Client has ended the contract, asking for refund. they are sying they gave me good feeback!

[gurjeetkalsi]

In one of my recent project, which is suddenly ended by the client with no communication, as they may not require the work anymore or just using this platform to gather ideas from designers, I spent a lot of time with changes and amendments they wanted.... anyways I focus on good and wanted to move on. But...

since I am new to Upwork, so my concern is my rating, not money as of now... even the contract was of the very small amount as well, so that does not bother me. and I read some articles, and think that ...Upwork policies are good for the client than freelancers I guess.

I requested them to release at least 5$ so that we can end the contract at a good note and we both will earn good status with no effect on my JSS and thier rating as well. but no reply from the client.

now since they raised refund request, and I am happy to do that, even when I spent a lot of time on the project. but my concern is my JSS.

Will it affect my JSS if I don't earn any single $ from this contract besides good feedback from the client?

shall I go for mediation or dispute or release the payment...?

what can I do here to save my JSS and image... I do not want to have any issues but want to solve it so that I can move forward.

please guide.

[alexis-arinze]

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gurjeet k wrote:

In one of my recent project, which is suddenly ended by the client with no communication, as they may not require the work anymore or just using this platform to gather ideas from designers, I spent a lot of time with changes and amendments they wanted.... anyways I focus on good and wanted to move on. But...

since I am new to Upwork, so my concern is my rating, not money as of now... even the contract was of the very small amount as well, so that does not bother me. and I read some articles, and think that ...Upwork policies are good for the client than freelancers I guess.

I requested them to release at least 5$ so that we can end the contract at a good note and we both will earn good status with no effect on my JSS and thier rating as well. but no reply from the client.

now since they raised refund request, and I am happy to do that, even when I spent a lot of time on the project. but my concern is my JSS.

Will it affect my JSS if I don't earn any single $ from this contract besides good feedback from the client?

shall I go for mediation or dispute or release the payment...?

what can I do here to save my JSS and image... I do not want to have any issues but want to solve it so that I can move forward.

please guide.

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It will affect your JSS because the contract would be closing with no earnings. Maybe if you can explain that to him, he'll retract the request and fund some amount of money. 

[gurjeetkalsi]

I tried to explain with several msgs, but no reply...

so it is like:

[a Client hires the taxi when they themselves don't know where to reach and, not reaching to destination but take free services, then ask for a refund from the chauffeur by saying, the destination is not correct...or for not taking them to the destination for which they themselves were not clear.]

and our JSS will affect for no reason, despite all the chats and screenshots we have.

I don't feel good for this policy.

[9b660019]

When a contract is closed, you also have the chance to leave feedback. Once you do so you can see the feedback left by the client. So - have you actually seen this good feedback, or are you taking the client at their word?

If the client is unwilling to accept a partial refund out of respect for your time and work, it seems unlikely they actually left good feedback. More likely they are using the promise of good feedback to leverage a full refund out of you.

If the contract is closed with no payments, it hurts your JSS.

If the client leaves bad feedback, that also hurts your JSS.

You are not required to agree to their refund request, and since your JSS is going to take a hit either way you might as well stand your ground on the money in an attempt to salvage something from the work you put into this job.

[gurjeetkalsi]

you have a point, as of now I am going b the words of the client.

but I am totally confused... I feel here, freelancer must have rights to justify his case and if the freelancer is correct, at least their JSS must not hit.

with 16 years of experience in my industry, I have handled countless projects and I leave no stone unturned to provide the best of my services to all my clients, same I am doing here on this platform, that is by all mt clients ( only 8 till now) have given me a 5-star rating, few of them given me bonus as well,

I think my this small past history at Upwork is saying much about me, apart from this, I have all the chat records and screenshots history of this client, but I think this policy at Upwork is required to change.. at least for good professionals, they must give chance so that JSS not hit.

this makes us freelancers feels really bad about the platform.

[prachi163]

Some clients can truly be unreasonable. And some freelancers can be incompetent. 

One of the ways to know if your client has a history of being unreasonable is to look at their past projects. What is the feedback they have given freelancers? Is it always bad? Have freelancers called them out for being difficult to work with, in the feedback?

Ideally, this should be done before the proposals. But never mind now. You can be more careful the next time.

In my experience, clients who have done a lot of hiring and have given and received good feedback,  are the ones who pay on time and are reasonable and understanding. As long as you deliver what you promise, and never overpromise, it's all good.

(An occasional bad feedback from either end is fine, as long as there isn't a pattern that's obviously a red flag. In fact, clients who occasionally give negative feedback makes them more real imo. It only shows that they aren't the kind of people who would give you 5* and then backstab you in private feedback)

[gurjeetkalsi]

Prachi, your inputs are really helpful. I shall take care of in the future.

This client had no history, and I am new to the platform hence was not aware of such things.

Anyways, I also understand this could happen to anyone, and I always focus on good things in life and move on. So I take this as lessons and move on for better clients and future with Upwork.

but I request to Upwork Community/ Moderators / Gurus that, kindly look into this matter as if the person is doing his job and providing best services, and for any reason, the deal does not materialise and service providers are ready to refund 100%, in that case at least JSS should not hit in a bad way.

Thanks again for wonderful insights.

[gurjeetkalsi]

Finally, I had to release the fund to save my JSS, as I read in many articles that we must not fight back if the amount is not big, to secure our JSS as a newbie... but I recommend that, like we freelancers have JSS score or other Badges, the Client must get from the system when they behave non-professional.

She said she left good feedback and I expect the same as I spent 3 days on the project while working for her, but I can't see that private feedback.

How can I see that private feedback and will it helps in JSS or NOT?

Regards

[AleksandarD]

Hi Gurjeet,

Please note that you can't see the private feedback your client left on the contract. Also, there are many factors that go into your Job Success Calculation including public and private feedback given when the contract is closed, a pattern of contracts without feedback, etc. You can check out this help article for more information on JSS.

Thank you.

[alexis-arinze]

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gurjeet k wrote:

you have a point, as of now I am going b the words of the client.

but I am totally confused... I feel here, freelancer must have rights to justify his case and if the freelancer is correct, at least their JSS must not hit.

with 16 years of experience in my industry, I have handled countless projects and I leave no stone unturned to provide the best of my services to all my clients, same I am doing here on this platform, that is by all mt clients ( only 8 till now) have given me a 5-star rating, few of them given me bonus as well,

I think my this small past history at Upwork is saying much about me, apart from this, I have all the chat records and screenshots history of this client, but I think this policy at Upwork is required to change.. at least for good professionals, they must give chance so that JSS not hit.

this makes us freelancers feels really bad about the platform.

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Was it agreed upon in the beginning that he wouldn't have to pay you? 

[gurjeetkalsi]

we agreed on that, she won't be paying me, provided I am not able to give work, but here the case is:

1. when I strictly said [after working for almost 3 days and according to her inputs], that please be specific for what you want, I was ready to take her to live on Any-desk/TeamViewer to make changes she wants. She stopped replying after her client/boss disagree, or maybe she was not capable of handling her own client.

2. I am not looking for money in this project as already mentioned, but at least my JSS must not hit, because my client was not sure about the specific requirements or information she needs to gather and then hire a professional rather than hiring first on her terms and then keep hitting the arrow in the dark night, and no fruits, in the end, for either side.