I've had a terrible experience with a client. I have documented and have proof of the following:
First, we both agreed on 10 hours. I accepted the contract, and the client was even willing to add more hours if needed. So after some unresponsiveness from the client, I had worked for 10 hours. But I noticed something odd: he hired someone else too. Since I already created something, I asked:
"Is it okay if I still add the hours and send you the work?"
My client responded with:
"Yes, send me what you've got."
So I did, and everything seemed okay. He responded with "Nice one", so he was satisfied at first. Until... he noticed I hadded the 10 hours. Even though we agreed upon 10 hours beforehand! The following happened:
- He didn't believe me
- He called me a fraud!!!
- He started swearing
- He sent me laugh emojis
He acted very immaturely, trying to make fun of me. That was bad, but he did the following:
- He disputed my hours!
Manual hours aren't protected, so I knew I wouldn't stand a chance. I wanted to remove the hours myself, but he paused the contract, so I couldn't. Then, just when I though it couldn't get any worse, I received the following message:
"Just remove your hours before a dispute you numpty. Or else you’re gonna have:
1. a dispute
2. a 1* star review with evidence of terrible work" (slightly edited as the exact message may be confidential)
Not only did this seem unfair, this seemed like a violation of Upwork's Terms of Service to me. The client basically threatened to leave bad feedback so he didn't have to pay me.
Under pressure, I asked him to resume the contract to remove my hours, after which I ended the contract myself.
So, to end it here, my questions are:
- Is this a violation of Upwork's ToS?
- Could and should I still report the client?
It is very hard for me to move on after such a situation. Thank you for your time and answers.
