Report a client

[0ebfac9a]

Hello Community Members,

A client is asking me to work outside Upwork and pay me in cryptocurrency.
I want to close the ongoing project, but he will give me a bad rating, affecting my JSS.
What should I do?

[prestonhunter]

re: "A client is asking me to work outside Upwork and pay me in cryptocurrency. I want to close the ongoing project, but he will give me a bad rating, affecting my JSS. What should I do?"

It depends on the details. Read these examples:

1) Janet has been working for Mr. Smith for 10 months. Jane writes blog articles for Mr. Smith and always gets paid as expected - through Upwork. Recentlyl Mrs. Smith watched a YouTube video abut Bitcoin. He thought that it might be fun to try using Bitcoin. He asked Janet if she would like to be paid through Bitcoin. Jane said: "Thank you for thinking of me, but Upwork policy requires that all payments go through the Upwork platform." The client apologized for his misunderstanding and said he wouldn't bring it up again. Janet did NOT report this client.

2) Peter was hired by a client named Shifty Jones. Shifty hired Peter using an hourly contract. Peter has not logged any time yet. Shifty told Peter that he would be hired to create a financial spreadsheet file for a pet store. After Peter was hired, Shifty told Peter that he would pay Peter $1000 in Bitcoin. But first, Peter needs to send Shifty $100 using PayPal. This is because Shifty's elderly aunt lives in Indiana, which doesn't allow dogs to get medical care (according to Shifty). And his aunt's dog has doggie amnesia. Peter thought this sounded suspicious. Peter clicked on the "Flag as inappropriate" link on the job posting page. Or Peter flagged the conversation about paying through Bitcoin within the Upwork Messages tool. Then Peter closed the contract.

[pgiambalvo]

Preston, how did you gain access to the details of my last gig?

[martina_plaschka]

---

Peter G wrote:

Preston, how did you gain access to the details of my last gig?

---

I don't get how sending the aunt $100 would do any good since dogs can't get medical care in Indiana? That part just never made any sense. Maybe it would have  been better to get some bitcoin for the dog to nibble on. Good for the teeth, too. 
I'm still confused. I lived in Indiana, and they had some strange laws that left me very confused, like going to the store on Sunday and only being able to look at the wine bottles, but not being allowed to purchase them. Here in Austria, on any Sunday, you can go to the store and look at the wine bottles through the window from outside, but you can't purchase them, because the store is closed, At least that makes sense to me. 

[pgiambalvo]

Wow, from Indiana to Austria. That must have been some major culture shock. Like going from...Indiana to Austria. At least you're in a better place now. And I've always found that no matter where you live, drinking wine from a bottle while looking at wine in bottles makes the day a little brighter.

[martina_plaschka]

Well it was from Austria to Illinois to Indiana back to Austria. So yes, big time culture shock. Mainly how regulated the land of the free really is, like the rules of the homeowners association for example. Those were unexpected. 

[tagrendy]

Contact support, report the client, once their account gets suspended for violating Upwork ToS then close the project, he won't be able to leave a feedback then.

[0ebfac9a]

okay!

How can I contact the support team?

[tagrendy · Accepted solution]

There is a "Get Support" button on the bottom-right corner of this page, click that, type the issue, the robot will suggest you articles and below them there will be buttons to reach support via live-chat or open a ticket. Pick whichever option you like.

[bstojadinovic]

Hi Aeman,

Could you please send me a PM with more information about the client you'd like to report? I’ll check your report and escalate it accordingly. 

Thank you.

[kc001]

a client has posted a job saying they will pay upfront and to contact them on there cellphone number. im not applying for the job. should i report this client?

[egaruth]

Hi Katherine,

Thank you for reaching out to us. Please know that sharing contact information before a contract has started is against Upwork's Terms of Service and that all communications prior to the contract starting must take place on Upwork.

I encourage you to let us know if a TOS violation has happened by using the Flag as Inappropriate option throughout the platform. You can learn more about user reporting here. Our team will review your report and take appropriate actions as per our internal processes.

[1e76df49]

Hello I have noticed a very suspicious account on Upwork. The client posted a job worth $400 monthly, I applied and got a response for an interview. I made a bid for $375 but now the client offered me $250. We spoke for a while as I answered questions. He or she kept questioning my capabilities and seemed uncertain of me.

It seemed I had gotten the job till they requested a trial the following day for 6 hours after which they said they would decide whether to hire me. I agreed but upon further deliberation I felt it was rather suspicious plus the pay would be low. I then looked further into their account and noticed they had been deliberately posting jobs and putting other freelancers on such trial basis.

I then contacted them to let them know this is against UpWorks terms and conditions and that they should pay me the daily $10 via escrow even if it's a trial. They then ignored and proceeded to block me. Luckily I dodged a bullet of wasting my time and doing the wrong thing on Upwork but this user has been taking advantage of so many freelancers promising them a job yet they know that they will not pay or hire them. They waste people's time and give them false hope which can make certain users judge the app which has done nothing wrong and only tries to protect freelancers.

Please address or block this client they have been active since 2019, posted nearly 60 jobs but only hired 13 and do not pay the stated amount. I am very disappointed by this client and I can't let them continue to take advantage of other users on the platform! 

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

[edgeadv]

I have tried about 4 times now to get Upwork to do something about a client that 1. stole a logo, 2. would not pay me and asked for free work and also didn't pay another freelancer on Upwork. So far they have not contacted the client or suspended him until things are resolved. I want to stop him from taking advantage of designers. I did contact the person that designed the original logo so she is reaching out to see what she can do leagally.

[prestonhunter]

Laura:

I am sorry that you had a disappointing experience while using Upwork.

It is time for you to move on from this experience.

If you already reported the clients for asking for free work, then your work is done. You should stop thinking about that clien and stop expecting to do anything about the client.