Ask Is there a rule about whether a freelancer must return partial payment if a client is unhappy?

[Brendan]

This is something that comes up often, and the answers people give are never the same. A client pays for work, the work gets done, but the client says they are not happy and wants some money back. Some freelancers say they have never had to return anything, while others say the platform sided with the client. It seems like a lot depends on the type of contract and the platform being used. What do the actual rules say about this kind of situation?