Was I Deceived?

[imagesasart]

On April 21st I submitted a proposal for a job that was perfect for me. 

The client had a personal collection of various subject photographs she wanted worked on.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              This is part of what she wrote:

I did see your flower photography.
They were absolutely beautiful.
All of the photos were gorgeous.

What I would really like is for you to review all of my flower photos first. 

Those are the ones I'm most excited about you seeing and working on.
I have a lot of scenic pictures also, I can't imagine not having you work on my flowers.
If you can advise me on how to get the photos to you. I'd love to discuss how to go forward.

I asked her to attach samples to her next message but then I found out that Dropbox is a standard way to send files so she told me this: “Ok I'll get those to you later this afternoon.”.

Her next message was this:

I have a few appointments, but I want you for this job so I'll be in touch soon.
I have already sorted all the photos.
I'll go through it and select what I think is the better.
I'll shoot the NDA with the photos soon!

Her message with the NDA:

I believe this is the NDA and I have picked trial photos to send they will be in an album.

The NDA included these provisions.

IV. COVENANT NOT TO SUE

RECIPIENT shall not institute any action or suit at law or in equity against OWNER, nor institute,

prosecute or in any way aid in the institution or prosecution of any claim, demand, action, or cause of action

arising out of the INFORMATION or any INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY thereof, including but not limited to,

claim, demand, action, or cause of action for invalidating any INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY of OWNER.

V. DAMAGES AND SPECIFIC PERFORMANCE

RECIPIENT agrees that should RECIPIENT breach any of the promises contained in this Agreement

that OWNER would suffer irreparable harm and OWNER would be without adequate remedy at law and that

OWNER may obtain injunctive relief, including specific performance of the Agreement, as well as monetary

award for damages suffered by OWNER for RECIPIENT’S breach of this Agreement.

My next message I told her to give me the weekend & she told me to take as much time as I wanted.

My message on Monday April 29th was this:

I have reviewed the non-disclosure agreement and I agree with it except for provisions IV & V.

They both seem to be very one-sided in your favor. I ask that you either revise those provisions to the agreement so they are fair to both of us or remove them. I look forward to working with you on this project but I need these items addressed before I can approve this document.

Thank You, Sincerely John

Then I saw that she had hired 2 other Freelancers. She has not responded & I am reasonably sure she saw my message because the last day she looked at her ad was Monday April 29th. The ad is still active but I feel like I was lied to. 

Obviously I am old enough to know these things happen but it is still disappointing.

Should I just withdraw my proposal & forget about this or should I report her behavior to Upwork?

[melroen]

Nothing to report about the client. She sent you an NDA, and you declined her one-sided terms.

Seems to me like you dodged a bullet with a difficult client.

[the-right-writer]

First, it sounds like you went outside of Upwork before an Upwork contract was in effect by using Dropbox. Is this accurate?

If you did, then you violated the Terms of Service, which negates the rest of the concerns.

This kind of back and forth discussion happens, with varying results. In my experience, it has always been a positive experience, where we hammer out the fine details. Yes, it is frustrating when a client interaction does not result in a project, but that's a part of freelancing

Clients can want unusual or just weird things, and it's up to you if you want to comply. If you don't want to follow it, then let it go and look for the next project. There is nothing to report. The client could have said they decided not to hire you, and there is no violation. In freelancing, you have to put in a proposal and not look back. Even with exchanges with the client, it's the same.

It seems you went outside Upwork, so you need to learn the rules. Use the link to the Academy at the top of the page, and learn about the platform before you look for work. Yes, you can withdraw, or leave it because perhaps they may decide to change the situation.

[imagesasart]

I did not go outside upwork. Icontacted support & this was the response. Iasked the client to send samples of her photos using the paper clip & she didn't. I am with drawing my propasal because as far as I am conerned the client is a liar.

Thank you for contacting Upwork support. I hope you are doing great. I do understand your concern about how to receive the files. I will be more than happy to assist you with that. You can utilize the Upwork messages. Here's how she can do it: Go to Messages on Upwork. Select the message room with you. Click on the paperclip icon in the messaging area. Choose whether to attach the file directly or use Dropbox for larger files. If the photo collection is larger than 1 GB, discuss with your client their preferred method for sharing such large files.

[the-right-writer]

OK, so if you did not have a contract yet, and you don't like the NDA, and she didn't want to stay on Upwork, then withdraw and inform Upwork. You have done all you can under the system.

[imagesasart]

I do not understand why everytime I post to any message board I get responses that show me that my post was not completely read. This was th e first sentence in my lasy paragraph in my original post: 

Then I saw that she had hired 2 other Freelancers. She did not leave this site & there was no contract. I withdrew without any comment. It just isn't worth my time &  I doubt upwork is worth it too. I should be refuned the 16 connects it cost me but I know upwork won't do that. I am done answering this post.

[spectralua]

It is common for message boards, dont worry.

Melissa already answered you "Nothing to report about the client"

Others just adding details. But if you need additional confirmation then no prob, ill do: Your connects is lost. Nothing to report. Connects wasting is ok here. An 99 of 100 my proposals is connects wasting.

And you dont need to withdraw proposal. Just move forward. With your proposal you owe nothing.

[melroen]

Hi John,

Since the client interviewed and interacted with you, you might get your connects refunded. Upwork doesn't systemically do this anymore. However, I've read other freelancers claim in the forum that they were refunded their connects upon being interviewed. 

It's worth a shot...

Best of luck!