Mentally Unstable Freelancer: Recourse?

[Michael S]

I am a busy sole proprietor and fairly new to UpWork. Recently started a contract with a freelancer who said the job was "simple work," which led me to believe she could knock it out in a couple days.

She was about to get paid by UpWork, but had not provided ANY evidence that she had gotten any of the work done, unless you count filling out a timesheet as evidence. (By contrast, a very good freelancer I hired through UpWork provided screen shots during the process.) I messaged her or emailed her, and she offered to take the work off of UpWork and just get paid through PayPal. This is probably in violation of UpWork's terms of service as a freelancer, but I didn't look into that. I just need the work done, and soon.

This person then began sending me message after message, asking for half the payment up front. Again, three days had gone by and no work sent to me. Long story short, she threatened to spread all my contact details all over social media as a "fraud" client if I didn't pay her upfront for...something. I still don't know what, if any, she did on the project.

I fired her and posted a warning to others here on UpWork, and I will sue her for libel if she goes postal on social media and I find out about it, but there should be something UpWork can do. This person literally sent me an email that said, "if you don't pay me then i will share you all file on Facebook and twitter and linkden and tell them you are a lire. You break your promise." I would never be so stupid as to "promise" to put a 50% deposit on work that might or not have been done.

So my question: what other recourse do I have? What will UpWork do about this person? She appears to be a scam artist rather than a freelancer, and could cause real problems not just for me but also for others here.

[Katrina B · Accepted solution]

Wow totally unacceptable behavior. You can file a ticket and include all the evidence you have. If everything you say is true I hope she gets the permaban.  

Please note, this is a very rare occurance and there are many professional freelancers on this platform.  Definitely lodge a ticket with CS with your proof. 

[Michael S]

Hi Katrina,

I sent screen shots to your colleague, Valeria K., who also messaged me here.

How do I file a ticket? I don't have time to sit and take screenshots of the 30-zillion email messages this whack job sent me. 

Thanks,

Mike

[Valeria K]

Michael,

No need to send a ticket anymore as I have already escalated your concern to the team and we'll handle it from here.

[Rene K]

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@Michael S wrote:

Hi Katrina,

I sent screen shots to your colleague, Valeria K.,

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Katrina and Valeria are not colleagues. Valeria is an Upwork agent while Katrina, John, me and others are just users of Upwork, freelancers and/or clients.

We are not mentally sane. At all. But we are honest and professional, like the vast majority of freelancers on this platform.

The freelancer that your hired is not crazy, like us. She's totally dishonest. And this in not acceptable and will not be accepted by Upwork. If what you said is true, she's bound for being kicked off-platform.

[Katrina B]

Yessssss Rene, this is your best reply ever.  Absolutely we're not sane.  You hit the nail on the head.  Lovveee it. 

[Michael S]

I looked her up on LinkedIn and can't believe it's the same person. Did someone steal her identity? Oh well, lesson learned. Better vetting in the future for everyone I hire. Sigh.

[Valeria K]

Hi Michael,

I'm sorry you had a negative experience with a freelancer. Could you please click on my name next to this post and send me a private message with the name of the freelancer and screenshots of your communication with her where she asked to take payments outside of Upwork and threatened you?

We'll review and take appropriate actions.

[Michael S]

Almost forgot: Her name is **Edited for Community Guidelines**.

[John K]

Michael, next time you hire a designer, choose one with a portfolio, and avoid someone who works for $11.25 an hour while claiming to have a $55/hr rate.