What happens when client disappears mid contract?

[designcodubai]

Hello,

I am sure this is not an isolated case. I had completed lots of work for the client and had the first milestone released. Now I have not received communication from the client for 3 weeks. The client was very communicative, so this seems very odd. I suspect they have gotten what they needed and disappeared.

What are my next steps to retrieve the milestone payment and cancel the project?

Thanks.

[NikolaS · Accepted solution]

Hi Jay,

If you are working with a client and they become unresponsive for a long period of time, it may be best to stop working on the project and wait for contact from the client. Additionally, on a fixed-price contract, ending the contract forfeits any funds remaining in escrow. Instead, it is often best to complete your last milestone before you end the contract. If your client fails to respond to your submission, funds will be automatically released after 14 days. If they respond but refuse the work and you believe you have completed the work according to the agreed terms, you have the option to file a dispute.

You can find more information in this help article. 

[1f6a4485]

Does our JSS get affected if the client disappears after the first milestone?

[LuiggiR]

Hi Hiba,

No, that doesn't affect your JSS. Your JSS can change because of the following reasons:

- You receive poor public or private feedback from one or more clients.

- You receive positive public or private feedback from one or more clients.

- A higher-value job is added to your score and outweighs lower-value jobs.

- Jobs you completed in the past are no longer considered because they are outside the score's time frame.

You can find more information under the "Why did my JSS change?" section in this article.

[1f6a4485]

Thanks, LuiggiR for always answering my questions. 

[1f6a4485]

Hi LuiggiR,

I need your help again! She funded the second milestone and I started working on the second stage. She was happy with my work for the second stage. However, when I submitted the work for the second milestone, she asked for lots of unnecessary revisions.

At this stage, I was asked to design editable social media kits on Canva. When I gave her proper rights to edit and publish, she wanted unnecessary revisions such as claiming the fonts were not readable (even though they looked good on all my devices) and saying the link was incorrect (even though she could edit the templates).

I'm worried that she might be selling my templates because I noticed some activities in my templates, even though I only sent the link to her.

Please help me. What can I do?

[wlyonsatl]

Jay,

Did you complete the work for Milestone 1 and submit it using the project's Submit button?

Did the client release payment to you from escrow as a result of your submission?

If so, you should be paid the amount of Milestone 1 according to Upwork's payment schedule.

Don't begin work on any milestone until it is fully funded by the client. If there is nothing in escrow for the next milestone, don't begin work on that or any other milestone.

Clients often disappear for a few weeks, but if you don't hear from the client and there is no funding added to escrow for six to eight weeks, I'd close the project and let the client know you can re-start at any time (if that's true).

[designcodubai]

Thanks Will for the advice. I did not see a Submit button as there was only 1 Milestone. Seems I was paid the milestone as it is in my project summary as paid. If I close the project then I forfeit the milestone amount...

[designcodubai]

Also it was a fixed price contract if that affects the outcome?

[chillynguyen]

I think you should submit the work for the second milestone by the "Submit work" button. Then, after 14 days, the fund will be sent into your account by Upwork.

[petra_r]

---

Nhu Nhu N wrote:

I think you should submit the work for the second milestone by the "Submit work" button. .

---

There is no "submit work" button when there is no active 2nd milestone.

[chillynguyen]

In that case, sad for him.

[designcodubai]

Very sad.

[designcodubai]

It says I was paid.

[chillynguyen]

The amount in escrow is the one that matters. Next time, make sure that your client has already funded the milestone before working on it. I once has a client who didn't fund the escrow, then disappeared. I'm still waiting for him to come back and pay.

It has been nearly a year since the day he disappeared. Time flies isn't it!

[chillynguyen]

Ah, and the amount that is titled "paid" belongs to you and will go into your account. The rest won't.

[designcodubai]

Thanks Nhu Nhu for the replies. I am not expecting the guy to come back. There was some writing on the wall that he may have been insincere, but I needed to get some projects to win more work so I pushed through. Life is a grand experience.

[chillynguyen]

Good luck on your next job!

For this job, you can leave it open, or close it by yourself. I think both are fine.