Bonus pending, and contract suspended

[lyamani]

Hello,

i had been hired by a client on hourly contract, but he paid me "650" as bonus which has in left status "pending", and 5hrs later, i saw the contract is suspended.

i really don't know what happens with my contract, or what will happen!

someone can help me please 

thanks

[d_samuel_udokpok]

Hmm. How long have you been working with the client?

[lyamani]

First time, and the work take few hours, since it is virtual assistance, however i cant even contact the client now. 😔

[d_samuel_udokpok]

So the client sent you a bonus payment when you have not started working with them. This is so suspicious. There are several reasons why a contract can be suspended. Typically would include additional verification on the client. The client billing method needs additional proof.  And finally the big one, the client is not whom they claimed to be e.g. they're fraud. Finally, you're probably a victim of a scammer. I just help you didn't pay any money to them after they sent you a bonus payment. E.g. they ask you to send them funds via Paypal or any other means. I think the Moderators in here can help further

[feed_my_eyes]

Why did you think that a client would pay you so much money for doing virutal assistance work? Your profile says that you're a math and physics tutor. Experienced admin assistants can be hired for $3/hour through Upwork.

[pgiambalvo]

Like many others, you have been scammed. You're never going to see a dime. Hope you didn't have to spend any of your own money. Please read this to keep yourself safe in the future: https://community.upwork.com/t5/New-to-Upwork/List-of-red-flags-for-scams/m-p/1017044/highlight/true...

[lyamani]

So wven i got a message from upwork "xxxx sent u a bonus", i won't be paid !? And the status of pending will still there forever!?

[sofia2008]

Isn't being paid $650 for a few hours of basic work sounds suspiscious?

[pgiambalvo]

You will not be paid and the pending will disappear. The money was never really there. Upwork just sent a message, that's it. They don't check whether a client is legit or not. Bonus money is not the same as escrow money, which a client actually has to deposit with Upwork.

[lyamani]

But i got a message from upwork saying that u received a bonus, so why? And always people send me bonus, and i got my money . I don't know what is the difference between this bonus and this one! 

[d_samuel_udokpok · Accepted solution]

The reality is you've been scammed

[79d60ffc]

I got a job today and worked 4~5hours and cliemt want to finish the job today and asking the result. but contract is suspended. he wanted to use his friend's account but it is new created in 2nd June. $0 spent. 

he said to upwork support and it takes 5 days to fix the contract issue.

what can I do?

[79d60ffc]

more infor: he asked to talk on skype and I accpeted the offer and shared skype. he sent $200 as bonus but the account is suspened now. so he sent another new offer with "his friend account" and paid $100 as bonus.
I asked him to make a milestone and pay but he says his bonus don't allow milestone.

[sofia2008]

-Communicating outside of Upwork before a contract is in place is a violation of Upwork's Terms of Service.

-If the contract is suspended, you should stop working and not deliver anything.

-You should not accept an other offer from this client.

-Bonus payment should be used as a bonus, not as the main payment.

[79d60ffc]

Thanks for your reply.
I went outside after get hired. it is not against upwork's Terms, right ?

I won't do more work but I already spent time for him and I don't need the result now.
I got scammed once in the past(+$800), so I am very carefuly for new clients.

Is there anyway to be protected from this kind of Scammers?

[sofia2008]

He sent the bonus before you started working?

What kind of job?

[79d60ffc]

Development login feature with Laravel.
he wanted to finish today so he sent bonus to show some trust.
I also tracked some time but the original contract is suspended. 

The tracked hourly time is safe and proteted by Upwork, if not, how can I avoid this kind of client in the future for hourly contract?

[79d60ffc]

He sent the bonus after working 2 hours

[sofia2008]

You will need to wait and see if the contract resumes and learn from the outcome. Do not accept other offers from that same client. Urgency can be a red flag in some cases.

[79d60ffc]

Thanks for your help today.
I will see and be more careful in the future.

[pgiambalvo]

The difference is that you were to only be paid through a bonus. This is how some scammers work. Legit bonuses come after a regular payment method, not as the sole payment method.

[tlbp]

"Received" doesn't necessarily mean that when the payment is processed, funds will be transferred to you. It just means someone clicked a button saying they'll give you something. 

If the initial payment you received turns out to be fraudulent, you may lose that as well. 

What were the circumstances that led the client to offer you the bonus? (Perhaps we can identify what the scam was.) 

[lyamani]

Oh ok then, so no the pending will be there, forever, and i will never got the money.

[sofia2008]

The amount will be removed from pending status.

[lyamani]

Thank u for ur reply, 😞😞😞

[lyamani]

And if u have being scammed, there is no refund by upwork or something like that! 

[pgiambalvo]

No. But you will get advice on how to avoid being scammed and a warning to follow the ToS or risk being banned.

[sofia2008]

The payment method must have been declined for some reason. If a job seems to good to be true, it is a red flag. If someone is hired for something else than their skills, it is another red flag. Never get paid by bonus unless it is a bonus, like a little extra work on an existing contract. If you consider the hours you worked at your regular hourly rate, you will realize you did not really loose $650. 

[gilbert-phyllis]

Upwork is not a slot machine. Now you know.

[tagrendy]

This means Upwork tried to charge your client $650 but couldn't. This can be due to issues with payment method, for example, an expired credit card. In this case all of client's contracts will get suspended / be put on pause, until the client provides a working payment method. 

This is not always due to a scam. I've had a client who simply forgot to update his credit card information and updated it after, everything worked fine. So, message the client, let them know about the issue, and ask them to fix it. If it's not a scam, the client will fix it.

To protect yourself against this, use the tracker to work & track your hours, so that even if client's payment method fails, you will still get paid if you qualify for hourly payment protection.

[m_terrazas]

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Lyamani A wrote:

Hello,

i had been hired by a client on hourly contract, but he paid me "650" as bonus which has in left status "pending", and 5hrs later, i saw the contract is suspended.

i really don't know what happens with my contract, or what will happen!

someone can help me please 

thanks

---

They have already asked you, can you tell us what you did for the client? So we can know what kind of scam it was and this will help to other.
Did you have to buy something for the customer?

[lyamani]

Hi, 

if i set up the timer tracking on upwork, so am i protected or no!? And after the time will finish, will i got my money or no ? 

[sofia2008]

Here is how the hourly protection works. It is more than just setting a timer.

Hourly Protection – Upwork Customer Service & Support | Upwork Help

Note that you cannot inflate your regular hourly rate to be paid at that rate. For exemple, if your regular rate is $10/hour, you cannot be paid at $500/hour. This is not realistic, and Upwork won't pay for that. You also need to comply to Upwork's Terms of Service. For exemple, if you pay amounts to your client or on his behalf (buy things for him), you are breaking the rules and won't be protected.

[lyamani]

Ok, then the client ask me to buy something for him. And he is paying me 200$ for hrs, u set up the timer, but my hourly is 15 per hr, so i think i m not protected! Right!

[sofia2008]

You are not protected. Don't try to get around the system.

You won't be paid by the client because this is a scam.

You are breaking the Upwork's Terms of Service and your account might be suspended.

You will loose the money you spent for the client.

There is no free money to be made here.

[lyamani]

But how can i protect my self! And don't lose my my account ? Since i already accept his offer and set up the timer😔😔

many scammers dear, we can't know if it is good or bad client. 

[sofia2008]

We have provided all the details you need to stay safe and know if you are dealing with good or bad client.

Your story keeps changing. Started by a $650 payment for fake «Lead generation», now it is an hourly contract at $200/h. 

[lyamani]

Yeah, u are right, so should i report this client to  upwork community, in order to banned him?

[petra_r]

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Lyamani A wrote: should i report this client to  upwork community, in order to banned him?

---

They already know, that's why he was suspended.

You need to NOT violate Upwork's terms of service going forward to stay clear of scams and not lose your Upwork account.

This specifically means

1. Do not communicate with any client under any circumstances outside the platform before you're hired and
2.  Never, under any circumstances, agree to any financial transactions outside the platform. You'll get scammed at best, and lose your Upwork account or end up involved in criminal activities at worst.

[martina_plaschka]

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Lyamani A wrote:

But how can i protect my self! And don't lose my my account ? Since i already accept his offer and set up the timer😔😔

many scammers dear, we can't know if it is good or bad client. 

---

That is not true. It's really easy to spot a scam. 

Always adhere to the ToS, and you can't get scammed.