Fixed Price Contract Paused

[adnan_gohar]

Hello Guys,

Recently some one hired me under fixed Price job. He Setup a Millestone for that project and money saved in Escort , But after few days I notice Upwork paused the contract and ask me to stopped the work, while I already completed that work also I am unable to contact the client on upwork, conversation hide or something else..

What should I need to do here? Do I need to wait as millestone will end on 3rd July and Upwork will release my millstone payment they collected in Escort?

I am not sure actually what should I do Actually.

Please advise Hope so you guys understand my concern

[jeremiah-brown]

Yes, do not deliver anything to the client.  The contract is paused most likely because the client's method of payment was declined or had some sort of issue.  If you deliver the completed work before the issue is resolved, you run the risk of not getting paid at all, and the client never returning to pay you.

Try to reach out to the client periodically.  Periodically check to see if the issue is resolved.  

Contact upwork if necessary. 

[pgiambalvo]

They probably discovered the client's card was stolen so you will never get your money. Just because the money shows as being put in escrow is never a guarantee you will actually get it because Upwork doesn't verify that it was not stolen or a client's identity before allowing them to sign up and post jobs.

[feed_my_eyes]

Is this the job "Trading expert needed, i will pay high rates"? Your profile doesn't say anything about you being a trading expert. What was the job?

BTW, the payment is in "escrow" not "escort". (If an escort wants a refund, you have a different kind of problem.)

[ericaandrews]

I think you got scammed, sorry.  If it's that 'trading' job on your profile, you might want to read the DETAILS about the client and their reputation before accepting any 'jobs' with them or even wasting connects to apply.  The 'client' created a brand new account just a few days ago and has a '100%' hire rate for similar jobs.  "Member Since June 26, 2022" on the job post is not a good thing. And, most of the other 'jobs' posted by this 'client' look Scam-my too:  What is a 'payoneer seller'? and why is he willing to pay 'double rates'.    Everything about that client looks like a scam artist.

Your money is likely gone, but you can learn from this experience:

My advice is to NEVER work with clients that have been on the platform less than 60-90 days and don't have a visible track record on their profile of having paid OTHER freelancers with contracts/jobs showing as completed (with feedback from the freelancer) on their profile.  In addition to this, I usually like to see at least one contract on their profile that ended/closed at least 30 days ago and was paid out - because it's usually during that time frame when the scam/rip off occurs if the client is a crook: Either by Upwork discovering the client's payment method is fake or stolen, or the client doing a 'chargeback' directly with the bank to force a refund of whatever they paid the freelancer (basically stealing the services) - both of which usually get the client's account suspended/terminated.  Most of the scams that occur on here come from clients with 'new' profiles and little/no Upwork history. Let other people 'test out' the 'brand new' client. Don't be the guinea pig taking the extra risk unless you want to get scammed.

My other advice is to not be tempted by or even bother with jobs NOT directly related to your profile simply because the jobs promise 'quick money'.  It's usually a scam.  I see too many freelancers getting ripped out by applying to some 'pipe dream' job post promising quick, lucrative payment for little/no work, or unrelated work, and it's always something that needs to be done 'immediately', or in 'a rush' - so the client can be long gone by the time you realize you've been ripped off.  Ask yourself why somebody would be in a 'rush' to hire  somebody whose profile says nothing about trading experience for a 'trading' job.   It also is a red flag to future legitimate clients that may want to hire you for your CORE skills, but see unrelated 'get rich quick' type jobs in your job history.   It's a bad look and leaves a bad impression with the legitimate clients. 

If this is your first time being scammed on Upwork out of the 66 jobs you've completed, my suggestion is to go back to whatever you were doing before you ran into this scam-my client. If it ain't broke, don't 'fix' it.

[jeremiah-brown]

I am just curious as to why the OP takes a decade to complete a $60-$100 job.  No offense OP, but you have some really long contracts that pay very little.

9 years for $3.84?
8 years for $11.25?
10 years for $12.94?
9 years for $14.81?

9 years for $1.01?

9 years for $6.21?

4 years for $88,000....

[corati]

It's just Upwork closing old contracts. They did the same to me.

[ecfa2804]

Hi Jerimiah,

i have the same problem too, it cost me more than 1000 usd,
at first the client set 5 milestone for me, and i have completed all of them, also it has been paid out to me for the first 3 milestone, then suddenly upwork pause the contarct, and a day later i got a email said that a chargeback has been filed for the project.

it has been months, and i still dont get any updates, seems like a fixed price payment just sucks, or the system doesnt protect a talent like is supposed to be, hahah
but to be fair, its happen to most of freelancer program tho, but its kinda sucks it happen on upwork too.

what you should do is forget about it and move on, i guess, coz that what i do,hahaha
we dont have much options on this kind of problem.

[NikolaS]

Hi Hartino,

I am sorry to hear about this. I checked and it looks like one of our agents already responded to your ticket regarding your concern. If you have any additional questions feel free to follow up on the ticket and our team will be happy to assist you further. You can access your ticket on this page.