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lwill-0_0
Community Member

Writers and chargebacks

Hello all.  I wanted to ask fellow writers on upwork directly their experiences with chargebacks here.  In the world of freelance, writers are prone to chargebacks because it is easy to do, and hard to prove the work was submitted as per the customers standards.  So its easy to make someone write for you then get money back.  Many customers might feel brave because it might be a onetime thing and they don't care if added to fraud blacklists...etc.

 

Writers, how is your experience with chargebacks here? 

Are there any protections on upwork for repeat chargeback offenders?

 

ACCEPTED SOLUTION


Lloyd W wrote:

How does the hourly spare one a chgargeback vs escrow?  

 

Is it possible to provide only a portion of the work then ask for payment if they are happy?  Are there any other stratagies?

 

Thanks!


 Hourly gives you payment protection. Just read the rules for payment protection and you'll see how it works. You gotta run a tracker on your machine.

 

If you go escrow, you probably won't do well with only showing half of the work for full payment. You'll probably look like a scammer. Besides, that won't save you from a chargeback anyway.

 

If you are too afraid of escrow, just go hourly. I do it if I don't get good vibes.

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18 REPLIES 18
lysis10
Community Member

Chargebacks are a concern. It's never happened to me but I've seen some people say it happened to them. It's one reason I've moved to hourly and I sleep better at night. Plus, I get payment at a set date, so I just like it so much better.

 

I still do escrow sometimes, but I gotta get a vibe I'm not talking to some creepto shouting numberwang from his mom's basement as she brings him hot pockets. Like those are the losers that'll argue over $50. Some employee with a corporate credit card doesn't care enough to argue over that type of money.

How does the hourly spare one a chargeback vs escrow?  

 

Is it possible to provide only a portion of the work then ask for payment if they are happy?  Are there any other stratagies?

 

Thanks!


Lloyd W wrote:

How does the hourly spare one a chgargeback vs escrow?  

 

Is it possible to provide only a portion of the work then ask for payment if they are happy?  Are there any other stratagies?

 

Thanks!


 Hourly gives you payment protection. Just read the rules for payment protection and you'll see how it works. You gotta run a tracker on your machine.

 

If you go escrow, you probably won't do well with only showing half of the work for full payment. You'll probably look like a scammer. Besides, that won't save you from a chargeback anyway.

 

If you are too afraid of escrow, just go hourly. I do it if I don't get good vibes.

petra_r
Community Member

You don't seem to have a freelancer account - you are posting from a client account.

If you don't even have a freelancer account yet then worrying about chargebacks is at best premature.

To end up with a chargeback you would have to first create a freelancer account, then get it approved (98% are rejected) and then earn some money (the majority of the new accounts that do make it it through never earn a single Dollar) and then end up in the very  situation of a chargeback.

 

@ Jennifer, okay thanks I will look into the hourly more

 

Lloyd are you fishing for information to write the definitive ebook on Upwork?


Nichola L wrote:

Lloyd are you fishing for information to write the definitive ebook on Upwork?


 ok, I thought maybe I was being my normal cynical self thinking this. I feel better now. lol

No not at all, however I am learning a lot about the community culture in this thread.  🙂

 

 

One thing to keep in mind is that a chargeback also returns the copyright to the freelancer.

Adding to Jennifer R.'s comment - Smart FLers understand and have no qualms about issuing a Take Down order.


Nichola L wrote:

Lloyd are you fishing for information to write the definitive ebook on Upwork?


This is actually an encouraging interpretation. As soon as Petra pointed out that he was posting from a client account, I figured he was fishing for information about how he could get content written and avoid paying for it.

@ Tiffany,

That is great that you think that. However, your logic is a bit flawed.  Yes I am a client now, but I have hired 17 jobs so far so I am no random dude that is fishing, and I see no reason risk losing this account over some malicious intentions. I was just asking a question, one of the whole points of a forum right.  I kind of feel like there is some Kudos farming going on, I hope I am wrong on that.  

 

Anyway, just made a freelancer acccount, and I plan to eventually use it here.  By the way, you CAN have two accounts with the same login just to address an earlier comment. It's part of the platform. 

 

I will probably make this my last reply to this thread, since the question was answered.   

 

@Petra, you also helped answer my question, thanks.  

petra_r
Community Member


Lloyd W wrote:

Are there any protections on upwork for repeat chargeback offenders?

 


 There is no such thing as a "repeat chargeback offender."

Clients who chargeback are suspended. Chargebacks are a ToS violation.

 

And it would be "protection from" not "protection for" unless you want to protect the offenders themselves.

 


Petra R wrote:

Lloyd W wrote:

Are there any protections on upwork for repeat chargeback offenders?

 


 There is no such thing as a "repeat chargeback offender."

Clients who chargeback are suspended. Chargebacks are a ToS violation.

 

And it would be "protection from" not "protection for" unless you want to protect the offenders themselves.

 


I think he wants to know if there is some kind of protection for freelancer from clients that keep requesting refunds not chargebacks. Are clients monitored so  that it is noticeable when a client repeatedly requests a refund from different freelancers?


Jennifer R wrote:

Petra R wrote:

Lloyd W wrote:

Are there any protections on upwork for repeat chargeback offenders?

 


 There is no such thing as a "repeat chargeback offender."

Clients who chargeback are suspended. Chargebacks are a ToS violation.

 

And it would be "protection from" not "protection for" unless you want to protect the offenders themselves.

 


I think he wants to know if there is some kind of protection for freelancer from clients that keep requesting refunds not chargebacks. Are clients monitored so  that it is noticeable when a client repeatedly requests a refund from different freelancers?


 ____________________________________

 

I would have thought that anything that loses money for Upwork would be checked.


@colettelewis wrote:

Jennifer R wrote:

Petra R wrote:

Lloyd W wrote:

Are there any protections on upwork for repeat chargeback offenders?

 


 There is no such thing as a "repeat chargeback offender."

Clients who chargeback are suspended. Chargebacks are a ToS violation.

 

And it would be "protection from" not "protection for" unless you want to protect the offenders themselves.

 


I think he wants to know if there is some kind of protection for freelancer from clients that keep requesting refunds not chargebacks. Are clients monitored so  that it is noticeable when a client repeatedly requests a refund from different freelancers?


 ____________________________________

 

I would have thought that anything that loses money for Upwork would be checked.

 

One would think so, but theTalent Specialists have cost, and are costing, UW a ton of money, and yet that fiasco goes on, and on, and on...



Reinier B wrote:
Nichola L wrote:

I would have thought that anything that loses money for Upwork would be checked.

 

One would think so, but theTalent Specialists have cost, and are costing, UW a ton of money, and yet that fiasco goes on, and on, and on...



Upwork claims the "talent specialists" make them money. But then, their baseline of comparison is their automated matching algorithms, so it could well be true. 


Douglas Michael M wrote:



Upwork claims the "talent specialists" make them money. But then, their baseline of comparison is their automated matching algorithms, so it could well be true. 


Yes...the talent specialists get it right 1/10 of 1% of the time, whereas the algorithms only get 1 in 5,000.