Upwork failed to charge the client for a fixed contract.

[525c2c10]

I have worked for a fixed contract and submitted the deliverables for payments. The client did not give any feedback and he asked for a refund without any discussion. I have tried to discuss his concerns but he did not give any response. As a result, I have started a dispute. The client first responded to the mediation that the work was totally wrong. When I asked him to clarify his complaint, he stopped communicating. The mediator sent him notice then she decided to release funds for me.  After that, I have checked the payment and I have found that the date was pending for more than 5 days. I have returned to customer support but they informed me that they failed to charge the client and I have to ask him to approve the payment first.

I have shared them the Upwork protection terms attached at this thread that states that the payment should be released to the freelancer if the client refused to respond to the mediation as well as his account should be suspended. The customer support insists on that there is no way to get the money unless the client responds. 

Now, I need your advice regarding this case and how can I avoid this in the future. How can I gurantee that after I deliver the work the client issue a refund for no reason and Upwork fails to charge him.

I would like to add that the Upwork mediator decided to release funds to me and she confirmed at the conversation that the money is still hold at the escrow when I was concerned about my funds. So, I am not sure how Upwork really failed to charge the client. Do you have any expalantion for that, I am really confused?

Many thanks,

Amany

[prestonhunter]

re: "Now, I need your advice regarding this case and how can I avoid this in the future. How can I gurantee that after I deliver the work the client issue a refund for no reason and Upwork fails to charge him."

Work using hourly contracts while following rules for Upwork Payment Protection.

[525c2c10]

Do you mean that fixed contracts are not protected in Upwork? What about fixed contract terms that protect clients and freelancers?

[525c2c10]

Also, Do you have any idea why Upwork did not apply its terms at this contract?. I am also concerned that this client may give me a bad feedback as the contract is marked as completed paid project and the client's account is not suspended yet. So, it would be ended by not getting the money and low JSS. 

[525c2c10]

The Upwork mediator decided to release funds to me and she confirmed at the conversation that the money is still hold at the escrow when I was concerned about my funds.

[prestonhunter]

re: "Do you mean that fixed contracts are not protected in Upwork?"

Yes, that is what I mean.

re: "What about fixed contract terms that protect clients and freelancers?"

Your own experience tells you that fixed-price isn't completely protected.

I don't want to discourage you from working on fixed-price contracts. They are usually fine.

I sometimes work on fixed-price. You should work on fixed-price. Just understand that they are not as secure as hourly.

[525c2c10]

My experience tells me that I am really unprotected at Upwork as the terms are violated at my experience. What would gurantee that they would not be violated for hourly contracts as well and the customer support tells me that they failed to charge hours?. Do you have an explanation why trnasaction could be canceled for no reason?. I am trying to understand this case.

[petra_r]

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Amany M wrote:

 Do you have an explanation why trnasaction could be canceled for no reason?. I am trying to understand this case.

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What makes you say that the transaction was cancelled? 

It normally takes several days before the funds from a disputed contract end up with the person who was awarded them. This is nothing unusual.

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Amany M wrote:

 What would gurantee that they would not be violated for hourly contracts as well and the customer support tells me that they failed to charge hours?. 

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What hours are you talking about? I thought this was a fixed rate contract?

In hourly contracts, as long as you track your hours correctly, you are protected, because in case of non-payment, Upwork pay you out of their own pocket, but I would frankly ignore the whole matter of hourly contracts, it has NOTHING to do with your current situation and isn't in any way helpful.

Preston H wrote:

Your own experience tells you that fixed-price isn't completely protected.

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Preston, I don't think it does. I would hazard a guess that there is a misunderstanding. It is completely impossible for a client to create a fixed rate contract without Upwork successfully charging the client's payment method for the first milestone, so there is no way this played out as described. The funds were in escrow and were subsequently awarded to the freelancer. 

[525c2c10]

-The customer support informed me that he found that the transaction was canceled.

-I was responding to Pretson regarding that hourly contracts are more protected than fixed contracts.

Thanks so much Petra for the expalanation and clarification. I feel relieved now!

[petra_r]

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Amany M wrote:

The customer support informed me that he found that the transaction was canceled.

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The whole point of escrow is that it isn't possible to unilaterally cancel a transaction. The only way would be a chargeback or similar, but you would have been informed of that.

"transaction was cancelled" is also a completely different matter to "not charged in the first place".

Do ask for this to be escalated. 

[525c2c10]

I have already asked for the clarification, but all I get is the same response. They failed to charge the client and I have to reach him out without any gurantee that he responds.

[petra_r · Accepted solution]

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Amany M wrote:

I have already asked for the clarification, but all I get is the same response. They failed to charge the client and I have to reach him out without any gurantee that he responds.

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Ask for it to be escalated. State that the funds were in escrow, so MUST have been successfully charged for the contract to have been created. They also can't have been unilaterally "cancelled". That is simply not possible. 

That's the whole point of escrow.

[525c2c10]

I have just contacted the mediator and reopened the ticket and I hope she can fix it for me. I have been trying to discuss that with the customer support for the last two weeks, but they did not accept the fact that the client is already charged at the contract start and the money was already in the escrow.

[petra_r]

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Amany M wrote:

 I have returned to customer support but they informed me that they failed to charge the client and I have to ask him to approve the payment first.

I would like to add that the Upwork mediator decided to release funds to me and she confirmed at the conversation that the money is still hold at the escrow when I was concerned about my funds. So, I am not sure how Upwork really failed to charge the client.

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That really doesn't sound right. Maybe stick with the mediator instead of customer support

The client *WAS* successfully charged when the milestone was activated and the money moved to escrow.

When there are funds in escrow, the client was charged.

If mediation resulted in the escrow funds being awarded to you because of the client' lack of participation, it takes a while to get you the money.

[525c2c10]

Thanks Petra for the response. The mediator ticket is closed now. I will try to contact her again. The Date is still pending since Sept 6.

[petra_r]

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Amany M wrote:

Thanks Petra for the response. The mediator ticket is closed now. I will try to contact her again. The Date is still pending since Sept 6.

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Ask for the matter to be escalated.

From what you described, there are a few things we know for a fact:

Fact: The client *WAS* charged

Fact: The dispute went in your favour

Fact: You were awarded the funds that *ARE* in escrow

Someone since dropped the ball when it comes to getting that money to you.

How much money are we talking about?

[525c2c10]

They are 250$.

[525c2c10]

The funds were in the escrow. They are not bonus or extra payments. The contract is under my completed paid projects.

[tlbp]

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Amany M wrote:

The funds were in the escrow. They are not bonus or extra payments. The contract is under my completed paid projects.

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 Have you looked at your transaction history to see if the payment is pending? 

[525c2c10]

Hi Tonya,

Thanks for your response. The issue is reolved now by the mediator and I have received the funds. There was a problem with the clinet's account causing the funds to be stuck.

[petra_r]

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Amany M wrote:

The issue is reolved now by the mediator and I have received the funds. 

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Perfect! So glad to see this!

[525c2c10]

Thanks so much Petra, I really appreciate your help.