If you are working with a freelancer or agency and they become unresponsive for a long period of time, it may be best to pause the contract (if hourly) and wait for contact from them. In some cases, you may also reach out to Upwork to contact the freelancer or agency on your behalf.
On an hourly contract, already-logged hours will be invoiced as usual, but no further work or payment should be expected on the paused contract. To continue working with the freelancer or agency in the future, you and the freelancer or agency will need to restart the paused contract.
On a fixed-price contract, if the freelancer or agency has requested payment, the pending escrow payment will be released to the freelancer or agency upon approval by you or automatically after 14 days. You can also reject the payment request. If no payment requests have been made, the funds in escrow will remain in escrow until they are released by the client or the contract has ended.
For any payments made within the past 180 days, you can request a refund from the freelancer or agency. Upwork can also provide mediation assistance for payments made in the past 30 days. With hourly contracts, you can also dispute hours logged in the previous week.
You have the option to end the contract and request a refund for any funds remaining in escrow. You can also release less than the full amount of a milestone (including if you set the milestone at the $5 minimum) for partially completed work. Alternatively, you can reject submitted work, the freelancer or agency will then need to make changes and resubmit before funds can be released.