Where do I report a client?

[alin_ali]

I recently have been manipulated by a client to work for them outside Upwork. This is the first time I took any job off Upwork, and unfortunately, things have turn wrong and I have learned my lesson the hard way.

However,  since I have turned them down their next assignment in scheduled in November, I believe they will continue to search for a new freelancer for the assignment. 

Where can I report this client so they won't be able to do the same to other freelancers?

Thank you.

[devpositive365]

Hi,

Log on to: https://support.upwork.com/hc/en-us

Click on Get Help button at bottom right of the screen.

Mouse Over on Report Suspicious Activity -> Click on Work off the Platform

A form will pop up, enter as much details, there will also be an option to attach a file, attach a screenshot of the messages and submit.

Upwork's support team does a great job, they will spring into action ASAP.

Regards.

[prestonhunter · Accepted solution]

Basically there are three ways to report clients:

1) click the "flag as inappropriate" link on a job posting.

[This won't really work in this situation, because the job posting was fine, and isn't the problem. The problem is what the client did after posting the job, by asking you to accept payment outside of Upwork.]

2) reporting to Customer Service

3) reporting here in the Forum and seeing that a Forum Moderator reads your report and says they will follow up.

As you are reporting the situation here, if a Moderator responds in the next few days, you don't need to report this separately to Customer Service.

I think it is good that you came forth on your own to provide a confession about your participation in this activity, in which the freelancer and client both violated a serious Upwork ToS rule. Your report about the client helps the Upwork community. And your confession demonstrates sincere contrition.

I believe you really have learned your lesson the hard way and I believe Upwork will take no further punative steps against you. First-time offenders who show they have learned from their mistakes and won't make this mistake again are often shown leniency.

[jeleanne18]

Hi,

I recently am new to Upwork and I am not so familiar yet with how this works. I recently had a Fixed Contact with a Client asking me to make an invoices out of the csv files that he has provided. We have agreed that he will pay me $8 per invoice. Initially I was in doubt when he had given me the contract and decided to reconfirm with him (with the screen shot of our conversation) of which he agreed that it is $8 per invoice. And so given the confirmation from him, I continued with the tasks. The instructions from him are confusing and I tried to make sure by asking him again and again to clearly understand how he want me to get the job done and to be able for me to deliver it properly but it seems to me that he is a bit misleading yet I still contined to do the job instead. I was really in doubt so I decided to submit the invocies that I have done and asked him to fund it for payment and Yes! he paid me $8.00 + $5 bonus and said that we agreed on $8 per file. I was glad that he did but it made me even more confused since we agreed per invoice and not per file. Since I have read some article here that we should not submit a work to a client without him funding it in escrow but I decided to submit to him 76 invocies that I have done and told him to pay me for it before I submit the other invoices and surprisingly he told me that he will pay $50 per file of which I did not agree. Then he blackmail me that he will report me to upwork for misleading and that he will end the contract etc. I took his bait and told him that he can end the contract and then he asked me to submit first all the invoices that I have done and I said no since I don't have any guarantee and I just don't know what to do. 

I'm sorry for the long message I just don't know how to express since I am new here but I need your advise, should I send him the work and continue with the $50 per file which is I believe it's not acceptable, and he didn't end the contract yet. Anyway, I'm attaching here some of our conversation so that you'll understand what I meant. I'm really looking forward to hear back from you. Thanks a lot. 

[AleksandarD]

Hi Jeleanne,

I'm sorry to hear about your bad experience with your client. You can report a client if they are blackmailing you into providing free work or work which wasn't agreed at the onset of the contract. One of our team members will reach out to you directly via a support ticket to assist you further with your concern. When working on Upwork, please make sure that you have a fully funded milestone before doing any work, so that the work you do can be covered by Upwork Payment Protection.

Thank you.

[nirimansoli]

HI. I am having a problem with a client not sure if it can be considered a violation. I agreed to do a single drawing for a client . it was a by project contract with 15 dollars , I agreed and finished the drawing. and gave it to her next day. But the client then said that no they want a full set of drawings, I never agreed to do that specially with the money and time frame. I tried to explain that we did not agree on that. but she refused stating that she must have a complete drawing. I decided to cancel the contract as I didn't like the tone and she was asking for a complete set drawings in a day which is impossible didn't take any money. even Offred her a the finished drawings we agreed upon . but I still want to report her. she did give me a negative private feedback because my successes score dropped. I really don't want other freelancer to be tricked as I don't think it is appropriate to suddenly demeaned extra work in the middle of a job. sorry for the long message .

[martina_plaschka]

---

Niriman S wrote:

HI. I am having a problem with a client not sure if it can be considered a violation. I agreed to do a single drawing for a client . it was a by project contract with 15 dollars , I agreed and finished the drawing. and gave it to her next day. But the client then said that no they want a full set of drawings, I never agreed to do that specially with the money and time frame. I tried to explain that we did not agree on that. but she refused stating that she must have a complete drawing. I decided to cancel the contract as I didn't like the tone and she was asking for a complete set drawings in a day which is impossible didn't take any money. even Offred her a the finished drawings we agreed upon . but I still want to report her. she did give me a negative private feedback because my successes score dropped. I really don't want other freelancer to be tricked as I don't think it is appropriate to suddenly demeaned extra work in the middle of a job. sorry for the long message .

---

Doesn't sound like a reportable violation. You were not asked to work for free. Sounds more like a misunderstanding, or maybe a cheap client trying to take advantage. Stay away from those. 

[nirimansoli]

yes They didn't ask for free job. But they did change the job requirement after I submitted the agreed work , which ended in me receiving a negative feedback. so in the end I was only one whom have been affected. Is their no way to prevent the client of affecting other freelancer?

[prestonhunter]

re: "Is their no way to prevent the client of affecting other freelancer?"

Your goal now is to prevent this client from affecting other freelancers?

I think your goal is admirable.

But I don't know how you can pursue this goal other than what you already did: By leaving appropriate feedback about this client when the contract was closed.

The contract is now over.

I think you would be better off talking about these concepts in general, with an eye toward figuring out how to handle such situations in the future. Rather than figuring out how to kick this client off the platform or get her to change her behavior.

[nirimansoli]

Yes. I was trying to help others so they wont feel frustrated as I did. I have already received negative rating so nothing I could do, but I hoped that others will be able to avoid the same mistake. thank you for your clarification .

[martina_plaschka]

---

Niriman S wrote:

yes They didn't ask for free job. But they did change the job requirement after I submitted the agreed work , which ended in me receiving a negative feedback. so in the end I was only one whom have been affected. Is their no way to prevent the client of affecting other freelancer?

---

How and why? No, there is no black board where you can pin a client's name to warn other freelancers off. And other people might have completely different experiences with that client. I'm sure you looked at his ratings before accepting, and you wouldn't have done that if his rating was bad, right? For others, he might have been a wonderful client. You can't extrapolate your experience to everybody on the platform. 

[nirimansoli]

I agree with what you said. The client did have 2 completed job with 5 stars rating. and It is true just because I had a bad experience doesn't mean that other will have it. but that doesn't change that I was tricked. could be my lack of experience that caused it. but the client did change the requirements. and I was only trying to see if I can worn others and see the right procedures so i would know what to do if it happened again . thank you

[nirimansoli]

They did ask for free work.  I agreed to give 4 drawings for 15 dollars , Then when I finish them they demand that I give 10 more drawings. That is considered an indirect way of asking for a free service. thank you for your help. I already be more careful net time.

[kat303]

---

Jeleanne F wrote:

Hi,

I recently am new to Upwork and I am not so familiar yet with how this works.

Please do not just jump right on this site without knowing its procedures and what to look out for. Before submitting another proposal take the time out to go through all of the information provided under the 9 sections   --   https://support.upwork.com/hc/en-us

Then search this discussion site for scams because you, being new are an excellent target to be scammed. 

I recently had a Fixed Contact with a Client asking me to make an invoices out of the csv files that he has provided. We have agreed that he will pay me $8 per invoice. Initially I was in doubt when he had given me the contract and decided to reconfirm with him (with the screen shot of our conversation) of which he agreed that it is $8 per invoice. And so given the confirmation from him, I continued with the tasks. The instructions from him are confusing and I tried to make sure by asking him again and again to clearly understand how he want me to get the job done and to be able for me to deliver it properly but it seems to me that he is a bit misleading yet I still contined to do the job instead.

Before accepting an offer (a contract) make sure you have All the material or files that you need. Or if not all at least a majority of the material/files. Also make sure ALL questions are answered and understood, and all information and details are given to you. ONLY then should you accept the contract. When you do that, you'll have what you need to start working. If the instructions were confusing, and the information you are given was misleading according to the job's description, you probably should have thought twice about accepting a contract because most likely the job is not going to go well and not going to end well. 

I was really in doubt so I decided to submit the invocies that I have done and asked him to fund it for payment and Yes! he paid me $8.00 + $5 bonus and said that we agreed on $8 per file. I was glad that he did but it made me even more confused since we agreed per invoice and not per file. Since I have read some article here that we should not submit a work to a client without him funding it in escrow but I decided to submit to him 76 invocies that I have done and told him to pay me for it before I submit the other invoices and surprisingly he told me that he will pay $50 per file of which I did not agree.

Can't really comment on that since you already read and knew that you shouldn't submit work,,, in fact you shouldn't even START work until escrow is FULLY funded. This client pulled a bait and switch with you. 

IMO I think this job should have been an hourly job. Instead it was a fixed rate job for 76 invoices at $8 an invoice would come out to $608 and if you had the material before you accepted the contract then escrow should have been funded for $608 before you even started working. 

IMO I think there was miss communication right from the beginning and because of that, this job was "doomed" right from the start. 

Then he blackmail me that he will report me to upwork for misleading and that he will end the contract etc. I took his bait and told him that he can end the contract and then he asked me to submit first all the invoices that I have done and I said no since I don't have any guarantee and I just don't know what to do. 

This client is not blackmailing you, unless he is saying that he will give you negative feedback if you don't do what he says. He Does have the right to start a dispute, and you have a right to respond to that dispute. But if you've already got paid, then there's nothing else to pay you since there's nothing left in escrow. Either you or the client can end the contract. If the client ends the contract he HAS to leave feedback and expect it to be negative feedback, but if you reply to that negative feedback by ranting and raving, your reply will hurt you more then the feedback itself. A reply short, sweet, to the point, and professional is what you should do. you should not do any more work at this point. 

I'm sorry for the long message I just don't know how to express since I am new here but I need your advise, should I send him the work and continue with the $50 per file which is I believe it's not acceptable, and he didn't end the contract yet. Anyway, I'm attaching here some of our conversation so that you'll understand what I meant. I'm really looking forward to hear back from you. Thanks a lot. 

To continue working for this client at $50 per file (which you say is not acceptable) is totally up to you. If it's not acceptable, then don't continue working. You can say something like - 

(clients name) Because of the confusion and misunderstanding concerning this contract I am closing the contract. I feel I am not the right freelancer to continue working with you. It would be of your best interest to find a freelancer who is a better fit for you. 

---

[ellaragasa]

Hello,

Just wanted to share or report my experience with a client. I am a newbie here in Upwork and was glad to have my first client after several attempts of trying find a job. I have done the job well but things went really bad with regards to my payment. Since I am a newbie, I really have no idea what would happened. This client communicated with me outside of Upwork which I didn't know was a tricky or quite sketchy. I have learned the hard way to. I have paid so called "charges" just for my payment to come through my country. Not only did it happened once, but thrice. The amount also increased which made me really hystercial because it was too much. Now, I am not able to get my payment because the client said I have to pay the amount and it can't be deducted from the payment they promised to give me.
**Edited for Community Guidelines**
I just feel bad about the amount I have spent for nothing. Hope this would raise awareness to freelancers out there and for them not commit the mistake I have just made.

[prestonhunter]

Almira:

Thank you so much for sharing your experience!

I understand that you don't have questions. You simply are sharing this in order to help others.

Even though you sent the client three separate payments, outside of Upwork, I am specifically asking that Upwork not terminate your account or otherwise penalize you. I am certain that you have learned your lesson and I believe you have already been "punished" enough because you lost that money.

I believe you have a good heart and want to follow the rules from here on out, and you should be rewarded for the honestly displayed by sharing this story. (The reward being: no penalty from Upwork.)

Regardless of what Upwork ends up doing, you have gained wisdom, which is more valuable than money.

But it is useful for other readers of this thread tp understand that Upwork could indeed terminate the account of any freelancer who does what you did.

[NikolaS]

Hi Almira,

Thank you for reaching out to us and bringing this to our attention. I shared your report with our team for further investigation and appropriate actions will be taken according to our internal processes.

Please know that a  real client will never ask you to give them money to start working, cash a check for them, work for free, or provide your personal information. Never get paid or pay someone outside of Upwork. You may open yourself up to scams or fraud, and lose Upwork Payment Protection. 

Additionally, 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 also 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.

Feel free to check this page to help you stay safe on Upwork. 

[7d84f0b2]

I have experiencing from a client that is not responding already after I finish the job. And he requested additional task which I said to him that I don't know or don't have experience yet to new task. After is, he is not already responding to my message for any updates. 

Now I see, he create a new job post regarding the new task he asking for me.I don't know if he doing it if he don't want to pay for my work or he will do it to another freelancer.

Also, he is payment verified so I'm thought that he will pay me for the work that I accomplish for him.

[PradeepH]

Hi Ramir,

Thank you for your message. I do not see any active contract on your Upwork account. Could you please confirm if you have accepted any offer from this client on Upwork before accepting and submitting work to this client?

Thank you,

Pradeep

[9c0c2d28]

Hello, there!

There is a group of scammars on Upwork.

They always post strange jobs such as "Full stack expert", "Data Entry".

But if freelancers submit proposal, they send a message with Telegram info.

And then they give a strange retyping job including 100 images that will be retyped for 25$ per 1 images.

then freelancer pay after job is done, they disppear.

There is another method.

Freelancer finish job. and then he submit job.

They ask him to send payment info. If he send payment info, they send a message to him.

"Your account must be linked to our company before payment. You have to pay refundable linking fee 200$ . And then you will receive total money including linking fee".

If freelancer pay 200$, they disappear.

There are so many scammars to ask freelancers to retype images of pdf.

This is a gmail address they use. **Edited for Community Guidelines**

I provide screen shots to you.

Thanks

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

[LuiggiR]

Hi NIls,

I'm sorry to hear about your experience. If you haven't reported this already, could you please send me a private message with more information about the job post in question? I'd be happy to forward your report to the relevant team.

Please, check out this course for more tips on how to avoid questionable jobs. Also, please continue to use the flag option found on each job post or message anytime you’d like to report a violation.

[motionninja]

I don't see a "flag as inappropiate" option? Where is this?

[kochubei_valeria]

Hi Alini,

If you haven't submitted a support request already, could you please click on my name and send me a private message with details such as the client's name and a screenshot of their request to move the job off platform?

[kat303]

---

Alini A wrote:

I recently have been manipulated by a client to work for them outside Upwork. This is the first time I took any job off Upwork, and unfortunately, things have turn wrong and I have learned my lesson the hard way.

However,  since I have turned them down their next assignment in scheduled in November, I believe they will continue to search for a new freelancer for the assignment. 

Where can I report this client so they won't be able to do the same to other freelancers?

Thank you.

---

---------------

The ONLY person who can manipulate you is you. If you are not sure of what Upwork's TOS are, then you need to educate yourself so that in the future, you don't do something that can get your account suspended. Taking work offsite is a violation of the TOS and one of the things that can get your account suspended. 

Any client taking work offsite has this in mind - They want to cheat Upwork of paying any type of service fee and most likely they want to scam you. You have absolutely no protection and no way of getting paid with a stranger on the internet that you just came in contact with. If they want to cheat Upwork then they are not the type of client you want to work with. 

You as a freelancer, (contractor for hire) provide a service to clients. When you educate yourself about Upworks TOS and procedures, you then need to stand your ground on knowing what's right and what's wrong. 

[fmartizano]

Hi I need help, How can I report a client. Asked me to work for a project. He deleted the job posting on my inbox and then he is trying to send a payment outside upwork and now he is saying I need to pay $200 for currency exchange process before I receive the payment. He is insisting for me to look for that amount

[5ef71894]

Hi ,I  applied to data capturing project last week. It was a three day job. Was warned by Upwork Community not to do anything out of platform.

Was communicating on Telegram to a lady named Jaclyn but they always change their names. I completed,directed me to finance director,he asked for some details and then said to download another app  chevardacess said money was deposited.When I log into that bank account,it says I need to pay £100 once off to receive my payment. I checked with Jaclyn she says ifI need help to get my pay she would help me with£50  it was all planned out. We have to just be aware of these criminals prey on our strength. It's unfair. From now we all must double check our job openings.

[prestonhunter]

re: "Was communicating on Telegram to a lady named Jaclyn but they always change their names."

If you were not actually hired using an official Upwork contract, then you were violating Upwork ToS by communicating via Telegram. You could be suspended for doing that.

re: "I completed,directed me to finance director,he asked for some details and then said to download another app chevardacess said money was deposited.When I log into that bank account,it says I need to pay £100 once off to receive my payment. I checked with Jaclyn she says ifI need help to get my pay she would help me with£50 it was all planned out. We have to just be aware of these criminals prey on our strength. It's unfair. From now we all must double check our job openings."

You learned a valuable lesson.

I am sure that you will not make the same mistake again in the future.

[5ef71894]

Hi,trust you well. I do apologize for breaking the rules. I have learned
the hard way.Thank you for your response.
Appreciated

[251047ee]

Hi I need help, How can I report a client. Asked me to work for a project. He deleted the job posting on my inbox and then he is trying to send a payment outside upwork and now he is saying I need to pay $150 for linking fee

 before I receive the payment. He is insisting for me to look for that amount

[sofia2008]

Look in your proposals (active and archived) to see if you can find the job post there and Flag as inappropriate. 

Report Suspicious User Activity – Upwork Customer Service & Support | Upwork Help

-You are not allowed to communicate outside of Upwork before being hired on Upwork first. 

-You are not allowed to send money to a client.

-Never work on a project for which you were not formally hired on Upwork.

-A real client will never ask you to pay anything to get your payment.

Please also read the following resources to get you up to speed on how to use Upwork, and learn what is allowed and not allowed. That will help keep you safe and in compliance with the rules.

Freelancing 101 on Upwork - Upwork Community

Upwork Legal Center

Get Started – Upwork Customer Service & Support | Upwork Help

Upwork Customer Service & Support | Upwork Help

List of red flags for scams - Upwork Community

Understanding and Using Connects – Upwork Customer Service & Support | Upwork Help

Tips to Avoid Questionable Jobs - Upwork Community

[AndreaG]

Hi Nasir,

Could you please try looking for the Archived Proposal? You can check there if the job post was actioned by Upwork and, if not, please send me a private message with more details. 

[b5afbeeb]

Hello,

I'm needing help in reporting my client. I have been with my client for over a year now. Since the end of July, his Upwork account has been suspended. He mentioned that it is because of non-payment. He did ask us to work on the projects we are handling so he can get paid and then activate his Upwork account and pay us. The team worked, sad to say. And I completed a project as well, unfortunately (as a courtesy for working with him for more than a year). And my client received payment for these projects yet he has not activated his Upwork account nor did he pay any of us. He has other Upwork accounts that are still active so we know he is paying folks in that business, but again, not in this account

[prestonhunter]

James Ronn:

I don't understand why you feel that you need to report this client.

If he stopped paying you, then you stopped working for him.

That's it, isn't it?

Case closed.

[16239d89]

Hi there, 

I am having isssues with a client and would like some advice or a moderator to comment. I am new to upwork. 

I have a client that sked for legal research and a letter outlining possible solutions and remedies to their issue. They named several issues and it is the job of the lawyer to observe the issues, pick the most viable should the matter go to court and advice on this. Not all the complaints were viable for example, discrimination as the medical staff was doing her job and asked a question within the hsopitla protocl for prevention and detection of crime (DMV).  He believed this to be racially motivated, however, other than his word which is hearsay it is not. What I was able to advice on should the matter go forward, was on harassament and I did so extensively. We had agreed in good faith that I would only charge them for 5 hours of work, but the matter would take around 15 hours, we also had a client interviewing call that was over an hour to inform on the situation and requirements. I completed the 5 hours and logged it in, once I had logged in the full 5 hours of work and about to submit the client letter he sent a message saying he might not need it instead of informing prior. I sent the letter to the client. Once he recieved all the information and legal remedies available to him, he changed what he wanted and said he did not want a letter and wanted a report to submit against the Government Body he accused, this was not in the job posting as the job posting specifically states "legal research" not litigation and he asked for advice.  He then deleted this message, but I do still have a copy, and sent another message to say the long letter and remedies are "underwhelming" and that I should have written it from the point of view of the client. This is ridiculous, no lawyer writes an essay for the client, from the point of view of the client. The letters purpose is to outline remedies to your issues that you can take further should you wish to go to court. In the letter I had also offered a video call should the wish to have any additional questions I would have been happy to answe.  It's worth noting that the contract was on pause a few times as I was doing my work due to disputes the client has had with other freelancers. I believe he is attempting any possible way to get out of paying because he had no issue until the 5 hours of work was complete. Should I end the contract? I cannot see any areas to report or "flag " on the job posting. Please advice. 

[759e32fa]

Hi Maida,

I'm sorry to hear about your experience. While we hope that all freelancer and client relationships and projects will run smoothly, we understand that occasionally you may have a disagreement with a client about the work you submitted and your payments. We encourage you to always try to work things out with your client first. However, if you do need to take further steps, we created Upwork Fixed-Price Protection to allow freelancers and agencies to file disputes under these two circumstances:

1. A client ends the job with an escrow balance
2. A client fails to release a milestone payment despite the delivery of work

 

To file a dispute on an active contract

1. Contact Upwork Customer Support
2. Give details to support your claim that the work is complete and your payment is due. Explain the situation with enough information to help the dispute specialist understand your claim.
3. Our customer service agent will open a case with one of our mediation specialists to review your situation.

[16239d89]

Hi Annie, 

thank you for your advice. Additonally, how does add a review  or change a review after rating. I would like to leave a client review. This client had no intention of allowing me to make any changes and was very aggressive and rude in correspondences. I then ended the contract. He has left a scathing review that is innaccurate and false. In his review he states that I choose to have the contract over two weeks. however, the contract kept being paused due to other disputes he has against freelancers on upwork. I had even sent multiple messages asking about the paused contract. Is it fair that he has lied about this and will affect my work on Upwork. He has also requested a refund and does not want to pay for service rendered only after recieving. He also sent and deleted messages ( I have screenshots) changing what he had initially asked for and lying about what he asked for to get out of paying. 

[LuiggiR]

Hi Maida,

I'm sorry to hear about your experience. I can see that you've already responded to the client's feedback. If you'd like to change your response, I'm afraid you can only do that by requesting the client to allow you to change it.

[a990af3d]

Hello AJ,

I recently got hired with my first job on Upwork. I was super excited with it being my first job and it's something I love to do (social media management). 

So the agreement was 20 hours per week. 

I had to end the contract for the following reasons:
-This client mocked my honesty by implying I am mentally unstable.
-She wants me to create graphics but has not provided me with the raw photos of the product

-Communicating with her is very hard, maybe because if the language barrier (I am a native speaker, while she has trouble conversing in English)

-She sends some files via Upwork and Whatsapp, does not use the task board we agreed on, and forgets things easily.
-The forgetting I understand, because when we started she said she had hit her head 4x, so I try to gently remind her of things, however, she does not do any backreading and gets cross when I remind her.
-Overall, communicating with her got too much, so I told her politely on Upwork that I apologize, I have to end the contract because 1) I am not getting the support I need to do my job and 2) the chaos in the communication and in the files got too much. 
-I ended the message with me hoping for the best for her and her business. At this point I have already worked for 24 hours.
-I left her a review that is neutral even if I had a very traumatic experience.
-Her response was 10x longer, and she gaslighted me all throughout. 
-Right now, sher requested a refund for the payment, claiming that I have not worked more than 5 hours.
-I rejected the refund explaining that I did my due, even with not getting any material to work on, I had to improvise by using some general teaser graphics on Canva, creating a 30-day launch campaign plan, and some various research. I also attached a screenshot of the chat we had where she agreed that I put the hours I worked (this was 20 hours).

I would like to know how I can report this client so she does not end up harrassing others. 

I hope you can help.

[prestonhunter]

re: "I would like to know how I can report this client so she does not end up harrassing others."

I don't think you need to report this client.

Based on the length of your post, this was clearly something you view as a terrible experience.

But did the client actually violate any reportable Upwork rules?

[4758b3d4]