Order Cancel

[tahirfarooq33]

yesterday I get an invite from the client. we discussed project details and she hired me. today when I get up the morning and I received an email she canceled order and request for refund. but I decline the request and open dispute. expert, please guide me.what should I do now. I face this issue the first time. i am feeling very tense. Thank you

STAY SAFE

[AleksandarD]

Hi Tahir,

Feel free to check out the articles found in this category for more information on the refunds and disputes. Also, you can check out this Community thread for facts about disputes.

Thank you.

[wlyonsatl]

Tahir,

If the client cancelled the contract befor you did any work, the ethical thing to do is to allow Upwork to return any funded escrow amounts or payments made to you by the client.

If you did do some work that you submitted to the client, it may make sense to agree to a partial refund.

[tahirfarooq33]

No sir I did not do any work. It all happens within 12 hours because there was night time and I was sleeping. when I get up early morning and I see.she cancel the order.

[prestonhunter]

A client has the right to cancel a contract at any time.

What I STRONGLY urge any freelancer to do if a client cancels a fixed-price contract is this:

If the freelancer has not done any work on the project, then the freelancer should thank the client for her time, wish her well with her project, and immediately agree to a complete refund.

I recommend that all clients, if they need to cancel a fixed-price contract, do so by releasing all money in escrow and closing the contract.

If zero work has been done, and if the client really feels that they need to pull money out of that contract, then I strongly recommend that the client offer to pay the freelancer a token payment for their time and inconvenience, and in order to avoid causing harm to the freelancer's JSS that is likely to occur due to having a zero-pay contract.

Such a client could tell the freelancer:

"Bartholemew:

I am really sorry to do this, but things have changed with our project and I am hoping you will help me out. I know you have not yet had a chance to start work on it. That is okay. I would like to close the contract now, and not have you do any work on it. I can pay you $5.00, and you won't need to do anything else. If you will agree to refund the remaining $95.00, that would really help me out and I would be appreciative."

Obviously if the freelancer has done SOME of the work, then the client should pay for the proportion of the work that was done.

(Always, the most professional, business-minded way for a client to break a contract is to just pay out the full amount in escrow. Experienced clients make sure they divide projects into sensible milestones, none of which have an amount funded in escrow that exceed what they can afford to pay or lose. But I understand that some clients have less business experience and may have not set up their contracts in a way that makes doing so as easy as it should be, or they simply may be emotionally unprepared for this concept.)

[prestonhunter]

re: "No sir I did not do any work. It all happens within 12 hours because there was night time and I was sleeping. when I get up early morning and I see.she cancel the order."

This is what I would tell a client who cancelled a contract while I was sleeping, if I had not yet done any work on it:

"Judith,

I have not yet done any work on this project. I saw your cancellation of the contract and refund request. I clicked the button to agree to the full refund. You should receive the money back in your account within business days. I hope everything goes well with your project."

[tahirfarooq33]

but now I open the Upwork dispute.i have fear if I refund and she gives a bad rating that will affect my jss. God Save us from that type of buyers

[dzadza]

---

Preston H wrote:

re: "No sir I did not do any work. It all happens within 12 hours because there was night time and I was sleeping. when I get up early morning and I see.she cancel the order."

This is what I would tell the client:

"Judith,

I have not yet done any work on this project. I saw your cancellation of the contract and refund request. I clicked the button to agree to the full refund. You should receive the money back in your account within business days. I hope everything goes well with your project."

---

he already declined and opened a dispute

[wlyonsatl]

It is in your best interest to establish yourself as a fair and honest freelancer. In this case, your reputation will be better served by having the client leave feedback that is complimentary of you and identifies you as a person other clients should want to work with.

It's always a bitter pill to have to return money you've received, your best approach at this point is probably to stop the dispute process, tell the client you are sorry for any misunderstanding and hope you can work together in the future. Wish her well and approve a full refund to the client.

[tahirfarooq33]

ok, sir, I will try to cancel dispute

[prestonhunter]

re: "but now I open the Upwork dispute.i have fear if I refund and she gives a bad rating that will affect my jss."

Don't panic about this.

Communicate directly with the client and tell you that you did not completely understand the situation, but now you do, and you want to help make things go well for her. Tell her you will do whatever you can to work with Upwork to make sure she gets the money back.

[tahirfarooq33]

ok sir