I am going to explain every detail here. Upwork did not give me my money and did not give any specific reason for it. Neither they could confirm my faults. I have contacted Upwork customer support multiple times but have not received any reason for holding the money to them.
My account was also suspended. I had to wait for 5 days and send all the chat logs and screenshots to Upwork support to get my account back. I had to give my hard earned money. But I am still not sure what I have done wrong or why my money was not given to me.
I might also be wrong. But I need to know that for sure. Upwork support did not say I was wrong. Not one single time.
I have started an hourly contract (Contract ID: 32332841) on Upwork on December 25, 2022, with an hourly rate of $25, and a 10-hour weekly limit. I have started the work with live time tracking with the Upwork app and logged 4 hours.
I found the contract "Paused" after a few hours. I contacted the client and asked him to contact Upwork and fix the issue. He said he would do that. But he never could get the contract active again.
I installed WordPress for him on the server and used my email there. He contacted me through that email, saying that he wanted to work with me to finish the website. I told him to get the existing contact active. He told me that it might take some time and that he needed the work urgently. He said he will hire me from another client account and gave me his WhatsApp number to contact for regular communication.
We started communicating on WhatsApp, and he posted another project on Upwork and gave me the project URL to place my bid. I demanded more as the hourly rate because I was busy with more work from my old clients, and we decided to go with $60.00/hr.
The contract started on January 27, 2023 (Contract ID: 32595605), and I started the work with the Upwork time tracker. I have worked for 10:10 hours and tracked all the hours with the Upwork time tracker app.
That contract also got suspended. I instantly contacted the client. He said he would contact Upwork like before. The client said he has other projects that are going just fine, but he is having trouble with mine.
I thought there might be something wrong. The hourly rate was good, and the client told me he needed regular work. It was really a lost opportunity for me. I thought it would be better for me to contact Upwork support and ask them if anything is wrong with my account.
I created a support ticket (Request #38807335) and got the reply below confirming that I do not need to worry about the work or my account as I have done nothing wrong.
Here is the message confirming that:
"As there are many possible reasons this could occur, upon checking, both contract IDs 32332841 and 32595605 were placed on hold although we can't share the specifics regarding your client's account due to privacy concerns. Let me confirm that this is not related to your account or the work that has been made.
The action we take on both contracts are not only to make them our clients comply with the Terms of Service, but also to ensure our freelancers' protection while working on the platform. We thank you for your understanding."
The client contacted me again. He asked for another contract. And I agreed to try it one last time, as I had heard that I did not need to be worried about my account. The long-term work possibility and great hourly rate made me want to try it another time.
We started another contract (Contract ID: 32620770) on January 30, 2023 at the hourly rate of $45. I started the work with time tracking in the Upwork time tracking app and worked for 2:50 hours.
The contract was suspended. With the contract, my account went suspended!!
I contacted support, and they asked me for information. The Request #38829429. I was getting one reply a day. And was asked for every sort of detail. I provided everything. The contract details with every client, type of work I was doing for them. I have given them the chat logs, too.
I was specifically asking what I had done wrong to get my account suspended. I was referring to the other support request I created to clarify if I was doing anything wrong.
After 4 days, the support told me that I could get my account back if I forgot about the money I was making from those contracts. They said I would have to wait until the client account review is done to activate my account. If I give them my consent that I am ready to let the money go, then they will activate my account.
By this time I had gotten the payment for the first contract. I got $70.00 out of $100, and Upwork said they refunded the client $30.
I had two pending payments. One of $610.00 and another of $127.50. I got a payment of $127.50 for the second project. They took my consent with the second contract client name, but they gave this payment to me. They did not give me the $610.00 for the second contract.
I recognized that the activity of the support agents was not appropriate and stable. And they have not done it within the Upwork rules and terms of service.
I started asking them why they took the money. Asked this question multiple times. I asked them why my account was suspended. I asked them what I had done wrong!
I asked those questions multiple times. They only said it was the fault of the client.
I have pasted the "Hourly Payment Protection" terms on the chat and asked them to tell me which term or terms I broke. They sent me the same reply. The client engaged in fraudulent activity.
It was not me who did anything wrong. And the Hourly Payment Protection is there in a case like that when the client will do wrong things and I will be secured with the protection.
I have done nothing wrong.
I have tracked the hours with the Upwork Desktop app.
I have not logged any manual hours.
I have contacted support to make sure I am not doing anything wrong.
I have given an answer to every question and delivered all the things they want.
They could not show me any fault of mine.
I should not be the victim. I should get my money back.
I am really scared of operating inside Upwork. After the things that happened to me, how can I know if I will get paid for a project, no matter whether it is a protected hourly contract or a fixed price contract with protection and active milestones.
Upwork should be taking safety and security steps to make sure a client can not use Upwork for his fraudulent activity. I cannot do that; this is why we pay a huge part of our money in fees.
Upwork support agents are not like before. They do not judge things right now. They should have at least shown me my faults.
