Unresponive Client - Did the work now there's no answer

[melaine_w]

I was recently awarded a contract but there was a milestone involved. I did the work and submitted it on time but the client brought up an issue, which I apologized for because it was a misunderstanding on my part. He has since ghosted me and I reached out asking how he would like to move forward - whether he wants me to re-submit, etc- and he has not answered those messages either. I would like to know if in this situation if I'm still supposed to be paid my milestone fee? I was willing to make corrections but he is not responding to my messages. It was a mere $5 but I'm more concerned about the principle of the situation and not the money. It has been like 7 days and he hasn't responded.

I was very open and I communicated because even though I've been a member for a long time, I recently started putting in the effort to get clients and good reviews.

How do I best move forward with this? Is this worthy of a dispute?

[petra_r]

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Melaine W wrote:

I was recently awarded a contract but there was a milestone involved. I did the work and submitted it on time but the client brought up an issue, which I apologized for because it was a misunderstanding on my part.?

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Did you properly submit the work using the "Submit work for payment" function of the contract?

Did the client use the official "Request Changes" function or did the client just bring the issue up in messages?

If it's the former, resubmit the fixed work

If it's the latter, just wait until the money auto-releases after 14 days.

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[melaine_w]

Yes, I did properly submit using the submit work function button. However, the client didn't officially request changes. He just brought it up in my messages that something wasn't done according to how he wanted and left it at that.

I was the one apologized for the misunderstanding and then asked him (in the messaging app) how he would like to move forward and if I should change anything and he has not responded to my messages for a week. 

But it says the fee is funded and is in escrow. 

[JoanneP · Accepted solution]

Hi Melaine,

I checked the contract that you're referring to and I can see that you have submitted your work for approval. The client has 14 days from the most recent submission on a milestone to review and approve or request changes. It looks like the client did not use the option to request any changes. Since the client failed to use this option, any milestone submission within 14 days, the deposit is automatically released to you. 

[melaine_w]

Okay, thank you both for your assistance. Much appreciated