This is a general question

[amitha_lakshan]

This is a general question. If a client and a freelancer have closed a contract by completing the payment, usually it takes few days to make the money available in freelancer's account. During this period of time, are there any possibility for the client, to make any revision or create a dispute for the already closed contract and make any issue? If the contract is completely closed after payments and feedback given.

[bilsim]

No, they cannot file a dispute after the contract has been paid and closed. They can only do that on active and open contracts.

[petra_r]

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Amitha L wrote:

During this period of time, are there any possibility for the client, to make any revision or create a dispute for the already closed contract and make any issue?

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Yes and beyond that time, too. Fixed rate contracts can be disputed up to 30 days after the last milestone has been released. Hourly contracts can be disputed during the 5 days after the work week ended, and potentially 30 after, regardless of whether the contract is open or closed.

Biljana V wrote:

No, they cannot file a dispute after the contract has been paid and closed. They can only do that on active and open contracts.

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You couldn't be more wrong

[bilsim]

What's the point in closing the contract then? It also contradicts the 14-day review period policy. In that case the review period policy is not 14 days but 44 days (14+30) and should be revised to be clearer.

[wlyonsatl]

Biljana V.,

There are many nuances to Upwork's procedures that you will only learn after they apply to you on one of your projects.

But one thing is certain - you are much less likely to lose money to client fraud and misadventures using hourly contracts compared to fixed rate contracts, where the final step you have to take, assuming it's worth your while, is to go to arbitration via Upwork's procedures or take the client to court.

But since Upwork's arbitration costs $291 for the freelancer, it makes little economic sense for the freelancer to take that step on disputes where the amount in dispute is not well above $291. (We have been told on this board that Upwork won't allow small disputes to go to arbitration, which is understandable considering that Upwork's own $291 cost is only earned on projects with a total value of $2,410.)

Some of these disputes could likely be avoided if Upwork would give freelancers information about how often potential clients have cancelled their previous Upwork projects mid-project, filed for refunds, gone to arbitration, etc. But that seems unlikely...

[petra_r]

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Biljana V wrote:

What's the point in closing the contract then?

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The two things have nothing to do with each other.

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Biljana V wrote:

 It also contradicts the 14-day review period policy.

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Not really. Dispute is a different process.

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Biljana V wrote:

the review period policy is not 14 days but 44 days (14+30) and should be revised to be clearer.

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It's actually much worse than that. If you have a very long term, massive contract with lots of milestones, the client can (provided there is money in escrow and / or the last milestone was released less than 30 days ago), go after everything ever paid under the contract from day 1, even if that is months or years ago.

Clearly its most unlikely that they could get away with it and succeed, but that option is there.