refund and dispute

[nshama]

Dear Upwork team,

I have done a project for a client. I completed the work within the deadline and asked him to check.
He told me that he will check and get back to me today or tomorrow. He mentioned one mistake and i fixed it. Then he ended contract and requested for refund. What should i do. If i accept the request of refund with zero money to my work then he may leave negative feedback or should i go in dispute for this. He got the file and want the work for free.

Waiting for your response.
Thank you.

[alluad-elmer]

Hello Shama N

Have you try to ask your client  why he/she ended the contract? We have a similar setuation in my previous client,  i go to the dispute in prove that my work was successfully done, show the screen shoot of your work. 

best regards

Elmer

[nshama]

I have sent hime 2 documents. He said one is ok and there was a little change in text. I fixed it instantantly. But he ended the contract first and then asked for refund.

[wlyonsatl]

If you did the work, don't agree to issue a refund.

[prestonhunter]

Shama:

You are telling us that a client hired you to do some work...

You did the work...

You submitted the work to the client...

And then the client asked for his money back.

This client sounds like a bad person.

You would never do that to anybody would you?

You would never treat another person that way, would you?

When we think about how we would personally treat others, it helps us understand whether what the client is doing is or is not morally justifiable.

[nshama]

I am attaching his conversation. please have a look too.

**Edited for community guidelines**

[nshama]

Should i go in dispute then? Its not a very high value project. But these persons will do same to others.

[tlbp]

That client is rude. He has probably already given you a bad review. You should dispute so that you at least get paid for your time. I hope you have left a review warning other freelancers that the client will try to dispute payment. 

[nshama]

Thanks.

If i do not dispute then review will be shown on my timeline? Or if i dispute it will be shown too? In both conditions.

[lysis10]

lol at that chat message. He ain't in the western world that's for sure. Only a pleb says that kind of nonsense.

[nshama]

He also said more things which i didn't share.

[BojanS · Accepted solution]

Hi Shama,

Looks like your Client has requested Escrow refund. You will have 7 days to respond. If you accept it the funds will be transferred to your Client, if you reject the request a dispute will be opened. If no actions are taken from your end after 7 days the funds will be released to your Client. To learn more about this check out this Help Article.

I'll also go ahead and share this with our team for the review. Please, check this help article for more information on how to use the flag option to report any inappropriate content.

Thank you!

[prestonhunter]

Shama:

To answer your question:

A contract is not shown on your Profile page in your Work History section based on whether or not there was a dispute.

A contract/completed job is shown if there was any payment.

If you refund all the money, it will NOT be shown.

If you get paid any money it WILL be shown.

[nshama]

Is it wise to have dispute on less tha 20$ project, what if this dispute goes in arbitration?

[kat303]

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Shama N wrote:

Is it wise to have dispute on less tha 20$ project, what if this dispute goes in arbitration?

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Yes, it is wise to have a dispute even if the amount was $20. You worked and completed the job why shouldn't you be paid for it. REJECT the dispute and do NOT refund not even a penny. This client is trying to get free work from you. He has done this in the past and has probably been successful with new or other freelancers and he's now trying this scam on you. If you refund, that will count as a job with no money earned and a job with no money earned will affect your JSS. The dispute will not go into arbitration. IF it gets that far, pay the fee (yes it's $291) but this client will not pay the fee knowing he won't get it back just to be refunded $20. And when he doesn't pay, IF it goes into arbitration, you will get the fee back plus what's in escrow.

During a dispute a mediator will suggest that you refund. Their SUGGESTION is not binding, It's only a suggestion. During mediation just message the client that unless he pays you (releases the funds in escrow) you will go into arbitration and it will cost him $291. You'll see how fast he will release funds. 

[nshama]

Thank you for your valuable suggestion.

[lysis10]

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Shama N wrote:

Is it wise to have dispute on less tha 20$ project, what if this dispute goes in arbitration?

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Upwork will probably pay this out to both of you because it's not worth the man hours to deal with it. it probably costs them more to send the email to the both of you.

[feed_my_eyes]

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Jennifer M wrote:

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Shama N wrote:

Is it wise to have dispute on less tha 20$ project, what if this dispute goes in arbitration?

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Upwork will probably pay this out to both of you because it's not worth the man hours to deal with it. it probably costs them more to send the email to the both of you.

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Yeah and I think that clients are taking advantage of this to get free work. 

[prestonhunter]

If Upwork looks at things and decides that clients are simply clicking the "Request Refund" button in order to get work done for free.... Then I believe there will be a crackdown on the whole "refund" process.

Upwork may need to revise its messaging.

The "refund" process was never something that Upwork wanted clients to use. I believe it was always more of a marketing tool than anything else.

If - for whatever reason - clients are simply abusing this to avoid paying - then changes should be made.

Ideally, clients should know that they can't get refunds simply by asking for refunds. Ideally, refunds should ONLY be something that freelancers grant because they didn't do the work.

Clients would be better off if they thought that refunds did not exist. That way they wouldn't think of it as some kind of "free reset" button. They would understand that they need to manage their projects proactively and thoughtfully. Clients only hurt themselves when they think they can just dump a bunch of money somewhere and click "refund" if everything doesn't work out perfectly.

The people who are happiest about a client using the "refund" process? The client's competitors... who - instead of trying to get refunds - are actually managing their teams of workers in a way that results in a project getting completed.

[lysis10]

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Christine A wrote:

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Yeah and I think that clients are taking advantage of this to get free work. 

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Very possible but I doubt you can ride on courtesy credits for long. Their threshold seems to be $100, and I would bet that a freelancer that does it too many times without making them any money will probably get the boot.

I suppose it's another indirect way to get rid of cheap freelancers and clients.

[feed_my_eyes]

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Jennifer M wrote:

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Christine A wrote:

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Yeah and I think that clients are taking advantage of this to get free work. 

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Very possible but I doubt you can ride on courtesy credits for long. Their threshold seems to be $100, and I would bet that a freelancer that does it too many times without making them any money will probably get the boot.

I suppose it's another indirect way to get rid of cheap freelancers and clients.

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I wasn't trying to implicate the OP here - I meant that clients were taking advantage, not so much freelancers (although I'm sure that does happen as well). Hire somebody cheap, get the work from them, then ask for a refund and end up paying nothing. The kind of person who would quibble over $20 is exactly the kind of person who would take advantage of Upwork's "throw some money at the problem" dispute process.

[nshama]

Yea, he said western money western standards.. I work with many other ients
and they are really good but I did alot for him in cheaprates and at the
end he is asking refund after getting the final files.

[feed_my_eyes]

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Shama N wrote:
Yea, he said western money western standards.. 

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Oh no - how awful! He had no right to say that to you. I hope that you're going to leave him a bad review to warn other freelancers.