Unauthorized refund

[cecilia_marquez]

Hi, I recently finished a contract with a client on upwork. Things went ok, client got what they asked and finished my contract. Today, a week after the contract was closed I receive an email stating “I refunded” the client money. I haven’t authorized such thing, all hours were under the terms of the contract and logged using the time tracker... I have no idea what just happened.

Please do excuse any possible mistakes, I am currently on mobile.

[8be35780]

Hi everyone. I just got an email that my money was refunded to a client. I did the work. Can someone please help me?

[pgiambalvo]

It was not actually "refunded". Upwork really needs to stop using that word when notifying freelancers. Most likely, their card was discoverd as being stolen and the charge was declined by their bank. You won't get your money back.

[AveryO]

Hi Tatume, 

I'm sorry to learn that your hours were returned to the client's billing method. When the client fails to pay for hours logged by the freelancer, any hours that aren't covered by Upwork Hourly Protection may be reversed. Please check out this article for more information. When this happens, an automatic notification is sent, which I believe you have already received. The team will also be reaching out to you directly via email with more information about your specific account.

[3f98e34e]

Hi Avery, 

I was refunded two times already from Upwork, how can I get them back? Thanks!

[chuckcascio]

Ok, so I'm puzzled.

I had a contract with a client.  He wanted to have a project completed within 72 hours.  I was able to do this, and he was happy with the work.  I used the desktop app to log my hours, but when UpWork went down last week, I needed to log some hours in the diary.

My employer set the contract for $50/hour, a max of 15 hours in the week.  However, we both agreed that we needed more time to finish the project, so I continued to work past the 15 hours.  He paid me for all of my hours after the job was completed.  As the payment was pending, I recieved a message today saying that I paid back $125 to the employer (5 hours of work).  I did not do this, so it must have been UpWork?

Can someone tell me what is going on?  The only notice I got was that I submitted a refund to the employer, but I never did this!

I attached the invoice history.

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

[petra_r]

---

@Chuck C wrote:

Ok, so I'm puzzled.

I had a contract with a client.  He wanted to have a project completed within 72 hours.  I was able to do this, and he was happy with the work.  I used the desktop app to log my hours, but when UpWork went down last week, I needed to log some hours in the diary.

My employer set the contract for $50/hour, a max of 15 hours in the week.  However, we both agreed that we needed more time to finish the project, so I continued to work past the 15 hours.  He paid me for all of my hours after the job was completed.  As the payment was pending, I recieved a message today saying that I paid back $125 to the employer (5 hours of work).  I did not do this, so it must have been UpWork?

Can someone tell me what is going on?  The only notice I got was that I submitted a refund to the employer, but I never did this!

---

 Chances are the client's payment method failed, so Upwork never got paid, so only hours qualifying for the guarantee were paid.

$ 125 would be 2.5 hours at $ 50 per hour.

[chuckcascio]

Thanks for the reply.  (sorry about the math, I did a few more hours that I forgot to log and just chalked those up as a loss).

But, I origionally thought that might be the case.  However, his payment was unverified.  So, UpWork wouldn't have paid me at all (unless I'm understanding that incorrectly).

[kochubei_valeria]

Hi Chuck,

Unfortunately, there were issues with your client's account. As Petra guessed, some hours weren't covered by Upwork Hourly Protection and therefore had to be reversed. Please, communicate with your client and ask them to issue a payment to you in a form of a bonus once they sort out issues with their account.

[turnermatt]

I just had the same issue with a client. I delivered all agreed upon work and client was happy, but I just got a notification that I sent a refund to the client??

[nkocendova]

Hi Matt,

This usually happens when a client's payment method becomes unverified and your work did not qualify for Upwork's Payment Protection. You will be receiving a notification with more detailed information about this today.

[joseosuriel]

Hi,

This just happened to me, im not sure why. I got the notification that the contract was on hold and client stated issues with his CC and that it will take time to fix, so i stopped working on the contract and then i get a notification that I granted the refund. 

So i should contact the client and ask that the refund be placed to my account in the form of a Bonus or will the client be aware of what happened

[petra_r]

---

Jose S wrote:

This just happened to me, im not sure why. I got the notification that the contract was on hold and client stated issues with his CC and that it will take time to fix, so i stopped working on the contract and then i get a notification that I granted the refund. 

---

That's because your client didn't pay Upwork and you didn't track your hours properly, so you did not qualify for Hourly protection (in which case Upwork would have paid you out of their own pocket.)

---

Jose S wrote:

So i should contact the client and ask that the refund be placed to my account in the form of a Bonus or will the client be aware of what happened

---

Until the client fixes their card and their Upwork account, they can't ay you a bonus any more than they paid your hourly payments....

[joseosuriel]

Thanks for reply. 

but i always used the desktop app to track my hours and also included a memo. 

Which ways could i not have tracked my hours properly?

[petra_r]

---

Jose S wrote:

Thanks for reply. 

but i always used the desktop app to track my hours and also included a memo. 

Which was could i not have tracked my hours properly?

---

low activity levels? Memo not clearly describing what exactly you were working on?

[BojanS]

Hi Jose,

We're sorry to hear about this, on hourly contracts when a client fails to pay for the hours logged by the freelancer and those hours don't meet the requirements for Hourly Protection, the payment may be reversed. Please check out this article for more information. Our team will also be reaching out to you via email with more information.

Thank you!

[7a42af8b]

Bojan, I have a question, Can this kind of behavior (card with not enough funds) from clients affect our ratings?¡ Thanks in advance.

[jeff_arroyo]

I experienced the same. I just received a notification that I gave refund to my client which was I never approved. Please help me

[sofia2008]

Hi, the correct wording should have been that the amount was reversed. Was it a fixed price contract or hourly? If hourly was it manual hours or with the Time Tracker?

[AndreaG]

Hi Jeff, 

I'm sorry to hear that happened. I can see you were able to reply directly to the message our team sent you explaining the situation. Please allow some time for the team to review your reply and they will continue to assist you directly via support ticket.

[87d3233f]

same thing happened with me today.I got a mail with text that i refunded to the client.

[pgiambalvo]

The charge was reversed, probably because the card was discovered to be stolen. So you will not be getting any money. Sorry.

[AveryO]

Hi Noor, 

I'm sorry to learn that your hours were returned to the client's billing method. This happens when the client fails to pay for hours logged by the freelancer. Any hours that aren't covered by Upwork Hourly Protection may be reversed. When this happens, an automatic notification is sent (the one you received about the refund). The team will also reach out to you directly via email with more information about your specific account.

[965318c9]

This just happened to me please what can I do about it. I just completed an hourly paid job for my clients and my pay was on pending till yesterday's afternoon only to check my mail at night I saw a message of me initiating a refund of which I never did please support come to my aid

[pgiambalvo]

Unless you used the time tracker, there is nothing you can do about it and you will not get any money.

[ArjayM]

Hi Goodness,

I'm sorry to hear about the unexpected refund that's been processed on your account. Please note that when the client fails to pay for hours logged by the freelancer, any hours that aren't covered by Upwork Hourly Protection may be reversed.

The team will also be reaching out to you directly via email with more information on how to proceed. You can also check these tickets you've created for updates and further assistance. We seek your patience and utmost understanding while we take care of this incident. 

[4359c6c3]

Hello Upwork Team!

Recently i made a contract with client for the fixed price. He approved my job and paid to me by ending contract. he gave me 5 stars. But on the next day Upwork accepted refund request without my approval due to that my clients' account was suspended. So is it possible to receive my funs back? What if my client could not reinstate his account? Please, help me to address this issue, cause I spent a lot of time and efforts to earn them.

Thanks, 

Aika

[yofazza]

https://community.upwork.com/t5/Community-Blog/Top-Red-Flags-for-Scams-From-Community-Member-Wes-C/b...

Sorry for the bad news. Most likely wou were scammed on that Payneer job. Money wasn't "refunded" but the real card owner's bank take it back from Upwork. The guy had 4 completed "jobs" -_-

Upwork will not help you nor provide a better warning to new freelancers. The scam in average probably happened more than once everyday.

We freelancers are expendable.

[4359c6c3]

Thank you for your reply. I'm a freelancer. My client approved my task and ended contract. He paid to me. But on the next day Upwork refunded this contract autometically

[ArjayM]

Hi Aika, 

I'm really sorry to hear about this experience. I can see that the team handling your case has reached out via email and a support ticket has been created with it. Please don't hesitate to communicate with the team through here and your email for updates and further assistance.

[pgiambalvo]

They were unable to charge their card and it was probably a scam.

[4359c6c3]

Most likely I was scammed. But Upwork says:

 "Upwork charges the client at the beginning of the project, and the money for a milestone is deposited in escrow."

 "Please choose fixed-price jobs carefully. Only funds deposited for an active milestone are covered covered by Escrow Protection." This client had already paid and left 5 star review 

So how it is possible to take funds back from escrow? If it is than there should not be even talk about Payment Protection.

[AndreaG]

Hi Aika,

You can learn the basics of Fixed-Price Protection here. That said, please see the Fixed-Price Escrow Instructions for more details. Specifically Section 4.5 VIOLATION OF UPWORK TERMS OF SERVICE OR LAW.

[pgiambalvo]

"So how it is possible to take funds back from escrow? If it is than there should not be even talk about Payment Protection." You can see that Payment Protection for fixe3d price contracts really only applies when you are dealing with legitimate clients. It does not protect you from fraudulent ones.

[JoanneP]

Hi Aika,

When the client fails to pay for hours logged by the freelancer, any hours that aren't covered by Upwork Hourly Protection may be reversed. Please check out this help article for more information. The team will also be reaching out to you directly via email with more information about your specific account

[ffaac440]

Hi there!
I have not sent any refund given request. Even if the refund given request goes away, it is a mistake for me. I'm very sorry for that. I have very worked hard for this buyer and he has given me 5-star feedback with full buyer satisfaction and will hire me again in the future. So it was completely wrong, I can't send any refund request. So please help me with my fund return on my account as soon as possible.

Thanks

Laboni

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

[pgiambalvo]

The client probably used a stolen credit card and Upwork couldn't get the money after it was reported. It doesn't matter what the client says, or if the money was shown as having been funded.  Unless you used the time tracker, you are not protected and you will never get your money no matter what you do. Sorry this happened to you here.

[ArjayM]

Hi Laboni Akter,

I'm sorry to hear about the unexpected refund that's been processed on your account. Please note that when the client fails to pay for hours logged by the freelancer, any hours that aren't covered by Upwork Hourly Protection may be reversed.

The team will also be reaching out to you directly via email with more information on how to proceed. You can also communicate with our team through this support ticket you've created with your concern for further assistance. We seek your patience and utmost understanding while we take care of this incident.

[ali-kaled]

I got a mail saying: that my funds have been refunded after being available in my account .. how did this happened 

*note: Hourly contract and hours were recorded manualy / client is not responding

Invoice # 488310445

Amount Refunded: $200.97

Contract ID: 30396174

Thanks in advance  

[pgiambalvo]

It wasn't really refunded. Upwork was unsucessfully able to collect from their card after it was likley reported as stolen from either the bank or the actual card holder. Since the client isn't responding, you were probably scammed, you will never get the money, and there's nothing you can do about it. Sorry.

[ArjayM]

Hi Ali,

I'm sorry to hear about the unexpected refund that's been processed on your account. Please note that when the client fails to pay for hours logged by the freelancer, any hours that aren't covered by Upwork Hourly Protection may be reversed.

Please don't hesitate to communicate with the team handling your case through that email for updates and further assistance. We seek your patience and utmost understanding while sorting this out for you. Thank you!