Frustration

[mdrabik]

I have been with this company for so many years I don't even know, first with Elance and onward. Upwork has changed so much over the years and not in a good way. I don't work much anymore for this company because of these changes which are expensive and now invasive. I have attempted to "verify" my identity, I have confirmed the 2 step verification. I am really frustrated that it's always something that needs to be taken care of to satisfy Upwork for the freelancer, meanwhile applying for jobs, the CLIENT does not have to verify his or her identity.

Meanwhile the quality of the proposal goes down and the freelancer suffers with this redundant verification system that doens't work. The BOT who is the only way you can communicate asks you if you have gotten the information you want, and the only option is YES.        NO NO NO, I have NOT gotten the information I need. I want to speak to a LIVE PERSON and not spend hours trying to access the verification system that is obviously broken.

I was told yesterday on this forum that I don't have to verify but I have this message. Which is it? Yes or No and where do I talk to someone who can help with this. I am not spening one more second doing this and will leave Upwork over this ridiculous system that cares nothing for it's life blood.

I am told that now I have to verify again by this message Verify your Identity by 10/09/2019 UTC to continue winning jobs on Upwork. Get started.

[mdrabik]

And NO I DO NOT WANT TO "SPEAK" WITH THE COMMUNITY BOT!!!!!! The bot is useless.

[pudingstudio]

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Marni F wrote:

And NO I DO NOT WANT TO "SPEAK" WITH THE COMMUNITY BOT!!!!!! The bot is useless.

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You are very angry.

[mdrabik]

Yes, I have been trying to verify for 3 days. I have a good reason to be angry. It used to be we could talk to someone but even that option is gone.

[pudingstudio]

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Marni F wrote:

Yes, I have been trying to verify for 3 days. I have a good reason to be angry. It used to be we could talk to someone but even that option is gone.

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I have no idea why would it be difficult to verify.

It IS obligatory.
It should be very easy (was for me, just a 90 second video chat).

Do feel your annoyance, hope someone will be more useful.

[petra_r]

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Marni F wrote:

 It used to be we could talk to someone but even that option is gone.

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That's because you are not top-rated (anymore?) Chat and Phone Support is restricted to top rated freelancers

[prestonhunter]

re: "...meanwhile applying for jobs, the CLIENT does not have to verify his or her identity."

Why would you want clients to need to jump through addition hoops?

I just want their money. I want as many clients as possible to use Upwork. And I don't want them to have a difficult time coming here to hire me and pay me money.

[mdrabik]

They don't even verify that they will pay us and they make posts like they are water and it costs real money to apply to someone for a job who can't even verify themselves or their payment method

[prestonhunter]

Clients verify their payment methods.

That is what matters to me.

Every freelancer can see whether a client's payment method is verified on every contract.

Freelancers can see if a client is payment verified BEFORE they ever apply to a client's job posting. Freelancers can make the choice to NEVER apply to jobs with clients whose payment method is unverified.

Don't do any work on contracts until the payment method is verified. Don't work on milestones that are not funded in escrow.

But there is never any reason to think that clients and freelancers should be treated exactly the same way on Upwork.

Upwork CHARGES THE CREDIT CARDS of clients.

Upwork sends their money to me.

That's different. I don't want to be treated the same.

[moonraker]

Just don't apply to jobs without a verified payment. 

To be frank, I couldn't care less if a client has not verified themselves. It makes no difference to me. We should not be trying to put unnecessary obstacles in the way of the people that are putting money into the system. 

[BojanS]

Hi Marni,

I apologize for the inconvenience this caused. I'll go ahead and follow up with the team handling your case and you can expect one of our agents to reach out to you directly via support ticket as soon as possible.

Edited to add:

For this verification, you are requested to submit a valid government ID. You may refer to this help article for more information. Here's a link for more information about the ID Verification Badge. 

Our team already reached out to you regarding this verification process via this support ticket. Please consider following up on your ticket and kindly communicate with our team through that ticket if you have any questions, in order to keep all the information in one place.

Thank you for your patience!