client unresponsive

[luborjl]

what do you do when the contract is signed, money is in escrow but client disappears?  Sent 2 emails already.  What should I do?

[petra_r]

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@Judith L wrote:

what do you do when the contract is signed, money is in escrow but client disappears?  Sent 2 emails already.  What should I do?

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 What is the problem?

Did you do the work? Submit it and sit back, the funds are released automatically after 14 days.

"Where is my money?"

[luborjl]

no - I can't write a text without input from the client. I asked what he
wanted to do in the project and I guess he doesn't know.

[luborjl]

I can't do the work if the client doesn't provide the material (research project Aims and Methods) for a grant application.  Has no one encountered this (money in escrow, deadline looming)?

[petra_r]

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@Judith L wrote:

I can't do the work if the client doesn't provide the material (research project Aims and Methods) for a grant application.  Has no one encountered this (money in escrow, deadline looming)?

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 It is terribly unwise to accept a contract until you have the material you need to complete the first milestone.

[browersr]

You can either continue to wait or you can close the contract. I have no idea if this has all been happening over the course of 1 week or 1 month. That makes a difference. If it has been over a short period, I would wait. You don't know if the person had a family emergency, got sick, or any other good reason that can be overcome. If it's been a prolonged period of time, you can close things yourself. Sounds like no work has occurred so there is no expectation for payment yet. It's frustrating but likely not a big deal. Things happen. You reached out several times and hopefully this person comes back to you, but if not, move on. 

[petra_r · Accepted solution]

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@Scott B wrote:

Sounds like no work has occurred so there is no expectation for payment yet. It's frustrating but likely not a big deal. Things happen. You reached out several times and hopefully this person comes back to you, but if not, move on. 

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 Well, the OP has a 90% JSS and a contract with nothing paid and no feedback would (eventually) hit her JSS out of the 90%+ range. That is kinda a big deal. That said, it will also affect the JSSS after long inactivity, and Upwork will close it at the 90 day mark (if fixed rate)

This can be avoided by requesting  $ 1.00 to be released before it auto-closes so the contract does not turn into a damaging "nothing paid & no feedback" one.

However, all this is only relevant if the contract has been open for a couple of months or more.

A few days or even weeks make no difference, and the deadline is meaningless in the overall scheme of things anyway.

[browersr]

Petra - Does there need to be a pattern of this before it hits JSS or, given where she is at, is it guaranteed with just this one? She looks to have a lot of jobs open currently.

[luborjl]

how do you know how many jobs I have

[petra_r]

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@Scott B wrote:

Petra - Does there need to be a pattern of this before it hits JSS or, given where she is at, is it guaranteed with just this one? She looks to have a lot of jobs open currently.

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 Contracts with no feedback but money paid at some point are not a problem unless one has a significant percentage of such contracts.

Idle contracts are not a problem as long as they had money paid at some point unless one has a significant percentage of such contracts.

Contracts that close without money paid but positive private feedback are not a problem unless one has a significant percentage of such contracts..

Contracts that are either open and idle and have not had any money ever paid WILL (after 2-3 months, depending on whether they are fixed or hourly) hit the JSS (Job Success Score) for certain, as will contracts that close without any money ever paid AND without or with poor private feedback. The "nothing ever paid goes for contracts where nothig was ever paid and for fully refunded ones (if idle for months or closed without or with poor (private) feedback.) Yes, even one will cause a hit, the size of which depends on the overall number in the clculation window.

[luborjl]

what are the abbreviations OP and JSS

[prachi163]

They know how many jobs you have by looking at your profile.

OP - Original poster. So, in this case, it means you.

JSS - Job Success Score.

[petra_r]

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@Judith L wrote:

what are the abbreviations OP and JSS

how do you know how many jobs I have

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 1. OP = Original Poster (you, who started the thread, asked the question)

    JSS - Job Success Score

2.  we click on your name and look at your profile 🙂 - more often than not it is difficult to give advice without soing so.