Client wants to charge less after I finished work

[22d3167c]

I started working for a client who defined in contrat terms 8$ - 25$ Hourly. And since I had fixed a 20$ per hour, the contract started with 20$ hourly. I did the work in 4 Hours, including modifications, the total was 80$(4 hours calculated by the upwork desktop app).

After I finished and sent him the project, he wanted to charge less, and said that 80$ was too much and it was a 20$ job and he will give me 30$ only and a nice review, If I refuse He'll leave me a bad review saying that I was Unfair with him.

This is so unfair, I'm confused what to do.

What should I do in such situation ?

Would I still get paid ?

[jaycrutcher]

Report his message threatening to give you poor feedback.

He will likely give you a poor private feedback and absolutely hammer your eventual JSS score anyway. So you have to decide if a 5 star public review is more valuable to you right now than $50 and a spiteful 1 star public review. Either way, you're going to need to get more jobs that result is great public/private feedback to mitigate a probable bad public/private feedback from this guy. Also I would recommend against just giving him a undeserved glowing review because he's not going to do you any favors.

[22d3167c]

Thank you, I'll report his message right away. What about the payement ? Do you have any idea if I will get paid the whole 80$ ? or he can simply modify the hourly rate and change the amount as he likes ?

[the-right-writer]

The payment is an unknown because only Upwork can tell you precisely what is going on with the client and contract. Contact Support.

[martina_plaschka]

Did you tell the client beforehand how long it would take you?

[22d3167c]

In the contract it was written the limit is 40 hours per week.

[martina_plaschka]

I did not ask to what maximum the client set the contract. That is immaterial. 

I asked if you told the client how long it will take you, something that should be done at the beginning of every task. Did you say 4 hours? Then the client shouldn't be surprised. Did you say 2 hours? Then I can understand that the client is annoyed. Did you say nothing at all? That is a problem, you should always give an estimate, that's just professional. 

[22d3167c]

I understand. You're right. But my client denied that he defined the terms as they are and started telling me that this is unfair, although he is not new to Upwork, and he certainly knows that there payement per hour as fixed payement.

[martina_plaschka]

Yes, that's why you need to tell him how many hours it will take before you start. You never want to surprise the client with more hours than he expected. 

[22d3167c]

Noted. Thank you Martina for sharing your experience and knowledge with me. It's been hepful.

[financemark]

I agree with you Martina - but I think we should be careful giving hard estimates of hours as projects often go over our estimate, esp when new requirements are added after start.  Or perhaps the job is more complex than originally anticipated.   No one enjoys being hammered into a corner by cheap - and from the sound of it: unethical - clients.  

Yoursa -- you seem to have encountered an unethical client here --- they flood UW and generally are allowed to stay.  This can be a toilet-bowl, but you are doing the best thing to report this 'person' to UW.

[22d3167c]

My luck was not good this time Mark, but it's okey, I learned my lesson, and yes I did report his messages and hope Upwork will consider them. This is a serious matter.

[financemark]

For you it is serious - for UW it is a commonplace annoyance at best ... and b/c the US$ are not significant: it is likely not raising red flags anywhere in Santa Clara.

-Dont forget to write an honest and forthright review of the client - but also expect "it" to trash you as promised.

[tlsanders]

The dollars may not be significant, but Upwork doesn't love feedback manipulation, which obviously has the potential to negatively impact them and not just the freelancer. 

[martina_plaschka]

Absolutely, Mark, the scope of a project can change, and obviously this is when good communication is essential to keep the client fully informed on progress.

For a task that took the freelancer 4 hours, this does not apply. 

We don't know what really went on, it might be the case of an unethical client trying to pay less, it could be the case of a freelancer taking much longer than the task should have. We simply don't know. We only heard one side. 

[22d3167c]

I understand, but like I said, my working process and the time that took is tracked by the upwork app, so taking much longer than expected is definitely not what what happened. And one more time, the client DENIED the contract terms he made, although, he is the one who picked 8$-25$ per hour. And no, he didn't say that I took more time than expected BUT that the job was only a 20$ cost, and started sending me screeshots of other freelancers who made proposals saying "I can do it for 20$ only". I know that you only heard only my side of the story, and you think I may be the one who is mistaken but I didn't write this post to play the victim, I wrote the post to know how to protect my self from such situation.

[8adc1c06]

ow are you

[the-right-writer · Accepted solution]

Do not be bullied. Never, ever, allow a bully to cheat you out of your hard-earned money.

If the contract was for $20 an hour, and you correctly used the automated hourly tracker, then your client wants free work.

This is not an uncommon scam. Especially for new freelancers who naturally don't want a bad review. Even if you gave him the money, there is no guarantee a blackmailer will leave you a nice review.

Turn this scum into Upwork. You should have all the messages to support your case. Make sure Upwork follows through and does not allow him to leave feedback.

[22d3167c]

Thank you Jeanne, I absolutely won't accept what he has done and will proceed with Upwork like you said.

[christopherbudde]

Good for you, Yousra. Your making Upwork a better place for all of us and I thank you!

[22d3167c]

We're a community after all. Thank you Christopher !

[wlyonsatl]

Yousra, 

Keep in mind that Upwork has clearly said the following about excluding feedback from certain clients when calculating a freelancers' Job Success Score:

"We understand that some projects have bad outcomes because the client is difficult to work with. So we track freelancer feedback of clients and flag those clients with a history of poor collaboration. If one of your clients has been flagged (or has been suspended for Terms of Service violations), then the client's feedback will not count against your score."

It is possible your client is one of these clowns. Insist on being paid the amount the contract was set up for. You can't always know exactly how long a project will take to complete. If you could then you wouldn't care whether the project is hourly or fixed price. There is a very good reason those different contract structures are allowed by Upwork.

[22d3167c]

Thank you Will. I'm still new to this but I'm getting used to the basics of Upwork.

[a73241ac]

Good afternoon.

I am also new here, and it is very important to read all the comments.

Each of you are right.

Each answer makes sense, and what we must do is be very clear when establishing the conditions of work. Let each party's responsibility be well defined and have the support of what was agreed so that in case of a possible claim we have proof and can provide a solution in the best way.

I thank everyone for sharing, it is good for everyone and no one is harmed. 

[22d3167c]

Yes, exaclty. In my situation the terms were very clear since the beginning but unfortunetly the client decided to make a fuss.

[8adc1c06]

how are you

[jeremiah-brown]

For future reference...

Always put the agreed terms in writing, on Upwork's messaging area.  If you discuss a project via Zoom, reiterate it back to the client in writing in the Upwork messaging area.

When you accept an offer, there is a message area - use this to reiterate the full scope of work to be done, to include the rate and estimated time required.  Anything that you would need to support a dispute or counterclaim should go here, then the granular details should be in the messaging area in writing.

This is because Upwork can and will go through the messages between you and the client in the event of a dispute.  If you say $50 per hour with an estimated project time of 10 hours, the client will have a difficult time convincing Upwork that you said only 2 hours.

TIP: use the messaging area to cover as many of your liabilities as you can.  This will also help develop good habits if you start a business or do any work not affiliated with Upwork.  Risk mitigation is the name of the game!

Review - report his message to Upwork.  Don't leave any review for this client.  That way you are not on the hook for anything and you're not helping or hurting them in any way.  Be neutral.

[wlyonsatl]

Many clients simply don't understand how much work time is needed to complete their project. And no freelancer should feel obliged to guaranty exactly how much time will be needed. A range of likely time needed - sure. With the understanding that that's just an educated guess, which any experienced professional can likely provide.

If a client has a strict budget, they should set up a fixed price project. But I simply don't do fixed price projects because neither I nor my clients know how much of my valuable time will be needed to give them the quality of work I think they should expect of me. Sure, I am missing out on some fixed projects that might be correctly priced. But I stay plenty busy working for clients who understand that their projects are not tidy little packages with clear work time requirements.

And all freelancers should leave feedback for every client they work with. 

Without such feedback, future freelancers have no way of knowing which clients are good to work for and which ones aren't. Concise, honest, accurate feedback - don't leave off in dealing with a client without it.

[mwiggenhorn]

Did you use the time tracker with meaningful memos and good activity levels?

[22d3167c]

Yes , I did use the time tracker and my activity was real as seen in the screeshots.

[johnakinola]

I will tell you what to do step by step;

1. Accept the deal and collect your 5 star review.

2. Take screenshots of your conversations and send to Upwork.

3. Make sure to follow up with Upwork to bring that client to book.

This should solve the problem. 

[the-right-writer]

Are you serious?

[bobafett999]

Your suggestion #1 is nonsensical.