Refund and Cancellation Policy
Effective Date: May 5, 2015
This Refund and Cancellation Policy (this “Policy”) incorporates all terms, conditions, rules, policies, and guidelines
on the Site, including the other Terms of Service (the “Terms of Service”). Capitalized terms not defined in this
Policy are defined in the User Agreement or in the other Terms of Service or have the meanings given such terms on
the Site. Your use of the Site after the effective date will signify your acceptance of and agreement to this Policy. To
the extent permitted by applicable law, we may modify this Policy without prior notice to you, and any revisions to this
Policy will take effect when posted on the Site, unless otherwise stated in the revised Policy. Please check the Site
often for updates.
1. Introduction
To cancel an Engagement or request a refund, you must first submit the Engagement Cancellation Form or the
Refund Request Form available in the Workroom. The other party to the Engagement will then have five days (the
“Approval Period”) to either approve your request or submit the Dispute Notice Form available in the Workroom.
You must then follow the applicable process described below.
2. Engagement Cancellation Form
If you submit an Engagement Cancellation Form, the following process will apply:
a) If the other party approves your request, then the Engagement is cancelled.
b) If the other party submits a Dispute Notice Form during the Approval Period, then you are required to use
the Fixed Price Dispute Resolution Policy or the Hourly Dispute Resolution Policy, depending on the
Engagement type.
c) If the other party fails to submit Dispute Notice Form during the Approval Period, then the Engagement will
be cancelled and: (i) if the Engagement is a Fixed Price Engagement, funds will be released from the Fixed
Price Escrow Account and returned to the applicable Client Escrow Account to the extent of any funded
balance and subject to the terms and conditions of the other Terms of Service; (ii) for any remaining
balance, and for Hourly Engagements, you are required to use the Fixed Price Dispute Resolution Policy or
the Hourly Dispute Resolution Policy, depending on the Engagement type; and (iii) Elance may suspend or
cancel the other party’s Account.
3. Refund Request Form
Freelancer
If a Freelancer submits a Refund Request Form, the request is deemed approved and Freelancer will be deemed to
have issued the applicable Refund Escrow Instructions below.
Client
If a Client submits a Refund Request Form, then the following process will apply:
a) If Freelancer approves Client’s request for all or part of the requested amount, then Freelancer will have
issued the applicable Refund Escrow Instruction below. For any unapproved refund balance, Client must
use the Fixed Price Dispute Resolution Policy or the Hourly Dispute Resolution Policy, depending on the
Engagement type.
b) If Freelancer submits a Dispute Notice Form during the Approval Period, then Freelancer and Client are
required to follow the Fixed Price Dispute Resolution Policy or the Hourly Dispute Resolution Policy,
depending on the Engagement type.c) If Freelancer fails to submit a Dispute Notice Form during the Approval Period, then: (i) the request is
deemed approved and Freelancer will be deemed to have issued the applicable Refund Escrow Instruction
below; (ii) for any remaining balance, and for Hourly Engagements, you are required to use the Fixed Price
Dispute Resolution Policy or the Hourly Dispute Resolution Policy, depending on the Engagement type; and
(iii) Elance may suspend or cancel the other party’s Account.
Previously Paid Engagements
Refunds to a Client of amounts previously released to a Freelancer are subject to the availability of funds in the
applicable Escrow Account. EEC will not remove funds from a Freelancer Escrow Account without authorization and
instructions from the Freelancer. Processing refunds in this case might take up to 10 days.
4. Refund Escrow Instructions
By submitting a Refund Request Form or approving a Client’s refund request in whole or in part, Freelancer
irrevocably authorizes and instructs EEC as follows:
a. If the refund request relates to a Fixed Price Engagement and sufficient funds remain in the Fixed
Price Escrow Account to cover the amount of the refund requested or approved by Freelancer,
EEC will release the corresponding amount from the Fixed Price Escrow Account and deposit it in
the Client Escrow Account.
b. If the refund request relates to a Fixed Price Engagement and there are insufficient funds
remaining in the Fixed Price Escrow Account to cover the amount of the refund requested or
approved by Freelancer, then EEC will release to Client (i) the amount remaining in the Fixed Price
Escrow Account; and (ii) the amount of the remaining balance of the refund from the Freelancer
Escrow Account. If there are insufficient funds available in the Freelancer Escrow Account to cover
the full balance of the refund request, EEC will only release from the Freelancer Escrow Account
and deposit into the Client Escrow Account the available funds.
c. If the refund request relates to an Hourly Engagement or miscellaneous invoice, then EEC will
release the corresponding amount from the Freelancer Escrow Account and deposit it in the Client
Escrow Account. If there are insufficient funds available in the Freelancer Escrow Account to cover
the full amount of the refund request, EEC will only release from the Freelancer Escrow Account
and deposit into the Client Escrow Account the available funds.
5. Other Types of Disputes
If you have a complaint involving feedback, you must follow the section titled “Feedback” in section 7 of the Site
Usage Policy. If you have entered the Payroll Services Agreement for your Engagement, this Policy does not apply.
For a dispute with Elance, you must follow the section titled “Disputes with Elance” in section 16 of the User
Agreement.
6. Contacting Us
If you wish to report a violation of the Terms of Service, have any questions, or need assistance, please contact
Customer Support at:
Web Support: http://www.elance.com/service
Email: support@elance.com
Phone: 1-877-4-ELANCE (1-877-435-2623)
(Monday 12:01 a.m. through Friday 12:00 a.m. Midnight Pacific Time)