Withdrawn by you: Job application is cancelled by Upwork

[#1]

I just found out that my 3(first) proposals were withdrawn with status "Withdrawn by you: Job application is cancelled by Upwork" and i don't quite understand what that supposed to mean, does anyone know?

[#2]

One of my open *interviews* has now been withdrawn. I was already contacted by the client beyond the proposal stage and now it's in Archive showing as withdrawn by me. 

This is catastophically unprofessional. 

How will this be fixed? Will Upwork notify these clients? 
It would be very, very helpful if contact was initiated by Upwork to let the clients know this was not me playing around. The level of missed opportunity, especially considering each proposal takes me a great deal of time and research is physically painful.

How will Upwork make this right...and when? 

Thanks to the team for any insight you can provide. 

[#3]

Hi RuDee, 

I checked the job post you were pertaining to and if you go to the job post's page, you will see that the job was cancelled by Upwork, prompting the system that you withdraw from the job. We're sorry if this caused any confusion, as it happens when a job is cancelled by Upwork.

[#4]

Hi Avery,

I appreciate your reply.

I'm not seeing what you're seeing in regards to the Archived interview.

However, still hoping for an answer regarding the client view of the Archived proposals (which were triggered by an engineering issue that Support has acknowledged). 

I just want to know if this has disappeared for the client or if the client saw a note of me withdrawing...which needs damage control which I would hope to get support on from Upwork. 

Please advise. 

[#5]

Hi RuDee,

If a job is cancelled by Upwork, all proposals are automatically withdrawn and clients won't be able to access them.

[#6]

Hi Vladmir, 

I appreciate your reply. I'm left with some major questions:

1) When will my credits for the affected jobs be refunded to my account, since this had nothing to do with me. 

2) When will my stats be updated? Right now the "My Stats" area is including both the original proposals wich were withdrawn due to the engineering error as well as my re-sends. This is causing inappropriately low interview/hire/view stats which will hurt me. When will this be fixed? 

3) How can I know that this issue won't impact my account again? 

Very concerned. Thank you. 

[#7]

RuDee,

The team will have the issue with connects addressed directly via the ticket you currently have open about this issue.

Marketing effectiveness on My Stats isn't based on the number of proposals you submit. It compares how often you are interviewed or hired compared to other freelancers in your category. Additionally, that information is only available to you on your My Stats page, it's not shared with clients or other freelancers and shouldn't hurt your chances to be hired for other jobs.

Once the bug is fixed, the proposals shouldn't be withdrawn in situations similar to yours.

Thank you.

[#8]

Hi Valeria,

That information on My Stats doesn't seem accurate as I physically *see* the stats achange in relation to my ptiching numbers and how many pitches I have out vs the positive activity on those pitches. 

When I pitch more, the stats change. When I stop pitching for months, they don't change. When I send out a blitz of proposals everything reduces until I start getting bites back at which the move stats back up.

Yes, we're being comapred to other freelancers in our category...who have a similar activity pattern to what we've just shown which based on the hysical movement of the graph is based on my # of pitches, interviews and hires in a given day. I see it shift daily. 

And we've *all* seen this forum littered with the corpses of those poor Upworkers who tripped the invisible and not publicly defined "too many unsuccessful pitches" wire. Freelancers and moderators alike have seen that happen way too many times to count in these forums to ignore it. Where people were cut from the site with no warning and jettisoned into space without a single word. Because they pitched at too low a conversion %. So, my caution is there definitely not unwarranted. Which is why I am asking for the negative impact to not be applied to my account since this wasn't my fault. 

I just need my stats pitch count to be accurate and reflect 9 less pitches. And my credits returned.

Thank you very much. 

[#9]

Upwork had me do a video chat verification this morning.  This afternoon, I found out that they withdrew my proposals.  How do I get my proposals reinstated?  I submitted a request to support.  Is there anything else I should do?  

[#10]

Hello John,

Your proposals are withdrawn because of the Video Verification process you just encountered. You should be able to submit proposals again.

[#11]

How do I get the connects back?  I paid for the additional connects, so ... would I get a refund or would all the connects be restored?

[#12]

The real issue is losing out on a project because my proposal was withdrawn.

[#13]

While the video verification is a great iniative, this proposal withdrawal thing is not funny at all.

[#14]

They said it's a bug and it's a pretty crappy one tbh.

[#15]

---

@Jennifer M wrote:

They said it's a bug and it's a pretty crappy one tbh.

---

 They? Who?  This has been an ongoing problem for months.

[#16]

Valeria said it's a bug. Iti's not supposed to withdraw your applications. It did at first, and they changed it, and now it's happening again.

[#17]

Pandora, Rene and others,

I'd like to confirm that it's not our intention to have proposals withdrawn when a freelancer is asked to complete video verification. However, currently we are experiencing an issue when some proposals (not all) are withdrawn. The fix for this issue is already is scheduled to be released. 

When a freelancer is asked to complete video verification, their account isn't suspended but their ability to submit new proposals is limited. Only if the freelancer doesn't respond to the request to verify, their account can be suspended.

[#18]

---

@Rene K wrote:

While the video verification is a great iniative, this proposal withdrawal thing is not funny at all.

---

You should see the similiar (and recent) report from another member, who got caught in the same mess, and actually heard from a interested, perspective client who asked her WHY she withdrew.

Not quite as bad as having a current client ask "why did Upwork tell me your account is suspended", but still pretty 'ffing bad.

[#19]

This isn't just a bug or not a funny thing.  This is the thing CEO's hate.  It's a liability.
 
If one of my proposals wasn't accepted because it was withdrawn by Upwork as a part of the Identity Verification process, I think it makes them liable for a breach of contract. (I'm not a lawyer, so it's just a guess.)
 
Why would they be liable?  First, withdrawing proposals is not listed as an action Upwork can take in their Identity Verification process.  They say:
 

If you are unable to verify your identity, Upwork may, at our discretion:

• Suspend payments from your account
• Suspend all of your contracts
• Revoke the Upwork Payment Protection for your existing contracts
• Suspend or close your account
• Suspend or close suspected duplicate accounts

In effect, they are violating their own policy by withdrawing proposals before giving people a chance to verify their identity.
 
The size of liability is what is most troubling.  I submitted a proposal for a project that had 3-6 months of work.  I submitted a rate of $35/hour.  That puts the total cost to the client at roughly $17,000 to $34,000.  That is one project for one person.  Assuming several other indepent contractors have similar situations, the costs multiply.
 
Upwork needs to consult with their compliance/legal team.  I'm guessing the legal team will at first say they are in full compliance with whatever laws apply.  When they look more into it, they will revamp the process.  I am guessing they will move the identity verification process to occur before contractors are allowed to submit proposals. 

[#20]

A more logical and practical approach to verification would be to allow freelancers a grace period of several days to verify identity, before imposing a suspension. 

[#21]

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@John K wrote:

A more logical and practical approach to verification would be to allow freelancers a grace period of several days to verify identity, before imposing a suspension. 

---

I concur. If the verification process of a profile is due to something suspicious enough, then I totally agree with the immediate suspension.

If, however, it's a part of the reasonable initiative aimed at verifying all the profiles across the board, then yes, a grace period should be allowed.

[#22]

I submitted a request to support, and they gave me back my connects.

I looked at some stuff on avvo.  The keyword in my last statement was "if" a proposal would have been accepted.  Because of the "if", you would not have actual damages.  

But it still looks bad.  It sends the message:

"Welcome to our site.  At any point in time, we will suspend your account for no reason."

It's a big sign to not put your eggs all in one basket.

[#23]

I have proof of losing an actual hire:

This is what the client sent to me:

Were you still interested on working on this? I saw that you withdraw your application.
I don't have any ideas at this point.
I already hired another freelance for the job because I thought you didn't want to apply.

She was going to hire me but when she thought I withdrew the offer, she hired someone else.  Her message is what led me to see 8 offers were canceled and 16 credits were lost - and one actual hire.  This cost me actual money.

If anyone talks to an attorney and considers a class action, count me in.

[#24]

Hi Monika,

I understand your frustration and apologize about the problem the issue we're having has caused you. It looks like the client in question hired you already for the job and our team refunded the Connects used for submitting proposals which were withdrawn automatically. We're really sorry about your experience and will reach out to you directly with an update regarding the issue.

[#25]

HI.

I was asked to verify my account and all my proposals and active candidacies were moved to the "archived" section. 

Job application is cancelled by Upwork... 

I got the "Plus membership" and paid extra in order to get a few more connects this month and now Upwork canceled around 28 of my proposals...

Really? I was very interested in the last proposal I submitted. That's very dissapointing. I spent a lot of time on it. I'm surely gonna submit another proposal for that specific job, but I'm afraid this client won't take me into consideration anymore..

How is Upwork going to fix this?

[#26]

Hi Carlos,

To clarify, the recent action on your account is related to the identity verification request you received recently. Please complete this process in order to reinstate your account and our team will follow up regarding the automatically withdrawn proposals, which is a procedure our team uses in certain cases. We apologize for the inconvenience and feel free to follow up on your open ticket with any questions you might have.