Possible Fraudulent Client

[quint38]

I want to file a formal complaint against a client. They are requiring that we take surveys that ask questions totally unrelated to the job. I think they are making phony job announcements in order to get free data from Upwork's freelancers. I have screenshots of the survey questions to back up my claim.

How do I file this complaint? FYI**Edited for community guidelines**has never answered any of my querries.

Thank you.

[prestonhunter]

As long as the client is paying you to take the survey or answer the questionnaire, it is fine. I have participated in research surveys, interviews, and questionnaires as both a paid freelancer and paying client.

if you are being asked to answer those questions for free, then that is not allowed. Upwork itself occasionally conducts surveys without paying freelancers.  But clients are not allowed to do so.

A client who wants you to fill out a survey must pay you. The client must hire you with an official Upwork contract first.

[quint38]

The client is not paying me to take a survey. That is a part of the
application process, and that is why I think it may be fraudulent. I thank
you for your response.

[gilbert-phyllis]

Stop accepting contracts to fill out surveys. Sadly, more and more job posts are actually recruiting survey participants. It's a totally inappropriate use of the platform and I flag them every time I see them. (I have even been invited to them.) It's bad survey methodology, as well.

[prestonhunter]

re: "It's a totally inappropriate use of the platform and I flag them every time I see them"

Phyllis:

Why would you say it is an inappropriate use of the platform?

On what basis would you flag such a job?

Are you saying that people should never be paid for the time they spend answering survey questions?

http://www.database-design.org

[quint38]

I didn’t say that I would flag them. I didn’t flag them, although I might.
I think they may be using Upwork to get free data, and they may never feel
the job. Time will tell about that.

I would like to see an official of the company respond to me. As far as I
know, there is no other way to contact them.

[prestonhunter]

Andrew,

I was not asking you about flagging. You are quite correct that the job posting that was trying to get you to answer a survey without paying you is a violation of Upwork TOS.

Because the client was not paying you. The client was asking freelancers to work for free.

Upwork officially allows job postings for jobs that involve being interviewed orally or in writing about topics. Upwork officially allows jobs that are filling out surveys and questionnaires.

Paying survey takers and interviewees is a normal research technique. It is a normal information gathering technique. It would be inappropriate to publish survey findings in most academic settings or publications without mentioning the paid nature of the information gathering.

Of course, many paid surveys are not conducted for academic research, but for other purposes, such as market research, internal polling, user interface review, medical research, etc.

[quint38]

I don’t have a problem with them asking us for a survey. My problem is they
are trying to obtain information that has nothing to do with the job that
they say they want done. They are not paying us to take that survey, and I
believe that they may not even fill the job. I think their purpose is to
get survey data for free, as I said before without having any intention of
filling a job.

And, as you said, that is a violation of Upwork standards. How can I bring
this to Upwork management’s attention so they can enforce their standards
should they decide to do so?

Since I have never received a response from support @upwork.com, I don’t
know if anyone even reads correspondence that are sent there.

[prestonhunter]

re: "Since I have never received a response from support @upwork.com, I don’t know if anyone even reads correspondence that are sent there."

Andrew, I can assure you that is not Upwork's intention that you use email to obtain customer support.

[a_lipsey]

I didn't see Phyllis say anything about paying participants but about the recruiting process. Considering her expertise in primary research, I think she knows what she's talking about.

[prestonhunter]

She said "Stop accepting contracts to fill out surveys."

Maybe she meant "Stop filling out surveys prior to accepting contracts."

I have literally paid people as an Upwork client to fill out surveys. To have done otherwise would have been unprofessional and unethical.

I have been paid as an Upwork client to answer surveys... or perhaps the word "questionnaires" is more appropriate? And I have been paid by researchers to be interviewed.

if Phyllis is warning against problematic methodology, then presumably she is either (a) not referring to the types of paid surveys I have participated in, or (b) does not approve of them.

[gilbert-phyllis]

---

Preston H wrote:

She said "Stop accepting contracts to fill out surveys."

Maybe she meant "Stop filling out surveys prior to accepting contracts."

I have literally paid people as an Upwork client to fill out surveys. To have done otherwise would have been unprofessional and unethical.

I have been paid as an Upwork client to answer surveys... or perhaps the word "questionnaires" is more appropriate? And I have been paid by researchers to be interviewed.

if Phyllis is warning against problematic methodology, then presumably she is either (a) not referring to the types of paid surveys I have participated in, or (b) does not approve of them.

---

I said exactly what I meant. There is nothing categorically wrong with offering an incentive for survey participation. Using the Upwork platform as a venue to recruit survey participation clogs up the marketplace and is also bad methodology or involves misrepresentation by the job poster (who would have to screen and summarily dismiss respondents who did not qualify for the survey's target demographic/category use profile). I have not tried to ascertain whether or not it's against the ToS. I suspect it may fall through an unforeseen loophole, one which they need to close IMO.

If you want to know why it's poor methodology, do some reading. Or hire me to teach you Survey Research 101.

[quint38]

Why isn’t anybody reading my post? I think I made it clear that they did
not pay me or anyone else to complete the survey. It was part of the job
application process.

Why are you mentioning getting paid for taking surveys when that is not the
issue?

[petra_r]

---

Andrew Q wrote:
Why isn’t anybody reading my post?

---

We did read your post. The answer is super-simple.

1. Don't do the survey

2. Flag the job post as unappropriate selecting the reason: Client is asking for free work.

3. Move on.

4. Problem solved.

[quint38]

You are right. That’s what I’ll do.

[gilbert-phyllis]

---

Andrew Q wrote:
Why isn’t anybody reading my post? I think I made it clear that they did
not pay me or anyone else to complete the survey. It was part of the job
application process.

Why are you mentioning getting paid for taking surveys when that is not the
issue?

---

Because your question happened to call attention to a different issue. 

[JoanneP]

Hi Andrew,

I checked, and I was able to locate the job you are referring to. I have shared it with the team for review. If you see a job or invitation that looks suspicious or inappropriate, you can flag it using the flagging option found on every job post or Upwork profile. This sends a notification directly to Upwork, allowing us to investigate and take the appropriate measures. You can read more on this help article and also, please check out Tips to avoid questionable jobs. If you'd like to share more information, please feel free to send it to me via PM. Thank you. 

[quint38]

Thank you for explaining it to me.