Fiverr is a great place for freelancers who wish to start or expand their online businesses. However, just like any online marketplace, conflicts and disputes are inevitable. It’s imperative to know how you can open, manage, and win disputes with other users and the platform.
How can you resolve a dispute on Fiverr with a buyer? Well, Fiverr has a built-in resolution center where sellers and buyers can find and propose solutions or contact Fiverr customer support for assistance.
Here’s a guide to Fiverr’s dispute resolution process and a walkthrough of Fiverr’s resolution center.
If you’re a freelancer on Upwork or Freelancer.com, we’ve got you covered too. Check our Upwork and Freelancer dispute resolution guides.
Disputes Between Fiverr Users
Fiverr resolution center is where buyers and sellers find solutions to their problems, open disputes, and resolve them amicably.
All disputes and requests are viewed and received by the involved parties only. Therefore, customer support will not intervene in any way.
All users are advised to use this center before escalating their disputes to customer support.
What Can Fiverr Resolution Center Do?
Fiverr resolution center offers dispute resolution for sellers and buyers equally.
If you are a freelancer on Fiverr, the resolution center can help you:
- Extend the delivery time:
When you need extra time to finish an order, you can easily request a time extension through the center. The buyer will receive your request and can either accept or refuse it. The time extension request will be automatically withdrawn if the buyer doesn’t respond within four days.
You will be required to set the number of days you are requesting and the reason.
- Request an order cancelation:
There are many reasons you might want an order cancelation. Whether it’s your schedule or the buyer’s horrible attitude, you can use the Fiverr resolution center to ask the seller to cancel his order.
You will have to provide the reason for your request.
- Request an order modification:
As a freelancer/seller, you might need to modify your delivery time, deliverables, or price. You can ask the buyer to do so via the resolution center. The buyer has the ability to approve or decline your request.
If you are a buyer/client on Fiverr, you can use the Fiverr resolution center to:
- Extend the delivery time:
You have the ability to extend the delivery time of your order whenever you want. Like the seller, your request will be reviewed by the other party and either accepted or refused.
- Request progress update for an order:
No buyer likes to stay in the dark concerning what they are buying, especially if it’s a huge order. Using the center, you can request a progress update from your freelancer. If the freelancer fails to update you within two days, the order will be automatically canceled in two days.
How To Access Fiverr Resolution Center?
To access the resolution center, you should:
- Log in to your Fiverr account
- Head over to your orders page
- Select the order with which you are facing issues
- On the right panel, click “Visit the Resolution Center.”
How Does Fiverr Resolution Center Work?
When you access the resolution center as a freelancer, you will see a list of actions to choose from. The options may vary, but generally, you will see the following ones:
- Modify the order
- Extend the delivery time
- Ask the buyer to cancel the order
Depending on the option you choose, a list of reasons will be displayed from which you need to select. Examples of the reasons for an order cancelation request are: “ buyer is unresponsive” or “we couldn’t agree on the price.”
After selecting the proper reason for your dispute, you can also state the reason you’re submitting the request.
Your request will be submitted to the buyer, and he will have 48 hours to accept or decline it. If the buyer fails to respond, the order might be automatically canceled depending on the type of dispute you opened.
Remember that using the resolution center is a mandatory step for all disputes you have with a buyer. Fiverr customer support will not consider your complaints if you haven’t used the resolution center first.
Fiverr Orders Cancelation Policy
When Fiverr’s resolution center fails to resolve your issue because you and the other buyer can’t come to an agreement, your final recourse is Fiverr customer support.
As a freelancer, you can have various reasons for canceling an order, generally because the buyer is a piece of work.
When you are ready to take your dispute to Fiverr’s customer support, be sure to bring all the supporting arguments with you.
In order for the customer support team to approve your order cancelation request, they must find that the other party is in violation of their terms of service and community standards.
Such violations could be the excessive request for revisions or threatening to leave bad reviews.
What Orders Are Eligible for Cancelation?
All active, delivered, and completed orders are eligible for cancelation, but there are exceptions.
Active orders are orders that are not yet delivered to the seller. They are eligible for cancelation if:
- The seller is late for delivery time and unresponsive for 24 hours
- One party uses abusive language or behaviors towards the other
- One party becomes inactive due to violations of Fiverr’s ToS
- Supplied materials infringe a copyright or trademark
Delivered orders are orders that are not yet marked as complete. They are eligible for cancelation if:
- The freelancer constantly requests delivery time extensions without delivering the final service
- No files are attached when delivering the order
- The buyer requests revisions to get more or other services
- Parties become abusive and threatening
Completed orders are orders that are marked as complete. Only orders that have been marked as complete for 14 days are eligible for cancelation. They are eligible for cancelation if:
- Copyright or trademark infringement is reported
- Materials are published or used commercially without a license from the owner
- Order delivery manipulation is reported
What Orders Are NOT Eligible for Cancelation?
You cannot request or successfully attain an order cancelation from Fiverr for the following orders:
- Completed orders that were made using Fiverr’s Logo Maker.
- Orders that are disputed for quality reasons so far as the delivered service meets the buyer’s requirements.
- Completed orders that are over 14 days since they were marked as complete.
Disputes Between You and Fiverr: Can You Sue or Arbitrate with Fiverr?
On Fiverr’s Terms of Service page and under its limitation of liability clause, Fiverr will not be liable for any damages, including personal injury, loss of revenue, loss of profits, loss of data, and pain, and suffering, etc.
This means that unless liability cannot be excluded under applicable law, you cannot sue or Fiverr or take it to arbitration if your account is suspended, for example.
However, users of Fiverr Workspace, a management service offered by Fiverr, can seek relief and resolve disputes via binding arbitration by Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services (JAMS).
JAMS is a US-based ODR provider who will handle your dispute with Fiverr and appoint one arbitrator to resolve it. You can find all the information you need about JAMS in this guide to arbitrate and mediate with JAMS.
Fiverr Workspace users are also able to take your claim to a local small claim court if arbitration with JAMS is not possible.
If you file a loss or damages claim against Fiverr as a Fiverr Workspace user, your claim will be limited to the fees you paid as a user in the last 12 months.
Just like other big companies, class actions rights are waived for lawsuits and arbitration claims alike. So, you will not be allowed to file or participate in a class lawsuit against Fiverr.
Time and Cost of Dispute Resolution on Fiverr
Arbitrating with JAMS as a US consumer means that you are only required to pay an administrative fee of $250 as opposed to the regular fee of $1750.
The expenses of the professional arbitrator handling your case are paid at an hourly rate set by the arbitrator.
Fiverr Workspace’s terms of service do not include any information regarding the arbitration fees, compensation, or refund.
If you are not a US citizen, you will pay $1750 as an administrative fee, 12% of the professional fees as a case management fee. Other fees might incur, so make sure to read JAMS international arbitration fees.
