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dulcegm63
Community Member

Client requested a refund with no reason

Hello, I am new to upwork and recently I received a refund request from the client.

 

The problem is that there is no reason why she sent that request, since the work was completed and she approved the milestone.

Apparently, there is no reason why she asks me for a refund.

 

Maybe it's just a mistake, but the only thing I did was return the amount left in escrow to her, nothing more.

 

Also, my client agreed to pay me the amount of $50, and now I see that she has sent me a request for a refund of $50 with NO EXPLANATION, so I don't understand why.

 

I Attached a screenshot below.
As you can see, she does not say any reason or anything, so i can't understand why she sent me this request.

 

¿Am I obligated to make her a refund? The work is finished and in theory there was no problem.

 

Thank you

11 REPLIES 11
petra_r
Community Member


Dulce Maria G wrote:

 

¿Am I obligated to make her a refund?


No, you are not. Send a polite message to the client that the work was done correctly as agreed (if it was) and approved by herself and that you are not going to refund at this time.

 

Hello Petra, thanks for your reply. But i have a doubt.

¿Client can enter a dispute with me, even that she agreed to pay me, and approved the milestone by herself?

I have returned her the amount in escrow, because she said that the project was not perfect, but she accepted to pay a friendly amount to me.

 

¿Can upwork enter a dispute with me and the client for a milestone that was approved by the client? 😕

 

Thanks

 

BojanS
Community Manager
Community Manager

Hi Dulce Maria,

 

Please, communicate with the client directly to try and resolve any issues amicably. If you agree to refund the money, you can issue the refund directly from the request in Messages. If you decide not to refund, the client may seek mediation assistance from Upwork. If that happens, Upwork team will reach out to you directly!

 

Thank you.

~ Bojan
Upwork
dulcegm63
Community Member

Hello Bojan

i've sent a message to the client, but she didn't responded. Also, she didn't said anything or didn't gave me any reason for the refund.

 

But in legal center, it says that, if client approved the milestone by himself, that means that client have reviewed the work done, and gives his consent to pay me....

Also, she liked the work a lot. Even saying that, she requested me a refund today with no reason. 

 

The problem is that she agreed to approve the milestone by herlself. For that reason i'm very confused now, and i don't want to send her a refund because there's no any reason apparently to do that.

re: "Also, she liked the work a lot. Even saying that, she requested me a refund today with no reason."

 

Most clients are awesome. But honestly I don't know what some of them are thinking.

 

For all we know, she simply found a button that had the word "refund" in it, and she clicked it because she thought maybe she would receive some money. Like, maybe you're not a real person or anything.

 

And if you simply decline to refund her any money, that will be the end of it. Hopefully.

Let's say the client is currently using that logo on their website (hypothetically). Does that matter at all?

 

I think people have used me to get a design template for a few things, then they'll suddenly terminate a job. Which the weird thing is, I'd have been happy to just do one chapter or section and hand over the template. Why be sneaky about it?

 Yes, thats true. She said that she liked a lot the work, but when we finish the contract, she sent me a refund request without any rason or any explanation. 

Review the screen capture below, you can see how she said that she loved the work 😕 

I don't understand this client....

AveryO
Community Manager
Community Manager

Hi Dulce, 


I had to edit your posts as it is a violation of the Upwork Community Guidelines to post chat transcripts and identifying information in the Community. As a gentle reminder, kindly refrain from posting screen grabs of your conversation with your client, or posting screen grabs with their company name to adhere to the guidelines. 

I have also checked your account, and can see that you already have a ticket for your concern. I would like to reconfirm what your Customer Support Agent has shared, you have the full discretion if you wish to approve and process the refund to your client. As suggested by Bojan, and your Support Agent, please communicate further with your client about the refund request to clarify any issues, and/or if it was initiated in error. Communicating with your client will hopefully clear any misunderstanding on the contract.


~ Avery
Upwork


Dulce Maria G wrote:

 

I have returned her the amount in escrow, because she said that the project was not perfect, but she accepted to pay a friendly amount to me.


Why did you do that? And... what in the world is "a friendly amount?"

 


Dulce Maria G wrote:

 

¿Can upwork enter a dispute with me and the client for a milestone that was approved by the client? 😕


Upwork does not enter a dispute with you, but the client can, yes.

Clients can dispute up to 30 days after they approved payment or payment was auto-approved.

kat303
Community Member


Dulce Maria G wrote:

Hello, I am new to upwork and recently I received a refund request from the client.

 

Yet another new freelancer, scammed. 

 

The problem is that there is no reason why she sent that request, since the work was completed and she approved the milestone.

 

If there was no reason for the request then there is NO reason to refund what you earned for your time and effort. 

Apparently, there is no reason why she asks me for a refund.

 

Maybe it's just a mistake, but the only thing I did was return the amount left in escrow to her, nothing more.

 

And by doing that, you reinforced the notion that all a client needs to do is to look for a new freelancer, get the work delivered and then either threaten a negative review if not refunded or just ask for a refund, no reason, no explanation. 

 

Also, my client agreed to pay me the amount of $50, and now I see that she has sent me a request for a refund of $50 with NO EXPLANATION, so I don't understand why.

 

Just because she asked for refund even with an explanation that doesn't mean you have to give one. 

I Attached a screenshot below.
As you can see, she does not say any reason or anything, so i can't understand why she sent me this request.

 

¿Am I obligated to make her a refund? The work is finished and in theory there was no problem.

 

Quoted from post from another freelancer and with her permission .

Janean L wrote:

Here is a tough truth reality:

The answer is : YES. "Yes... if..."

 

That is, If you are prepared to allow your freelancing endeavors to be controlled by a perpetual fear of an unpredictable and often dyspeptic client leaving you a bad review, then, by all means, YES, do allow such a client (and the many like-minded clients who will follow) to tyrannize your life. Give in to their unreasonable demands.

 

You will be miserable. You will be a worm-like supplicant. You will live in constant fear and uncertainty. Your talents will be at the mercy of those who neither appreciate them nor remunerate you properly for their application.

 

You won't make as much money as you could do if you worked with a better class of clients and if you valued your skills appropriately.

 

However, if you are ruled by your fear of the possibility -- even of the near-certainty -- of a bad review from a bilious and perhaps vindictive client... Well, then, by all means do the work for free.

 

ETA:  This is not meant to be a slam to you. It is truly meant as helpful advice -- as a way of looking at this situation that will make you re-think this client and your freelancer/client relationship. Give yourself some power and control!

 

Thank you

Youi should NOT be scared of any client either threatening to start a dispute or actually starting one. You should not be afraid of a dispute. Nor should you be afraid to go into arbitration. Those 2 processes are there for a reason. Upwork provides that service to both freelancers and clients when a problem arises. 


 

re: "Let's say the client is currently using that logo on their website (hypothetically). Does that matter at all?"

 

An interesting question: Does it matter?

 

In one sense, it doesn't matter at all.

 

If a client hires me to do Task X (your example was creating a logo, but that is irrelevent)...

 

If I do Task X, and submit that to the client, then she needs to pay what we agreed.

 

That's it. It's not complicated.

 

It doesn't matter if she ends up using my work, or not.

It doesn't matter if her cat died.

It doesn't matter if she suddenly needs the money back so she can fix her car.

It doesn't matter if the project she wanted to use the work on fell through.

It doesn't matter if she hates the work that I did, or claims to hate it.

 

She hired me to do Task X. I did Task X. That's it. Release the payment. Don't request a refund.

 

In the "hypothetical" situation posited above, a client hired a freelancer to create a logo, and started using the logo on the client's website, and then asked for a refund.

 

This doesn't really matter in terms of whether or not the client should pay the freelancer. It simply demonstrates that the client is dishonest when she claims she doesn't like the logo. The client essentially does not think of the client as a fellow human being. She is simply clicking buttons on a computer screen, hoping to get money back.

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