Hmmm... Blocking a client with whom you have an OPEN CONTRACT is an unusual move.
I'm not even sure if the Upwork user interface allows you to do that.
My advise:
Don't block a client with whom you have an active contract.
But then the question becomes:
What SHOULD you do?
Let's consider you REASON for not wanting to talk to him:
He is asking you to work for free.
That is a violation of Upwork ToS.
That also MAKES NO SENSE for you to do.
You came here to earn money, not to do charity work for people you don't even know.
Any client who asks a freelancer to work for free is simply being sillly, and ultimately self-defeating. As a client, I can assure you that I do NOT WANT freelancers working for me for free. I don't think any freelancer in such a situation will take the situation seriously. I don't think I'll get their best work. And they may well do nothing at all.
So that provides us with a basic philosophical position from which we proceed.
So you really have TWO choices:
- close the contract
- don't close the contract
No matter what, you should always be polite and professional in how you communicate.
If you decide to close the contract, you may CHOOSE between telling the client EXACTLY why you are closing the contract, or not providing him those details. Will it benefit YOU to criticize the client? Probably not. You are ALLOWED to close the contract at any time, and you don't have to provide a long explanation of the real reasons why. You are allowed to simply say: "Thank you for the opportunity to work on the project. My situation has changed and I will no longer be working on these types of projects. I will be closing the contract within the next few days. Let me now if you have any final questions or need me to re-send any files."
If you do this, you are HELPING THE CLIENT out by informing him that you won't be working for him any more and providing him with information and files that he may need to pass on to new hires or other members of the team.
Remember that if you decide to stop working on the contract, you are not negotiating. You are INFORMING the client about what is going to happen.
ALTERNATIVELY...
You may choose to decide to continue working for this client.
If you do so, then just make sure you take charge of the situation.
You may ignore inappropriate messages or requests from the client. Or you may choose to explicitly explain why the request was inappropriate, and why he won't do that again in the future.
There is not just one solution for every situation and every client. The simple truth is that many clients are AWESOME. But there are also many people who don't know how to be a good client, and sometimes a good freelancer can HELP them. When you see a really noble, successful, well-spoken, polished CEO... Do you know for sure if he was always that way? Many of them were NOT. Many of them were slobs or brutes or cavemen before an assertive assistant TOLD them how to act, how to dress, and how to talk.
It is possible that you are in a situation that you should simply leave immediately. But it is also possible that you are in a situation that you can turn around by ALWAYS BILLING FOR ALL OF YOUR TIME and helping the client to know how to behave appropriately in his interactions with you.
