At UpWork, you can request a refund from an agency or freelancer for payments made up to 365 days ago. For payments released within 180 days, reach out to the freelancer for a refund. If it's beyond 180 days, you'll need to contact Upwork Customer Support. All refunds must be provided through the Upwork platform only.
Before contacting the freelancer or agency, make sure it wasn't a fixed-price contract or a refund from a previously funded escrow. Any time-logging issues with an agency or freelancer must also be resolved before closing a contract.
Below are the steps to get a refund from a freelancer:
To get a refund from an agency, you'll need to contact Upwork Customer Support.
Approved refunds are automatically credited to your billing method, but it may take 3-5 business days to receive your funds. Check your refund status by logging in to your account, going to Reports and then clicking on Transaction History.
For hourly contracts, if the agency or freelancer doesn't respond or declines the refund request, you may be eligible to file for a dispute as long as you request a refund within the review period. Any dispute must be filed by Friday after a billing week closes. Keep in mind that you can only dispute a current invoice. For past invoices, you have to work with the agency or freelancer to discuss and resolve refund issues.
For fixed-price contracts, you'll need to request an escrow refund. Here's how:
An escrow refund request is sent to the agency or freelancer if the final payment is less than the escrow amount. They're given up to 7 days to respond to the request. You automatically get the refund if the agency or freelancer doesn't respond within 7 days, and the refunded amount can take up to 5 business days to appear on your account.
If the agency or freelancer disputes the escrow refund, you get an email and are given the option to reject or accept their response. Funds are released to the agency or freelancer if you accept the response. If you reject it, a dispute is submitted and a mediation specialist can help you resolve the problem. For answers to further questions about Upwork refunds, please don't hesitate to get in touch with Customer Support.
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