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johan-d
Community Member

Client wants money back and comes with false accusations

So I started work with this client that was pretty much an ass from the beginning. She hired me to do social media work but then asked me to do copywriting on a subject I am not qualified, website development. In the end she demanded that I fixed a design that was not done the way it should have been done by the designer and she gave me an ultimatum, that if I didnt fix it in 20 min she would end the contract. But here's the thing though, I tried to make it work until the very end, I was in fact opening up a design program to attempt these edits myself when she sent me that message. So when I received that message from her while trying to help her out I decided this was it, and I ended the contract and told her that I would do so.

 

Since then she has been accusing me of deleting various things:

- Google Drive documents, but this was in fact her fault as she deleted the files that I had created when she removed my access.

- LinkedIn company group, however I have no way of deleting this as she said that she would create this one to make sure she has full access to it. She never shared any login credentials nor did she give me access to this group. I wonder if she ever even created it and now thinks that I deleted it...

- Instagram, I was given the login credentials for this when I started and have since then not changed those credentials nor have I deleted the account.

 

She kept on accusing me for a while here on Upwork messaging and then stopped when I said that I would take this with a lawyer if she kept on accusing me for these things. I thought that was the end of it, but now she is back and saying that I should pay her back the money (I havent received anything, its still with Upwork) because she has proof of that I deleted the things. However she didnt send me those "proofs" so I really dont know what she is talking about.

 

I now need help to take this further, as she must have done something illegal when she is accusing me of deleting her accounts? What type of lawyer specialize in these matters? She is in California.

ACCEPTED SOLUTION
wlyonsatl
Community Member

Johan,

 

An honest person is right to be incensed when they are accused of doing something dishonest.

 

But, as a freelancer on Upwork who never meets his clients, you're going to have to reconcile yourself to not let idiot clients worry you and learn to vet your potential clients before you agree to work with them, manage their expectations of your work before and during the contract and decide how you are going to firmly say "No" when a client makes unjustified requests.

 

Scope creep can be a big problem for any freelancer who can't say "No" to clients. The better you define your work product before the project begins, the easier it will be to refuse doing work that comes up during the project that the client didn't tell you about before the contract began and isn't willing to pay for.

 

All of the above is an art, not a science. It will take time for you to figure out your best defense - how you can weed out wackadoodle (or dishonest) clients before you even agree to work with them.

 

I hope this was an hourly contract for which you properly used TimeTracker to track all of your work time. That will mean she has no leg to stand on if she starts talking about a refund from you, and you can ignore her (but pay close attention to any instructions Upwork sends you about her complaints on this project) and move on to finding new and much better clients. 

 

Unless this was a VERY high value project, forget about lawyers. The expense would not be worth your time and effort. If this project ends up going to arbitration, which is probably unlikely, that will cost you $291. 

 

There are many ways within Upwork's rules to defend yourself from unreasonable clients, but none of them are perfect: if possible, do only hourly contracts (especially with new clients), always properly document your work time on TimeTracker (don't use "manual" time), clearly define the work product (what you will and will not provide) before you agree to a contract, etc.

 

Good luck!

 

 

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12 REPLIES 12
petra_r
Community Member


Johan D wrote:

What type of lawyer specialize in these matters? She is in California.


How much money are we talking about? 

Has the client actually filed a dispute? Was it that  hourly contract?

 

Even mentioning lawyers is pretty much a joke when you are in Sweden and the client is in California. Even if there was any basis for any lawsuit, the value of that lawsuit would not buy even minutes of international lawsuit. So you need to forget all about lawyers. It's a no-brainer.

johan-d
Community Member

Its not a joke, how can it be? The joke is that she is accusing me of doing something that I assume is illegal so obviously I need to take action against it. My location is irrelevant when she makes these accusations.


Johan D wrote:

Its not a joke, how can it be? The joke is that she is accusing me of doing something that I assume is illegal so obviously I need to take action against it. My location is irrelevant when she makes these accusations.


In this case, you need to consult with a California lawyer and lay out a plan to sue them.

 

https://www.calbar.ca.gov/ 

-----------
"Where darkness shines like dazzling light"   —William Ashbless
dzadza
Community Member


Johan D wrote:

Its not a joke, how can it be? The joke is that she is accusing me of doing something that I assume is illegal so obviously I need to take action against it. My location is irrelevant when she makes these accusations.


Johan,
your location is very relevant - no one in their right mind wants to spend tens of thousands of dollars on international lawsuit. So - that part of the threat is empty.

. My guess is she wants to avoid payment - that's why Petra asked if it was a fixed price or hourly contract.
johan-d
Community Member

I will never accept that a person is accusing me of a crime, especially since I didnt do anything and that there is no proof to support her claim. I do not see why I should not proceed with a lawyer and win this.

 

You cant be serious with that my location is relevant. By that you are also saying that if I did live in California and was accused of this I should take action and spend the money on a lawyer. That means that you do think that a lawyer is needed here, but ONLY if I live in her location. Sorry but that does not make any sense, why should I get in touch with a lawyer if I did live there but not if I dont live there?

 

And if you say that I shouldnt get a lawyer even if I did live there then my location is not relevant.

 

Sorry for the tone here but I really dont think that these type of clients should be allowed on this platform and I wonder what Upwork will do about it since they have not taken any actions yet, despite being notified long time ago.

dzadza
Community Member

ok, let me explain my previous post - I think that the client is lying about the lawyer. Since she is lying about that, she is lying about everything else. Did you message her and explain why did those google drive files vanish from  her account? 

johan-d
Community Member

She didnt bring up the lawyer, I did after she harassed me with the accusations. I then said that I will need to take this with a lawyer if she doesnt stop. She did stop for a while but now she returned again and continues to harass me with the same accusations. I cant keep having this problem with her and I therefore need to get a lawyer to deal with her.

 

Yes, I explained how she deleted the files that she accused me of deleting. Then she stopped brining that up but started saying other things like that I had deleted her social media.

 

Is this even allowed on Upwork? Shouldnt the admins have taken actions against her account when I first brought this up to them? She is accusing me of something without any proof at all.

Hi Johan,

 

I'm sorry to hear about the bad experience you had with the client. I shared your concern with the rest of our team and one of our agents will reach out to you directly via a support ticket to assist you further.

 

Thank you.

~ Aleksandar
Upwork
petra_r
Community Member

The question is whether you can afford tens of thousands of Dollars on a frivolous lawsuit?
Yes or No?

 


Shouldnt the admins have taken actions against her account when I first brought this up to them? 

No. You are running a business. You run the relationship with your clients yourself.

 

Johan D wrote:

I will never accept that a person is accusing me of a crime.


Nobody has accused you of a "crime" - even if you had deleted files, that would not be a crime.

You're making a mountain out of a molehill.

 

 

lysis10
Community Member


Johan D wrote:

I will never accept that a person is accusing me of a crime, especially since I didnt do anything and that there is no proof to support her claim. I do not see why I should not proceed with a lawyer and win this.

 

You cant be serious with that my location is relevant. By that you are also saying that if I did live in California and was accused of this I should take action and spend the money on a lawyer. That means that you do think that a lawyer is needed here, but ONLY if I live in her location. Sorry but that does not make any sense, why should I get in touch with a lawyer if I did live there but not if I dont live there?

 

And if you say that I shouldnt get a lawyer even if I did live there then my location is not relevant.

 

Sorry for the tone here but I really dont think that these type of clients should be allowed on this platform and I wonder what Upwork will do about it since they have not taken any actions yet, despite being notified long time ago.


lol you're gonna have a hard time here if these dumb things bother you. Who cares what she says. Just answer the question if it's escrow or hourly. If escrow, dispute. If hourly, you get payment protection as long as you followed the tracker rules.

prestonhunter
Community Member

Johan:
I appreciate your detailed description of what happened with this contract.


I really am sorry that you ended up having to deal with a client who is behaving in such an unethical, unprofessional manner.

 

I agree with Petra that going outside of Upwork (such as talking to an attorney) isn't going to benefit you. But if you have questons about how to proceed here on Upwork, then feel free to ask as many questions as you want to. There are many, many people here who are happy to help Upwork users in situations like this.

wlyonsatl
Community Member

Johan,

 

An honest person is right to be incensed when they are accused of doing something dishonest.

 

But, as a freelancer on Upwork who never meets his clients, you're going to have to reconcile yourself to not let idiot clients worry you and learn to vet your potential clients before you agree to work with them, manage their expectations of your work before and during the contract and decide how you are going to firmly say "No" when a client makes unjustified requests.

 

Scope creep can be a big problem for any freelancer who can't say "No" to clients. The better you define your work product before the project begins, the easier it will be to refuse doing work that comes up during the project that the client didn't tell you about before the contract began and isn't willing to pay for.

 

All of the above is an art, not a science. It will take time for you to figure out your best defense - how you can weed out wackadoodle (or dishonest) clients before you even agree to work with them.

 

I hope this was an hourly contract for which you properly used TimeTracker to track all of your work time. That will mean she has no leg to stand on if she starts talking about a refund from you, and you can ignore her (but pay close attention to any instructions Upwork sends you about her complaints on this project) and move on to finding new and much better clients. 

 

Unless this was a VERY high value project, forget about lawyers. The expense would not be worth your time and effort. If this project ends up going to arbitration, which is probably unlikely, that will cost you $291. 

 

There are many ways within Upwork's rules to defend yourself from unreasonable clients, but none of them are perfect: if possible, do only hourly contracts (especially with new clients), always properly document your work time on TimeTracker (don't use "manual" time), clearly define the work product (what you will and will not provide) before you agree to a contract, etc.

 

Good luck!

 

 

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