Cancellation
If you cancel more than 24 hours before the consultation, we’ll give you a full refund.
But if you cancel within 24 hours, we won’t refund your money and we’ll release the payment to the consultant.
Reschedule
You can reschedule in the contract workroom by choosing another available time from the freelancer’s calendar that falls after their minimum booking notice.
If the freelancer needs to reschedule, they will contact you first to discuss a date and time that works for both of you and that falls after their minimum booking notice. Then they can reschedule on their calendar. Freelancers do not have access to your calendar.
Late policy
While we encourage you to be on time, we understand things come up. You can be up to 5 minutes late for the consultation. After 5 minutes, the consultant can consider you a no-show.
No-show policy
If you don’t show up, you won’t get a refund and we will release your payment to the consultant.
If something happened or you had an emergency, we’re happy to talk with you about your options. Please follow the process for requesting a refund.
Payment Protection
We provide Payment Protection for clients for payments to freelancers on consultations if you meet the following eligibility requirements:
- You cancel your consultation more than 24 hours before your scheduled meeting time, or
- You are less than 5 minutes late for the consultation, and
- You don’t receive the documents (e.g., meeting summary, project plan, time, and cost estimate) you purchased as part of the consultation. If you opted out of receiving documents when you purchased the consultation, you’re not eligible to request a refund over the payment after the consultation has occurred.
- Note: If you get a refund before payment has been released to a freelancer, such as due to cancellation by the freelancer or your own cancellation more than 24 hours before your meeting, we’ll also refund the Contract Initiation Fee. If you get a refund of a payment that was already released to the freelancer due to a dispute, we will not refund that fee.
Harassment policy
We won’t tolerate harassment or violence toward other Upwork users. You can report harassment or violence by reaching out to customer service or using the report flag throughout the site. You can review all prohibited behaviors, including our prohibition on harassment and violence, in our Terms of Use.
Policies and guidelines for freelancers who are consulting
Freelancers and clients are protected similarly.
- Reschedule: If a freelancer needs to reschedule, they should send a message to the client first to propose a new date and time. The new time must fall after their minimum booking notice.
- Cancellation policy: If a freelancer cancels more than 24 hours before the consultation, the client will get their money back and they won’t be able to leave feedback. If the freelancer cancels within 24 hours of the consultation, the client can leave feedback.
- Late policy: The client and freelancer can be up to 5 minutes late for a scheduled consultation.
- No-show policy: If the freelancer doesn't show up or is more than 5 minutes late, the client can file a dispute and ask for their money back.
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Payment Protection: We provide Payment Protection for consulting freelancers if the following eligibility requirements are met:
- The client canceled the consultation less than 24 hours prior to the start time, or,
- The freelancer is less than 5 minutes late for the consultation and they send the documents agreed to the client within the set delivery time, or
- The client opts out of receiving documents after the consultation and chooses to approve and pay without receiving them.
- Harassment policy: We won’t tolerate harassment or violence toward other Upwork users. You can report harassment or violence by reaching out to support or using the report flag throughout the site. You can review all prohibited behaviors, including our prohibition on harassment and violence, in our Terms of Use.
Frequently Asked Questions
Please wait at least five minutes for scheduled consultations.
If the client doesn’t show up, the freelancing consultant still gets paid.
If the freelancer doesn’t show up, we recommend the client request a refund. If the freelancer denies the refund, our support team can step in to help, taking into consideration that the no-show was the reason for a refund request.
You can request a refund from the consultant. If they don’t accept your request, you can file a dispute. However, the consultant will also have the opportunity to show what they provided. Since value is subjective, we encourage you to work this out with the freelancer and provide feedback about your experience.
If you’re more than five minutes late, the consultant can consider you a no-show. They’ll still get paid even though you didn’t attend the meeting.
- Confirmation policy: Consultants have 24 hours to send a message to the client after they submit their requirements to confirm the consultation or clarify their requirements.
- Reschedule: If a consultant needs to reschedule, they should send a message to the client first to propose a new date and time that works for both of you. The new time must fall after their minimum booking notice.
- Cancellation policy: If a consultant cancels more than 24 hours before the consultation, the client will get their money back and they won’t be able to leave feedback. If the consultant cancels within 24 hours of the consultation, the client can leave feedback.
- Late policy: The client and consultant can be up to 5 minutes late for a scheduled consultation.
- No-show policy: If the consultant doesn't show up or is more than 5 minutes late, the client can file a dispute and ask for their money back.
-
Payment Protection: We provide Payment Protection for consultants if the following eligibility requirements are met:
- The client canceled the consultation less than 24 hours prior to the start time, or,
- The consultant is less than 5 minutes late for the consultation and they send the documents agreed to the client within the set delivery time, or
- The client opts out of receiving documents after the consultation and chooses to approve and pay without receiving them.
- Harassment policy: We won’t tolerate harassment or violence toward other Upwork users. You can report harassment or violence by reaching out to support or using the report flag throughout the site. You can review all prohibited behaviors, including our prohibition on harassment and violence, in our Terms of Use.
