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m-talha-muneer
Community Member

Help needed regarding milestone payment

I started a case-study writing contract where the client and I agreed on a $150 budget for the project. In the offer, he split the project into two milestones. First, I had to prepare and submit the finalized draft ($100, funded). Second, he will review and ask for any revisions ($50, not funded). However, the contract/offer had a total of $150 budget. 

I wrote a great piece and submitted the final draft, requesting for payment. The client didn't respond, not even a single message in reply. After waiting for six days, I messaged him whether he checked the work or not. He said he would check and let me know, but it's been four more days, and now he isn't even replying.

I think he got what he wanted, now he would not pay me the agreed $150, and I would only get 100 dollars in escrow.

I'm new on Upwork, and I want to know what are my options to get the agreed 150 dollars, he tricked/scammed me by splitting it in a way that I would submit the work, and he would get it done in $100. Any tips for the future are more than welcome.

Thanks

4 REPLIES 4
petra_r
Community Member


M Talha M wrote:

Any tips for the future are more than welcome.

 


I think you already learned that in future you should only submit as much as is funded. Don't accept contracts that are split like that.

prestonhunter
Community Member

re: "I'm new on Upwork..."

 

Yes. you are.

Don't be too hard on yourself about this.

It's okay to make mistakes!

 

As long as you learn from them. That's the important thing.

 

This contract is over. You did not earn as much as you had planned to earn. But the client played by the rules.

 

Now you better understand the rules of fixed-price contracts.

This experience will turn out to be a positive one, because it will always remind you to set up milestones correctly.


Preston H wrote:

 

This contract is over. You did not earn as much as you had planned to earn. But the client played by the rules.


No Preston, the client did not. The client is in breach of contract, there is simply nothing the OP can do about it (realistically). But in no way did the client "play by the rules."

Not the same thing at all. Why do you defend scamming by pretending that it was "by the rules?" Just because Upwork has no dispute mechanism for unfunded milestones does not mean the client did nothing wrong here because the client absolutely did do something wrong.

 

 

Petra:

You make a good point.

 

Keep in mind that I did NOT say that the client "did nothing wrong."

 

I said the client played by the rules. Clearly a phrase not to your liking. Perhaps you would have not objected had I said: "The client understood how the Upwork user interface works."

 

Setting that aside: The important point is that the freelancer (as you ponted out) DID make a mistake.

 

This is a good thing.

Because if everything was in the hands of the client, then the freelancer could do nothing about such situations.

But because the freelancer himself made a mistake, it is possible for the freelancer to change how he uses fixed-price contracts, and thus avoid such a situation in the future.

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