Client refuses to pay me :(

[branaljosiah]

As a little backstory, she was the first client I had here in Upwork as I have only started 3 weeks ago. We have agreed to do 2 worksheets, and will be charged at $25 per worksheet. But the offer she gave me was an hourly contract, but since I was new to upwork that time and have no idea of how things work, I have accepted the offer on an hourly contract basis. I started the desktop timer and I have finished the project within 5 hours, which had the amount of $150. I know it was negligence on my part because I did not familiarize with how hourly contracts work. But it was resolved by her resetting my timer to 0 hours, and she just promised me to pay me $75 for the work.

But now, she is refusing to pay me a single dollar. She said that she has already billed me $75 dollars twice, so her amount billed was actually $150 and now even demands me to do additional work for her. She said that the money is "coming into my way", but I know it was not the case because the payments are not reflected on my billing reports. In my understanding, hourly contract payments should be under the "in review" section, because I have done hourly contracts with other clients, but in her case, there is no single dollar of billing indication reflected on my report, and she keeps on telling me that I should be patient and that the money is "on the way" to me.

As an additional frustration, she replies once every 2-3 days. This means that I had to wait for 2-3 days to get her comments, and consult her on this matter. This work could have been finished within 4 days at most but has been stretched into 3 weeks now, and is still going because she is very unresponsive. 

My question is, how do I get myself paid for the work that I have done? and/or what other actions can I pursue to resolve this problem?

[tinker_bell3]

Hi Josiah,

I checked your account and I was able to check the contract you're referring to. Upon checking, it looks like your client has processed payments for the hours you have logged. You can check it here. 

[branaljosiah]

Thank you very much! I will now resolve this matter. Thank you again!

[a_lipsey]

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Josiah B wrote:

As a little backstory, she was the first client I had here in Upwork as I have only started 3 weeks ago. We have agreed to do 2 worksheets, and will be charged at $25 per worksheet. But the offer she gave me was an hourly contract, but since I was new to upwork that time and have no idea of how things work, I have accepted the offer on an hourly contract basis. I started the desktop timer and I have finished the project within 5 hours, which had the amount of $150. I know it was negligence on my part because I did not familiarize with how hourly contracts work. But it was resolved by her resetting my timer to 0 hours, and she just promised me to pay me $75 for the work.

But now, she is refusing to pay me a single dollar. She said that she has already billed me $75 dollars twice, so her amount billed was actually $150 and now even demands me to do additional work for her. She said that the money is "coming into my way", but I know it was not the case because the payments are not reflected on my billing reports. In my understanding, hourly contract payments should be under the "in review" section, because I have done hourly contracts with other clients, but in her case, there is no single dollar of billing indication reflected on my report, and she keeps on telling me that I should be patient and that the money is "on the way" to me.

As an additional frustration, she replies once every 2-3 days. This means that I had to wait for 2-3 days to get her comments, and consult her on this matter. This work could have been finished within 4 days at most but has been stretched into 3 weeks now, and is still going because she is very unresponsive. 

My question is, how do I get myself paid for the work that I have done? and/or what other actions can I pursue to resolve this problem?

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If it was hourly it takes a long time because the week closes at 1159UTC on Sunday, and then they have until like Friday to review, then it takes 5 days to make it to your account. So you may have received the first $75, but not the second. 

[petra_r · Accepted solution]

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Josiah B wrote:

Client refuses to pay me 😞

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The client isn't refusing to pay you. The client has atrady paid you a whopping three times what you agreed to. If you bothered checking your Reports > Overview you would see it.

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Josiah B wrote:

But it was resolved by her resetting my timer to 0 hours,

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This is nonsense, as resetting the weekly limit does not remove time already logged.

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Josiah B wrote:

But now, she is refusing to pay me a single dollar.

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Of course she is, given that you not only overcharged her by 300%, but she has already paid?????

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Josiah B wrote:

what other actions can I pursue to resolve this problem?

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You can :

1. Apologize most profusely to your client.

2. Immediately refund the three times overpayment.

3. Learn how Upwork works before you take another contract.

[branaljosiah]

Thank you very much! I will do this. We have already resolved the issues. Thank you again!