Can upwork take yopur money?

[tinchozabala]

Hello freelancers. How are you?

I need to know if can upwork take money earned if you stop using the platform for some  time. Any deadline???

Thanks.

Martin

[slavkoa]

180 days UpWork keep you money what they do after this time period i do not know.

[prestonhunter]

If you leave money in your Upwork account.... yes, Upwork can take it.

Upwork is not a bank. Upwork can't let money sit in your account forever. After six months, the money must go somewhere.

If you don't leave any money in your account, you have nothing to worry about.

Of course, if you have a subscription, such as to a premium account, Upwork will continue to bill you each month.

[petra_r]

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Preston H wrote:

If you leave money in your Upwork account.... yes, Upwork can take it.

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Upwork don't "take" it. They return it to the client after 180 days.

[prestonhunter]

Petra:
You are correct in pointing out that if you leave money in your account for 180 days, the money is returned to the client.

But it is important to understand that I meant what I said:

If you leave money in your Upwork account, Upwork can take it.

The original poster's basic question, as seen in his thread headline, is: "Can Upwork take your money?"

Yes. Upwork can take your money.

If you leave money in your Upwork account for five minutes, Upwork has the ability to take it.

I provided one "soft example" of why it is not a good idea to leave money in your Upwork account. There are many other reasons that are more immediate.

Although it is rare for Upwork to do so, Upwork CAN do something with your money other than just leave it in your account for you to use. Upwork has access to your money if the money is in your account. Upwork might use that money to pay money that you owe to them, such as if a client does a chargeback. Upwork may lock your financial account and make it inaccessible to you, such as might happen if your transactions are being investigated. What if you earn money working on an hourly contract, and then the client's credit card can not be charged? Money that shows up as having been earned can be eliminated.

[martina_plaschka]

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Petra R wrote:

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Preston H wrote:

If you leave money in your Upwork account.... yes, Upwork can take it.

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Upwork don't "take" it. They return it to the client after 180 days.

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That applies to escrow, right? I thought if it is already in available status, it would be paid automatically to the freelancer's bank account?

[prestonhunter]

re: "That applies to escrow, right? I thought if it is already in available status, it would be paid automatically to the freelancer's bank account?"

This isn't about escrow. ANY money that is in a freelancer's account is going to be "ejected" after 180 days. Because Upwork is trying to comply with financial regulations. If a freelancer earned money from any contract - hourly or fixed-price - and leaves that money in her account for 180 days because she never set up a payment withdrawal method, then Upwork will send the money back to the clients.