What to do when a client wants a refund on a completed project?
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@Minion-Queen said:
It was paid for as hours it 50% up front and 50% when done (they paid for it all). Which would mean we were done right?
That's a confusing way to describe it. If it is hours, it's a question of how many hours were used and what the agreement was for unused hours. If it was a project then it could be half up front and half later. How does a 50/50 split work on an hours agreement?
Yes, the project sounds like it qualifies as being completed successfully and satisfactorily. It comes down to if they paid to have the project completed or if they just paid for hours to use on a project.
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There was nothing agreed upon for unused hours. the split is the client pays for half up front before we start and then upon completion. So according to that logic they paid for work that was done!
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@Minion-Queen said:
There was nothing agreed upon for unused hours. the split is the client pays for half up front before we start and then upon completion. So according to that logic they paid for work that was done!
The question is really.... is it "hours" or is it a "project". What happened if hours ran over? If they paid for hours of work and that is the only agreement, that is confusing. Do they pay when the project is over or the hours are used?
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The 50/50 split sounds like a project. Though it's not uncommon to say, "The project will take approximately 100 hours for a cost of X. We require .5x now and we'll figure out actual time when the project is finished and bill for the remainder."
Even in this scenario the client could choose to pay for the expected cost all up front, then either get a refund or a bill at the end for the remainder.
Outside of that information, I'd definitely bill them for the actual time spent, apply that toward their prepayment and send the rest as a refund. You did work, even if it was prep (any thing you have showing prep work should be given to them as well), you deserve to be paid.
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I will admit to it being unclear. But they did make the final payment which would mean they accepted the project as finished.
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Ok, you may have drawn up the contract based on a certain amount of hours being expected to complete the task, but this sounds like a project-based contract. You set a price based on a certain number of hours, but the hours was just a guideline for you. I agree with @scottalanmiller , that unless you would have billed them more for extra hours, this is a project-based contract, which means they paid for you to complete a set of tasks. If you completed them, or they did half and you did half, as soon as you worked on the project at all and the project was completed, unless you did literally almost nothing, then that is within the terms of the contract and they deserve ZERO refund.
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A big question would be... if the hours ran over, would they have been paying by the hour?
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@scottalanmiller said:
A big question would be... if the hours ran over, would they have been paying by the hour?
Agreed, if yes, you owe a refund, if no, you get to keep it all - and never do business with them again.
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@Dashrender said:
@scottalanmiller said:
A big question would be... if the hours ran over, would they have been paying by the hour?
Agreed, if yes, you owe a refund, if no, you get to keep it all - and never do business with them again.
I think "never do business with them again" is a given.
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@scottalanmiller said:
@Dashrender said:
@scottalanmiller said:
A big question would be... if the hours ran over, would they have been paying by the hour?
Agreed, if yes, you owe a refund, if no, you get to keep it all - and never do business with them again.
I think "never do business with them again" is a given.
Yeah, ditto.
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In reality, it mostly comes down to the contract working itself.
