Freelancer rude, bullying, demanding money without work completion and blaming me for his mistakes

[18f82e42]

Hi, Few days ago I posted a job to develop a mobile app and I selected a freelancer for the job. I selected him because his profile looked good and the quotation was fitting in my budget. After he initiated the contract, he started using inappropriate and offensive language and started blaming me for not paying without even submitting the milestone. He kept saying that my budget was less and he didn't do project of small budget because he was earned enough on upwork and he didn't care for small budget projects. In the beginning only we had this discussion that for any milestone, whatever he develops, I will first test the code on my machine and then when I am satisfied, then only i will release the payment. As we both are protected by upwork policies, there should not be any problem with this arrangement. But he kept blaming me for not paying and put a lot of allegations on me. Also used offensive language. I had a very heated argument with him last time and I wanted to report it to upwork but when I was doing that he came back, apologized and agreed to share the code. I forgave him and after testing the app, I released all the payment. Again last week, when I had a new requirement on the same app, I contacted him and rehired again. And I clearly asked him if he was okay to first release the code so that I could test it and then release the payment. He said okay to that. I have the whole chat with me on Skype and on upwork. Now today when I tested the app, I found a very bad quality development and I asked to fix the app, he started demanding money to which I said no, because as per the arrangement, I wanted to run it on my machine and test it properly. He started threatening me and asked to release money in 20 mins and when I didn't respond, he ended the contract from his side and mentioned - 'Client failed to Pay', Which is an absolutely false allegation. Every time he brags about not caring for small amount jobs because he has already earned so much on upwork. He is not keeping his words and blaming me for his actions. I have following issues with this freelancer - 1. I thought he was an individual but he is not, every time i chat with him, different people respond. 2. His profile picture may be fake 3. His resume may be fake 4. He has blamed me for not paying, which is not true at all, I have 5 star rating on upwork and till today I have paid every single penny that I owed. 5. He thinks he is doing a big favour for me by developing my app because he already has earned $100,000 on upwork ? If he doesn't want to work, why did he waste so much of my time ? 6. He demands money almost every day without even submitting the complete work which is unethical 7. He is using offensive language and putting false allegations on me without any reason. 8. He says he doesn't care about any upwork policies because he has already earned enough. 9. His responses and allegations have given me enough mental stress and this makes me fuming almost every day 10. He didn't provide bug fixing support for his development, even when it was clearly written in the contract. All this came when the contract was over. 11. Despite all that issues last time I gave him good rating because i wanted to end on a good note and I thought that we solved all the issues last time that's why I hired him again but he ended up doing the same thing and went extra mile and abused the contract. He ended it after wasting 4 days of my precious time and without submitting the final code. He didn't even fix the defects. I am not happy at all with all this and that's why I am writing to this forum. My questions are - 1. What can we do in this case, I dont want him to trouble other people like this. 2. If he thinks he has earned enough on upwork, why is he applying with low quotes and then later saying that he is doing a favour. How can we stop this ? 3. My work is not completed as it was left midway and he ended up the contract. He wasted 4 days of my time, what can we do to stop him to do this to other people ? I hope you understand how badly hurt I am with this freelancer's behaviour, work ethics and false allegations and I hope that you will help me with this situation. Please let me know if you want to know the details of this freelancer, this might save someone's day. Looking forward to hearing back from you. Thanks, Abhishek.

[VladimirG]

Hi Abhishek,

I'm sorry to hear about your bad experience with this freelancer. I checked your contracts and couldn't find the conversation or freelancer you're referring to. Can you take a screenshot of the messages in which the freelancer is being abusive, include any other relevant information regarding suspicions you shared about the freelancer's identity and profile, and send these to me in a private message?

[jbcasey]

Hi Abhishek, 

I am also having trouble with a freelancer for app development. My freelancer started work on the project and was moving ahead (albeit slowly and with budget concerns) and yesterday Upwork shut her down. Now she's messaging me on skype telling me she needs me to send her the retracted payments. I wasn't notified by Upwork in advance though, so I wasn't able to get the code for the project so far. 

I would suggest you end the project with this freelancer sooner rather than later. I wish I hadn't gotten so far along with mine because now I am out money and because of the her account being off she won't send the files. Cut your loss quickly and move on. 

JBC

[VladimirG]

Hi Jill,

Please stop communicating with your freelancer and refer to the information our agent shared in their message yesterday. Our team will follow up soon on your ticket with more information so please please refrain from processing any payments in the meantime. It's unfortunate that your contracts had to end like this but please note that the freelancer seriously violated our ToS, and had to be removed from the platform. Our team will be able to provide more information soon. 

[58967181]

as if. the support team told me I have to get a subpoena before they can reveal what action they have taken. so basically we wouldn't know if anything has actually been done and if this is just lip service. no wonder the freelancer was so haughty to blatantly tell us that Upwork will do nothing and just ask them about it no wonder they can be not just rude but even threatening us that it will result in more delays and basically just pay up to at least get the first milestone's work released no matter how sloppy is better than getting nothing.

[18f82e42 · Accepted solution]

Thanks Vladimir, I will share details on a private message.

[prestonhunter]

Abishek/Jill:

There are TWO distinct issues at play here.

1) Rude/inappropriate behavior from freelancers.

This is NEVER acceptable from Upwork freelancers. This is NOT some kind of free-for-all website. This is not the Wild West or some kind of anything-goes message board. This a professional work platform. You are NOT required to report freelancers for that kind of behavior. BUT: Upwork appreciates it if you report that kind of behavior so that they can remove problem freelancers.

2) You can end contracts with freelancers at ANY TIME, for ANY reason.

Abishek: I'm really sorry you had negative experiences with a freelancer, but you should understand you don't need to put up with ANY of that. You can end a contract with a freelancer simply because he likes Coke and you like Pepsi. You do NOT need to collect a list of reasons. You do not need to justify your decision to anybody.

[yitwail]

Abishek, it doesn't matter how many dollars the freelancer earned at Upwork. If he (or they) did even a few of the things you listed, he should be suspended immediately and probably permanently.

[kat303]

---

@Abhishek M wrote:
Hi, Few days ago I posted a job to develop a mobile app and I selected a freelancer for the job. I selected him because his profile looked good and the quotation was fitting in my budget. After he initiated the contract, he started using inappropriate and offensive language and started blaming me for not paying without even submitting the milestone.

You were correct and within your rights NOT to release funds in escrow until you receive the scope of work that was requierd for that milestone/job AND you approve that work.

When this freelancer started to use inappropriate and offensive language and blaming you for not paying (which you DON"T do until you receive the work and approve of the work. you should have ended the contract right then and there. There is no reason why you need to put up with that.

He kept saying that my budget was less and he didn't do project of small budget because he was earned enough on upwork and he didn't care for small budget projects. In the beginning only we had this discussion that for any milestone, whatever he develops, I will first test the code on my machine and then when I am satisfied, then only i will release the payment. As we both are protected by upwork policies, there should not be any problem with this arrangement. But he kept blaming me for not paying and put a lot of allegations on me. Also used offensive language.

You should have ended the contract at this point

I had a very heated argument with him last time and I wanted to report it to upwork but when I was doing that he came back, apologized and agreed to share the code.

There was NO need to argue with him. What did you think it would accomplish. You should have ended the contract before that argument. (sorry, but at this point both of you acted badly and inappropriately

I forgave him and after testing the app, I released all the payment. Again last week, when I had a new requirement on the same app, I contacted him and rehired again.

And after all of that,,,,, you HIRED HIM AGAIN????

And I clearly asked him if he was okay to first release the code so that I could test it and then release the payment. He said okay to that. I have the whole chat with me on Skype and on upwork. Now today when I tested the app, I found a very bad quality development and I asked to fix the app, he started demanding money to which I said no, because as per the arrangement, I wanted to run it on my machine and test it properly.

You should have ended the contract.

He started threatening me and asked to release money in 20 mins and when I didn't respond, he ended the contract from his side and mentioned - 'Client failed to Pay',

Finally, someone ended the contract. And at that point you should have ended all communication with him and I am not a client, but if, on the clients side there's a way to block this freelancer, that's what you should have done.

Which is an absolutely false allegation. Every time he brags about not caring for small amount jobs because he has already earned so much on upwork. He is not keeping his words and blaming me for his actions. I have following issues with this freelancer - 1. I thought he was an individual but he is not, every time i chat with him, different people respond. 2. His profile picture may be fake 3. His resume may be fake 4. He has blamed me for not paying, which is not true at all, I have 5 star rating on upwork and till today I have paid every single penny that I owed. 5. He thinks he is doing a big favour for me by developing my app because he already has earned $100,000 on upwork ? If he doesn't want to work, why did he waste so much of my time ? 6. He demands money almost every day without even submitting the complete work which is unethical 7. He is using offensive language and putting false allegations on me without any reason. 8. He says he doesn't care about any upwork policies because he has already earned enough. 9. His responses and allegations have given me enough mental stress and this makes me fuming almost every day 10. He didn't provide bug fixing support for his development, even when it was clearly written in the contract. All this came when the contract was over. 11. Despite all that issues last time I gave him good rating because i wanted to end on a good note and I thought that we solved all the issues last time that's why I hired him again

When ANY client behaves like that, you do NOT hire them again. PAST BEHAVIOR IS AN INDICATION OF FUTURE BEHAVIOR. It doen't matter what he said or promised you.

but he ended up doing the same thing and went extra mile and abused the contract. He ended it after wasting 4 days of my precious time and without submitting the final code. He didn't even fix the defects. I am not happy at all with all this and that's why I am writing to this forum. My questions are - 1. What can we do in this case, I dont want him to trouble other people like this. 2. If he thinks he has earned enough on upwork, why is he applying with low quotes and then later saying that he is doing a favour. How can we stop this ? 3. My work is not completed as it was left midway and he ended up the contract. He wasted 4 days of my time, what can we do to stop him to do this to other people ? I hope you understand how badly hurt I am with this freelancer's behaviour, work ethics and false allegations and I hope that you will help me with this situation. Please let me know if you want to know the details of this freelancer, this might save someone's day. Looking forward to hearing back from you. Thanks, Abhishek.

If you have copies of all of the above that you said he did then report this freelancer. In the future, you are NOT obligated to continue to work with any freelancer if they don't meet your expectations.

And did I mention, if that happens again, End the contract.

[afifield]

I am shocked that a freelancer would act that way no matter what they are being paid or earnings they have. I would never get like this with a client. There is never a reason to react that way even if something isn't going as planned. Since you hired them to complete the job, you deserved to have a working project. I hope that upworks does something about them and prevents them from doing future work. 

[18f82e42]

Thanks everyone for your responses. I really appreciate it and I already feel better. I think that I wasted a lot of my precious time on this freelancer. I should have invested that time in my project.

After the contract was over yesterday, I posted my requirement again on upwork and within minutes I had more than 20 applications. This is the power of this platform and that's why I love it.

This tells me that there are a lot of talented people who rather want to work and deliver than those who demad money without submitting work.

Such talented people make this platform a better place everyday.

Thanks Jill for sharing your experience as well. We both have learnt from this experience and I am sure we will handle such situations better in future.

Thank you all once again and have a great day ahead!

Abhishek.

[58967181]

lucky for you. My experience so far has been horrible if not for one freelancer I would probably stop using this platform.

I wanted a die cut name card with the shape of a magnifying glass I even attached an image of a similar looking name card and repeated my request after hiring them. but they kept coming back with a rectangle name card with a crappy drawing of a magnifying glass.  If not for the 4th designer that got it and came back within a day, I would have stop using upwork since I'm new to it. One when I repeated myself for the 4th time it is the shape of the magnifying glass and I ask can he please don't make the same mistake and make me repeat myself for the 5th time, he started saying things like I'm not your slave. I'm not sure if you consider that as abusive but it was definitely absurd and out of the blue. But he disputed the escrow refund and I received a message from upwork that they will refund me and out of their own pocket pay him which I don't think it is a good idea but upwork did not respond to. It was furthermore from a freelancer that has something like a 96% rating but yet cannot understand the request of a magnifying  glass-shaped name card

Another send his portfolio and when I googled it, it is the work of a firm of another company in another country. When I asked him about it, he says he meant he can do work as good as this. This is out right trying to deceive the client. And now I'm having a developer that is not just shoddy and constantly coming up with excuses,  affecting my time line plus now escalating to being down right rude. 


I wanted a horizontal moving website but they gave me something that don't resize properly and later claimed that is due to my request of agile instead of waterfall that caused it instead of working on it and give me something proper. Thank goodness it was just the design we are talking about and only the deposit has been committed. The fact that they could have just look at it on different monitors to know instead of constantly asking me to give them screenshots of the issue should have been the first telltale sign. And I don't understand how a working philosophy of agile has anything to do with a website resizing properly.
 
My friend was the one that discovered upwork and recommended me upwork along with the developer she happened to be talking to. she decided to delay her development as she was not in a hurry and wanted to observe the developer first in my thread. But after a string of excuses and blame-shifting jumped in to comment that this is not the experience she gotten during the enquiry process. but the firm's CEO instead of being apologetic jumped in fearing he may lose that client too, request I stop communication with my friend(what in the world gives him that right??) and not to continue to continue getting into things which I most certainly wish to get into - which I have no idea what he meant but certainly sounds rude. This was again another agency with very high rating.

So I would be very curious to know if that it's bad enough our work got delayed and to face such abuse from freelancers, that Upwork indeed remove them and we can really look at their rating for reference, or simply blocked the connection between us and the freelancer 

[g_vasilevski]

Hi Daniel,

I`m sorry to hear about the bad experience you`ve had.
Regarding the freelancer and the agency you`re referring to, could you please share the evidence with me via PM (click on my name)? Our team will investigate this further and will take proper actions. 

I can also suggest to check out our resources below that can help you with finding the perfect fit for your projects:

• How to Choose and Interview the Right Freelancer for Your Project
• How to Decide if a Freelancer is the Right Fit for Your Team
• How to Set Clear Expectations & 5 Tips for Success

Thank you.

[58967181]

update : for the forum which is public facing. Someone will get in touch, moderator or community guru will get in touch rather fast. But not sure if they are staffs or upwork or just some ambassadors that serve as eyes and ears or upwork. However, despite this getting the attention from one of the staff directly from upwork, all she can do is say she will investigate but cannot share the finding. So basically an action to pacific you - they can ignore the fact and you are still none the wiser.

Also, i gave a 1 star review and yet the freelancer is still 100% work success. Later asked the advice from a friend who's a freelancer too. Turns out very easy to create fake reviews. From now on I will always check the reviews from external sites like clutch.co first before awarding the job to anyone.

[kinector]

Daniel, I have no idea how much you're paying those guys you hire in general, but as a client, I've hired dozens of freelancers here, and (somehow) ALL of the work got done really well. I'm not being stingy, I simply cannot be, because I need that work to be done really well. Good stuff costs what good stuff costs, then.

So, without having any facts here, I'd recommend one simple experiment: Next time, when hiring, pay 3-5 times the amount you used to. Say you hired someone for $20/h, now for the $100/h guy, and make your comparison on just about every aspect of the engagement. Avoid hiring the cheapest guys whose only obvious way to make money out of low-pay contracts is to cheat somehow. Makes sense, I hope.

Let me know if paying better solves your persistent problem.

And sorry if I've drawn completely wrong conclusions here.