Connects Refund

lrmessing · ‎06-27-2019

I used 6 connects to submit on a job, but the client told me he had already filled it and didn't know why UW hadn't marked it as such. I shouldn't have been able to submit and I don't understand why I haven't received a refund of those connects. It's one thing to make us now pay for them, but to triple the # needed to submit on jobs that used to require 2 is sneaky and greedy, and when I use 6 on a job that was filled before I submitted, I expect a refund.

prestonhunter · ‎06-27-2019

I'm sorry. You will not be receiving a refund.

That is now how the system works right now.

egardecki · ‎06-27-2019

Concerning to hear this as I have always wondered if UW simply doesn't close jobs that were already awarded because often the jobs will say "Sent invites: 2, unanswered invites: 1". Which means to me that it was accepted. So are the jobs awarded or not and are we going to get refunds on connects if so?

What about if the invite was already sent but not accepted yet? Why should I be spending connects on a job that is soon to be accepted by someone else when this basically means my proposal wouldn't even be viewed?

Also...as you noted, and the main reason I came on here. I find it ridiculous that every job I have submitted a proposal for in the past was 2 Connects, and now that they cost something, they are now 6 Connects? Every....single...one. BS!

voiceofcandice · ‎06-27-2019

That's why I joined as well.

The number of connect required is not at all aligned with the pay for the opportunity.

I think charging for connects is acceptable. Charging and then doubling and/or tripling the number required to apply, without mentioning that change, seems a bit shady.

petra_r · ‎06-27-2019

Eric G wrote:
Concerning to hear this as I have always wondered if UW simply doesn't close jobs that were already awarded because often the jobs will say "Sent invites: 2, unanswered invites: 1". Which means to me that it was accepted. So are the jobs awarded or not and are we going to get refunds on connects if so?

What about if the invite was already sent but not accepted yet? Why should I be spending connects on a job that is soon to be accepted by someone else when this basically means my proposal wouldn't even be viewed?

Invites are not offers. They are invites to interview, not invites to accept an offer.

Unless it says "Hires" nobody was hired, just because a client sent 2 or 5 or more invites does not mean any of those 2 or 5 or more invited freelancers will respond, will accept the invite to interview (I decline the vast majority) or get hired.

egardecki · ‎06-28-2019

Petra R wrote:
Invites are not offers. They are invites to interview, not invites to accept an offer.

Unless it says "Hires" nobody was hired, just because a client sent 2 or 5 or more invites does not mean any of those 2 or 5 or more invited freelancers will respond, will accept the invite to interview (I decline the vast majority) or get hired.
I see.

Would it be wise to submit a proposal to jobs that have answered invites? I get jobs extremely rarely on here (1 in 50 proposals) and at $1 a pop I need to find a way to narrow it down to ones that won't ignore my proposal.

I notice that there is still no response as to why all of sudden every job costs 6 connects instead of 2, now that they cost money. I do not make enough money on here to justify spending $50 to get one job that pays a few hundred (and lose 20%).

lysis10 · ‎06-27-2019

There is a section labeled "hires" on the job stats. If it says 1 then consider that before bidding.

prestonhunter · ‎06-27-2019

Eric/Candice:

Your concerns are not unreasonable.

Consider this a "trial" period for Upwork. They have just barely switched to this new system within the past few weeks. They're still working out issues. It is entirely possible that there will be improvements to how things work.

hodgesh · ‎06-27-2019

Lisa M wrote:
I used 6 connects to submit on a job, but the client told me he had already filled it and didn't know why UW hadn't marked it as such.

Jobs are marked after the client hires someone: the job will say Hires: 1, but the job isn't automatically closed and we aren't prevented from submitting proposals to it. If you didn't see a number of hires on the job post, maybe the client hired someone right after you submitted your proposal.

You can find the policy about returning connects in the Help and Support section of the site. It's also stated repeatedly throughout the announcement thread for the new connects policy.

lrmessing · ‎06-27-2019

Thanks, I understand how it works. If the job had been marked as Hired, obviously I wouldn't have spent 30 minutes to write and 6 connects to submit a proposal that even included a small sample edit of his attachment. The client responded to my proposal by thanking me and telling me that he had hired someone, and didn't know why it wasn't marked on the posting. Which means that UW dropped the ball, so I'm still not clear on why I should be penalized.

The larger point is that I wouldn't be so outraged if it had only been 2 connects, but triple is thievery and I feel cheated by UW.

petra_r · ‎06-27-2019

Lisa M wrote:
The client responded to my proposal by thanking me and telling me that he had hired someone, and didn't know why it wasn't marked on the posting. Which means that UW dropped the ball,

No, it does not.

When making an offer, clients are given the choice of closing the job post and declining all applicants when the freelancer who is being offered the contract accepts the offer.

It is either just unfortunate timing or the client opted to leave the job post open.

prestonhunter · ‎06-27-2019

Lisa:

I'm sorry you had a bad experience, but Petra is right.

Upwork really does try to make it easy for clients to do the right thing.

I have hired for dozens of jobs. If a client pays attention at all or thinks about things, then Upwork provides prompts to close the job, inform applicants that the job has been filled, etc.

If a client randomly clicks some of the buttons without reading anything, then the client may not know what is going on. But that's not because Upwork did something wrong.

mgmason1975 · ‎06-28-2019

and when I use 6 on a job that was filled before I submitted, I expect a refund.

This is basically the reason why that once mine have expired, I have no intention of applying for work. I get far more approaches from clients than vice versa anyway. That's ok for me as Top Rated, but I feel sorry for the newbies who are just being treated as a cash cow right now while Upwork steadfastly refuses to do anything about the scammers.

This new system is poorly thought out, poorly executed, and random in how many connects apply to each job listing. The deepest cut is that it effectively punishes freelancers for client mistakes and carelessness.

If what you said is true about the job being closed and Upwork still taking your connects, then no, they don't have the interests of freelancers at heart. They need to understand that we are suppliers of services. When suppliers realise they are increasingly getting a bad deal, they take their business elsewhere. I used to make $2.5k on average per month from Upwork, now it's not even 1/3 of that as I focus far more on finding clients who won't hold back a quarter of my income while charging me for the privilege of applying for the role.