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bryancezar
Community Member

How do I file a complaint against a client?

Hello to he or she whom reads the content of this post.  In lieu of the subject of this message, I'm creating this post in an effort of discovering how I can go about reporting a client who has recently (and quite falsely if I might add) accused me of not fullfilling a contract that was completed and closed out over two months ago.   The reason why I'm posting this question is not to be a "tattle-tail", but it's to ensure that other contractors do not have to endure the headache that I've had to here recently  from dealing with a specific client whom shall not be name in the post itself.  If anyone has any advice and is willing to address this question, I'd greatly appreciate what assistance they have to offer.  Thanks a buch and hope to hear from you soon!!   

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Bryan C wrote:
If you don't think that this type of conduct is unprofessional and deserves to be reported, then I'd hate to say it but you my dear have a horrible sense of what true professionalism is

 

You're missing the point. No one is saying, "Hey, that was great professional behavior!"

What everyone is correctly saying is that being unprofessional is not a violation of the Upwork terms of service, and therefore reporting has no effect. Reporting is for actionable violations of TOS, like feedback manipulation, asking for free work, taking work off the platform, etc.

There's just no rule against being unprofessional. And when no rule has been broken and you make a report, it's a bit like calling the police to tell them that your neighbor was rude to you at the mailbox. Rude, sure. Socially unacceptable, maybe. But, no enforceable policies have been violated.

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10 REPLIES 10
petra_r
Community Member


Bryan C wrote:

I'm creating this post in an effort of discovering how I can go about reporting a client who has recently (and quite falsely if I might add) accused me of not fullfilling a contract that was completed and closed out over two months ago.  


What is it you want to report? There isn't really anything to resport. Two months after the contract has been closed, there is nothing the client can do anyway.

 

Dear Responder: Thank you kindly for your timely response, for I'm touched to know that my words have not fallen upon blind eyes. Please note that for whatever reason I'm unable to see exactly who it is that I'm replying to via Upwork, and that I've only been made aware of your response via email notification(s). With that said, please also note that according to my inbox it appears as though you sent two separate responses, and as such, I sincerely hope that my words are directed at the correct individual as I attempt to address both responses within this one reply. In reference to your first response, let me simply say that what I'm attempting to report is unprofessional conducted perpetrated by a client that took no issue in throwing all online-internet etiquette out the window by basically telling me that I'm illiterate for lacking the ability to read a job description, as well as telling me that I did not complete a job in full despite the fact that he personally "approved the milestone" himself after I submitted the final assignment. To put it quite frankly, what I'm attempting to report is the incompetence and unprofessionalism from a client that I strongly believe no self-respecting contractor with any sense of pride and dignity should have the misfortune of working with. Long-story-short: In October I responded to a client for a job description. After completing and submitting the results to the client (and after the client approved the results and closed the contract), the client contacted for additional work while saying that they weren't completely satisfied with the results. Eager to work with said-client again, I told the client that I'd be glad to accept more work and perform a "redo". They client offered to create another contract via Upwork which I told them I'd accept; the client did not create the second contract, nor did they respond to my inquiry about it. Two months after the submitting the results to the client, the client contacted me asking for the results once more because they had lost them after one of the members working on the contract left their company. I resubmitted the same results to the exact same individual who "approved the milestone" (a.k.a. the same individual who claimed that he wasn't able to find them), to which he said that he didn't see why he should have to create another contract because apparently I didn't complete the assignment in full (EVEN THOUGH HE WAS THE ONE WHO APPROVED THE MILESTONE **TWO MONTHS AGO**). So with that, I truly hoped that has adequately addressed your question as to "what am I attempting to report". As long as clients such as this are free to roam Upwork unaddressed then their will conduct will continue to infuriate additional legitimate contractors, and quite honestly I'm not okay with that. No one should have to deal with clients such as this. As for your second response (a.k.a. your "side-note"), quite frankly I have no clue as to what it is that you're referring to when you tell me that I need to change my profile picture to an actual photo of me. If you actually take the time to visit my profile you will certainly note that my profile picture is most certainly a legitimate photograph of who I am and not a "stock photo" that you claim it is. At the very least I recommend that you take a second glance or have your technical issue worked out with your internet connection.

Incompetence and unprofessionalism aren't against the ToS. lol Move on.

 

It doesn't sound like the client did anything wrong. Doesn't even sound like he was "unprofessional" (what is it about this term that everyone uses it as soon as they disagree with someone? lol). He manipulated you because you were desperate to keep him even though it's obvious you already lost him.

 

It sounds like he was unhappy with something, asked you to fix it and felt that you should fix it. You disagreed and asked for a contract, which the client said he would and never did. You delivered work anyway. 

 

Whether or not you did the work as asked, we don't know. If you believed that you did, then you should have told him to kick rocks if the contract was already closed OR waited until a new contract was opened before you did more work. It doesn't sound like he ever intended to create a contract, so this part of the story doesn't pass the sniff test. It sounds more like the client (his fault) did not check the work thoroughly, came back to you to fix it, you fixed it and client disappeared. There's nothing wrong with this.

Dear Jennifer, please understand that I value your feedback and respect your opinions, HOWEVER, please understand that blatant disrespect toward complete strangers is in fact HIGHLY UNPROFESSIONAL. Try to think about it like this: You are a contractor and I'm your client. I've hired you to create a sculpture for me of a male model and have provided you details as to when I need it completed by as well as additional coordinating instructions as to where I need the sculpture built and delivered to. You say okay and all is well. I pass along the task of coordination to my assistant and the two of you hash out the details. After you've received the details from my assistant, you successfully complete the sculpture and deliver it ask requested. I see the sculpture has been delivered and apply the stamp of approval allowing payment to be transferred to your account. All is good, right? WRONG. The following day my assistant tells you that we're not satisfied with the sculpture and would like additional details to be added, and for certain characteristics to be omitted. You tell him that's not a problem and ask what details he's referring to, at which point he decides is the right time to be completely clear about how we want the sculpture to appear. At first we told you that we wanted a stature of a male model. Now we want a statue of a male model to look like "The Thinker" as created by Auguste Rodin. You tell me no prob, at which point we offer to create a contract an additional contract on Upwork not on just one occasion, but two completely separate occasions. You say cool beans and await for the contract to be submitted in Upwork. Nothing comes your way. No email traffic, no Upwork contract, nothing at all. The deadline for the revised statue is approaching, and you decide that it's best to contact me and my assistant to inform us that you are waiting for the second contract to arrive in Upwork containing additional instructions, but for whatever reason, neither I nor my assistant respond to your inquiries. Two months roll on by and I contact to tell you that my assistant is no longer with the company that I work for, and that I can't find the first statue that you created. I then proceed to ask for your assistance in locating it, to which you do successfully in a timely manner. As before, after viewing the original statue I'm still unsatisfied with the final results and ask you what happened, to which you politely convey to me that you were awaiting my response from two months ago. Now, for whatever reason, I lose my cool and tell you that YOU should have known that I wanted the statue to look like the one created by Auguste Rodin because it was written clear as day in the original job description (which it wasn't by the way), and that I don't feel like I should throw away my money on someone like you by creating a second contract for something that should have been delivered properly the first time.**Edited for Community Guidelines**

Now how do you feel? If you don't think that this type of conduct is unprofessional and deserves to be reported, then I'd hate to say it but you my dear have a horrible sense of what true professionalism is, because this is essentially what occurred to me and is why I've taken the liberty to report it. I get the fact that there are rude people out there, trust me, I've been around the block a time or two. And quite frankly, if it happened anywhere but on a platform dedicated to seeking professional contractors I probably wouldn't care at all and would just shrug it off. But the fundamental principle of the matter is that this form of behavior is occurring on what is supposed to be a platform dedicated to professionals. I mean if an **Edited for Community Guidelines**

Bryan, being a freelancer means running your own business, which includes having the skills to deal with tricky clients.

 

There is nothing to report.

Move on.

 


Bryan C wrote:
And quite frankly, if it happened anywhere but on a platform dedicated to seeking professional contractors I probably wouldn't care at all and would just shrug it off.

Good.

Move on.

Dear Petra, I apologize if my response comes across as too blunt, but I must say I believe you're missing the point entirely. As someone who's worked and managed in the field of customer service with the US Military (logistics management) and the civilian sector (retail services) for over half a decade, I can assure you that my customer-relation skill set is well above average. Conflict resolution and dealing with "tricky" customers are not the underlying issues here. To put it simply, the issue here is that I'm attempting to file an official grievance with an organization whom I contract my professional services to, and all that I'm being told by multiple parties is that professional misconduct acted upon by clients is not worth reporting. I understand that as a "community guru" you're most likely not the point of contact that I should be taking this issue up with, as you most likely lack the authority to take action upon this matter. However, I ask that please remember this post is can and most likely will be read by others out there who are experiencing issues similar to mine whenever they perform a google search for "How to report a client".

Seeing how this will most likely be my last response to any and insensitive responses to this thread, I'd like to conclude this address by saying the following:

**Edited for Community Guidelines**


Bryan C wrote:
 To put it simply, the issue here is that I'm attempting to file an official grievance with an organization whom I contract my professional services to

You don't contract your professional services to Upwork.

You contract your professional services to clients via Upwork.


Hi all,

 

Thank you all for participating in the conversation. This thread has been closed for further replies and few of the posts were moderated and removed. Please, be mindful of the Community Guidelines and avoid making personal attacks.

 

Thank you.

~ Aleksandar
Upwork


Bryan C wrote:
If you don't think that this type of conduct is unprofessional and deserves to be reported, then I'd hate to say it but you my dear have a horrible sense of what true professionalism is

 

You're missing the point. No one is saying, "Hey, that was great professional behavior!"

What everyone is correctly saying is that being unprofessional is not a violation of the Upwork terms of service, and therefore reporting has no effect. Reporting is for actionable violations of TOS, like feedback manipulation, asking for free work, taking work off the platform, etc.

There's just no rule against being unprofessional. And when no rule has been broken and you make a report, it's a bit like calling the police to tell them that your neighbor was rude to you at the mailbox. Rude, sure. Socially unacceptable, maybe. But, no enforceable policies have been violated.

Dear Petra, after tinkering with the Upwork platform while trying to respond to your comment I finally figured it out. Yes I admit it, I'm still in noob status lol. To properly address your question please see the reply that was sent below.
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