Issue with client

[a_gleeson]

Hello

I am having an issue with a client. I have been working with them and have completed milestones, work submitted one month ago, with new milestones to be assigned soon. In previous contracts/milestones I ended up doing extra work, beyond what was specified in the contract. Now, for the new milestones, I asked for there to be more clarity, as I felt I was working extra and not getting paid fairly. After saying this the client now comes back and said the previous work was not completed correctly, and I was making demands for payment, even though I had submitted the work and they were delighted with it, at the time. 

In recent messages from them, there have been constant insinuations/accusations that I am unprofessional. When they mentioned recently that they were not happy with my work. I explained that I was unaware of any issues and had I been, I would have happily corrected them at no charge. I have a 100% success rate on Upwork and always get great feedback and give the utmost respect to my clients. Prior to me bringing up issues with the way milestones were being assigned they were incredibly happy with my work.

I am not sure I should continue with this client. Even if I do good work I feel I am at risk of them giving me bad/unfair feedback and my profile will suffer. If I end the contract now, a month after the previous work was submitted, and at the time they expressed no issues with it, can they still give me negative feedback?

If I do continue, am I protected in any way from them giving me unjust feedback?

Thanks

Alan

[a_gleeson]

Does anyone know if there's an official contact at Upwork to discuss these issues?

[martina_plaschka]

There isn't. Upwork does not discuss feedback with clients or freelancers. 

[wlyonsatl]

Once you sign a contract with an Upwork client they have a permanent ability to leave feedback, regardless which of you ends the contract or how it is ended (cancelled, without work for weeks or more on end, etc.). You can only hope that he is one of those clients Upwork says does not have any effect on their freelancers' Job Success Score:

"We understand that some projects have bad outcomes because the client is difficult to work with. So we track freelancer feedback of clients and flag those clients with a history of poor collaboration. If one of your clients has been flagged (or has been suspended for Terms of Service violations), then the client's feedback will not count against your score."

Unfortunately, you have no way of ever knowing if your client has been "flagged" or has even been suspended by Upwork.

If you don't want to work with this client, tell him you don't think you're the right freelancer for him (or tell him he's not the right client for you, if you prefer to be honest). Don't agree to any refunds - you've done the work, insist on getting paid.

This client obviously thinks there is no problem with scope creep - work that is significantly different than agreed to with the freelancer. He will not stop in this respect. 

[a_gleeson]

Hi Will

Some good advice there, thanks. I haven't decided whether to continue with them or not, I will see how the conversation continues. I asked them to stop with the accusations and to keep things focused on the work but they keep on with the accusations, that my work was subpar. I have worked with difficult clients before, just getting tired of that attacks.

All the best

Alan

[martina_plaschka]

End the contract. You are not at the mercy of the client. 

[martina_plaschka]

You are top-rated. If the feedback is bad, have it removed. 

[tlsanders]

I personally would definitely not continue working with them. As far as I can see, there are only two things that could have happened:

- They were not happy with your work, or

- They were happy with your work and are now lying to manipulate you

Neither one is a good basis for a continued working relationship.

[roberty1y]

There is no future for you with this client. It's just a question of ending your association with them as smoothly as possible to minimize the risk of bad feedback.

After you finish the contract, you should wait to see what kind public and private feedback you got. You'll know if the private feedback was bad if it decreases your job success score.

If you think the feedback looks bad, you can use your perk to remove it and reverse its effect on your JSS. Don't do this unless you need to, because you can only use the feedback removal perk every three months or 10 completed contracts.