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[g_vasilevski]

Hi Aaron,

I`m sorry to hear about the bad experience you had with your client. Please post your questions on your individual chat with the dispute agent and our agent will assist you further directly there. 
I would also like to clarify, tracking time above the weekly limit will not be charged to your client. For example if you have a 20 hours limit and you track 25 hours, the overtime of 5 hours will not be billed to your client. If you need additional hours, I can suggest communicating with your client to increase your weekly limit. Thank you.

[petra_r]

Aaron, when were the disputed hours actually logged? 

When was the dispute initiated?

That wil determine whether you have to offer any refund at all. If it's that ongoing thing you posted about before, all the mediator can do is make a suggestion, which you are free to refuse. That's all there is to it.

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Aaron F wrote:

- Can a client continue to pursue legal action? 

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If that's the same client as last week, and on the other side of the world, yes, they theoretically could take legal action, but realistically won't because it would cost them so much more than they coud win.

[petra_r]

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Aaron F wrote:

Yes it's the same mediation case I posted about last week, the client is based in Australia. 

I therefore said that 50% of the total fee is quite high and I would rather refund what was not in line with Protection Requirements.

She stated that she can see 3 hours of "low activity" which I belieeve are mostly during calls with the client. 

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Just state firmly that your best and final offer is to refund 3 hours, and stress that you are well aware that this is more than you have to according to Upwork's rules, and that you do so as a gesture of good will and  that you will not offer anything in excess of that.

Mediation can not force you to refund anything. That's what "non binding" means. It is a suggestion and that's that.

The client theoretically "could" sue you outside of Upwork, but won't.

There is no way the client would really waste the huge amount of money to take legal action. It's just not practical and simply a tactic to make you try and refund more.