Fraud and Cheated on Upwork

[1f023b5b]

Hello all,

I am an new but old member of Upwork.

I wanted to make a new website, and here is what happened. 

I have complained three times regarding **Edited for Community Guidelines**. This person that I hired and spent over $750 did not respond over a year. I have started the project in May 2017, hoping to complete a simple website, and yet I did not even see a glimpse of the project completion.

Initially, I complained because the freelancer whom worked with me is not **Edited for Community Guidelines** himself, and didn't seem competent to complete the job. But after the complaint, **Edited for Community Guidelines** did apologize. So, I decided to give him another chance to complete it.

However, he has been very reluctant in working on this project, especially after he instructed me to change payment method to hourly basis. I noticed that I had paid everything without any work done. But as a new user, I’m unaware of all the terms and conditions of this website. I complained again, after not hearing back from **Edited for Community Guidelines**. This time, the team at Upwork informed me that there is no way to force the freelancer to complete the work or have my money back. Again, **Edited for Community Guidelines**, told me that there have been terrorist attacks in the city, and that they have lost power. He should finish the website very soon.

Without much option, I patiently waited for another 6 months (from my last complain). But **Edited for Community Guidelines** no longer respond to my text over the past 4 months, despite of being a "top pro" and with 97% success rate. This is unacceptable! And I have ran out of patience. What should I do?   

[g_vasilevski]

Hi Roland,

I`m sorry to hear about the bad experience you had with your freelancer. 
As per our Terms of Service you have the option to file a dispute for any payments that have been made untill 30 days ago. Any payments that were issued above the 30 days mark can`t be disputed.

We are always strongly advising to release the funds once you have reviewed the freelancers work and that the delivered results are up to the standards of your agreement.

I would strongly advise you to check out our guides for Upwork Payment Protection and Upwork Hourly Protection for Clients. Our team will investigate the freelancers further for any violations on our TOS and if violations are found proper actions will be taken.
Note: You ask your freelancer to refund the payment but we are not able to force the freelancers to take any actions.
I can see that you have also opened a ticket, our team will assist you on your ticket with more private detail