re: "My client is demanding more work than the agreement and he is blackmailing me with a bad review. what can i do?"
The first thing you need to do is to KNOW the rules.
As Amanda said: Feedback manipulation is against Upwork rules.
ALSO:
It is a violation of Upwork ToS for a client to ask a freelancer to work for free.
When a client asks you to do ANYTHING that is not specifically writtend own in the task agreement, the client is asking you to work for free. So that client is violating Upwork rules.
NEXT:
You have options avialable to you which don't even require contact with Upwork Customer Support.
One option you have is to close the contract yourself and stop dealing with this client entirely. You can close the contract and block him. Is this a good idea? I can't answer that for you. But for myself: When I accept a fixed-price contract with a new/unfamiliar client, I make sure it is a small contract. No more than an hour or two of work. So that if a client doesn't use the fixed-price contract model properly, I can simply close the contract and not deal with him any more. I haven't invested too much time.
Next:
If you don't want to just close the contract yourself and be done with this client, you have the option to give the client an opportunity to do the right thing. Tell the client:
"Joseph: Thank you for your note. Yes, modifying the T-98 file so that it fits Modesto-Klein specifications is a good idea. That was not in the original task agreement, but I can do that immediately if you release the current escrow payment and either set up an hourly contract, or set up a new milestone for $130. Which of these do you want to do?"
Then the client has 3 clear options:
- create a new hourly contract
- create a new fixed-price milestone for the specified dollar amount
- or not get the work done.
Providing CLEAR CHOICES like this is what I always recommend freelancers do when a client asks for out-of-scope work. YOU could choose to ignore the feedback blackmail and offer the client the opportunity to handle this correctly. I don't know if that will work in this case, but it wouldn't cost anything.
If the cilent is a rational person who realizes that he needs you a lot more than you need him... The client may decide, based purely on enlightened self-interest, to forget about blackmailing you and simply follow your instructions.
