The client is not paying on Upwork, what should I do?

Question

Upwork

Hey! There is a fixed contract in several milestones. The client made up the milestones so that the first 5 together is about 10% of the amount, that is, almost nothing. And the last one is the whole amount, decent enough. The work was done a week ago, still does not pay, the last stage does not even activate.
It is clear that it was not necessary to draw up a contract like that. But what are my options now? All correspondence through upwork, there are phrases from the client about the fact that everything is done. Is there any chance to get some money? Otherwise, he can remove the last stage altogether, without activating it, and close the contract.

Answer 1

Send him the work, click submit work and wait 2 weeks.
If there are graters, open a dispute, then the fact that the correspondence was conducted through the service plays into your hands.
And did you talk to him at all? What does he justify? Maybe he just forgot, and you are embarrassed to remind yourself all week.

Answer 2

A week is not a reason to worry. I even once had a contract without a funded milestone, the client was lost for a week, then showed up and paid everything.

Answer 3

If the client did not freeze the money for the last milestone (funded) and the client decided to scam you, then you will not receive money. Upwork does not guarantee payment in this case. The maximum that Upwork will do is ban the client, and a positive review will not appear in your profile.
But it is quite likely that a force majeure situation will arise, so I would wait another week and at the same time unsubscribe to the client every couple of days that if he does not start to answer, then you will complain to support.

Answer 4

Talk to the client and then complain to the support