Quitting a Contract

[kathyle77]

Say I've been given an offer from a client and their job posting is somehwat vague. Then, once I get some instructions for the work, it's not something I want to do, but i've already accepted the contract. Will i get a bad rating from a client if I decide to quit the contract? It's not because the job is difficult, but it's simply not a job that I thought I was signing up to do.

[petra_r]

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Katherine L wrote:

 Will i get a bad rating from a client if I decide to quit the contract? It's not because the job is difficult, but it's simply not a job that I thought I was signing up to do.

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It is a very bad idea to accept a contract before you properly understand exactly what you are accepting.

If you close the contract with no money changing hands, the client can't leave any public feedback, so no trace of the contract will be visible on your profile.

But the contract will count as an unsuccessful contract in your metrics, and that will have a big negative effect on your future job success score when you get one after 4-5 completed contracts.

[tlbp]

Your eventually JSS may be impacted by the closed without pay contract. But, if you aren't able or willing to do the work, then trying to complete the contract might not work out either. So, if you are sure you don't want to do the work, IMO, it is better to close it now and start working on repairing your JSS with new contracts. 
Important rule for freelancers: Never take a contract until you are sure you have all the information you need. I've done this in the past and regretted it. I think my eventual rating from the client was less than 3 stars! 

[richard_wein]

While I agree with what Petra and Tonya have said, my experience is that it's hard to foresee everything that the client might not have told you about, and ask about all those things. Fortunately I haven't yet had a situation where I found I was unable or unwilling to do the job at all. But I've sometimes had to tell the client that it will cost more than originally agreed/estimated or that the deliverable would have some limitation that I hadn't foreseen. This was true of a contract I'm working on right now, and I offered the client several options, including ending the contract. (It's hourly and I would still have charged for a little time, so I wouldn't have had a zero earnings contract.) The client chose to continue, and it's working out OK, though I haven't charged for all my time, as I don't want to exceed my original estimate by too much.