3 years and I haven't been able to withdraw a single cent of my income here

[#1]

Hi guys
I am a Syrian, and because of the circumstances my country went through and still is, I have been living in Lebanon for ten years as a refugee
The Lebanese government does not allow refugees to obtain work or a bank account. I have been trying for three years without any results.
As you know, all the site's methods of withdrawing money here require a bank account,
Also, PayPal  and Payoneer require a local bank account, in addition to that they do not accept my nationality, and both sites are currently blocked in Lebanon.
I contacted the help team in Upwork more than once and they couldn't help me.
And I have been working here for more than three years without being able to withdraw a single dollar from my financial income here.
Anyone who can help me solve this problem will be a life saver
Greetings and wishes of success to all

[#2]

First and foremost, im not familiar with the specifics of Upwork withdrawls and bank accounts in other countries. But, what I will say is, I would not still be doing work on the platform if you cant get paid for it!!

Im not sure on the legalities, on one hand I think Upwork hae a duty of care to ensure that YOUR money goes to you, on the other hand, if you have no account im unsure how you would expect them to pay you? hand delivered cash? (please note im not trying to make a joke of the situation, I just cant see any other options). The sad part is the ball is kind of in your court to provide a way for them to pay you. 

As your situation is probably pretty unique, perhaps you could talk to upwork directly and try to work out a way to get paid at least what you are owed - even if it means you cant do any further work without getting sorted.

I know you can get online prepaid credit cards ect, have you looked for some kind of online bank account you could get?

Sorry I realise I dont have any answers for you, just a couple of suggestions. It must be very frustraiting, but you need to stop doing work on the platform if they wont pay you. Continue once you find a solution by all means, but at the moment the only people getting anything from your work is the client and Upworks bank balance!

[#3]

Hi Jonathan

Thank you for your response and for your suggestions

I suggested to them that I could receive the money via direct transfer via Western Union or other similar companies

I also suggested that I can provide them with a bank account in the name of one of my Lebanese friends, and they also refused

I am still working here because I cling to the hope that I will find a solution one day. Perhaps I will be able to leave Lebanon for any other country, or perhaps the Lebanese government may change its policies towards refugees, or perhaps upwork will accept some solution in appreciation of my special circumstances.

In the end, my friend, we all live in hope, without it there is nothing but despair

I thank you with all my heart for thinking of my problem

Khaled

[#4]

Hi Khaled,

   I wish you the best of luck moving forward. The only other possible scenario I can imagine working is if you were to ask a legal representative to get involved. I am sure that would result in you having to close your account, but im sure the courts would side with you, in that the money obtained from the clienta you have done work for belongs to you. 

A soliciter will obviously know the legalities much better and hopefully be able to find something in the contract to enable you to get what belongs to you.

To be honest im a little shocked that Upwork would not assist on a case like this. I seem to remember when I first started working on the platform being told I had to do all the verification checks ect before starting work/having a full account becasue they have a duty of care. It seems they are only interested in the ID side of things as beyond that I guess, it could be said that it is in there interest not help people in situations like yours, as its all money sat in Upworks bank account, despite allowing you to come and work on the platform!

Im unsure how much you are owed, and as such how worth while seeking legal advice would be for you, but it seems that if Upwork are unwilling to help, that is the only course of action. 

I would also reiterate, at this point you are obviously aware there is an issue, so I would not complete any further work unless you are happy working for free. 

EDITED TO ADD:

i have just noticed that you say they wont accept a friend/family member bank account, that seems strange, surely it is an account to withdraw funds to, if you wish it to be a freinds account im not sure why that would be an issue. It seems that perhaps they are treating the bank account as a part of the ID process and again I would argue they have a duty of care to ensure you are allowed to work on the platform, if they are not satisifed that you are elligable to work on the platform then I dont understand why they would allow you to work for 3 years without letting you withdraw. Why would any company that says there is an identification process to work on the platform allow you to meet only some of the criterea whilst then allowing you to continuously work for 3 years with no raised eyebrows! I would certainly be seeking legal advice!

[#5]

My friend Jonathan
Thank you for following up
In fact, I am not looking for a way to force them to pay, because the problem is mine and not theirs, which is that I am unable to obtain a personal bank account due to my special circumstances, and once this happens, the problem will end.
I was hoping that they would find me an exception somehow, if only temporarily.
Also, I was hoping to find someone here who went through the same situation as me and who managed to get a personal bank account. In some country in some way or maybe an online bank account is acceptable with Upwork
As for continuing to work here despite this problem, it is, as I told you, the hope that some solution will be found in a not too long time.
And because of the constant frustration with this problem, I cannot put all my effort into working here despite my long experience and multiple skills in my field. I am just trying to maintain my position here.
You can view my portfolio on the Behance 

https://www.behance.net/khaled3d-Up-2020

On one occasion, I tried to use the bank account of a friend of mine in the UK in London, and when the money arrived in his account, it was returned to the source because the name of the account holder did not match my name on the site, so the money was returned to my account on UpWork after deducting the transfer costs
I will continue to try by legal means. I must arrive one day.
I wish you lasting success

Khled

[#6]

Hi Khaled,

   Well I wish you success in whatever avenue you try to clear this up. Though remember what it says in the help section, when that money was returned from your friends bank account, you should reply to that email to start the verification process. 

It says they will verify you are an authorized user of the account. If your freind owns the account and he gave you authorization, then I cant see how they can argue any other way. Yes they may require him to prove it belongs to him, but if you have a freind willing then that is what I would do. 

In any case, I once again wish you luck, and hope you manage to get sorted eventually. i'm sure your situation is hard enough without the addition of hassles like this!

[#7]

Hi Khaled,

Thank you for your message. I understand your concern. You can check the available withdrawal methods on the Get Paid page. These are supported payment methods in your current location. Currently, there is no option to add a payment method outside of the one available on your Upwork account. 

Thank you.

Pradeep

[#8]

Thank you my friend for your response
But your answer is exactly what the Upwork team answered me
I suggested that I would be able to receive money via Western Union or any similar means, and I also suggested providing them with a reliable bank account in the name of one of my Lebanese friends, but they rejected both proposals.
In the end, I cannot blame them. They have instructions and laws that they must abide by
I was just hoping to get a little different treatment from them because of my humanitarian circumstances, which I have no hand in

Thank you with all my heart

khaled

[#9]

This image is taken from Upworks own help files. It suggests that they CAN make exceptions, as it explicitly says they will do it in some cases such as Transgender. Whilst you may not fit that critera, it does clearly show that it is possible for them to make exceptions.

Furthermore, it also states that if you use an account that does not match your profile name, you can reply to the email to start the process of verifying that you are an authorised user of the account. 

I am unsure how they want to do that, i suspect they will want to see that you have been added to the account officially, but if the account owner has authorised you to use the account, then a letter/email and id proof from them should be ample proof IMO.

[#10]

Have you tried speaking with a U.S. attorney (ideally California) to determine whether they as your legal representative in the U.S. could secure those funds for you? 

[#11]

Hi Tiffany
Thank you for your response
I have considered your suggestion
But perhaps because of the many American series and movies that I have watched, I believe that my work on Upwork for many years will not cover the costs of any American lawyer.
I thank you from my heart for thinking of my problem

Khaled