When a project goes wrong: disputes, refunds, and who decides
If a client will not accept a milestone and a freelancer will not walk away, the milestone can be disputed. Both sides put their case in writing, either side can make an offer the other accepts, and anything unresolved goes to an operator. The outcome is a release, a partial release, or a refund — and the platform never rules on whether the work was good.
Last reviewed 18 October 2026 · 6 minute read
Every marketplace has this page, and most of them describe a promise. This one describes a rule, an outcome for each case, and the parts we cannot do.
The short version
A disputed milestone is frozen: it cannot be released or refunded while the dispute is open. The two sides can settle it themselves with an offer the other accepts. Anything unresolved goes to an operator who reads the written record and decides. The decision is a release, a partial release, or a refund — against the milestone, not the project.
How a dispute runs
- 1Raise itEither side can dispute a milestone. It is a named action with a reason rather than a message in a thread, so there is a record of when and why it started.
- 2The milestone freezesWhile a dispute is open the money cannot move. That is the point of raising one: it stops a release or a refund happening around you.
- 3Both sides writeEach side states its case. What is written here is what the decision is made from, so it is worth being concrete about what was agreed and what was not.
- 4An offer, or an operatorEither side can offer a settlement, including one that returns everything. If the other accepts, it is over. If not, the dispute stays open for an operator.
- 5The outcomeA release, a partial release, or a refund. A partial release splits the milestone: the released part is paid and a fee applies to it, and the rest returns to the client.
What the platform does not decide
- Whether the work was good. An operator decides what the written record supports about what was agreed, which is a different question and the only one we are equipped to answer.
- Who was right about taste. That something is not what somebody imagined is not a finding; that it is not what the brief asked for is.
- Anything never written down. Terms agreed on a call and not recorded are not evidence, which is why scope belongs in the brief.
What happens to the money
| Outcome | The milestone | The fee |
|---|---|---|
| Released in full | Paid to the freelancer | Charged on the released amount |
| Partially released | Split: part paid, part back to the client | Charged only on what was actually paid |
| Refunded | Returns to the client's balance in full | Nothing is charged |
| Settled by agreement | Follows the accepted offer | The same rule: only on what is released |
A refund credits the client's balance rather than the card it came from, and a balance can be withdrawn but not spent on another milestone. That rule is the same everywhere on the platform, and the escrow page says why.
What a dispute costs
- Time. It is a written process reviewed by a person, and it is slower than agreeing.
- The working relationship, usually, whatever the outcome.
- Nothing else. There is no fee for raising one, and no marker against an account for raising one in good faith.
- The record stays. What was written and what was decided are kept, because a pattern of disputes is real information about an account.
What voids the protection entirely
Off-platform work has no escrow, and no dispute
Arranging the work, or paying for it, outside the platform is a breach of the terms. The app flags contact details and off-platform payment attempts, and the other side is never told that their counterpart was flagged. If work moves off the platform this page stops applying, because none of it is enforceable out there.
- Raising disputes repeatedly with nothing behind them is itself reviewed.
- A milestone cannot be disputed after it has been accepted and released: acceptance is final.
- A refused payment of test money on a live rail is a different refusal entirely, and is not evidence about anybody.
Questions people ask
Can I dispute work I have already accepted?
No. Accepting releases the milestone and is final, which is why accepting is a real decision rather than a formality.
Does a dispute stop the rest of the project?
No. It freezes the milestone it names. Other milestones can still be funded, worked on and released.
Who decides, and what are they deciding?
An operator, deciding what the written record supports about what was agreed. Not whether the work was good — that judgement belongs to the client, made against the rubric.
Can we settle it ourselves?
Yes, and that is the quicker path: either side makes an offer, the other accepts, and the milestone follows the offer. An operator is what happens when that fails.
What happens to the fee if a milestone is refunded?
Nothing is charged. The fee is only ever taken from money actually released to a freelancer.
Where does a refund go?
To the client's balance here, withdrawable to their bank account. It does not return to the card, and it cannot currently be spent on another milestone.
Ready to see it from the other side?
Post a project with a rubric, or browse the freelancers and squads who are already working this way.