Upwork reversing payment received over a month ago

[#1]

I've only worked since March this year on Upwork (2 brief jobs in 2019 were one offs).

Today, I got a letter from Upwork  out of the blue - saying that they were pulling $200 from my account- and referenced a client I hadn't worked for in over a month - and said that said client had decided to have her bank "reverse" the payment.  And I really have no recourse because I worked under a "hourly salary" which doesn't qualify for Upwork's payment protection?  How would a sales gig be entered as a payment protected Upwork product moving forward?  I worked overtime above and beyond for this client - so how do I protect my time and earnings when on Upwork if it is sales and needs to be an hourly salaried job, or a fixed milestone?

[#2]

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Karen T wrote:

I've only worked since March this year on Upwork (2 brief jobs in 2019 were one offs).

Today, I got a letter from Upwork  out of the blue - saying that they were pulling $200 from my account- and referenced a client I hadn't worked for in over a month - and said that said client had decided to have her bank "reverse" the payment.  And I really have no recourse because I worked under a "hourly salary" which doesn't qualify for Upwork's payment protection?  How would a sales gig be entered as a payment protected Upwork product moving forward?  I worked overtime above and beyond for this client - so how do I protect my time and earnings when on Upwork if it is sales and needs to be an hourly salaried job, or a fixed milestone?

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Hi Karen,

It really sucks that your client is pulling this crap.  The reason it comes out of your account, as you know, is because the client is basically deciding they don't want to pay you, in retrospect.  Upwork will try to fight the charge, but weekly retainer/salary  payments are not covered by payment protection from chargebacks because the time tracker is not used in the course of work, so Upwork can not verify the work done, in this case.   If you can try to make the time tracker work for your contracts, that is the best way to ensure payment protection, even with a chargeback. When I have to do client meetings on hourly contracts I  use the time tracker and open a word document to take notes. This keeps my activity up and allows me to track what I worked on.  Even in sales you could take notes while on sales calls., even if you just took notes about the person on the other end. It would also allow you to document each contact you made.  I know it may be a change to your standard operating procedure, but it may be useful to shift slightly to ensure payment. 

Sorry this happened to you. 

[#3]

The only earnings that are protected against a chargeback are earnings from hours tracked with the time-tracker (with memos and adequate activity levels).

I understand why Upwork won't pay from its own pocket in other cases,  but I do wish it would involve the freelancer in fighting the chargeback.

[#4]

Hi Karen,

I checked your issue and the amount has been returned once it was determined that the work billed does not qualify for Upwork Payment Protection. Please consider following up on your support ticket and kindly communicate with our team through that ticket if you have any questions, in order to keep all the information in one place.

Thank you!