How to open a dispute on a contract
Only the client or the freelancer on a contract can open a dispute, and only one can be active at a time. Here is exactly what you choose when you open one and what it changes.
Before you open one
A dispute is always tied to a specific contract, and opening it changes the state of that contract. Run through the checklist below before you start, because you will not be able to open a second dispute on the same contract while the first one is still active.
- You must be the client or the freelancer on that contract. Nobody else can open a dispute on it.
- The contract must not already have an active dispute — only one at a time is allowed.
- Ideally you have already tried to settle the matter in platform messaging, and your evidence is ready to attach.
Step by step
- From your contracts list, open the contract you want to dispute.
- Start the dispute from that contract. This is the only way in: every dispute belongs to a contract.
- Choose a reason. The available reasons are payment, work quality, communication and other.
- Set a priority — low, medium, high or urgent. Be honest here: marking everything urgent does not help the person who reviews the case.
- Write the description. This is the most important part of the form, because it is your account of the facts.
- Attach your evidence — up to five files, 10 MB each, in jpg, jpeg, png, pdf, doc or docx format.
- Submit. The dispute is created with the status open.
Choosing the right reason
| Reason | Use it when |
|---|---|
| Payment | The disagreement is about what is owed for the work covered by this contract. |
| Work quality | What was delivered does not match the brief, the agreed specification or the accepted proposal. |
| Communication | The other party has stopped responding or is unreachable, and the work cannot move forward. |
| Other | The situation does not fit the categories above. Explain it clearly in the description. |
What changes the moment you submit
The contract moves to disputed status. Both you and the other party receive an in-app notification, and the administration team is alerted by email.
Opening a dispute does not end the contract, and it does not mean anyone has won or lost. It means an administrator will review the case. You can still talk to each other in the chat while the review is under way, and reaching an understanding is still possible.
Write a description someone can act on
The person reading your dispute did not follow your project. Write with that in mind:
- Open with what was contracted, in one or two sentences.
- Say what was delivered and when, with dates.
- Point out the exact gap between what was agreed and what arrived.
- Describe what you already tried to resolve directly with the other party.
- State the outcome you believe would be fair.
Avoid insults and assumptions about the other person's intentions. A factual account with dates and attachments is far more convincing than a long, emotional one.
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