What Should I do when Client and Support say to refund ?

[awais_webdevs]

Hi, So I had a client a few weeks back. I was very skeptical about the client from the start of his conversation as he did not provide full details. so I tried to clear the scope of the project as much as possible. and he said yes that's all he needed. I even added the scope of the project in the custom offer and quote like x number of things are included for this much and this and this are included. this this is not included and by accepting the offer the client agrees and if ask more then it'll be extra cost. that kind of stuff.

okay, so the project started and when I delivered, the client immediately removed me from the account and asked for a refund. upon asking he asked for more work which he never even mentioned in our whole conversation. he kept messaging so much and threatening so I told him to give a partial refund which he didn't agree with at that time.

Then I went to Fiverr support and showed every proof and they agreed that the client did ask for a refund after delivering project. so couple of days went by and the project got marked automatically and client left a 1-star rating. and then he messaged me about where is his refund partial refund. i never responded.

Today I got a message from customer support under same ticket in which I complained about client that client asked for a refund and upon reviewing we saw that you guys agreed on partial refund so we suggest that you talk with a client and ask him to order a new offer and we will cancel this order that way you and he will get partial refund. I explained to them how it all started and why I said partial refund and he said no. so I don't want to give a refund now. and that I just saw and he is still using my pages and content on his website. and support just sent a generic message saying that we can't force buyers to accept delivery, talk to them and explain, etc.

Now my question is what should I do?

Can Fiverr cancel that order without asking me?

if I ask him to order again then he can do the same stuff again like refund and leave bad review again. or should I even do that?

Is there like a time limit where a client can get a refund like after the order is marked does client have only 7 days after that can they get or can fiverr still get money from my account?

Kindly share what should I do?

 

[rawque_gulia]

@awais_webdevs We have even seen cases where buyers got a refund even after a month. But since your order is not canceled yet, even after the buyer's complaint, it looks like customer support is on your side and the order is not eligible for cancellation. If you have finished the work as per the agreed scope, orders are not eligible for cancellation, and also the orders can not be canceled based on the quality of the work. 

If it gets canceled in the future against your will, keep the proofs ready (that the work was 100% done according to the client's brief) and feel free to ask for compensation from customer support, and they will have to pay from their own pockets. This is how things work! Not only the buyer, but you are also protected with terms and payment protection. It's just that you should know how to deal with the situation.

The main issue here is your 'commitment' to the buyer regarding a partial refund. Yes, the buyer declined at that time, but from your side, you made this mistake. If the work is 100% done, you do not need to make such commitments and should stand your ground. Anyways, buyers will leave ratings as they have to (no matter if you refund some pennies back).

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Now, all you can do is 'play with the correct use of words.' When you offer an official partial refund option, buyers get 48 hours to accept or decline the request. Once declined, the partial refund can not be asked again against your will. Always remember that it works "mutually" (if both parties agree).

Although you have not sent a partial refund request officially on the order page and it was just a commitment in chats, the buyer declined. Now the option is gone. You do not want to 'mutually' give any partial refund now. That's it! Stand your ground and explain this to customer support politely and professionally.

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Just in case customer support still insists on providing a partial refund and you decide to go ahead with it, first take a commitment from customer support that no reviews shall be left on the new order. It's not fair to get rated negatively twice for one order (as both orders are related to a single order and the second one is just a dummy order). I am sure customer support will agree to this and exclude that order from your ratings, but make sure to be communicative and ask for their official response on this matter.