New Escrow Rules

[Jean S]

New Escrow rules seem to have removed the "you'll get your funds in 14 days" if client does not approve the money release.

See attached graphic. 

It seems we have to initiate a dispute now in order to get our funds and that of course means our Job Success falls. 

Am I reading this wrong?

[Julie T]

It certainly looks that way. Have you checked the policy section to see if that was also revised? 

[Abdul R]

Hello Jeans, 

It's not good news for all of us. I think it's time to join Elance to upwork that is why this step has been taken. 

Am I right?

Thank you, 

Abdulrazaq

[Preston H]

Jean, these are three things to know, as selected by Upwork. I don't think this means the policy has changed. I hope the policy hasn't changed.

[Julie T]

Just checked the Escrow policy page. 

" Milestone Review & Approval

Once you submit your work, your client will review and either approve the milestone or ask for changes.

• The client has 14 days from the most recent submission on a milestone to review and approve or request changes. Approval releases the payment from escrow to you.
• If your client doesn’t respond to any milestone submission within 14 days, the deposit is automatically released to you.
• You may file an escrow dispute if the client refuses to release funds for a completed milestone. Escrowed funds won’t be released back to the client unless you approve their return or undergo dispute mediation." 

It does not look like anything has changed. 

[Jean S]

The question is...has nothing changed or have they simply not updated their FAQ page for Escrow. It would be nice to get some clarification. 

I seriously do not like the wording I'm seeing as it seems to say I must initiate a dispute if the client does not release the funds.

[Iftikhar I]

I have seen many clients  they just took the work and never login again for sevral months as they think that they have already funded amount because it deduct from their PayPal or what ever payment method they use so in this situation if its the new rule definitely the milstone will return to the client without any reason.

[Douglas Michael M]

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@Abdul R wrote:

Hello Jeans, 

It's not good news for all of us. I think it's time to join Elance to upwork that is why this step has been taken. 

Am I right?

Thank you, 

Abdulrazaq

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Abdul,

This "change" which turned out not to be a change has nothing to do with the Elance merger. Upwork "releases" funds (with a hold) on abandoned contracts after 14 days. Elance releases funds (with no hold) on abandoned contracts after 30 days. Upwork has the peculiar language allowing buyers to decide the amount of payment, which Elance does not have. In short, if Upwork escrow/release policies get worse, it's not because anything is being ported over from the Elance system.

Best,

Michael 

[Valeria K · Accepted solution]

Hi All,

I would like to confirm that the process of releasing funds from Escrow once the job is submitted hasn't changed. If you submit work and request payment through the system, it will be released to you automatically 14 days later provided the client doesn't release it manually or requests revisions.

We advise you dispute if you completed the work, but the client ends the contract requesting a refund from Escrow. In such case Upwork Team will mediate.

The pop up you see does not have all the information about how Escrow system works but it has 3 important things to remember. Please, refer to the help article for more information. I do appreciate your feedback about the pop up though and I will share it with the Team.

Thank you!

[Jean S]

Thank you for the clarification.