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bhavsinhsolanki
Community Member

Client wants extra work

He is asking for extra work or else cancels the contract.

What do I have to do?
Is his bad feedback impact my profile?
Should I cancel our contract?

7 REPLIES 7
bobafett999
Community Member

Well, you got a nasty vulture as a buyer.  Partly, it is your fault too.  You charge only $5/hr (others in India charge around 20).  With such a low rate you are signaling that you are hungry for work. So a seasoned vulture is taking advantage of you.  You are in a bad spot.  You have only one $5 job in progress (Why did you even take that job?  After upwork commission and exchange rate, you will be lucky to get 250 inr and such a low price jobs don't enhance your profile).  Even if you cancel the contract without taking any money, the vulture will leave you a bad private feedback.  

Thanks For your reply Prashant P
I'm not talking about a $5 Job.  have completed it with quality work.

I have started another Contract. issues in another contract.

prestonhunter
Community Member

re: "Should I cancel our contract?"

Yes.

 

Immediately close the contract yourself.

There will be no money going to you, so it will be impossible for this contract to appear in your job history, no matter what sort of score the "client" leaves.

 

Don't waste your time with this. As soon as you close the contract, block the client in the messages too so that he can not waste any more of your time.

 

re: "Is his bad feedback impact my profile?"

 

First of all, he has not left any feedback yet.

He may never leave feedback of any kind.

Also, the impact of jobs is weighted based on the dollar figure. If you do a few other jobs, then the impact of a zero-dollar job will be far less than jobs you actually get paid for.

 

Finally: it doesn't matter that much what the impact of his feedback will be.

Because if your choice is to be somebody's unpaid captive indentured servant, or to be free... I don't think it's a difficult choice. For me, there is only one valid choice as a freelancer: Don't work for free.

7f73cc64
Community Member

If I were you, I would request payment.

Only if you have proof of the work you have completed, you could request payment and add in the notes proof of your work before he cancels the contract. You would get paid the $5 already in escrow in 14 days.

This client seems tyrannical, so he may request a refund. If so, you may dispute the refund. The Dispute team would contact both parties via email to assist in reaching a mutual agreement. Most disputes can be resolved within 30 days. Be prepared to show proof of your work and screenshots of the messages to Upwork's Disputes & Mediation Team. At this point, it's not about the money—it's about the principle. The gall to withhold five measly dollars because he wants extra work and threatens to cancel the contract. 👨‍💻 He would not get away with it if it were me. Not on my watch.

I had a similar experience with a swindler that took my work, asked for more work without creating another milestone, then did not want to pay me. Upwork's Dispute & Mediation Team was able to resolve the matter. I got paid the money that was in escrow, and the client was unable to leave me a review. The key is that you need proof.

*This is not legal advice. This is merely an opinion based on my personal experience.

Alexander:

I don't doubt that your recommendations are heartfelt and sincere.


But you seem to be advising a lot of work for the possibility of getting five dollars.

 

You said:

"At this point, it's not about the money—it's about the principle."

 

But... the reason freelancers use Upwork is to earn money. Not to preach about a principle.

 

I think that a more mercenary-minded approach is warranted.

Perhaps I will teach a principle to my young nephew.

 

I'm not obligated to teach principles to immoral clients.

Oh, Preston. When I won those $10 after being disrespected and treated like a lowly cretin by a corrupt client, I won more than $10. The satisfaction of him not getting away with it was sensational. That poor innocent client didn't get to abuse a freelancer as he wished. You know, like in Scooby-Doo. "And I would have gotten away with it too if it weren't for you meddling kids!"

wlyonsatl
Community Member

Bhavsinh S.,

 

Preston has given you good advice. But this experience will only be useful if you learn from it.

 

In future projects, make sure you precisely outline what you will AND what you will not do to fulfill the contract. Even good clients don't always think through all of the elements of their project; that is up to you to foresee and include in your proposal. And bad clients will already have in their mind before a project begins what additional work they'll require from you without offering additional pay.

 

If you have clearly defined your work product before the contract is in place, the client has much less freedom to later add more work without agreeing to pay you more.

 

Many clients really don't know exactly what they need from a freelancer or how long it will take to complete. You can't always know either, but it's best to set limits and then you can consider whether or not to revise them after the project is underway and you and the client agree additional work (and pay) are in order.

 

Good luck!

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