How to get a Dormant Contract closed - Unresponsive Client

[Ronald T]

Thanks for the thread Setu. It is a good refresher for me and of value to all others. Did anyone mention clients' hidden feedback as a possible downside? Maybe when this thread dies down an all encompassing update would be of value.

ADDED: Thanks again Setu. I have always wondered why so many freelancers have an abundance of open jobs; some open for quite some time. In the past I tracked a few freelancer profiles and determined there was little if any activity on their older jobs, which made me wonder just what their strategy might be. Now, it seems a lot of it is due to poor follow-up and poor job management on the part of some clients.0

ADDED: Long ago one of my contracts was closed by Upwork for inactivity. Recently a contract was "paused" by Upwork due to over 30-days of inactivity, and according to support can only be reopened by the client. When asked, support replied that Upwork does not close contracts even after being paused for an extended time. Either the freelancer or client must close (end) the job. Is that everyone elses' understanding? I this case, I prefer that Upwork close the contract and feedback and ratings might be overlooked entirely regarding this "absentee client."; without which I cannot complete the contract.

[Setu M]

Thanks Ronald, the clients' private feedback was left out since the thread was focused on closing dormant contracts with the client unresponsive.

[Pandora H]

Our My Stat's pages have been upated.

As I stated earlier in this thread, I've been waiting for a change in my score because on May 20th this year I closed 3 very old, very dead contacts.

No changes showing just yet, but I've been taking screenshots and will post something with details in 2 more weeks.

[Setu M]

Thanks Pandora, I am looking forward to it.

[Amanur R]

I have almost 5 to 6 contracts those doesnt have work since 1 year almost. I messaged them many times but no response at all. I contacted at skype alos but it seems they are dead . lol

so what can I do now. since inactive contracts has impact in my job success.

This is really bad practise here at upwrok I think that inactive contracts are counting in job success. If client has no work then what we can do ??  Why should we give penalty in out job success because of client's inactivity.

This seems to me meaningless.

Please help here.

Thanks

Aman

[Setu M]

@Amanur,

Since the clients are long gone, I would suggest closing 1 dormant contract each time your JSS updates. That way you can monitor its effects, as well as leave enough time to not be considered "above average." "below average."

You can also use that information along with how many current contracts you will get feedback for. So for 'x' number of feedback, I close 1 dormant contract - to keep it balanced.

[Jennifer M]

I have 3 contracts on my radar that should be closed. I think I'm going to do it before the next calculation. I'm goin in guys! We'll see what happens with my score.

[Jennifer M]

I'm going in boys .....hardcore. Go big or go home. 

2 closed dormant contracts on elance

2 closed dormant contracts on Upwork

pinged 1 guy that went MIA and I think the contract will be closed. Just wanted to ping him to make sure, but I'm pretty sure it'll get closed.

So I'm going in hardcore with guns blazing. 5 contracts closed by me. Awwwww yeah Let's test this algorithm.

[Darrin O]

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@Jennifer M wrote:

So I'm going in hardcore with guns blazing. 5 contracts closed by me. Awwwww yeah Let's test this algorithm.

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Meh.  You've got a rich enough history (199 jobs) that you won't really be hitting any edge cases in the statistics wanking that Upwork does.  When I close my 4 idle jobs (out of 8) in December as I prepare to leave Upwork, that'll be a real test of the system.  I'm hoping for a JSS of under 50%, since that will solve a lot of niggling issues.

[Jennifer M]

lol Yeah I know. I'm kinda kidding kinda not. I want to see if it hits me though. I've been sitting at 94% each update with 1 dip to 89% about 2 months ago.

I'm somewhat testing it for myself. I know there are other factors. For the record, the clients were happy. They just left the contracts open just in case. I don't suspect that they will rate me poorly if they do come back and rate me, but you never know with people!

Also, I chose "Job completed successfully" and not "Client went MIA." I figure the former looks better on record.

ETA: My invites dropped too, and I feel like it could be because of the contracts opened, so this is what triggered me to clean house. I also want to see if I get invites again. Got 1 notification last night but not my skill set.