Unauthorized refund

[#1]

Hi, last week my contract with my client got suspended I told her and she fixed it immediately. The second time, I finished my work for her for 5 hours and got suspended again but this time I got no reply from her. This morning Upwork notified me that I refunded her without my permission. Also, the tasks were done. I feel robbed 😞 Upwork should also protect freelancers from this kind of clients having trouble with their cards etc. and double checking the work before the unauthorized refund. This is so unfair.

[#2]

Hi, yes. I am very sure I was using the time tracker since it's an hourly contract. And on the screenshot i attached they told me I am qualified and that client's payment was made prior to having the issue on my contract. I can't contact my client anymore. I could have tried contacting her about it only if UW didnt give an assurance that the payment was already made by the client and that i was covered by the payment protection. 😭😭😭

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

[#3]

It's not enough to have the time tracker turned on; you also need to write memos describing what you're doing, and have sufficient activity levels. I can see in your screen cap that Upwork did send you a link to explain why some of your time didn't qualify - did you read this information?

[#4]

Hi, thank you for your comment. Yes, I wrote memos and I read what's on the link. I was able to follow everything they mentioned. Now, let's say it's about the activity levels, it was just a data entry or lead generation job but regardless, why would someone from their team give me false information? It's all about how they set my expectations. It was done incorrectly because they assured me I was covered and that payment was made by the client. 

[#5]

In my experience, they just don't know anything. I don't think they're intentionally giving out false information so much as that they have been provided with a library of cut and paste responses (you will notice that you see exactly the same language over and over) and choose the one that seems closest to whatever you're asking about.

You will see the same thing happening here in the forums, where mods provide an "answer" that is clearly stock content and doesn't actually relate to the question asked but may tie to the same keyword.

[#6]

This is so true. It's like talking to AI. I even told them that they may have to escalate this issue but they just keep sending me templates making it a dead end for me. 

[#7]

I get it, and I'm sorry this is happening to you. If you're sure that you followed all of the time tracking rules, then I'd push back if I were you. They might have made a mistake.

[#8]

Thank you. I appreciate it.😢

[#9]

Fhf

[#10]

You made a mistake. If the client only funded a $5 milestone, then you shouldn't have completed the work. There is no payment protection at all if the funds are not in escrow, and Upwork is very clear about that. I suggest that you look up how fixed price projects are supposed to work so that you'll know how to avoid this problem in the future.

[#11]

Hi maam, client promised me that he will accept the project after i completed the work. I dont know how to trust on clients . But i have trust on upwork and his payment protaction. If i am wrong and i made a mistake to trust on upwork then i will never trust on upwork anymore. 

[#12]

This has nothing to do with trusting Upwork. You have worked for a client without setting up a contract correctly, as a freelancer you have to do certain things for yourself.

You never start working without a contract.

You had a $5 contract so you should have done just $5 work. 

If the client is asking for $1500 worth of work then they need to fund $1500 into the milestone, not $5. 

[#13]

You weren't wrong to trust Upwork. The problem is that Upwork said "We will offer mediation and the option of arbitration to protect your payment if funds are in escrow." 

Then, you went ahead without funds in escrow (probably your dishonest client knows how Upwork works and knew he could get away with this). And then you say, "Upwork, you said you would protect me!" But, they didn't. They said they would protect you to the extent of funds in escrow. 

It sounds like you need to take some time to learn more about how Upwork works before you look for any more jobs, o ryou will likely get scammed again.

[#14]

The project is on fixed price but client added milstone on it. 

[#15]

When you have milestones on a project, you need to only do as much work as one milestone covers, then wait until the milestone is approved and there is another funded milestone open to do more work. Never do more work than the current funded milestone pays for.

[#16]

Ok maam thanks

[#17]

I had a job that the clients payment did not go through. The earnings never hit my account, yet Upwork has taken the refunded earnings out of earnings from another job. Upwork support is so slow and doesn't even address my questions or concerns. They respond with canned answers that don't even apply to my situation (telling me to verify my identity which I've already done). Has anyone had these issues?

[#18]

Hi Caitlin,

I am sorry to hear about the reversal. I can see that you're already communicating with the relevant team via a support ticket regarding your concern. You can access your support tickets here. Please don't hesitate to follow up with them directly on the same support ticket if you have additional questions regarding your concern. Note that support requests are responded to in the order they are received. Kindly allow 24-48 hours for the team to follow up with you and assist you further.

Thank you,
Pradeep

[#19]

Hello, I have completed a contract for a client successfully, which was closed 35 days ago. However, I have now received threats from the client stating that they are unsatisfied with the work and demanding a refund. They have also mentioned the possibility of filing a chargeback if their request is not met. 

Additionally, I have received an email from the Informal Mediation team. They informed me that the client is requesting a refund, and if the refund is not provided, they will consider filing a chargeback from their bank.

I wanted to inquire whether an external chargeback can be applied to hourly contracts that have already been closed? Please share your thoughts and advice me. Thanks!

[#20]

Yes, even months after.

[#21]

This morning, I received a payment of $100 from a client. Since I needed the money, I transferred it to my Payoneer account. However, in the evening, I received an email from Upwork stating that I had refunded $100 to the client, resulting in a negative balance in my Upwork account. I reached out to the client to inquire if they had requested the refund, and they confirmed that they did not. Additionally, they have not received the refunded amount in their account. Please guide me on what to do. Have I lost the money?

[#22]

Hi Abid,

I'm sorry to learn about this experience. Unfortunately, when the client fails to pay for hours logged by the freelancer, any hours not covered by Upwork Hourly Protection may be reversed. Please check out this help article for more information. It looks like the team has sent an automatic notification via email with more details on the issue. Feel free to coordinate by responding to the email, and they will surely assist you accordingly.

[#23]

I appreciate your response, but what I'm trying to understand is the destination of the funds. My client have not recieved them yet.

[#24]

Hi Abid,

I checked the job you are referring to and noticed that the client's payment was unsuccessful. We have already notified you about the same via a support ticket. You can access your support tickets here. Please don't hesitate to follow up with them on the same support ticket if you have additional questions regarding your concern. Note that support requests are responded to in the order they are received. Kindly allow 24-48 hours for the team to follow up with you and assist you further.

Thank you,
Pradeep

[#25]

I am unable to understand how I received $100 in my Upwork account if the client's payment was unsuccessful.

[#26]

Hiya 

Upwork automatically refunded a client the amount I was paid because they said there was an issue with the client's card. 

I've messaged the client to see if they can pay to resolve the issue. 

My concern is that I'm now negative money on my Upwork balance (as when the money first came through, it was automatically sent through to my bank account), and I want to make sure that when the client repays, that will go down? Will it lower my rating or anything? 

Thanks so much, 

Cassiah