$6000 lost on Upwork

[1b94de26]

Hello, I have done a huge mistake on Upwork. My profile was new and had no work history. 

I used feedback building by paying the money to someone who can hire and give feedback on Upwork. 

But Upwork has suspended my account as well as the client account who hired me and paid me. The available balance is $5400 on my account which Upwork not allowing to withdraw to my bank account. 

I have already paid $7000 to client account owner for giving me job on Upwork worth $6000. Now i have lost everything. Upwork account and huge amount of money. 

What I did was against only Upworks TOS which I accept and understand my mistake but what Upwork doing by keeping funds is a crime in international law. Upwork should refund to client account or allow me to withdraw my money. How can they get rid of the money like that? I have accepted my mistake and apologized t support and compliance team already. I'm ok with the account suspension but losing that huge amount of money is something not acceptable. Please somebody guide me about the funds. 

[yofazza]

I've been saying that people paid up to 2k for profile building. I was wrong 😁

[bbdebb52]

I'm too young on the platform to know all this.

😂

[yofazza]

On sites like this, including product marketplaces, it's logical for sellers to try to increase their ratings by paying to enhance their profiles. It's merely a matter of how much they need to pay for the marketplace fees.

I made a mistake above. Assuming the OP really paid someone else "to become his client", he would only need to pay $1,600: $1,000 for the client and $600 for Upwork. It should've worked if they knew how to make sure that the two accounts couldn't be tied to each other, which is actually easy. The mission would be accomplished after that. The seller/freelancer would have a "reputable history" to start their journey.

Unless, the freelancer is extremely bad, as I've also seen here once, where the person doesn't know how to communicate in English, doesn't seem to know how to use a translator, or AI, and doesn't even understand how buttons on this forum work despite claiming as an IT expert. Where suddenly, they get a fishy $1000 job with sparkling review. The next jobs, not so good (low pay, fewer stars, bad reviews).

[celgins]

If you have not already, you will need to create a support ticket if you want Upwork to investigate further. I believe their initial investigation found that you and the client violated the Terms of Service, which resulted in suspended accounts. I'm not sure you have a strong argument.

Upwork's User Agreement states:

Except as expressly provided in the Terms of Service or the Escrow Instructions and as prohibited by applicable law, Upwork Escrow may refuse to process, may hold the disbursement of the Freelancer Fees or any other amounts and offset amounts owed to us, or take such other actions with respect to the Escrow Account as we deem appropriate in our sole discretion if: (c) we suspect a User has committed or attempted to commit fraud or other illicit acts on or through the Site or is using the Site unlawfully; (d) we believe there are reasonable grounds for insecurity with respect to the performance of obligations under this Agreement or other Terms of Service; or (e) we deem it necessary in connection with any investigation, required by applicable law, or necessary due to circumstances outside of our control after a commercially reasonable effort has been made by us due to such circumstances. If, after investigation, we determine that the hold on the disbursement of the Freelancer Fees is no longer necessary, Upwork Escrow will release the hold as soon as practicable.

Clauses (a) and (b) of this section of the User Agreement are not really applicable to your situation, so I left them out.

This section of the User Agreement basically states that Upwork, in its sole discretion, can keep those funds if a freelancer and client violates their terms and/or committed fraud.

Your best course of action is to engage with Upwork through a support ticket. However, I think your chances of receiving those funds are extremely low.

[a5780821]

there is 100% no way to create support tickets now. It's a stupid AI bot that does nothing for anyone and no live agents. 

[celgins]

Freelancers cannot create support tickets themselves, but they can get support tickets created for them. This means, freelancers can engage with Upwork through a support ticket.

[arsalan-m]

Betting against the house in Vegas?—spoiler alert, the House always wins!

We must be fools for working hard to build our profiles the right way. Meanwhile, some people follow shortcuts & sometimes win big and we lose—until karma (or Upwork) catches up, that is!

[a5780821]

Sue upwork in your local civil court.

[spectralua]

Sue for what? Trying to scam Upwork and was catched? 😹

[ArjayM]

Hi Muhammad,

Thank you for reaching out to us. We've forwarded your concern directly to the team handling the review. We totally understand how important it is for your case to be reviewed closely. Once your case is thoroughly reviewed, kindly expect an update from one of the team members on your ticket here and email with more information and further assistance. 

We seek your patience and utmost understanding while we sort this out for you.