Contract suspended client wants a refund

[b6ef69a6]

Hi everyone!

I recently started working for the first time on hourly contracts (September 1st).

I did absolutely everything - kept a diary, wrote a memo, and upwork took screenshots as expected and on time.

When I was almost done and sent the client a link to google drive so that he could download the final video (it weighs 2.5 GB, so I put it on the cloud), I saw that the contract was Suspended. So I quickly closed the cloud share link.

The client quite rudely and bluntly wrote to me that he had already paid for the work, and I should give him access to the folder. I told him that Upwork strictly recommends not working and waiting until the client solves his problem.

But now it’s Tuesday, client requests for a refund of more than $200.

- I quickly examined his account and discovered that he has more than 80 open jobs all in progress

- He has 5 star based on 6 reviews, but most of reviews are fresh and are coming from 1 freelancer account.

- He spent total of $10.

All three points above appeared after I started working for the client.

Is it a new type of scam?

What should I do? Give him a refund?

What will happen in this case?

Will I get paid for my work?

And what if the customer leaves a bad review, although I did everything, I just didn’t upload the video, since the contract was suspended?

Would you kindly please help me? 

[AveryO · Accepted solution]

Hi Kenes, 

I looked into this further and can confirm that actions have been taken against the client's account. I would recommend stopping communicating with this client. If there's additional information we can share, the team will reach out to you directly with more details through a support ticket. 

As for your concern regarding bad feedback, we track freelancer feedback of clients and flag those clients with a history of poor collaboration. If a client has been previously flagged (or has been suspended for Terms of Service violations), their feedback will not count against a freelancer's Job Succes Score.

[b6ef69a6]

Oops answered to the post instead of you comment.

Thanks a lot for quick feedback.

What about the payment? WIll I receive it at the end of the week according to Hourly Protection or in this case my money is gone?

As far as I can see I should just wait for Upwork team, right?

[be14a446]

Hey Avery!

Check my Upwork profile:

https://www.upwork.com/freelancers/usmanwaris

My all jobs were completed with 5 stars rating and why Upwork shows 80% JSS.

Can you tell me their solution? 

[b6ef69a6]

Thanks a lot for quick feedback.

What about the payment? WIll I receive it at the end of the week according to Hourly Protection or in this case my money is gone?

[759e32fa]

Hi Kenes,

Thank you for following up on this. As long as the hours that you've logged meet the criteria listed here, they will be paid. Please note that Hourly Protection is subject to the terms and conditions outlined in the Upwork Terms of Service and Hourly Escrow Instructions.