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mradigan747
Community Member

Received a dispute with no information

I received a dispute from an upwork mediator.  There are two concerns I'm hoping the group can help with:

 

1.  there are no details.  I think, although I'm not postiive since there are no details in the dispute, I know the client that is disputing it, but I am unsure what is in dispute (how much) and what details he is providing for why he is disputing the payment.

 

2.  The upwork mediator said I have two days to respond.  In order to respond I need details, and I have none at this point.  It's already been 24 hours, I've messaged the mediator 3 times and no response.  What do I do?  Responding to a dipsute is going to be a lengthy process but I can't respond to it without knowing why I am responding.  

 

Thanks!

ACCEPTED SOLUTION


Michael R wrote:

Thanks Jennifer.  Last question - I tried to get this client to agree to a middle ground but to no avail, that is if it is the client I'm thinking of.  Shall I inform the moderator of what I am willing to do or simply just leave that out of it?


Their purpose is to try to get you to come to an agreement. If you two come to an agreement, make sure all the money is handled by the mediator. Let them know that you've come to an agreement and the mediator will verify with the other party and distribute the funds.

 

If you are willing to take a settlement and give a partial refund, then you can let them know. They go back to the client and let them know what you said, so they just mediate and relay messages between the two of you. She/he might make a suggestion like you should revise something, but personally I'm not willing to put myself in a position for more judgement should things go all the way to arbitration. Usually, if you say you'll settle for an amount, the client will try to get you to come down more. You can say "no" though. Up to you.

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17 REPLIES 17
prestonhunter
Community Member

Michael:

A dispute is not a trial.

 

The dispute moderator CAN NOT MAKE A DECISION about your situation.

 

He can only advise you and the client to come to an agreement.

 

You do NOT NEED any details in order to reply.

 

You know what project this is for.

 

Reply by explaining (if the following is true) that you did the work that was requested and that you will allow the client to pay you the money that was agreed upon.

 

If the dispute can not be resolved by you and the client coming to some sort of agreement, then you will have the option to pay $291 and go to arbitration, where a decision WILL be made. (The client and Upwork will also pay $291. This fee is non-refundable. But if the client doesn't agree to pay the fee, then there will be no arbitration, and the matter will be decided in your favor.)

 

So just respond. When Upwork tells you to respond within 2 days, then you need to do it. Or the dispute will be decided in the other party's favor.



Michael, please listen to Jennifer.

lysis10
Community Member


Michael R wrote:

I received a dispute from an upwork mediator.  There are two concerns I'm hoping the group can help with:

 

1.  there are no details.  I think, although I'm not postiive since there are no details in the dispute, I know the client that is disputing it, but I am unsure what is in dispute (how much) and what details he is providing for why he is disputing the payment.

 

2.  The upwork mediator said I have two days to respond.  In order to respond I need details, and I have none at this point.  It's already been 24 hours, I've messaged the mediator 3 times and no response.  What do I do?  Responding to a dipsute is going to be a lengthy process but I can't respond to it without knowing why I am responding.  

 

Thanks!


In the header menu section of the main My Jobs page, there is a dropdown that includes a disputes menu item. Click it and you should see any content between you and the client (ignore the accept/reject buttons).

 

Also, you should have gotten an email with a ticket number. The ticket should also be in the email, because that's how they communicate with you. Replying to the ticket is what counts, not that dispute room I mentioned above. You should have also gotten a refund request (assuming money was in escrow) and you must have rejected the refund. Whatever was in escrow can be disputed, so just decide what you will settle for even if it's the full amount.

 

As long as you replied to the mediator's email, you should be ok. Go into the ticket though and make sure that your reply is there. That's how you know that your reply is logged.

Hi Jennifer - thanks for the reply!  I have done that, but there are no details.  Here is what I see:

 

 

undefined undefined Amount $NaN Dispute Date N/A Comments

Chat started: 2019-08-08 12:08 AM UTC Served by: Shelley IP: 12.69.209.4 User Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/76.0.3809.87 Safari/537.36 Country: United States City: Los Angeles URL: https://support.upwork.com/hc/en-us Chat ID: 1908.11290.RYVfvSkA8rFiU The chat transcript will be appended when the agent or visitor leaves the chat.

 

 

I've messaged the mediator privately but I just worry as they have not responded and I need time to prepare a case.


Michael R wrote:

 

I've messaged the mediator privately but I just worry as they have not responded and I need time to prepare a case.


You need no time to prepare a case at this stage, simply repond at this stage stating that you are not prepared to refund ad that some Upwork bug is sending you incomplete info.

As long as you have responded, you are ok at this stage.

 

Thanks Petra.  And it's best I do that publicly I suppose?

I guess my only concern is that they stated in their email:

 

To begin mediation we ask both parties to provide the following: an explanation as to why a refund has been requested, as well as any additional files or statements that are relevant to this dispute.

 

So if I don't provide any details am I at risk of the mediator providing an opinion in the alternate direction?  I realize the opinion is non-binding but I do feel like the opinion ultimately would have weight if it went to arbitration.


Michael R wrote:

I guess my only concern is that they stated in their email:

 

To begin mediation we ask both parties to provide the following: an explanation as to why a refund has been requested, as well as any additional files or statements that are relevant to this dispute.

 

So if I don't provide any details am I at risk of the mediator providing an opinion in the alternate direction?  I realize the opinion is non-binding but I do feel like the opinion ultimately would have weight if it went to arbitration.


You don't really need to provide too many details. Just saying "I finished the job and followed requirements, so I want $x amount from escrow." They can't make a decision, so don't put much thought into it other than whether or not you're up to going into arbitration.

 

My dispute emails are usually 1-2 sentences. Something like "I finished this job and delivered, so I want $x from escrow or we go into arbitration."

Jennifer - that is good advice.  Also brings me to another point.  I've already been paid.  The client approved milestone I, and then for milestone II I asked him for his feedback 5 days after submitting the work.  He stated he didnt yet have time to review and that was the last I heard from him.  14 days passes and I was paid.  I didn't realize you could dispute a paid amount, but I'm assume at least the amount he approved cannot be disputed at this point since he was satisfied with my work.  Thoughts on this?

Hi Michael,

 

I've followed up with our team about your concern and they will update you via the ticket with more information regarding this process and case.

 

Thank you for your patience. 

~ Bojan
Upwork


Michael R wrote:

Jennifer - that is good advice.  Also brings me to another point.  I've already been paid.  The client approved milestone I, and then for milestone II I asked him for his feedback 5 days after submitting the work.  He stated he didnt yet have time to review and that was the last I heard from him.  14 days passes and I was paid.  I didn't realize you could dispute a paid amount, but I'm assume at least the amount he approved cannot be disputed at this point since he was satisfied with my work.  Thoughts on this?


yeah, Upwork has said that they can dispute 30 days after payment. Kinda frustrating. But if it goes into arbitration, they can ask for all of it back from the arbiter even if it was months ago. 

 

If I were you, I would just tell the mediator that you did the milestones to scope, give her/him any files that prove you delivered, and say you are not willing to give a refund (if that's what you want to do).  I believe the mediator checks that something was delivered, but they can't judge quality or anything. This whole step before arbitration is just to see if you two will agree on a settlement so that you don't cost Upwork $300 and manpower to send it to an arbitrator. 

 

I've paid up the $291 and threatened it a couple of other times. I've only had something go to arbitration in 2014, and that's one out of 5ish escrow disputes. As long as you are willing to pay up first, it's very likely the client will back down and then you get the $291 back. 

Thanks Jennifer.  Last question - I tried to get this client to agree to a middle ground but to no avail, that is if it is the client I'm thinking of.  Shall I inform the moderator of what I am willing to do or simply just leave that out of it?


Michael R wrote:

Thanks Jennifer.  Last question - I tried to get this client to agree to a middle ground but to no avail, that is if it is the client I'm thinking of.  Shall I inform the moderator of what I am willing to do or simply just leave that out of it?


Their purpose is to try to get you to come to an agreement. If you two come to an agreement, make sure all the money is handled by the mediator. Let them know that you've come to an agreement and the mediator will verify with the other party and distribute the funds.

 

If you are willing to take a settlement and give a partial refund, then you can let them know. They go back to the client and let them know what you said, so they just mediate and relay messages between the two of you. She/he might make a suggestion like you should revise something, but personally I'm not willing to put myself in a position for more judgement should things go all the way to arbitration. Usually, if you say you'll settle for an amount, the client will try to get you to come down more. You can say "no" though. Up to you.

florydev
Community Member


Jennifer M wrote:

Michael R wrote:

Thanks Jennifer.  Last question - I tried to get this client to agree to a middle ground but to no avail, that is if it is the client I'm thinking of.  Shall I inform the moderator of what I am willing to do or simply just leave that out of it?


Their purpose is to try to get you to come to an agreement. If you two come to an agreement, make sure all the money is handled by the mediator. Let them know that you've come to an agreement and the mediator will verify with the other party and distribute the funds.

 

If you are willing to take a settlement and give a partial refund, then you can let them know. They go back to the client and let them know what you said, so they just mediate and relay messages between the two of you. She/he might make a suggestion like you should revise something, but personally I'm not willing to put myself in a position for more judgement should things go all the way to arbitration. Usually, if you say you'll settle for an amount, the client will try to get you to come down more. You can say "no" though. Up to you.


Your advice rocks...I hope I never need it.

lysis10
Community Member


Mark F wrote:


Your advice rocks...I hope I never need it.


lol these threads are so much more reasonable than OMG WE NEED CONNECTS BACK @@


But really, when I had my first dispute, I had no idea what to expect and NOBODY talked about it. It sucked. I guess people are embarrassed. I have no shame or pride, so *I* will talk about it!

 

So I vowed to share my experience, and the universe has made sure I get plenty of experience too.

florydev
Community Member


Jennifer M wrote:

Mark F wrote:


Your advice rocks...I hope I never need it.


lol these threads are so much more reasonable than OMG WE NEED CONNECTS BACK @@


But really, when I had my first dispute, I had no idea what to expect and NOBODY talked about it. It sucked. I guess people are embarrassed. I have no shame or pride, so *I* will talk about it!

 

So I vowed to share my experience, and the universe has made sure I get plenty of experience too.


When it happens, and let's face it, it will, I will be asking for your advice.  Just like if I am every worried about were 1% of my JSS went I would ask Petra.

lysis10
Community Member


Mark F wrote:


When it happens, and let's face it, it will, I will be asking for your advice.  Just like if I am every worried about were 1% of my JSS went I would ask Petra.


Petra's scary. I would wait until AT LEAST 2%.

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