Payment Refunded to my Client

[queensphinekenya]

Hi Community,

So I have this client. I completed work worth 1130. Sometimes late into the night and no sleep days because it was an "urgent" project. Come pay day, the earnings were refunded to him and am left with no option or hope to get paid. The client has become almost unresponsive. He asked me for an invoice which I sent. 

I have requested him several times to talk with Upwork because of our suspended contract but has not taken it into consideration. I even informed him about paying as a bonus, but nothing up until now.

I know the company he works for.

1. Should I contact the company regarding this and request payment?

2. How can UpWork help me get paid for this work considering it's not under payment protection?

3. Is it possible for this contract to be activated again so I can bill the hours again and hopefully this time the payment goes through?

[NikolaS]

Hi Ntinyari,

Could you please click on my name and send me a PM with more information about the contract you are referring to? I will be sure to look into your report and escalate it accordingly.

[prestonhunter]

re: "Should I contact the company regarding this and request payment?"

No.

That is a violation of Upwork TOS.

[yitwail]

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Ntinyari K wrote:

2. How can UpWork help me get paid for this work considering it's not under payment protection?

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It sounds like you used manual time on an hourly contract, and you're aware that manual hours aren't protected. I can't speak for Upwork since I'm just a freelancer, but I assume all they could do is politely ask the client to pay you, and if the client refuses, which seems likely since he won't respond to you despite your hard work, then Upwork won't pay you out of their pocket, because if they did that, they'd have to pay every other freelancer who uses manual time and has their hours disputed. In the future, don't use manual time with clients you haven't worked with before, or at least work just for a few hours per week until the client follows through with payment.