🐈
» Forums » Freelancers » Client trying to pay part of payment outside ...
Page options
cdaddca9
Community Member

Client trying to pay part of payment outside of platform

A new client is asking to pay part of our agreed pyamnet outside of UpWork. They've said "Yes you will be paid through upwork except for the first installment,we came across some challenges. No verification with UpWork yet and the opt out fee will be fully settled by the company to avoid application congestion."

 

I haven't had something like this happen to me yet. Any advice on what I should do?

7 REPLIES 7
feed_my_eyes
Community Member


Amelia R wrote:

A new client is asking to pay part of our agreed pyamnet outside of UpWork. They've said "Yes you will be paid through upwork except for the first installment,we came across some challenges. No verification with UpWork yet and the opt out fee will be fully settled by the company to avoid application congestion."

 

I haven't had something like this happen to me yet. Any advice on what I should do?


It's most likely a scam. You'll need to insist on an Upwork contract - it's for your own protection (and a requirement, or else your account could be banned). 

prestonhunter
Community Member

You can't get involved with that kind of thing.

Upwork will suspend your account, or terminate it entirely.

 

Upwork could suspend your account just for TALKING about this with a client.

 

Nobody is paying opt-outs.

 

Scammers are CLAIMING to pay opt-outs.

This person is probably just a scammer who is wasting your time and trying to steal your time and work and/or money.

 

If I thought there was any chance the client is legitimate, I might tell him:
"John, if you have questions about how to use Upwork and set up your payment, I would invite you to ask your questions here: community.upwork.com

 

If you figure things out, then please feel free to use the "Hire" button to set up an official Upwork contract with me during the next 24 hours."

 

Ignore any pleas to get you to work without a contract, or to accept money off platform. If the client persists with that kind of thing, then report him. Use the "Flag as inappropriate" link button in the top right hand corner of the job posting screen.

If the client doesn't hire you the right way, then report him.

Yeah. I've been holding really firm with them about the need to stay within the platform. Every other part of the process has been legit so far. I'm hoping it's some sort of misunderstanding, but it might be a scam, like you said.

You are doing the right thing to stay firm.

 

These are not "suggestions."

 

Upwork has "suggestions" about things such as your hair cut, the amount of tint on your glasses, how closely your profile photo shows your face, the number of word to use in your profile overview text. There is some flexibility with those things.

 

Accepting money off platform?

NOT a "suggestion."

Not something to bend the rules for. That kind of thing will jam you up.

 

If it was me, I might even tell the client:
"John, please come to the Community Forum and get help. I want things to work out for you. If you hire me and pay through the Upwork platform, then I will not report your job to Customer Support."

 

If you say something like that, I bet they will drop you instantly and you will never hear from them again.

 

Then it is pretty clear they are just scammers. So you can go ahead and report them.

 

When I would NOT report a client is if they made an innocent mistake and really didn't know better, and then they showed they were serious by doing the right thing and using the tool correctly.

petra_r
Community Member


Amelia R wrote:

Every other part of the process has been legit so far. I'm hoping it's some sort of misunderstanding, but it might be a scam, like you said.


It's not a misunderstanding and it's not legit. 

It's a scam, most likely the fake check scam.

 

No genuine new client would even know about the opt out fee, and no genuine client would talk about paying an opt out fee which is many thousands of Dollars for a new freelancer they've never worked with before and don't know from Adam. It does not make any sense at all. 

 

Those scammers directly target new US based frelancers and they have no intention of hiring you, they just want to cheat you out of large amounts of money.

 

 

 

 


Petra R wrote:

Those scammers directly target new US based frelancers and they have no intention of hiring you, they just want to cheat you out of large amounts of money.


And also leave you holding a bag full of liability for their illegal activities.

AleksandarD
Community Manager
Community Manager

Hi Amelia,

 

I checked the job post you were referring to and it seems that it's already been taken down because it was in violation of Upwork's Terms of Service and action has been taken on the client account. 

 

Please check out this post for more tips on how to avoid questionable jobs and use the flag option found on each job post or message anytime you’d like to report a violation.

 

Thank you.

~ Aleksandar
Upwork
Latest Articles
Featured Topics
Learning Paths