Different communication channels confusing

Hi

I recently completed an hourly for someone and then discovered they hadn't actually bought the hourly just enquired about it.  Fortunately they accepted my proposal on that communication channel, I raised an invoice through PPH and they have paid the invoice.

But I was confused as to how this had happened - how someone had managed to contact me without buying the hourly -  so I looked at others' hourlies here and found prospective buyers are now able to start a conversation with the seller without purchasing the hourly.

Which in some ways is fine ... but I wan't aware that buyers could do that.  Is this a new feature?

Equally, I hadn't noticed the lack of funds in escrow but was surprised to find I couldn't raise an invoice. All other sales have followed the same path - buyer buys the hourly, I perform the hourly and check buyer is satisfied, then raise an invoice.  I've never had to raise a proposal on an hourly before I raise an invoice on an hourly.

My mistake was not noticing that this was an enquiry - a discussion about the task in hand - but the only indications were a lack of funds in escrow and the lack of ability to raise the invoice once the job was complete.

I was concentrating on solving the client's problem and the title 'WorkStream with ...'  didn't indicate the true status of the comms channel which is that it was an enquiry from the client not a purchase.

Could we change such communications to be entitled 'Enquiry from ...' so we recognise the true status at the right time and not when the job had been completed?  Fortunately I had an honest and respectable client but any freelancer using PPH, including myself, might not be so lucky in the future.

Kind regards

Lesley