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ahmedyarabbbasi
Community Member

client is not releasing the payment

Hi all,

 

I spent around 2 weeks on a complex project and generated results for the first milestone. We have three milestones for the complete project. When I submitted the first milestone. The client said it looks good but he cannot release the payment because he wants me to complete the second milestone as well. He said the first milestone does no good to him and it has no value. If I will show him the results of the second milestone then he'll decide if he will release the payment or not which doesn't make any sense to me. I mean he will still decide even I do the second milestone.

 

When I asked him why he created the first milestone. He should've created two milestones he said three milestones are fine but he needs the second milestone done as well, only then he'd be able to decide that he wants to move forward or not. He said the first milestone delivery is late as well which is true but we didn't discuss the deadlines properly. he said I can take time as long as we're meeting the requirements.

 

Anyway, now I'm thinking if I will work on the second milestone which will also take a lot of effort and when I'll show it to him he might say he didn't like it and we can't continue. Which clearly seems that he's going to do. He's also proposing to cancel the contract. 

 

Now, what should I do? should I do cancel the contract? should I give him a refund for the first milestone that is in escrow? 70% of work is done I'm asking him to release a 12.5% amount of the budget but he's not even agreeing to that. Can anyone guide me on what should I do? I don't want to pay for any arbitration.

 

What happens if I don't accept the refund request and he cancels the contract. Will he have it automatically. Kindly give me an overview of all the situations in this case. Thank you!

 

Best regards,

Ahmed Yar

ACCEPTED SOLUTION

Hi Ahmed, 


It looks like you're referring to the Mid-Contract Feedback your client/s left for you. All Mid-Contract Feedback is public and will be displayed on a freelancer's Work History. You may check the help article I linked above for more information. 


~ Avery
Upwork

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13 REPLIES 13
prestonhunter
Community Member

re: "I spent around 2 weeks on a complex project and generated results for the first milestone. We have three milestones for the complete project."

 

This was a tactical mistake.

 

Don't work for two weeks without getting paid.

Especially for someone you don't know.

 

Do what I do, when you have a new unfamiliar client. Work for no more then about two hours as a first milestone.

 

This gives you a chance to test the client to see if she can be trusted with a fixed-price contract. If she pays as expected, then you can agree to increasingly larger fixed-price contracts. If she does not pay as expected you can afford to walk away of you have to.

 

But even with a client you totally trust, there is no reason to work for two weeks without getting paid. I typically agree to fixed-price contracts that take no more than a day to work on. If I am actively working on a big project, then maybe I complete six or seven fixed-price contracts in a single week for the same client, working on the same contract. This is much better than working for two weeks and then finding out that the client is going to monkey around and not even pay you.

 

I am sorry to hear that you are in this situation.

re: "I spent around 2 weeks on a complex project and generated results for the first milestone. We have three milestones for the complete project. When I submitted the first milestone. The client said it looks good but he cannot release the payment because he wants me to complete the second milestone as well."

 

This is NOT how fixed-piece contracts work. The client is trying to cheat you. The client is stealing your money and time.

 

Fixed-price contracts work this way:

 

The freelancer agrees to do a certain task.

The client finds an escrow payment for that task.

The freelancer does the task.

The client releases the payment for that task.

 

That's it.

A client can't claim that he can't use your work until later, and therefore he doesn't need to pay you what he had agreed to pay you. Those details about scheduling have nothing to do with you.

 

Denzel Washington filmed scenes for a movie. The movie wasn't going to be released until over a year later. It took time to do special things effects, sound, editing, etc. The movie studio didn't tell the actor that they wouldn't pay him until after the movie came out.

I agree with all the things you said and I'll definitely follow your advice. But you didn't reply to my questions. The main question is, what should I do now? 


@ahmedyarabbbasi wrote:

I agree with all the things you said and I'll definitely follow your advice. But you didn't reply to my questions. The main question is, what should I do now? 

 


 Tell him you start on the second milestone once he release the first. That is how it works. If he does not like your first milestone he can close the contract but he still has to pay you for the first milestone. Do not offer a refund and make sure the second milestone is 100% funden before you start working on it.

Jennifer is 100% correct.

 

This IS the correct thing for a client to do if he doesn't like your first milestone or can't use it. All he needs to do is release payment and close the contract. He is under no obligation to fund the second milestone if he no longer wants you to work on the project.

re: "Now, what should I do?"

 

Absolutely do not do any more work.

Be polite and professional.

Do not argue with the client.

 

Tell the client you will be happy to do the next stage of work after he releases the current escrow payment.

 

If you have not already done so, click the green "Submit Work and Request Payment" button.

 

If the client does nothing, then the escrow money will be released to you automatically. 

If the client does release the money, then don't do the second milestone work immensely. Wait until the escrow payment for that work has been funded.

 

If it was me, I would require the client to release the first escrow payment. Then I would close the contract. Then I would not work for this client again, because he demonstrated that he can't be trusted. If the client really pled his case and convinced me that I should work for him again, I would only do so using an hourly contract.

 

re: "should I do cancel the contract?"

 

No.

 

re: "should I give him a refund for the first milestone that is in escrow?"

 

No.

 

re: "70% of work is done I'm asking him to release a 12.5% amount of the budget but he's not even agreeing to that."

 

The budget is irrelevant.

 

The client needs to release 100% of the funded milestone.

 

re: "Can anyone guide me on what should I do? I don't want to pay for any arbitration."

 

You don't need to pay for arbitration. IF this goes to a dispute, then there is no cost for that. Dispute/mediation is free. There is a $291 fee for arbitration, but we aren't to that point yet.

 

re: "What happens if I don't accept the refund request and he cancels the contract."


If he cancels the contract then he must release all escrow money to you or click a button that sends a refund request to you. If you receive a refund request, you can decline. Then a dispute will be created. He can not unilaterally decide to get his money back.

 

re: "Will he have it automatically?"

 

No.

Thanks for your guidance and I appreciate it. What if he leaves negative feedback? Which he certainly would. what do I do about that? Thanks


Ahmed Yar T wrote:

Thanks for your guidance and I appreciate it. What if he leaves negative feedback? Which he certainly would. what do I do about that?


That's probably going to happen now anyway, with the miscommunication, poor scoping and the missed deadline.

Ahmed:

Ultimately you need to understand that you are here to earn money, not stars.

 

It is always a possibility that even if you do excellent work, a client will leave punitive feedback.

 

And of course it is a possibility that if things go wrong, a client will leave accurate feedback that reflects mistakes you made as a freelancer.

 

If a freelancer doesn't do the work that a client asked her to do, then that freelancer SHOULD use the refund process to return money to the client. But if a freelancer does the work that she was asked to do, she should be paid for that work.

If you have a consistent track record of providing high quality work, your work history will show that. And an occasional instance of receiving some negative feedback will not deter most rational clients from hiring you.

 

Your specific situation is one in which a client is trying to cheat you out of money and manipulate you into working for free. Of course you don't deserve bad feedback. But at this point, we don't know for certain that you will receive bad feedback. Maybe the client honestly didn't understand how to use fixed-price contracts and if you explain that he will need to release the escrow payment for Task 1 and fund the payment for Task 2, he will do so. If you are providing high-quality work that he likes, then there is a good possibility that he will recognize that and continue to work with you on the project.

Hi Preston,

 

First of all, I'd like to thank you for your assistance.

 

I have another question. What happens to all the multiple feedbacks left by the client on a long term contract after the completion?

 

I received very good feedback yesterday on the In-progress contract and I think it's the best feedback I've ever received. I'd like to show it on my profile when the contract is ended but I'm afraid that upon ending the contract. The client will leave final feedback. So, I'm wondering where this feedback will go? Can I choose which one to show on my profile? How does it work? Thanks

 

Best Regards,

Ahmed Yar


Ahmed Yar T wrote:

Hi Preston,

 

First of all, I'd like to thank you for your assistance.

 

I have another question. What happens to all the multiple feedbacks left by the client on a long term contract after the completion?

 

I received very good feedback yesterday on the In-progress contract and I think it's the best feedback I've ever received. I'd like to show it on my profile when the contract is ended but I'm afraid that upon ending the contract. The client will leave final feedback. So, I'm wondering where this feedback will go? Can I choose which one to show on my profile? How does it work? Thanks

 

Best Regards,

Ahmed Yar


All the feedbacks are in your workhistory but only the first one is visible. The others are only one click away.

you mean the first one will show on my profile and the rest of them will be inside contract page?

Hi Ahmed, 


It looks like you're referring to the Mid-Contract Feedback your client/s left for you. All Mid-Contract Feedback is public and will be displayed on a freelancer's Work History. You may check the help article I linked above for more information. 


~ Avery
Upwork
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