🐈
» Forums » Freelancers » Hourly contracts are suspended
Page options
h_parashar
Community Member

Contract On Hold

I am new to Upwork. Just two hours after I got offered this contract it's being put on hold.
I wanted to knw whether client has paused the contract or it's because clients account is suspended. I can see suspended written in contract page. Not sure if that means suspended client or suspended contract.

Thanks and Regards

ACCEPTED SOLUTION

Hi Ronnie,

 

There are two reasons why your contract may be paused:

 

  • Your client has decided to pause your Hourly Contract: If no work needs to be done at the moment, clients can temporarily and immediately pause a contract. This prevents hours from being logged on the contract, without the need to end it, until you are ready to proceed with the next part of the project. 
  • There is a problem with your client’s Upwork account: In this case, your contracts with them will be paused automatically and you cannot continue to bill that client through Upwork until the issue is resolved. There are many possible reasons this could occur, although we can’t share the specifics regarding your client’s account due to privacy concerns.


You can check out this help article to learn some tips on what you can do if your contract is paused.

 

 

 

Update: 

This thread has been closed from further replies due to its size. We appreciate your participation in the Community and welcome you to continue the conversation on this new thread.

 

~Andrea
Upwork

View solution in original post

509 REPLIES 509
a3250992
Community Member

I am new to Upwork. Just two hours after I got offered this contract it's being put on hold.
I wanted to know whether the client has paused the contract or it's because the client's account is unactive.

Now, what can i do? He pause it from many days. I also message him many times.

please help me just.

 

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

Hi Nahid,


If there is an issue with your client’s Upwork account, your contract with them will be paused and you will not be able to continue to bill that client through Upwork until the issue is resolved. There are many possible reasons this could occur, though we cannot share the specifics regarding your client’s account due to privacy concerns.


We advise that you wait for the hold on the contract to be lifted before taking any action or doing any additional work on the contract. For more information, please check out this help article.

 

~Andrea
Upwork
c953821f
Community Member

Hi Community,

 

I would like to tell you about the suspension of the contract, which happened to me for the second time yesterday.

2 days ago I received a job from a client whose payment confirmation was verified and he said the job was urgent which is why the job must work quickly. And I started the project. Then the contract was suspended. I did not panic as I experienced this for the second time. Now I am waiting for the process to work. But this process seems to happen frequently within the platform.

 

I got to the stolen credit cards issue when I saw one of the reasons for making this happen on the forum.

There is a theory that thieves used these cards on Upwork. Information that I can't verify.

In summary, when I made a match between two events I experienced, I came across certain common features of these accounts.

Match 1: They are getting payment verified on Upwork.
Match 2: Both are from the Arab Emirates
Match 3: they usually give hourly jobs to just about everyone when the account is newly opened.
Match 4: There are certain concepts. We are opening an agency, we need a corporate identity. Or We have a fashion venture.

And finally, everything you send is immediately approved.

 

don't know how Upwork will solve this situation, but if we share the information we have with each other, we can create individual awareness on this issue. 

 

If this card is stolen, does the fee I work for come from the owner of the stolen card, or does Upwork pay for it itself?

This is something I personally wonder about.

Hi Yilmaz,

 

If there is an issue with your client’s Upwork account, your contract with them will be paused and you will not be able to continue to bill that client through Upwork until the issue is resolved. There are many possible reasons this could occur, though we cannot share the specifics regarding your client’s account due to privacy concerns.


We advise that you wait for the hold on the contract to be lifted before taking any action or doing any additional work on the contract. For more information, please check out this help article.


~ AJ
Upwork
sullivanliz
Community Member

I'm trying to accept an offer from a client I've worked with before (he's with a different company now though so it's not the same account) but keep getting the 'client's account is on temporary hold' message. He's spoken to support and says they said it should be OK now, but it isn't.

 

I've tried accepting on three different browsers plus the mobile app, I've cleared my cookies etc, not sure what else I can do. This has been going on for several days. He's a good client with a decent history and I'd really like to get to work! 

Liz,

 

If you are getting a 'client's account is on temporary hold' message when trying to accept an offer from a client with whom you have previously worked, it could be that the client's account has been placed in a temporary hold by Upwork for any number of reasons. The client should contact Upwork support for further assistance and ask them to investigate why the offer can not be accepted. Yes, a second time for support with screenshots so support can view. Thanks!

Hi Liz,

 

William is Correct! If there is an issue with your client’s Upwork account, your contract with them will be paused and you will not be able to continue to bill that client through Upwork until the issue is resolved. There are many possible reasons this could occur, though we cannot share the specifics regarding your client’s account due to privacy concerns.

 

We advise that you wait for the client to resolve the issue with their account before taking any action or doing any additional work on the contract. You may also want to coordinate with the client for updates. 

 

~ Arjay
Upwork

Thanks chaps but I know all that. As I said, the client has spoken with support and support has told him that everything is OK on his end. So how can that be? Is it possible there is a technical issue on my end?

Hi Liz, 


I looked into this further and the Upwork Support team member who assisted them last Saturday relayed the issue with their account. Kindly ask your client to refer to the chat transcript for more information. 


~ Avery
Upwork
5281842e
Community Member

Hello,

 

I just joined Upwork as a way to help younger creatives with their portfolios. After completing my first week of work with one client, she had a problem paying because her payment method did not exactly match her user name. After she changed her user name, her account was suspended. Now, I cannot get paid and she can't get in touch with anyone to fix things despite numerous attempts. I have also been unable to talk to a real person about this issue. Upwork customer service is really leaving much to be desired. Why is it so hard to talk to a real person about... anything?

Unfortunately, Upwork only provides 'live support' (via phone or live chat with a human) to Top Rated and Expert Vetted freelancers. There are literally millions and millions of freelancers that 'pass through' this platform, and it would be next to impossible for Upwork to answer phone calls and direct chat requests from all of them.  Until you build up on your reputation/badges on the platform, you have to use the 'get support' / tickets system. We all had to when we first started. However, Upwork is not going to discuss with you issues with a client's account. If she was using a payment method with a 'name mismatch' and then also changed her name on the account after that, she might have gotten flagged as a scammer - because sudden 'name changes' are considered suspcious on here.

Got it. I'm not sure I totally buy that because there are plenty of other platforms that offer live support chat at least during business hours, but I'm sure it's way cheaper not to.

 

I've seen a few people mention the tickets system. I am unable to find a place where I can reach out to create a support ticket. Everything seems to funnel back to the help topics page or the Get Support feature. Is there a direct link to where I can create a ticket or email someone?

Michael,

 

Click the "Get Support' button on the bottom right of your screen. Have a great day!

William - thank you. When I go through this method I am unable to get anything besides the automated system that loops me back to help topics. I cannot start a ticket or get an email written or anything like that. Any thoughts?

Hi Michael,

 

 If there is an issue with your client’s Upwork account, your contract with them will be paused and you will not be able to continue to bill that client through Upwork until the issue is resolved. There are many possible reasons this could occur, though we cannot share the specifics regarding your client’s account due to privacy concerns.

 

We advise that you wait for the hold on the contract to be lifted before taking any action or doing any additional work on the contract. For more information, please check out this help article.

 

~ Arjay
Upwork
e9ee1153
Community Member

For some odd reason, I got a notification saying that my contract with a client got suspended. This all happened after I submitted my work for the agreed payment. Will I still get the payment? Please help.

Christian,

 

If your contract with a client has been suspended after you have already submitted your work and are expecting payment, you should contact Upwork's Support team for assistance. They will be able to investigate the issue and provide you help in understanding why the contract was suspended and if you are still eligible to receive any payments associated with the project. Click the "Get Support" button on the bottom right of the screen. Have a great day!

n_calapre
Community Member

I received a notice that my contract is suspended. Through inquiry, I learned that the probability is that there is a problem with the client's payment method. I investigate and I found that my client is fake but he is payment method was verified, then I work with him for almost 60 hours, So the question is will I be paid by UPWORK?

Hi Noel,

 

Thank you for reaching out to us. Generally, if there is a problem with your client’s Upwork account, your contracts with them will be paused and you cannot continue to bill that client through Upwork until the issue is resolved. There are many possible reasons this could occur, although we can’t share the specifics regarding your client’s account due to privacy concerns.

 

It's recommended that you stop working on the contract immediately and get in touch with your client to see when you can resume working, once they've resolved the issue with their account. Please note that any work completed up until the contract was paused is covered by Payment Protection

 

As long as your hours meet Hourly Payment Protection criteria, you will be paid for the time you invoice.


~ AJ
Upwork

Noel Immanual C.,

 

If you followed the rules for hourly contract payment protection you should be covered by Upwork's excellent hourly payment protection. But the lifetime limit for coverage is $2,500 and if any of the hours were booked at a billing rate above your usual rate, you may not be fully covered. And if you worked at all after Upwork notified you there was a problem with your client's account, that work time would also not be covered.

934f8894
Community Member

Yesterday I got my first client, as instructed my Upwork I downloaded the Upwork application I am using a mac book m1 laptop so I installed the app and started the timer after 10min Upwork timer could not take a screenshot as mac book blocked the screen recording of any application, I received a pop up asking to allow upwork to screen record and before I could click on allow Upwork suspended the contract this is completely wrong if mac is blocking screen recording that what can I do and it got suspended in less than 5 sec at least provide enough time to give all permissions of mention in the instructions that do this setting for using on mac kindly help, i raised a ticket but they marked it solved without even giving a reply.

Hi Dhaval,

 

Thank you for reaching out, I would think that these are two separate issues that happened to coincide. I can see that you've already raised a support ticket regarding your concern. You can access your support tickets here. Note that support requests are responded to in the order they are received. Kindly allow 24-48 hours for the team to follow up with you and assist you further.

~Andrea
Upwork
3793137b
Community Member

Hi Upwork Community team, please help me.

I am disappointed because my client wants to place an order on a new contract, but since yesterday he is having a problem, and he is not able to place his order, I have also attached his screenshot here. And along with this, and I have also received a notification through the mail that your contract is temporarily on hold, what is the problem with this?

I'm waiting for your reply


Thanks

 

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

Hi Muhammad,

 

I'm afraid that we won't be able to share the details of another user's account due to privacy reasons. The notification you received regarding the contract with your client being paused means that there's a problem with their account that they must resolve and you should not resume working with the client until the hold is lifted. Feel free to check this help article to learn more.

~ Luiggi
Upwork
chillal-prasanna
Community Member

Hello, I was working with a client on an Hourly contract, I worked for like 1:30 hours on Thursday and the rest work should be done this coming week but today the work is showing as suspended by Upwork and the client is not responding, So I want to know if I can still get paid for the hours I worked?

I worked within the Upwork hours policy. Like using an Upwork desktop time tracker and the client's payment method was verified and within all other conditions.

If I can get paid by Upwork hourly protection then how should I raise a dispute on Monday itself about the issue or should I wait till the response from a client?

Hi Prasanna,

 

Thank you for reaching out. I can see that you've already raised a support ticket regarding your concern. You can access your support tickets here. Note that support requests are responded to in the order they are received. Kindly allow 24-48 hours for the team to follow up with you and assist you further.


~ AJ
Upwork

Thank you for the response! Will wait for the support team!

hello, Its been 48 hours and i haven't got reply from the support team yet

Hi Prasanna,

 

Apologies for the delay as our support teams are currently experiencing a higher number of contacts than usual. Rest assured the team will address your concerns and questions in the ticket as soon as possible.


~ AJ
Upwork
7dfaa303
Community Member

hourly contract got suspened and upwork send me mail to not to work on this project until it fixed i have let the client know about this.. said will look to it but still in the contract it says SUSPENEDED .. but when i go to TRANSACTION history it show that i will get pay on 22 feb for the time that i logged before contract got suspended.. MY CONCERN is about my id getting suspoened for this issue??? do i  have to worry about being my account get suspended and also do i get paid ! as it shows the payment date

 

Hi Md Shariar,

 

Thank you for reaching out to us. We certainly understand how alarming this incident is for you. Please note that If there is an issue with your client’s Upwork account, your contract with them will be paused and you will not be able to continue to bill that client through Upwork until the issue is resolved. There are many possible reasons this could occur, though we cannot share the specifics regarding your client’s account due to privacy concerns.


Don't worry! This will not affect the status of your account. We advise that you wait for the hold on the contract to be lifted before taking any action or doing any additional work on the contract. For more information, please check out this help article.

 

~ Arjay
Upwork

Arjay didn't answer your question.

 

You will be covered by Upwork's excellent hourly payment protection for hours you correctly booked on TimeTracker before you were notified by Upwork to stop work on the project. Upwork will go through those billed hours with a fine tooth comb to insure their availability for coverage and then send you an email telling you that payment protection will provide you with X dollars to be paid to you. You may not get that money on the usual weekly schedule if the analysis of the hours booked takes time.

64bdb676
Community Member

Hello

My working client account get suspended or paused by Upwork, than what about Active Milestones which i havev already submitted do i get my Escrow?

if yes than how?

Please resolve my issue if its posible and see the screenshort.

Thanks

 

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

_rita_
Community Member

My upwork contract with client A has been suspended/ put on hold this morning without any clarification or explanation as to why.


I'd like to know if it would be ok to create a Direct Contract in order to finalise the work with this client, as he is on a tight deadline. 

A suspended (put on hold) contract means, there must be some issue with the client's added payment method, through which s/he makes payments to their freelancers! You should have received an email about it specifically asking you to stop working on this project, so, until the client resolves the issue with upwork and the contract goes into active mode again, your payments are not guaranteed in case you chose to work on the suspended contract.

 

So, you discuss with the client to resolve the issue with upwork so the contract can be restored and working can be resumed. 

wlyonsatl
Community Member

Rita C.,

 

It is common for dishonest clients to try to get freelancers to complete their projects as quickly as possible.

 

Don't do any more work until Upwork notifies you the contract is again available. This could happen later today - or never.

 

Ignore whatever the client claims about the situation. Only Upwork's communications directly with you matter.

 

The client needs to fix whatever problem Upwork has with his account. There is nothing you can do to help.

re: "My upwork contract with client A has been suspended/ put on hold this morning without any clarification or explanation as to why. I'd like to know if it would be ok to create a Direct Contract in order to finalise the work with this client, as he is on a tight deadline."

 

Wow.

No.

 

As a client, I have hired over 180 freelancers on Upwork.

I can tell you straight up: Having a valid, usable credit card on file with Upwork so that Upwork can pay the freelancers I hire... It's not rocket science. If anybody has ever purchased something online? Such as from Amazon.com or anywhere else? You know it's NOT COMPLICATED.

 

If a contract is suspended or on hold... then as a freelancer, you should DO NOTHING.

Don't work on the project.

Don't try to help the client.

Don't notify the client.

Just wait.


The client is fully aware that the contract is on hold.

And THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO. A freelancer can't help resolve this.

 

Just be patient, work on other stuff. When the suspension is lifted, you can resume working on the project.

19e71c04
Community Member

Hello Upwork community, I dealt with a client to work hourly on Upwork. after some days, I worked like 25 hours and the other day the contract was suspended. Now I am worried if I will get paid for the hours I have worked or what will happen. also, the client is not responsive since this happened. I don't know what's the actual reason

 
 
 

Hi Yaseen,

 

When a contract is suspended, it means that there's an issue with your client's account and you should stop working on that project immediately. You will be notified once the contract is reactivated. Also note that for hourly contracts, hours that you billed prior to the contract being paused are still eligible for payment protection. You may want to check this help article to learn more.

~ Luiggi
Upwork
c0255655
Community Member

My contract has been paused by Upwork and my client's account is on verification and he is not online

 

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

Latest Articles
Featured Topics
Learning Paths