I have no video capability. I would like to verify my identity another way if necessary.

[alistairlowde]

Hi. I have started work on Upwork and received my first milestone payment, which should be released tomorrow for payment next Wednesday. However, I have encounrtered a message saying "Action required: To avoid additional account restrictions, you must complete your identity verification video call with Upwork." I am working from my old laptop and will be doing so all winter. It doesn't have video capability. My phone does, but it is an old small Samsung and doesn't connect to the internet well, certainly not to have video chats. So I would like to confirm my identity in another way. I can send my passport photo, a photo of me holdiing my passport and a code number I've been given, anything that doesn't need video. Please help me sort this issue out.

Cheers,Alistair

[prestonhunter]

Alistair:

You live in the United Kingdom. Not on Mars.

Borrow somebody else's cell phone.

Borrow somebody's laptop computer.

Go to the home of a friend or relative who has a desktop computer with a video camera.

Go to an Internet Cafe.

Buy a small USB video camera.

Rent a laptop with built-in video cam.

If necessary, you can contact Upwork Support and work with them to figure something out. They're not filming an IMAX movie. They just want to briefly talk to you and see that you really are who you say you are.

[alistairlowde]

Oh dear. Why have you posted this "answer"? Really, why?  I am looking for an answer, not a sneer. You have nothing to offer as a solution, so why write this?

[petra_r]

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@Alistair L wrote:

Oh dear. Why have you posted this "answer"? Really, why?  I am looking for an answer, not a sneer. You have nothing to offer as a solution, so why write this?

---

 He gave you an answer, and a solution. That is why he wrote this. You are in Somerset for crying out loud. NOT the back of beyond in a third world country. You could get this sorted in an hour or two.

Your local Argos store will be thrilled to sell you a lil webcam for less than 10 quid.

[alistairlowde]

I am currently in my isolated holiday home deep in the Rhodopes in southern Bulgaria, 17 kilometers from the nearest small town, in bear country where I carry bear spray when I walk and collect firewood. I will be here for weeks. I have no access to anything but my old laptop, so my problem was real, not invented or stupid, as you'd expect from a high-powered Oxford academic like me. But don't worry, all is well, a genuinely helpful person has completely resolved my problem by giving me the correct answer and the help I asked for. Genuinely unhelpful people are no longer a nuisance! Cheerio!

[petra_r]

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@Alistair L wrote:

I am currently in my isolated holiday home deep in the Rhodopes in southern Bulgaria, 17 kilometers from the nearest small town, in bear country where I carry bear spray when I walk and collect firewood.

---

 I am very jealous 🙂

Do you get to see bears? Bison? Vultures? Eagles? Wolves (not sure there are wolves there?)

[versailles]

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@Alistair L wrote:

I am currently in my isolated holiday home deep in the Rhodopes in southern Bulgaria, 

---

You still have Internet obviously. Mobile? How could one live without Internet? No fiber in the village I guess? Must be a hell.

And bears, you mean actual bears? Like not bears in a video game?

What have you done wrong to be sent to isolation? Did Upwork do that to you?

[petra_r]

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@Rene K wrote:

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@Alistair L wrote:

---

And bears, you mean actual bears? Like not bears in a video game?

---

 The Rhodopes are one of the most glorious places for wildlife in Europe. Bears, nearly extinct wild horses (Tarpans), vultures, several types of eagle, bison etc etc.... I think wolves and lynx but would have to google and that would be cheating.

[JoanneP]

Hi Alistair,

It looks like our team has reached out to you directly via email regarding the video verification process. You can respond to the ticket explaining that you do not have a laptop or a cellphone that is capable of video chatting so that they can suggest other options you can do to complete the process. 

[alistairlowde]

Thanks for your helpful reply. How do I access that ticket from my online account? I created an ODesk account 5 years ago but never used it. I've only just become a full-time freelancer and this is my first ever Upwork job. I've used my old account but that email is not active and I can't see how to change my contact email on my profile.

[JoanneP · Accepted solution]

Hi Alistair, 

You can access the ticket by going here once logged in to your account. To update your email address on file, go to Accounts menu > Settings > Click My Info. Here's the help article for more information. 

[alistairlowde]

Thank you Joanne, you are genuinely very helpful. I appreciate this a lot.

I have one final thing to ask. To begin with, each message has the tag '0 kudos'. When I click 'like' to say thank you for your help, the tag now says '1 kudo'. As a classically educated Oxford academic this makes me wince. 'Kudos' means 'glory' in Ancient Greek, in the sense of personal triumph and praise, as for an Olympic winner. It is not the plural of 'kudo'! Is there any way of relaying this information to the website designers?!

[kochubei_valeria]

Thanks for your feedback, Alistair. I'll share it with the team and the provider of our Community platform.

[alistairlowde]

Hi again. I need help. As you were so helpful before, I'm hoping you can help now. I need to talk to someone about verifying my identity who will try to resolve the issue and discuss things with me, someone who is not on the video team. Failing that, I need to register a serious complaint, as I am not being treated properly. All I am getting is the same unhelpful reply from the video team whatever I say. When I start a new ticket, explaining the situation and asking to speak to someone not on the video team, I get a reply that there is already an open ticket on the issue, the policy is to only have one open ticket, to have the new discussion closed, followed by a member of the video team repeating their previous message. This is becoming upsetting and offensive. Please can you help me? I need to speak to a helpdesk decision maker who is not on the video team and who can discuss the issue with me. Can you point me in the right direction please? Or, if that is not possible, please show me how to raise a serious complaint, not just about my pay being withheld but about how badly I am being treated by the help team. Thank you, Alistair

[kochubei_valeria]

Hi Alistair,

We've followed up with the team about your ticket. Please, refer to the most recent reply the agent posted on your ticket.

Thanks!

[alistairlowde]

Edit: I was being daft. Contact email successfully changed. Now, how do I get them to resend their ticket to the good address?!