May 30, 2019 08:28:56 PM by Amine A
May 30, 2019 08:48:17 PM by Kholleras I
Amine A wrote:He did this and created 3 milestones : the first one is for the extra slides, second is to send the work for review and the third is to pay the rest after reviews and changes.
Give him the work you did for the first two milestones because he has paid for that work. If the client never reviewed the work or asked for any changes, then you couldn't have done any work for the third milestone, so you shouldn't be paid the third milestone.
It sounds like you didn't use the milestone system properly. "Send the work for review" shouldn't be a separate milestone.
May 30, 2019 09:04:37 PM by Amine A
Yes I was wrong to trust him and not to request a change for the milestones requirements. By the way that's my only milestone-structured project in Upwork so I don't have a big knowledge. I sent him what he required in milestone 1 + 2 but with a watermark. I think that's the minimum thing I can do to protect my work. He still ask to get the non-watermarked file. I think he was wrong too when he validated the second milestone without getting the work for review, no?
May 30, 2019 09:17:11 PM Edited May 30, 2019 09:18:37 PM by Petra R
Amine A wrote:I sent him what he required in milestone 1 + 2 but with a watermark.
No.
If milestone 1 and 2 have been released to you, then you need to send what was paid for, WITHOUT a watermark, otherwise milestone one and two are not completed.
At the moment the client has paid (if I am right about the contract in question) $ 1600 and has absolutely nothing.
That would look seriously bad for you in a dispute.
May 30, 2019 09:32:50 PM by Amine A
May 30, 2019 09:39:04 PM by Petra R
Amine A wrote:@petra
Does having a copyright or a watermark in your proper job can make your delivered work considered as incomplete?
I don't understand what you mean. If the deliverables for milestone 1 and 2 are paid for - you don't own the copyright to them, the client does. If you put a watermark on something you do not own, or claim the copyright for something you do not own, you are violating Upwork's terms of service.
The second something is paid for it is the client's and putting a watermark on it is plain wrong. It is no longer yours to mess with.
May 30, 2019 08:53:15 PM Edited May 30, 2019 09:52:16 PM by Preston H
What should you do?
I don't know.
I'm tired of reading about clients who act like jerks. (Which may or may not be something that applies to the original poster's situation. I am speaking generally.)
Fixed-price contracts are a privilege, not a right.
If a client doesn't understand how to use fixed-price contracts properly, they need to use hourly contracts only.
Here's how it works:
You ask a freelancer to do something.
He does it.
You pay him.
It's not complicated.
If he does what you asked, and you hate it or your have a headache or your dog died or your project got cancelled... you still pay him.
Amine:
Of course Heaven is correct in his advice: Anything that he PAID for, you need to make sure you have sent to him. If he set up a fixed-price milestone for you to provide File X, and he PAID you for that milestone, then you need to send him the agreed-upon file(s), no matter how annoying he has been.
If you ALREADY ended the contract, and you ALREADY accepted the fact that you won't get any money from him, and if the client ALREADY filed a dispute, then I guess you're just going to have to wait until the dispute moderator starts talking to you.
If this happened to me, I would be honest with the cient when he messaged me:
"Gerry: I don't know very much about disputes. I think I'm supposed to wait until Upwork contacts me and follow their directions. I guess if you can figure out a way to drop the dispute and send me the final payment, I could send you the non-watermarked files. Maybe customer support can help you to do that. Otherwise, I should probably wait until they contact me."
May 30, 2019 09:17:28 PM by Amine A
May 30, 2019 09:34:20 PM Edited May 30, 2019 09:53:03 PM by Preston H
Watermarks are really not part of Upwork's intentions for the fixed-price/escrow system.
Upwork's intended use of the system:
- Freelancer and client agree to a milestone task.
- Client funds the task in escrow.
- Freelancer does the work and sends the files to the client.
- Client reviews the files to confirm he received what was agreed to
- Client releases payment [or] requests changes [or] does nothing
- If client does nothing, Upwork releases the money to the freelancer automatically after 14 days.
That's how the system is supposed to work. Watermarking or otherwise providing something other than what was agreed upon are NOT part of Upwork's intended use for the fixed-price system.
May 30, 2019 09:38:32 PM Edited May 30, 2019 09:49:22 PM by Preston H
I will tell you what I personally do.
I am NOT telling you what to do.
I am NOT saying everybody else needs to do this.
When I have a fixed-price contract, as soon as the contract starts, I create a shared server account.
I send the client the full credentials for the account. The same credentials that I have.
I do ALL OF MY WORK on that shared space. I don't do any work on a local machine/desktop computer.
[I realize this won't work for all types of work.]
As I do work, the client has complete, real-time access to everything I do.
The client can copy the work to his own computer or server or anywhere else, at any time.
When I actually use the "Submit Work / Request Payment" button, I might send files, but often I just write a note. Because the client ALREADY has all of the work I have done on the project.
This is pretty much the opposite of watermarking files sent for review.
Now let me be clear about something:
Upwork does not require that freelancers doing fixed-price contracts use my methods.
I mention these things to provide some contrast to what the original poster was doing.
Could a client simply take my work and then not pay me?
Well, they have funded escrow. I don't work on non-funded milestones.
So if they were to try to take my work without paying me, it would mean they would need to file a dispute. Because Upwork's system doesn't allow a client to close out a contract or milestone without releasing the payment, unless they either get the freelancer to agree to the refund (or partial refund), or they file a dispute.
So there is indeed some safety there regarding getting paid.
But importantly for me, the work I do is somewhat technical and complex. Clients value my continued advice and participation on their projects. That makes it unlikely that they would simply try to take my work and leave me unpaid. So in that regard, the dynamic is different than in a situation where a client could take a file (such as Photoshop graphic or a Word document), and use it without the freelancer's help.
So although there are some differences in the dynamic, the escrow system remains the same.
The escrow system - in which clients' payments have already been charged to their credit card and are intended for use in paying the freelancer - really is a solid, sensible system that benefits freelancers.
But they need to use it correctly.
May 30, 2019 10:29:31 PM by Kathy T
Amine - This is how I interpret it.
Therefore the job is not completed and can not be completed until the client funds the 3rd milestone, Unless that 3rd milestone is funded, do not send him the files without the watermark as what you probably know, the client will not fund that last milestone.
If this client disputes, so be it. You are not going to lose your account because of a dispute. And you are not required to complete a job if escrow is not funded. That is precisely what escrow is for. It holds the funds until the job is completed. It shows a freelancer that the client does have the money and does intend to pay.
May 30, 2019 10:54:09 PM by Christine A
Kathy T wrote:Amine - This is how I interpret it.
- client funded 1st milestone, which was funded for the extra slides. You completed the work. Watermarked the files and sent the files to the client
- client released 1st milestone, funded 2nd milestone and released 2nd milestone fund.
- Client didn't fund the 3rd milestone which would involve you sending the files without the watermark.
Therefore the job is not completed and can not be completed until the client funds the 3rd milestone, Unless that 3rd milestone is funded, do not send him the files without the watermark as what you probably know, the client will not fund that last milestone.
If this client disputes, so be it. You are not going to lose your account because of a dispute. And you are not required to complete a job if escrow is not funded. That is precisely what escrow is for. It holds the funds until the job is completed. It shows a freelancer that the client does have the money and does intend to pay.
That's how I intrepreted it at first, too, but Amine does say that the third milestone was to pay for reviews and changes, and the client didn't request any changes. Therefore the job was finished after the second milestone. It's still unfair because the milestones were probably split into thirds and he undoubtedly did more than two-thirds of the work, but I'm not sure if he has grounds for a dispute.
Amine, if you're worried about your JSS, you do realise that as a top-rated freelancer, you might be able to get the bad feedback removed? There's more information here.
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