Difficult client: what can they do, what can I do?

[lynnleamay]

Hi! I have been selling on Fiverr for around 1,5-2 years now and I have had easy-going clients and more difficult ones. But now a client came back to me after 1 month and asked for a refund. This came out of nowhere for me as I delivered my work and never heard back from them until now.

Background: I created a face filter for their Instagram. After the first delivery, I adjusted the filter 3-4 times but then the client stopped talking to me after my last delivery. This was on the 7th of March.

Now, the client texted me again and asked for a refund. I asked why they suddenly wanted a refund. First, the client said he wants to stop using filters so there is no point for him to create one (remember: I delivered one month ago). However, I said I am afraid but this does not really sound like a valid reason to me as otherwise all my clients could get back to me at some point claiming the same. I even offered the client to adjust the filter again for free if there is something wrong with the filter. Now they texted me back in a rude manner saying that they just wanted to be nice but they think I did not do my job, they don’t like it, they want their money back.

I am a bit unsure now what I should do. Of course, I know it is a client’s right to ask for a refund. However, I think it is a bit strange to ask for a refund after 1 month and given the client’s first reason I am a bit unsure what I should believe. But I also care about my statistics and I do not want any bad reviews.

Any tips or ideas how I should deal with this? What would you do? And can this client still give me bad ratings/reviews after a period of 1 month?

Thanks!

[english_voice]

The key thing to remember here is that they can no longer leave negative feedback.

From memory I think buyers have 10 days from the point of delivery to leave feedback - after this they can’t. So, they can’t now maliciously trash your feedback profile.

They have also lied to you by giving you an invalid reason for wanting their money back.

Personally, I would just leave it alone. They can’t harm you. They’re just being idiotic.

The only thing they could do is a chargeback through PayPal, but this is against Fiverr’s TOS and would result in them being banned from the platform.

[markhallva]

can this client still give me bad ratings/reviews after a period of 1 month?

Nope, they have 10 days to leave a review.

They could try and ask for a refund through CS, but I don’t think they’d be successful. I suggest you report the buyer to CS yourself and block them.

[teachernita]

Just ignore the client. They need to get back to you sooner, if they want a revision or a cancelation. It is too late and even if they reported you to CS, they won’t get anywhere. As someone mentioned before, they have 10 days to rate you, so they cannot give you a poor rating. If the client persists, block him so that he cannot contact you any more.