Client location doesn't match!

[thinkfreelance]

I got an answer to my proposal, with the invitation for a skype interview this saturday 29 of june at 3.30pm Indian standard time. 

The problem is that on the job post, the client stated that is from Norway and not India. I dont like that the information about the country it doesn't  match and i wonder why.  I also noticed that he sent 400+ invitations, a very large number.

Should i worry about this client? I didn't answer to him yet, as i wanted to ask the opinion of the freelancers here first.

I attached the screnshots of the job post and the interview invitation to show you the different locations stated by the client.

Thanks

**Edited for community guidelines**

[prestonhunter]

Riccardo:

There are other freelancers who disagree with me about this, but in my own work on Upwork, I don't look at client locations. If a client is paying me money, she can be from wherever, and she can claim to be from wherever. It doesn't matter for the kind of work that I do.

I don't look at time zones. I don't even know where one finds time zones.

But a client sending out 400+ invitations? I seriously doubt I would be involved in something like that. I'm special. I'm not one out of 400.

[petra_r]

---

Preston H wrote:

There are other freelancers who disagree with me about this, but in my own work on Upwork, I don't look at client locations. If a client is paying me money, she can be from wherever, and she can claim to be from wherever. It doesn't matter for the kind of work that I do.

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That is because you do not have to care about legal restrictions or decide to simply ignore them. People in other countries legally have to care. They can be jailed if they do not.

As many people legally have to care, telling them how much you don't care is of no use to them at all, so maybe just quit already? It has been explained to you over and over and over again, so frankly your "it doesn't matter" nonsense is just hateful or ignorant or both. Stop it.

[prestonhunter]

Petra:

Why would there be legal restrictions about which Upwork clients I work for based on their location?

[colettelewis]

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Preston H wrote:

Petra:

Why would there be legal restrictions about which Upwork clients I work for based on their location?

---

______________________

Preston,

If freelancers are extensively monitored and sometimes suspended because they have lied about their location, why should this be different for clients? 

I certainly refuse all invitations from clients who lie about their whereabouts. If they lie about one thing, they will lie about another. Why wouldn't they? A working relationship on a site like Upwork has to be as transparent as possible. There is always trouble when a client (or a freelancer) lies. 

[petra_r]

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Preston H wrote:

Petra:

Why would there be legal restrictions about which Upwork clients I work for based on their location?

---

Heaven only knows what legal restrictions you (personally) have to worry about, but people in other countries have to worry about tax implications, such as EU freelancers having to worry about VAT, which depends entirely on client location.

So you need to quit that nonsensical claptrap about how it does not matter, unless you are deliberately trying to get people to end up in trouble.

[jojomo]

Preston,

Frankly I'm surprised at this response coming from you, you are usually spot on.

Why wouldn't you care about where your client is located? That's absolutely ridiculous. In order to have a good freelancer-client relationship, i believe YOU SHOULD know everything you can about the person you are dealing with, including their location. 

[wescowley]

My take on all this - having the location mismatch wouldn't necessarily be a red flag to me, if it looked like a company rather than an individual - I done work for companies that have offices in different countries.  If it looked like I was dealing with an individual with that kind of mismatch, that would start ringing bells.  That on top of 400 invites, I'm only going to slow down to click "report" as I head out the door.

Knowing where my client is, though, that is important.  It helps me anticipate when they will be available to communicate, how to talk about deadlines vs time zones, whether or not I need to be concerned with the version of English I'm editing for, and even silly things like getting "good morning" and "good afternoon" right.  And yeah, there are some countries that we're not legally allowed to do business with.

[BojanS · Accepted solution]

Hi Riccardo,

Thanks for flagging this to us. I'll share provided information with our team for further investigation.

Please, check this help article for more information on how to use the flag option found on each job post or message to report any suspicious or inappropriate content.

Also, check out this post for more tips on how to avoid questionable jobs.

Thank you!

[thinkfreelance]

Thanks Bojan and to all the people that warned me about this job, i really appreciate it.

I'm glad i asked the question and avoided potential future troubles.

[joansands]

Riccardo - 400 invitations? Run - don't walk - to the nearest exit.