Dear Upwork Support,
I am writing to address a recent development regarding the contract between myself and one of my clients on Upwork. The client has paused our contract, citing reasons related to unauthorized billing and overbilling, which I believe may be inaccurate and potentially in violation of Upwork's policies.
Upon review of the client's reasons for pausing the contract, it appears that they have alleged Freelancer billed me without my permission and Freelancer overbilled me on my part. However, these claims are unfounded and contradicted by our previous interactions and the nature of our working relationship.
Throughout our collaboration, there have been no disputes or issues regarding billing practices, and I have consistently followed the agreed-upon processes without deviation. It was a 3 month contract and it was never discussed in my contract on when I had to add the videos in their folder, I worked on from the previous week. It's a video editing project and we are working with over 200+ video files so I explained to them it's easier for organizational purposes to do half first or a large selection of the videos first, then post them at once, which he even agreed was a good idea in the messages, but still made the false dispute.
Furthermore, the client's decision to pause the contract seems to stem from a misunderstanding or miscommunication regarding the flexibility of our working arrangement. The position was intended to be part-time over a period of three months, allowing for a flexible schedule and workflow. There were no explicit deadlines communicated for when videos needed to be uploaded each week. I encountered unforeseen circumstances on the day in question, and out of nowhere it resulted in him (in my emotions) threatening me to pause the contract out of nowhere even when this is not mentioned in our contract at all when videos have to be uploaded. This did not warrant the extreme action of pausing the contract.
I believe the two reasons he gave me for pausing the contract were untrue based on the following:
1. "Freelancer billed me without my permission": This claim suggests that the client believes they were charged for services without their explicit consent. However, the subsequent communication between the client and the freelancer indicates ongoing engagement in the project, including discussions about additional video uploads. If the client genuinely believed they were billed without permission, it would be contradictory for them to continue working with the freelancer without addressing or disputing the alleged unauthorized charges.
2. "Freelancer overbilled me": This claim implies that the client feels they were charged an excessive amount for the services provided by the freelancer. Similar to the previous claim, if the client believed they were overbilled, it would be inconsistent for them to request additional work without first addressing or resolving the billing discrepancy. Additionally, the client's willingness to continue the contract and receive further work from the freelancer contradicts the assertion of overbilling, as it suggests that they find value in the services being provided. I urge Upwork to take appropriate action if the client's reasons for pausing the contract are found to be unfounded or in violation of platform policies. I told the client I would be sending him the remaining videos today and will be concluding the contract, then he paused it by lying possibly.
In addition, I am concerned that the client's actions may potentially constitute deceptive business practices under Illinois law. The contradictory claims regarding billing issues raise questions about the integrity of the client's conduct. I believe it is important to address these concerns to ensure fair and transparent business practices on the platform. I know you can't get into legal matters, but I can take care of that part, I just worry that it may be a breach in your terms of service since there was a possibly lie in his dispute he made that might impact me finacially.
Thank you for your attention to this matter. I appreciate your assistance in resolving this issue swiftly and fairly.
Sincerely,
Matt Vetter
