client hasn't paid

[jas_jns]

Hi there!

I am quite new to Upwork and have been looking for work.

I recently exchanged with a woman that needed 10 illustrations done for her Etsy shop, so we talked about it and how much time it would need...

It is my fault for not asking to do a contract right away, I guess I wanted to do some work to show her to see if she was happy and ended doing everything and sending it to her. She then left the "room", and not paying me for my work. I do get how this was naive from my part and not all people can be trusted. So I will ensure to have a contract before working in the future.

Although it is frustrating to have someone steal your work, I can't contact her since she left the room and I'm wondering if there's a way to file a complaint even though we didn't make a contract?

Thank you for you help!

Kind regards

Jasmine

[sullivanliz]

It's hard but if you didn't have a contract, you don't have a leg to stand on. Always, always have a contract before doing the work. Good luck in the future!

[jas_jns]

Yes that's what I thought! Anyway lesson learned !! thank you for taking the time to answer.

[samkdesigns]

I also learnt this lesson very early on when starting to use Upwork. I've now become very firm in politely pushing the client to work with milestones and making sure they are activated and funded before starting any work. People will always try and take advantage if they can. Got to protect yourself, and your brand - it's just good practice. Good luck!

[AndreaG]

Hi Jasmine,

I'm sorry to hear about your experience with this client. Please know, asking for free work is against the Terms of Service. We encourage you to report this client via the job post or messages, here's how to send a flag.

[jr-translation]

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Andrea G wrote:

Hi Jasmine,

I'm sorry to hear about your experience with this client. Please know, asking for free work is against the Terms of Service. We encourage you to report this client via the job post or messages, here's how to send a flag.

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As far as I read it, the client never asked for free work, so there is no ToS violation from the client regarding this and therefore nothing to report.

[jr-translation]

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Jasmine J wrote:

Hi there!

I am quite new to Upwork and have been looking for work.

I recently exchanged with a woman that needed 10 illustrations done for her Etsy shop, so we talked about it and how much time it would need...

It is my fault for not asking to do a contract right away, I guess I wanted to do some work to show her to see if she was happy and ended doing everything and sending it to her. She then left the "room", and not paying me for my work. I do get how this was naive from my part and not all people can be trusted. So I will ensure to have a contract before working in the future.

Although it is frustrating to have someone steal your work, I can't contact her since she left the room and I'm wondering if there's a way to file a complaint even though we didn't make a contract?

Thank you for you help!

Kind regards

Jasmine

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You still own the work and the client can not use it without violating your copyright. In case she uses your image you can file a DMCA which should close her shop on Etsy.
I suggest you send her one final message informing her that you own these illustrations and she cannot use them.