re: "I paid before the job was finished, now he doesn't respond"
Brett:
I really am sorry to hear about your situation.
It is not Upwork's intention that a client pay for a task before it is finished. When you hire a freelancer using a fixed-price contract, this is what Upwork intends:
a) Client funds a milestone payment.
b) Freelancer does the work.
c) Freelancer provides client with the work.
d) Client has two weeks to review the work. If there is anything missing, then the client can click a "Request Changes" button to BLOCK PAYMENT.
e) Once the freelancer has completed the agreed-upon task, THEN the client releases payment.
re: "I paid my for the landing page before it was finished"
Is there a particular reason that you did that?
re: "now the person doesnt respond to me."
The reason that the freelancer does not respond to you is because he has already been paid and he sees no particular benefit (to him) in continuing to work on this project. And he is dishonorable. An honorable freelancer would not behave in this way.
re: "It seems obvious to me now but at the time, he said it was late and that he would definately finish it off. I have all the messages from that conversation. Is there anything i can do?"
Well, first of all, Upwork doesn't want to look at your messages from the conversation.
Upwork really doesn't want to be involved in disagreements between freelancers and clients.
But there may be some things that we can do at this point.
To help us answer your question about what you should do, please answer these questions:
How much money did you pay to this freelancer in total?
Is the contract still open or closed?
How long ago did you release payment to this freelancer?
If you answer these questions, we can give you specific tips, beyond what you can read here:
https://support.upwork.com/hc/en-us/articles/211062058-Get-an-Escrow-Refund
https://support.upwork.com/hc/en-us/articles/211062088-Request-a-Refund
