Freelancer's account is "no longer available". Can an Upwork Moderator please get me in contact him?

[ee6fa9e1]

After spending 3 days interviewing freelancers, I finally decided on one I wanted, as he seemed very experienced in my field and laid out his plans. He asked a lot of questions about the project which made me respect his honesty and want to choose him. His rates were also the best. I'll call him VB. One thing about VB is he had no work history and it didn't show anywhere on his profile when he opened his account. But I've hired someone before with no work history, who eventually became my long-term contractor. Well I go back to VB's profile today to find that it is now "no longer available." I waited long enough to get this project running, then this happens. I do notice freelancers inquiring in the forums how their accounts suddenly got suspended without ever violating the TOS. So I'm wondering if this is the same case with him. I also noticed in this thread:

https://community.upwork.com/t5/New-to-Upwork/My-freelancer-profile-is-no-longer-available-Can-you-h...

that Moderators are able to review the suspended freelancer's profile and get back to the client with the reason for account suspension. Can I please be assisted with this also? I was planning to hire this freelancer today and now can't even do that. His location is in Kolomyya, Ukraine. I understand there's a current warzone in that area, but his country can't possibly be under US sanctions? I already lost a potential freelancer months ago because his location was in Russia. It's like the same thing all over again. Please help.

[ee6fa9e1 · Accepted solution]

Resolved. Sent a ticket to Upwork only to have them tell me "they can't do anything about it." 🙄

[ee6fa9e1]

I posted a job offer 3 days ago and decided on the freelancer I wanted, then check his profile today to find that it's "no longer available" on Upwork. Luckily VB (as I will call him) was smart enough to send me his email in chat, so I'm emailing him and waiting for his reply. Because he's out-of-country, it will take him until tomorrow morning to respond. Unlikely he will since most people on Upwork don't even respond to email. I also checked his proposal to find that he "withdrew" it. Then his account is "no longer available"? I'm wondering if it was actually him that did the withdrawal or Upwork that did, due his account closure? His location is in Kolomyya, Ukraine. I recognize that area is currently under warzone, so I'm not sure if that has to do with it. I invited 60 freelancers to my job and connected with him the most. Now because of this unfortunate event, I have to stall this interview process even longer and decide on another potential candidate. I honestly feel bad for all the freelancers in que impatiently waiting for me to decide on them or not. I don't want to do this to them, but I need a backup person in case I don't hear from VB guy. Do you guys think as a Client what I'm doing is wrong? Is it abnormal for clients to stall their interview past 3 days? Personally I find it absurd as I think 1-2 days process is more than enough time to interview people. Past 3 days I feel like is going a overboard and will likely lose trust with freelancers in the near future.

[ArjayM]

Hi There,

We certainly understand your concern and thank you for reaching out here in the Community. It looks like one of our Support Team members has provided you with more details about the process and the status of the Freelancers account you're referring to. They've also given you instructions on how to resolve your concern. 

We highly suggest you follow the instructions and coordinate with the team through this page here if you have questions or need further assistance. Thank you!

[ee6fa9e1]

Do not ever merge my questions ever again.

[ee6fa9e1]

You made my problems worse than you already did.