Dispute Non-Release of a Milestone Payment on an active contract

[jloder]

Hi all,

I'm new to Upwork and unsure as to what to do.

I was hired to translate a medical questionaire from English to French.

I sent my translation work to him and he got back to me saying the translation had been machine translated, which was not the case. He had had it reviewed and sent the reviewed document to me, which was full of spurious 'corrections' that were really more a matter of style or taste and not necessary corrections. He was very unprofessional and when I tried to address the problems and explain my choice of words he ignored my message.

He now refuses to pay me the full amount for my work, saying machine translation was used, which is not the case (I spent 6 years studying medicine and French is my mother tongue). It seems from his reviews that he has done similar things before.

He has requested changes to the contract, and says he will pay 50% of the fixed price. I believe I should be paid the full amount but I think he will just continue to request changes so that the amount in escrow won't be released.

What should I do in this situation?

Many thanks,

Johanna

[petra_r]

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Johanna L wrote:

What should I do in this situation?

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How much money are we talking about? In general, if you are sure your work was 100% correct, you should go for 100% of the money. I would go through it again and apply any changes that really were mistakes, and then resubmit for the agreed amount.

If he requests changes again, do the same and if it happens a third time, raise a dispute.

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Johanna L wrote:

It seems from his reviews that he has done similar things before.

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Here is why all freelancers, especially new ones who are very vulnerable because every completed contract has such a huge impact, must look at a client's previous history very, very carefully.