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55286aec
Community Member

Unauthorized refund after 5 days of finished pending period

Hi there,

 

I had a client with (thank God) a small $40 task to animate an icon on 4 August. I did the job and the client was satisfied, he approved the milestone on 6 August. On 10 August I received the money after a pending period but on 15 August Upwork gave the client a refund without asking. I messaged support but they answered that the client was removed for fraud, that's why they gave a refund back.

After this answer, I had a couple of questions but the support started to text me some templated messages about how to stay safe on Upwork, and there were no words about my situation. I am sorry for that, but the support was extremely unfit, I felt like I am speaking with a robot. So that's why I am here to ask you for some questions, right now I decided not to work with new clients without any reviews. 

 

1) The client's payment method is verified (even now!) which I THOUGHT will protect me. So what do I have to do in the future to avoid free work? Not to work with fixed-price contracts at all? Or never work with new clients without any reviews? 

 

2) The milestone was approved on 6 August, I received the payment on 10 August, Refund was given on 15 August. I had five days to withdraw the money, but what if I didn't have any money in my account?

 

3) Do I understand correctly that every client with whom I am currently working, and who may be blocked in the future for fraud, is a reason to return all the money earned with this client back to the client? It could be thousands of dollars...

 

This Upwork behavior is extremely weird for me, still, I cannot understand how to identify a bona fide client from a scammer, if both of them has verified payment method. 

 

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

ACCEPTED SOLUTION
00137e0a
Community Member

1) "Payment method verified" simply means that Upwork has verified that the credit card provided is chargeable. Nothing more. I know it creates a false sense of security (whether on purpose or not), but that's what it is.

 

2) If you had no money in your account, you would have a negative balance.

 

3) Yes. Unfortunately, there are many cashback horror stories on Upwork, some involving thousands of dollars indeed. The best way to protect yourself is to charge by the hour and use the time tracking app; However, it is only valid for up to 2.500k.

 

 

View solution in original post

1 REPLY 1
00137e0a
Community Member

1) "Payment method verified" simply means that Upwork has verified that the credit card provided is chargeable. Nothing more. I know it creates a false sense of security (whether on purpose or not), but that's what it is.

 

2) If you had no money in your account, you would have a negative balance.

 

3) Yes. Unfortunately, there are many cashback horror stories on Upwork, some involving thousands of dollars indeed. The best way to protect yourself is to charge by the hour and use the time tracking app; However, it is only valid for up to 2.500k.

 

 

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