the client hasn't paid but his account is permanently blocked

[68a885ef]

A client found me on Upwork and wanted me to take event photos. He sent an hourly contract, but we later agreed to a fixed-price payment. Due to the urgency of the event, I completed and delivered the work first, and then discussed the payment terms with the client. The client canceled the original hourly contract and sent a new fixed-price contract, but I was unable to accept this contract. The client's email screenshot showed that his credit card had already been charged and the funds were in escrow, but his account had been permanently blocked.

What should I do in this situation to get paid?

[LuiggiR]

Hi Penn,

Thank you for reaching out. I'm afraid that we can't share the details of another user's account for privacy reasons. In the future, you should never start working on a project until a milestone has been funded; this is an essential requirement for you to qualify for Payment Protection. Additionally, please visit this page for more information on how to stay safe while working on Upwork. 

[68a885ef]

Hi Luiggi,

Thank you for the reply.

The current situation is: There are two contracts. The first one was an hourly contract, which ended after we agreed to switch to a fixed-price contract, but the fee was still deducted from his account and held in escrow. Since the contract ended, I haven't received any payment. When the second fixed-price contract was issued, I was unable to accept it because his account was banned. Is there any other way to resolve this transaction? Thank you.

[ArjayM]

Hi Penn,

Generally, we cannot continue to bill the client until the issue with their account is resolved. This is also why you can't accept the offer. Until then, we suggest you stop working on a project and continue communicating with the client, requesting they resolve the issue flagged on their account. 

[yofazza]

Assuming it's a normal-legitimate in-a-rush client who only got caught in the complexity of Upwork's process, who are now also lacking the brain of real humans as we can see in many complaints in the client forum, you can:

1. Tell the client to make sure they get the money back first. There's a process (IIRC, 5 days) for Upwork to refund the money to the client's payment channel.
   
   
2. If the money is still not received, and the client has life outside other than dealing back and forth with Upwork, tell them to report the problem to their bank.
   
   
3. After the client finally get their money back:
   
   
   • If the client's account is restored, ask them to pay you with the bonus feature, or proceed with that second fixed-price contract, or...
   • Ask them to pay you outside of Upwork if the client is permanently banned (which will really be the case if they take the #2 path).

Assuming the client had bad intentions from the start (which I think is unlikely from your description), or they only turned into a conman after getting what they wanted, well, you now know that you shouldn't do work before a contract is in place. Although, even that is not a guarantee here.

For jobs like this in the actual no-Upwork world, you should immediately ask for a down payment to cover your expenses for attending the event and taking photos. Then, either ask for full payment or show some of the photos first before giving them all.

[68a885ef]

Hi Radia,

Thank you for the reply, you really get the point. funny thing is the client's account got blocked because he mentioned paying outside of Upwork while we chatted on Upwork, but I insisted on paying via Upwork and he did agree since then. The client is all good but he is new here on Upwork, he barely knows how to start a contract. And I as a freelancer barely know how I can assist him from my side. I will make sure he gets refund, as you suggest. Thanks again!

I don't feel bad if I can't get paid, ok maybe a little. I do feel bad that we lose a client.

[spectralua]

• Ask them to pay you outside of Upwork if the client is permanently banned (which will really be the case if they take the #2 path).

Both will be banned really, FL too.

[68a885ef]

that's true. that's why I insisted that we do transaction via Upwork, and the client did agree.

one thing I feel confused is why Upwork still took block action to the client's account after he'd already changed his mind to pay via Upwork.

[yofazza]

Both will be banned really, FL too.

On this specific "problem":

1. The human-less processes and lack of user-friendliness of Upwork got the client banned.
2. Freelancer left unpaid.

Of course, the best course of action is to try to unban the client if they are willing to go through the seemingly tiring process (looking at some complaints in the client forum). If not, or if the client is really permanently banned although they want to pay, what should the freelancer do?

There are also discussions about the increase in "normal/clueless clients getting banned", also an increase in circumvention. I believe all of these are related. Upwork created a mess (which I totally understand why, btw) to play games with their users. The users have to choose, whether they want to be the ones who gamed or not.