Re: Client doesn't want to pay

gfeddy · ‎02-05-2019

Hello everybody,

I am new on upwork. What should I do, if I delivered a job since december 26th but the client doesn't want to pay. He keeps telling me to open a dispute. I feel like if I do, upwork will bend on his side, that is why he keeps telling me to do so. Please someone give me an advise.

prestonhunter · ‎02-05-2019

December 26!

That is over a month ago. You are clearly using Upwork incorrectly.

You should have submitted the work using the official button as soon as you finished the work. That way, if the client did nothing, you would have been paid after 2 weeks. Automatically.

If this client is telling you he does not want to pay, then he is a scammer. A client can't just hire somebody and then not pay for the work once it has been done.

You will need to decide what to do. It would not hurt to submit the work with the official button. If he asks for revisions, you could file a dispute and flag the job to report the client for asking for free work. Report what he said about not wanting to pay for the work. Include the work you did in your portfolio. If the client does not pay, then the work belongs to you to do what you want with it.

gfeddy · ‎02-05-2019

Do you think I should open a dispute now? or what can you advise me to do since I sent the job already?

prestonhunter · ‎02-05-2019

re: "Do you think I should open a dispute now? or what can you advise me to do since I sent the job already?"

How much money was this for?

What was the project?

Did you already use the green Submit button yet?

I don't even know if you can open a dispute before you use the Submit button.

The PROPER thing to do is to submit the work using the "Submit Work / Request Payment" button. Then let the client release payment OR click a button to "request revisions."

At that point you should be able to open a dispute - if the doesn't pay you or let automatic payment happen.

gfeddy · ‎02-05-2019

It was 490 pages of a maths book for 450. The thing is he never opened the milestone for this job. He stated that he will pay after completion and now that I've done he keeps telling me to open a dispute.

prestonhunter · ‎02-05-2019

re: "The thing is he never opened the milestone for this job."

If he didn't create a milestone, how are you supposed to get paid?

Do you even have a contract in place?

It is not possible to create a fixed-price contract with zero milestones.

What do you see when you look here: Upwork -> My Jobs -> My Jobs ?

He sounds like a scammer who is taking advantage of the fact that you do now know how to use Upwork properly.

You may have simply created a portfolio piece for yourself, rather than done anything you can get paid for.

You can't get paid if there is no contract.

gfeddy · ‎02-05-2019

I went to Upwork --> My jobs --> Jobs ...I completed a job for him before for 200.. I only saw that amount of 200 and No active milestone written below... but seems like that contract is still active. Do you thinkk that there is still a way to get paid for the second job delivered?

prestonhunter · ‎02-05-2019

re: "I went to Upwork --> My jobs --> Jobs ...I completed a job for him before for 200.. I only saw that amount of 200 and No active milestone written below... but seems like that contract is still active. Do you thinkk that there is still a way to get paid for the second job delivered?"

Thank you for providing this additional information.

You have a contract, and it had one milestone. You did that one milestone and you were paid for it.

That's it.

The client didn't set up a second milestone. You SHOULD NOT have done work that wasn't set up as a funded milestone.

The client tricked you. That is why he is telling you to file a dispute - because he knows you can't do anything.

re: "Do you think that there is still a way to get paid for the second job delivered?"

If there is no second milestone, then there is no way to get paid. Unless the client wants to pay you with a bonus. And the client doesn't want to do that.

You have no basis for opening a dispute. Because there is escrow money to dispute. You can't dispute zero.

The work you did that you were not paid for belongs to you. You may put it into your portfolio or sell it or do whatever you want with it.

gfeddy · ‎02-05-2019

ooh got it..Thanks a lot. Now I know how it works, I will be careful in the future. Thank you Preston H.

petra_r · ‎02-08-2019

Gaensly Joseph Fed J wrote:
It was 490 pages of a maths book for 450.

Translation of 490 pages for $ 450? 😮

You have got to be joking.

gfeddy · ‎02-08-2019

@petra unfortunately.. It's true.

petra_r · ‎02-08-2019

Gaensly Joseph Fed J wrote:
@petra unfortunately.. It's true.

yeah. Insane. Completely insane.

Don't do that.

Clients who value your skills that little will treat you according to the value you put on yourself.

And if you do a good job, you train people to think that it's a reasonable amount to pay.

That then becomes a vicious circle.

If you don't value your work you can't expect clients to do so either, but doing stuff like that hurts the whole platform, because if you are not part of the solution you become part of the problem.

tessadoghor · ‎04-04-2019

What's the price for 490 pages?

What should the price be for 490 pages?

I learned on Upwork that I should set my rate per 100 words then set a fee based on the number of words requested.

Is there an article on negotiating prices on Upwork? I am certain the traffic on that post will hit the skies.

Writer, Social Media Manager

kfarnell · ‎04-04-2019

- What should the price be for 490 pages?

There are too many variables for anyone to be able to answer that. But it will certainly be higher than the $0.92 per page quoted in the OP.

- I learned on Upwork that I should set my rate per 100 words then set a fee based on the number of words requested.

That's a good starting point. But 100 words that you can write off the top of your head while sipping a coffee may not be worth as much as 100 words that you write after spending several hours researching it.

Or that 100 words you write off the top of your head may be worth far more than someone else's 100 words because you're a proven expert in that thing. Especially if that thing is obscure.

jackhillz · ‎11-22-2023

Hi

Please I need your advice. I worked for a new client from China and she has refused to pay. I clicked the "submit work for payment button" on the 9th of November, and she just waited till today (22nd) before requesting changes.

The client claims the articles have too much plagiarism and are written by AI. I wrote these articles myself and scanned them on different plagiarism and AI checkers before submitting them. I am frustrated right now!

Will Upwork help solve the issue if I file a dispute? Will I get paid?

lysis10 · ‎04-04-2019

necro'd thread and OP got the banhammer

lynn_hamilton · ‎04-15-2019

Upwork will definitely defend the client. You should not waste any more time on this. Just chalk it up to experience.

researchediting · ‎04-15-2019

Lynn H wrote:
Upwork will definitely defend the client. You should not waste any more time on this. Just chalk it up to experience.

Upwork doesn't "defend" anyone.

For hourly contracts, Upwork pays the freelancer if payment protection conditions were met—these are mostly the freelancer's responsibility, although they include the client's having a verified payment method on file, which it is the freelancer's responsibility to confirm.
On fixed-price contracts, Upwork as escrow agent is prohibited by law from rendering a judgment on the substance of a dispute. That is why it refers the disputing parties to each other, and suggests they settle. If either party is unresponsive to a dispute, the other wins by default.