Contract On Hold

[h_parashar]

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

[usama_pak]

Stop woorking Untill it gets resume . if it is done intentonally you can contact upwork support they will help you definatley .

[jemichbolisig15]

Hi Upwork Community,

                    Last September my client just pause the contract it's hourly work but I already started the work. He sent me an offer and I accept it. Can I still get the payment on it in the future or not???

Cheers,

Jess M.

[dmjwdeveloper]

Hi Jess,

so if i am uderstanding upwork policy then as per upwork policy please don't start working until your contact resume because upwork is not considered your billing in this case.so if you already worked after client pause contract or upwork pause contract you'll not get money .so stop working.

Thanks,
Rakesh

[6046ff4f]

Hi Jess,

This has happened to me queit a few times. I have learned that it's good to let the client know before hand that they may face service delays if they pause the contract without prior consultation. Another way to tackle this is a retaining fee set to 2-3 hours to keep engagement active from both sides. These are my suggestions but if anyone has a better solution, it will be much appreciated.

Regards

Hafiz

[usama_pak]

Stop woorking Untill it gets resume . if it is done intentonally you can contact upwork support they will help you definatley 

[spectralua]

Client able to unpause contract in same way as pause.

With paused you unable to track time. So dont work a while paused, you won't be paid.

[asifaqeel]

I hope Upwork all team doing great but unfortunately, I'm not doing great because on 4 October 2022 my contract was started with my client and the contract was hourly. The client assigned me 15 $ per hour and it was 10 hours per week I did very hard work and work for 10 hours almost continuously. After when I finish 10 hours of hard work. Then I received an email from Upwork that "Your client account is suspended and the contract is on hold". After reading this email I was shocked because the client's payment method is still verified but whether the client was a scammer or not Upwork team knows well. 

My decent question is who will pay me...I'm very demotivated because we work hard for the money we are not free our skills are not free and our time is not free we want to get paid after hard work. I'm very very disappointed.

Thanks if Upwork solves my problem.

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

[spectralua]

Are you tracked time with app or added manualy? In first case it wil be reviewed and paid by Upwork if all done as needed. In second you won't be paid.

[asifaqeel]

I Tracked time with the app

[spectralua]

Good. You will be paid within 2 weeks or you will see "refunded" in contract messages. No your action needed, just wait now.

[ArjayM]

Hi Muhammad,

I'm sorry to hear about the unexpected refund that's been processed on your account. Please note that when the client fails to pay for hours logged by the freelancer, any hours that aren't covered by Upwork Hourly Protection may be reversed.

The team handling your case has reached out to you via email with more details and instructions on how to resolve the issue. As Chinaza mentioned, you may want to coordinate with the team through that email by responding and the team will surely assist you accordingly and more efficiently. You can also check this support ticket that's been set up with your concern.

[mdmasudhosen]

If you are not doing any wrong then you will get paid for sure.  Don't worry Upwork will review and release your payment because hourly work is payment protected. Upwork already holds your each $, Just they will review and release it.

[romahora]

Hi all,

I received notice today that my contract is on hold and when I look at the contract under my jobs, its listed as "suspended."

The client approved payment on our second milestone last weekend and my transaction history indicates payment will clear tomorrow.

Wondering if the suspension means this payment will be held as well? Or will it be released irrespective of the hold?

[62046939]

Instead of just 'wondering' about what could be, why don't you send an email to Upwork explaining in details the issues you're facing?

That way you will know whether to be patient or to reach out to your client for next steps.

[cbarbero]

If the milestone was actually paid (and not only activated), I believe the hold wouldn't affect it. 🙂 

[romahora]

thanks!

[malik_usama10]

Hi UpworkvTeam, I hope you are doing great.
A few weeks ago, the Client sent me 330$ payment as a bonus But on the day of receiving it, I got a notification from Upwork that your contract is temporarily suspended and Still I didn't receive the funds. I told him this situation to the client and he said, From his side, there is not any problem with the payment method and other things. Can you please take a look and fix it OR else can you tell me what's the problem how can we fix it??
Thanks

[williamtcooper]

Start by asking the client and work from there.

[736cca00]

Hello,

I got a notification from Upwork on Friday. My running contract is temporarily suspended and Upwork also suggested that I shouldn't have any action with the contract. It is going to be about 36 hours and I can't work on that contract. So I thought that I should take a consultation from the community as I am facing this issue for the first time. Previously, when we start the contract, we faced a problem with my client's account regarding his address. I don't know what happened this time. So, I need help regarding my contract issue.  

Thank You

Sarwar

[LuiggiR]

Hi Md Sarwar,

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.

[bf7ee80f]

Hello all !! I Already completed 2 Work And Successfully Delivered the work And Receive 5 star Review , My Balance in now Still review . Now i see a Problem in All Contract Button i see On Contract line Below "" We are investigating a problem with **Edited for Community Guidelines** account. Please do not resume work until the contract is active again "

i already Delevered the Work And My Clinet End The Contract and i also End The Contract And Receive 5 star but now i see the Problem , Please solve my issues , Will I get paid for the job? or Not ??

i attached some screenshot 

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

[xadierc]

I think you should wait a bit and receive a response from support.🤔

[pudingstudio]

Hourly rates of $550 and $500? That's awesome, kinda unreal.

[bf7ee80f]

I already sell my big project with$550 an Hourly contrct so the price is vey high , When i was communicate with  my clients and discuss before just 1 hours to be provide the final file 

[759e32fa]

Hi Shabjul,

Thank you for reaching out. It looks like your client's account is currently on hold.

While we cannot disclose the specifics of why their accounts are currently having issues, the payments should be released as scheduled and if so happens that there is a problem with their payment methods, that would be the time that we would evaluate if your payments are covered by Hourly Payment Protection. Please know that bonuses and manual time would not be covered

I can see that you're already communicating with our support team. If you wish to update the team with new information, I highly suggest that you post it on the ticket thread to make sure the team assists you more efficiently.

[bf7ee80f]

I have already submitted the client's work and tracked time by upwork security app. And I completed a big project for him for 1 hour which client given me $500. I completed and delivered all his files. Now I am expecting money from my work. Do not make any excuses about the remuneration. Please add money to my account, I Hope best experience from upwork .

Thanks Again 

[769c120f]

Upwork is investigating an issue. Please do not resume work with this client until the contract is active again.

my client transfer me first payment on payment screen suspened status is showing client is asking for complete task.

reason of suspened please advice.

[renzopalacios]

Hi Muhammad,

I'm a fellow freelancer.

My advice would be to do as Upwork says, meaning to stand by, and not hand any additional work just yet until Upwork communicates with you again.

Best regards.

[af22ad18]

Hi.

I had a contract Started with a client last week - and the client was payment verified and Everything was great. 

Did work for 1 week - we communicated well , Sent him the projects done and he loved them. Sent me copies for edits and stuff and everything was going well. Told me to do more work for him for next (current) week and i agreed and exhanged some ideas for them and everything was still -smooth.

AND THEN this client disappeared out of no where in the middle of our chat - figured he was busy or something like it - I kept working for him while updating the project made files everyday to his drive.

I have already did 30 hours of work this week and 38 hours work last week - and today i got a message from upwork saying my contract is suspended.

I figure this was failed payment system from client's side - and the fact he disappeared and stuff become more fishy now.

My questions are -

1- will upwork pay me if this client failed to pay me for my hard work?

2- What about the 30 hours i worked this week before upwork told me to hold off any work?

3- When will upwork pay me for the failed payment? Same time as scheduled billing time?

4- What will upwork do to this client ?

Notes -

• I used upwork tracker
• Updated 4 -5 memos that clearly described my work (video editing and image design) everyday
• 99.9 % work was done related to projects
• Client is verified

Thank you, please upwork mods get back to me whenever you can.

[ArjayM]

Hi Thomas,

I'm sorry to learn about this experience. 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. Please note that any work completed during a contract pause is not covered by Upwork’s Payment Protection programs. For hourly contracts, don’t worry, hours that you billed prior to the contract being paused are still eligible for payment protection. 

To elaborate on that, while we cannot disclose the specifics of why their accounts are currently having issues, the payments should be released as scheduled and if so happens that there is a problem with their payment methods, that would be the time that we would evaluate if your payments are covered by Hourly Payment Protection. Please know that bonuses and manual time would not be covered.

For more information, please check out this help article.

[af22ad18]

Hey Arjay ,

I just contacted my client - and he told me his account was suspended due to having duplicate account  - he told me he didn't know about this rule and he is trying to fix the issue.

That would mean he would still get charged for the hours billed untill the time the contract is paused and upwork would not have to pay out of their pocket right? 

[28c8619b]

Hi, Iam Shamim.I am Graphic designer. I am 18 years old.

[saqlainsyed99]

Hello, I received an email on Wednesday saying my contract has been suspended and I should hold off from work until then. I have contacted my client and they said they are reaching out to upwork but haven't gotten a response from upwork for 2 days (live support and email). I am currently working under a deadline and any delay in work would be tough for me to cover later on. The client has a verified payment and they are really great people to work with. How long does it usually take to resolve contract suspension issues? 

[ArjayM]

Hi Saqlain,

If a contract is on hold, it means that there is a problem with your client’s Upwork account, 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 clients' accounts due to privacy concerns.

Note that hours billed prior to the contract being paused are still eligible for Payment Protection.  You should stop working on the contract and get in touch with your client to know when the contract could resume. You can check this help article to learn more.

[94f091c6]

One of the contracts I am working on has been suspended.
it was to repeat 800 sentences in French for an application.
When I wanted to track my work hours, the client told me that it was useless, that I would be paid once the work was done.
Once the work was done, the client told me that I had to repeat sentences, but when I tried the application did not work anymore.
I was surprised to see that my contract was terminated this morning without any explanation.
Being a beginner on Upwork, is it possible to have an appeal knowing that I have all our exchanges in our emails, I even recorded in video the proof that the application did not work and that she had told me to delete my tracking hours.

Thanks in advance

[ArjayM]

Hi Julie,

I can see that the team has sent you notifications via email with more information about the cancellation of the contract. You may want to check this page for the support ticket and feel free to coordinate with the team by responding. The team will surely assist you accordingly.

[jirehpopo]

My contract was paused by upwork because my client's bank saw the charge as something suspicious. Anyway, my client has already fixed things with his bank but our contract is still paused. What should we do?

[759e32fa]

Hi J Jireh,

Thank you for reaching out. 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. 

Rest assured that your client was made aware of this and once their account is resumed, your contract will resume. At this point, it would be best for the client to contact support as you don't have to do anything on your end.

We also 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. Please note that any work completed during a contract pause is not covered by Upwork’s Payment Protection programs. For hourly contracts, don’t worry, hours that you billed prior to the contract being paused are still eligible for payment protection as long as they meet the requirements in the article I mentioned.

[jirehpopo]

I have a screenshot of the email receipt he received on the 14th. He already paid his outstanding balance. What should we do next?

[AndreaG]

Hi J,

In this case, since the issue is on your client's account, they should reach out to support directly so they can assist them. A quick way to contact support is by clicking the "Get Support" button that shows at the bottom right corner of the Upwork Help page.