Should the client pay for my article?

[charity-gardner]

I was hired by a client to do a trial job in view of a long-term position. The trial job included writing two articles about contemporary art. I wrote the articles and submitted them. The client didn't release my payment within the next week and during that time I realized that I didn't want the position that he was hiring for, so I let him know kindly that I was backing out of the trial. He never answered my letter and never paid me for the articles, even though he did use one of them on his website. 

I realize that since I dropped out of the trial, the client could trash my articles and withhold my payment. If this was the case, I would happily refund the payment to him and the articles would be mine to use as I see fit. However, he did use one of my articles and I believe he should buy it from me if he wants the right to use it.

I am a fairly new freelancer and I wanted to ask for any counsel you all might have for me about dealing with this situation. So fire away, Folks, and give me any thoughts that you might have! Thank you in advance for your help!

[adwhitten · Accepted solution]

Hi Charity,

I personally agree that your client should have absolutely paid you for an article he ended up using on his website. HOWEVER, Upwork policy does not guarantee payment for any jobs done without money in escrow for a milestone. This means that if you delivered these articles (and for future reference, you should never complete an entire new article as a "trial", and instead just offer examples of past work) without a contract set up, you are not going to receive payment unless your client decides to pay you out of the kindness of his heart. Other than that, he is under no obligation under Upwork's policies to do so.

Sorry you had to waste your time. Best of luck in future.

Aleah

[charity-gardner]

Thank you, Aleah, for the answer! This trial job does have a contract. It is a full-fledged fixed price job. 🙂 My question is if I voided the contract by dropping out of the trial. They were, after all, paying me to do the trial because they wanted to consider me for a long-term position and then I said I didn't want the position.

[michael_skaggs]

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@Charity G wrote:

...My question is if I voided the contract by dropping out of the trial. They were, after all, paying me to do the trial because they wanted to consider me for a long-term position and then I said I didn't want the position.

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 You still delivered work for them. Wether they use it or not isn't really your problem. IMO, work was delivered, compensation is owed.

[colettelewis]

Charity, it is a great pity that you did not read up on how escrow and fixed-rate payments work on Upwork before you cancelled the contract.

On a formal fixed-rate job with escrow funded, the client has 14 days in which to review your work. He or she can come back to you before this time if they want amendments (or sometimes a refund), or to pay you. But they are not obliged to release funds before the 14 days are up. If you do not hear from a client at all after 14 days, Upwork automatically releases payment into your account.

If you cancel a contract during this time, the funds will automatically revert to the client.

I agree that the client should not have used your article as you have not been paid for it, but the only thing you can do now is to request a DMCA on it.  Upwork cannot help you to do this, because you cancelled the job before the allotted time. 

If it's any comfort, I think your client would possibly have tried to get out of paying you, but whatever the moral issue, Upwork can't help you if you close a contract before time.

[charity-gardner]

Thank you for explaining all of that and it is actually good news for me because I haven't closed the contract yet. So I am going to make sure that I submitted the articles using the "submit work/request payment" button and then wait my 14 days!

[colettelewis]

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@Charity G wrote:

Thank you for explaining all of that and it is actually good news for me because I haven't closed the contract yet. So I am going to make sure that I submitted the articles using the "submit work/request payment" button and then wait my 14 days!

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@Charity G wrote:

Thank you for explaining all of that and it is actually good news for me because I haven't closed the contract yet. So I am going to make sure that I submitted the articles using the "submit work/request payment" button and then wait my 14 days!

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 Charity - that is really good news! Hang in there! Come back here if there are further problems.  🙂

Your feedback may not be great, but you too can have your say - just keep it brief  and professional.

[adwhitten]

Glad it worked out!

[tlsanders]

He can't have it both ways.

Personally, I wouldn't charge for a test piece if I opted out of the job, since the client's goal in paying me wasn't to get the piece but to test me out as a future writer. In that scenario, he's received no value and his goal hasn't been achieved, so I wouldn't bill him.

That all changes when he opts to use the article. If he hasn't paid you, he doesn't own the article. If he chooses to use the article, he's choosing to purchase it. He has to either pay you or take it down.

All that said...did you use the "submit work/request payment" button? If you did and he didn't request revisions or a refund, you'll get paid automatically after 14 days.