dispute wrongly dealed with

[sarahdelmoitie]

A client didn't want to pay me and so I opened a dispute. Now the dispute is closed and the client is refunded because 'the freelancer didn't answer', which isn't true. I am nog happy with this and it goes against the freelancers payment protection. What to do about this?

[lysis10]

Did you reply to the mediator's email? When a dispute happens, a ticket is opened. What I do is reply to the mediator in my email and then go into the ticket and ensure it shows in the ticket. 

[sarahdelmoitie]

Hi! I didn't get any email....

[prestonhunter]

I'm sorry to hear this happened to you.

My advice would be to let it go.

Next time, don't get into a dispute.

Start with small projects when dealing with fixed-price contracts. No more than about an hour of work.

If a client is going to monkey around with payment, then you can walk away and keep the work for yourself.

I start small with fixed-price contracts, and if the client proves she can be trusted, I accept increasingly larger contracts.

[sarahdelmoitie]

it's a pity it has to be this way, because I want to trust Upwork in a fair judgement... but thanks for the tip! 🙂

[lysis10]

That's a problem then. Might want to check your spam box and mark Upwork emails as "not spam." They email the one linked to your account.

Also, if you open your Upwork job feed, you should see an alert. Click the ? mark and you'll see a menu option there. There is a ticket opened too.

If you go into a dispute, you have to stay on top of it. If you don't reply, you auto-lose.

[sarahdelmoitie]

Hi! It doesnt get in my spam and I do get the alerts were the ? is, but there are no emails from a moderator... very strange!

[sarahdelmoitie]

I didn't get an email...

[gallegojohn]

No need to hate but to report it to the admin rather than stressing out yourself

[tlbp]

You opened the dispute? Check under the dispute tab to see if the messages are there. As JM noted, if you light the fire, you need to keep an eye on.