client requested for refund on active contract.

[tahirhussain1]

I have received a refund request from one of my client , I need assistance to decline the refund request on fix price active contract.

[prestonhunter]

Read more here:

https://support.upwork.com/hc/en-us/articles/211062058-Get-an-Escrow-Refund

https://support.upwork.com/hc/en-us/articles/211068528-Dispute-Non-Release-of-a-Milestone-Payment

https://support.upwork.com/hc/en-us/articles/211062088-Request-a-Refund

There are basically three types of refund requests. I don't know which you received.

For all of them, if you did the work, then it is inappropriate for the client to request a refund, and the default strategy you should take is:

say no

Three types of refund requests:

A) The client sent you an informal message or note asking for a refund.

You can politely ask him why he is asking for a refund. An informal request has no real "effect" unless you proactively send a refund.

B) The client clicked a button that sends an informal request for a refund.

Yes, thre is actually a button that a client can click that basically just sends a message to you asking for a refund. This is similar to (A). Once again, you can simply ask why the client is asking for a refund.

C) The client clicked a button that formally triggers an official "refund request." This is what happens if the client closes a fixed-price contract, while clicking a button that FORMALLY requests a refund. IF YOU IGNORE THIS OR DO NOTHING THEN THE CLIENT GETS THE MONEY automatically. So don't do nothing. You need to actually click a button that officially DECLINES the refund request. When you do that, an "dispute" is created. That blocks the money from being returned to the client, but it also means the money isn't going to you. The process goes into mediation, which means that an Upwork representative (mediator) will facilitate communication between the freelancer and client. The mediator will not make a decision. During this time, you can agree to a compromise (such as giving the client a 10% refund as a courtesy) or you could refuse to give any refund, or you could agree to give the client all the money. If you tell the mediator that you will NOT agree to a refund, then there is nothing the client can do to get money back unless he goes to arbitration and wins there.

For hourly contracts (which isn't what you have in this situation, but I'll mention it), a client can formally dispute hourly time segments. This is not really a "request" to the freelancer. The dispute goes directly to Upwork personnel, who make a decision. If your time doesn't qualify for Upwork Payment Protection, then Upwork removes the time segments from the time that the client needs to pay for. You don't have a say in the matter. But if you followed the rules of Payment Protection, then you'll be fine.

[tahirhussain1]

The contract is active ?

[prestonhunter]

re: "The contract is active"

A client initiates a formal REFUND REQUEST on a fixed-price contract when he CLOSES a contract.

So if a fixed-price contract is still ACTIVE, then I am assuming that the "refund request" you received is simply an informal request.

This kind of doesn't make sense. If a client has an ACTIVE contract with you... if he hasn't closed the contract... then presumably he wants you to do more work for him. Why would he ask you for money?

It doesn't make sense for a client to ask you for money if he wants you to keep working for him.

What does this refund request look like?

Is there an official Upwork screen with buttons to click to accept or decline?
Or is this just a message or note that the cient sent you, like "Tahir, can you please send me some money? I want to buy some new Nike tennis shoes."

I am NOT FAMILIAR with a way to formally/officially request a refund with a fixed-price contract in a way that forces action, while keeping the contract active. I read here:

So it sounds to me like your client did this:

But that has no power behind it.

You don't need to give the client a refund, and this doesn't even create an official dispute.

It probably just means the client saw a button and thought "free money" and clicked it to see what would happen.
Of course, if you see an official button from Upwork asking you to approve or decline a refund request, say no.

It doesn't sound like your client is serious about the refund request. If he was serious, he would have talked to you like an adult and explained why he thinks a refund is appropriate. But he never said anything to you? He just clicked a button? That makes me think he is just monkeying around with buttons.

[AndreaG · Accepted solution]

Hi Tahir,

I believe I was able to identify the contract you're referring to. It looks like there are no funds in Escrow on this contract and the client is requesting a refund for a milestone that was already released to you. In this case, it is up to you to decide if a refund is warranted and you may choose to ignore the request. That said, it does look like you already refunded an amount to the client. I would suggest you communicate with them as best as possible to reach an agreement everyone is happy with before closing the contract.