disagree, as I wrote a professional sounding, thoughtful and marketing saavy cover letter that any professional I know would be happy to have.

Therefore, I would like to dispute this contract for breach of payment. I briefly considered letting this go and trying to just forget about it but I now feel he intentionally hired me (it could have been any freelancer) and did not intend to pay. He's using Upwork for free cover letters and if I can help another freelancer avoid this, I want to help.

I don't know how the dispute process works (as I've said, I've never had a problem here) but I would appreciate getting paid for the hour I worked. At the very least, if that's not possible, please make sure he doesn't do this to another freelancer.

Finally, does reporting a dispute affect your rating as a freelancer? I hope not. A few months ago, I went from a 100% to a 96% even though I have five star reviews from all my clients (one 4 star), a lightning fast response rate and I always deliver quality work on time.

Thanks for your time.

spectralua · ‎10-08-2022

Time tracker used? You will be paid if yes.

Client able to start dispute.

wlyonsatl · ‎10-08-2022

Was this an hourly or fixed price project?

prestonhunter · ‎10-08-2022

Lisa:

Your goal should be to learn how to use Upwork without ever needing to contact Customer Support or file a dispute.

If you were hired using an hourly contract, then you will get paid AUTOMATICALLY for the time that you logged.

If a client hires a freelancer using an hourly contract, the client may pause the contract at any time. And that's fine. There's nothing wrong with that.

You said that the client was considering "cancelling" the contract. That's fine. Clients are supposed to end or "cancel" the contract eventually. That has nothing to do with how much you get paid.

So I'm not sure what you think the problem is here. I read and re-read your post, and I can't find anything that the client did which violated Upwork rules.

Is this simply a matter of you not understanding that you will get paid for the time that you logged, regardless of whether the client pauses or "cancels" the contract?