Client refusing to pay

potter_tina · ‎01-03-2023

**Edited for Community Guidelines** of **Edited for Community Guidelines** is claiming that he does not have to pay me for the completed work. He is stating that I released him from any final payment which is not true. I have reached out to him several times but he is not responding.

The final work was submitted to him on 12/12/22. The final payment is $2,200. I noticed that he gave me 5 stars so he obviously was satisfied with the work. I am baffled as to why he is refusing to fulfill his portion of the contract.

Do I have any recourse?

feed_my_eyes · ‎01-03-2023

If escrow was funded and you submitted the work using the "submit" button, then the payment should have been automatically released after 14 days. It doesn't matter what he says in the messages or whether or not he responds to you; did you get any notifications about a dispute?

potter_tina · ‎01-06-2023

I received the escrow. I have not received the final payment.

feed_my_eyes · ‎01-06-2023

Whenever there's more work for you to do, there needs to be a new milestone with the escrow account funded. If the client didn't fund the "final" milestone, then you shouldn't have done any work and there's no way for Upwork to get the money if he's decided not to pay you. I'm sorry that you had to learn an expensive lesson, but now you'll know for the future.

prestonhunter · ‎01-03-2023

Tina:
If he gave you 5 stars, it means that the contract has been CLOSED.

If the contract has been closed, then either:

a) The client ALREADY released all money that was in escrow.

[or]

b) The client requested a refund and you were sent a refund request.

A client can NOT unilaterally "not pay" a freelancer for a fixed-price task funded in escrow. The only options a client has are:
a) release all escrow money to the freelancer
[or

b) ask the freelancer for a refund

And if the client asks for a refund, YOU can say "no."

So something doesn't make sense in your description of events.

potter_tina · ‎01-06-2023

At this point, he is not responding to messages. In his last message, he stated, he is released of "all financial obligations". I am not sure how, since he owed $2,200. Is there a way for Upwork to contact him about the final payment?

The original contract was for $3,000. I had a milestone payment set up for $800 which he released. All work was completed as agreed upon. I have been reading through all of the information in the help section on this issue. It looked like I needed to attach a copy of all of the completed work. I am including 3 of the documents that were provided to the client. A fourth one is an excel worksheet. It does not seem that the system likes excel.

Do I have any recourse, or am I out of luck with this client?

I thought we had a good working relationship as I met with him 4 times to review the information and provide guidance on his business.

Thank you for your assistance.

Tina

prestonhunter · ‎01-06-2023

re: "At this point, he is not responding to messages."

That is fine. Clients are not obligated to respond to messages.

re: "In his last message, he stated, he is released of 'all financial obligations'. I am not sure how, since he owed $2,200."

Based on what you told us, he is correct. He does not owe you any money.

re: "Is there a way for Upwork to contact him about the final payment?"

Based on what you told us, he doesn't owe you any money.

Upwork is not going to help you harrass this client.

re: "The original contract was for $3,000."

That is irrelevent. That doesn't mean anything.

re: "I had a milestone payment set up for $800 which he released."

Then the contract is over. This matter is over.

He funded an $800 milestone payment. You did the task for that milestone. He released the money.

That's all there is.

You seem to be confused about how fixed-price contracts work.

re: "All work was completed as agreed upon."

Then you don't owe him anything else.

re: "Do I have any recourse, or am I out of luck with this client?"

No.

No recourse.

Your business with this client is over.

re: "I thought we had a good working relationship as I met with him 4 times to review the information and provide guidance on his business."

Then I am certain he will recall his work with you fondly.

Tina:
I get the feeling that you are disappointed that you received $800, but you were hoping to receive $3000.

You used Upwork incorrectly. Sorry.

But you learned from your mistakes and you will not make the same mistakes again in the future. That is a good thing.

bobafett999 · ‎01-06-2023

That's what I thought. He funded 800. But didn't fund the 2,200. That is a new trick buyers seem to be using

prestonhunter · ‎01-06-2023

re: "That is a new trick buyers seem to be using"

I don't know if there is anything "new" about this.

Is it a trick?
Maybe. Maybe not.

I think it is VERY POSSIBLE that some clients are INTENTIONALLY doing this, as a way to "trick" freelancers.

I think it is also possible that a client set up a job posting with a certain budget, not really knowing how much the project should cost, and then that budget idea got carried into the "budget" for the accepted contract. And then the freelancer ASSUMED that this was how much they would get paid, without the client ever INTENDING to trick the freelancer.

Every time a freelancer is disappointed by similar events... I DO NOT KNOW if the client was intentionally tricking the freelancer or not. It doesn't matter. The appropriate thing for the FREELANCER to do is to use Upwork properly. Which means the freelancer does not work on unfunded tasks.

bobafett999 · ‎01-06-2023

"Which means the freelancer does not work on unfunded tasks" that should be THE MANTRA of every freelancer who work on fixed contracts.

potter_tina · ‎01-09-2023

This is an interesting discussion. We clearly agreed upon the rate as he was the one who came up with $3,000. If this is a new way to "trick freelancers" then the freelancers will use other sources for work. No one should work without being paid.

potter_tina · ‎01-09-2023

Preston,

WOW! You are incorrect in your assessment. The client owes me the balance of the contract.

25005175 · ‎01-09-2023

Tina P wrote:
Preston,
WOW! You are incorrect in your assessment. The client owes me the balance of the contract.

Tina, I believe that you misinterpreted what Preston wrote. Which, admittedly, is easy in this instance for those unfamiliar with his style.

The crux of the matter is that the the second/final milestone for $2,200 was not funded. Escrow =/= funded milestone. It is common for a client to place into escrow the budget of the entire project, but only one milestone can be funded/active at a time. If your client did not fund the $2,200 milestone, then that means that you worked on an inactive/unfunded milestone. When you sent him the final work, you did not have the option to submit, because the milestone was inactive. As a result, you provided the work for free.

This is what Preston meant when he said that you used Upwork incorrectly. And though he didn't specify, his statement about what the customer owes is strictly process-related. Morally, he feels that the client should pay, but that is irrelevant to the process.

bobafett999 · ‎01-04-2023

What happens if the final milestone was not funded? Can they close the contract after receiving the final versions?

prestonhunter · ‎01-04-2023

re: "What happens if the final milestone was not funded? Can they close the contract after receiving the final versions?"

In my opinion, there is no such thing as a "final milestone."

A client can fund a milestone with an escrow payment. And then a freelancer can do the work and submit to get paid for that work.

A client can close the contract AT ANY TIME.

If there is an escrow-funded task in place, the client must RELEASE the money in escrow, or ask for a refund. Those are the only options.

Can a client close a contract after receiving the final versions?
If the freelancer does work for "the final versions", and an escrow task was not funded to pay for that work, then yes of course the client can close the contract. A client who closes a contract is NOT BREAKING ANY UPWORK RULES.

If a client closes a contract before funding work for work that a freelancer has done, that is the FREELANCER who is making a mistake.

feed_my_eyes · ‎01-05-2023

If the "final" milestone isn't funded, you shouldn't do any "final" work in the first place.

tlsanders · ‎01-04-2023

Was the money in escrow?

Did you submit using the submit work/request payment button?

Did the client end the contract or did you?

prestonhunter · ‎01-09-2023

Tina:

PUT YOURSELF FIRST.

Stop letting that client hurt you and have power over you.

As long as you believe that the client owes you money ($2,200), then you are letting that client have power over you. When you decide that the client no longer owes you money, and that your business with him is over, then you take back your power. That is how you can put yourself first rather than putting the client first.

25005175 · ‎01-09-2023

There is a non-Upwork recourse available to you - file suit. Where and how depends on where your client lives/works and where you live/work. That will affect which municipality and which level of court. You can request the Client's information from Upwork to facilitate this. Just know, that if you win, you need to give Upwork their cut of the award.

8e26f332 · ‎11-14-2023

They got my work approved it but aren't giving my salary 😞