@Wolfgang M wrote:
Hi all.
Yes. It is of course my fault when starting to work without the contract being finalised.
However, I acted in good faith and feel mislead and cheated.
A client offered a job for $300. We started communicating after I made an offer. He told me I am number two on his list and after more than a week, he came back to me asking whether I accept $275. I did.
He talked further about his think-tank and that he wanted me to be part of it. He has this theory on social behaviour and wants me to find existing data and perform a statistical analysis. We discussed on a call his one-page document and he asked me to follow some links to get familiar with the topic and find data for analysis.
Now comes my mistake. As a passionate researcher, I started right away without actually getting and accepting the job offer. I spent about five hours of intense work and included academic literature, too. My result was that the data that people were interpreting on social media, were actually flawed, unusable and not acceptable for analysis.
I told him my findings and sent one key article to him in which this conclusion was made based on scientific research. His reply? “This was exactly my theory... Thank you for your opinion on the concepts I have exposed you to.”
I was stanned and it dawned on me that there was no contract in place. So, playing dumb, I asked for $60 for the work that I have done, which was part one of three of his job description, part two and three were about data analysis and could now only be cancelled. Have not heard from him since. Ok, it is only three days ago... but my feeling is that I stepped into the trap and that I will never hear from him again.
My impression is, that the client has manipulated me intentionally to get some work done without paying for it. He has actually spent more than $2000 on upwork... another reason for me to trust him.
How can one report such clients and warn others? (I will of course wait another week to see whether he replies again.)
Any pointers or suggestions are most welcome.
Ciao
Wolfgang
There is really not much to report, except, as you have stated yourself, your own naivite. Your enthusiasm is commendable, but not so much different from so many other newbie freelancers sharing their tales of woe, most of which younger and less experienced than you.
This client may very well have been willing to pay you. If you had insisted on a contract, as you should have done, you would have been paid.
But your work obliterated his need for said contract, and then he did not feel he owed you anything except a thank you. I am not saying he is right, he isn't, but that's what I think happened. Sorry, this one's on you.
Btw, your hourly rate is much too low considering your education and experience. It might make you look naive in the eyes of potential clients.
