Urgent! Newbie_ Concern with client

[49173d61]

Hello! I'm a newbie here and a silent reader of this forum. I submitted a proposal yesterday for a job posting and got a reply from the client, with his skype ID on it, asking me to contact him for an interview. The job was to hire someone who could write a news article and translate it to another language to be published right after. During our conversation, which I believed part of the interview, the client mentioned that the subject of this job was actually a freelancer (Upwork), that he hired previously but unfortunately cheated on the client, as he said. And so the client wanted to report this freelancer and be published in a local news article. When I learned about this, I asked the client if he ever reported this issue to Upwork, and he said yes but according to him, Upwork couldnt do much of this.So he asked me again if I could do the job. 

Please give me your advice about this issue, if this job was approriate or not? I was hesitant to accept it since the subject involved was someone associated with Upwork. I hope to hear your feedback the soonest.Thank you so much!

[a_lipsey · Accepted solution]

Well, if he wants you to specifically publish the person's name there could be legal issues. I would pass. You have no way of knowing what really went down, and this guy wants to write an article bashing Upwork? You realize that if clients get turned off of Upwork then you lose the chance of more jobs because fewer clients = fewer jobs. Don't bite the hand that feeds, you know?

I suppose it really depends on the context and content of the article. If it's general and doesn't mention names but is like a "don't make these mistakes that I made while hiring" that's probably okay, but if it's just a revenge piece, I'd pass.

[49173d61]

Thank you so much for your response. Yes, I have been thinking of the consequences likewise. That's why I was really hesitant to accept the job. But I havent asked the client the whole details of the issue and the content of the said article. He just mentioned to me the intention and the purpose of the job. I still have not responded to his last message, when he asked me if I could help him with the project. Should I ask him for more details or just pass? Thanks again, appreciate your help.

[renata101]

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Golda D wrote:

Should I ask him for more details or just pass? Thanks again, appreciate your help.

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It depends how much unpaid time you want to spend on it.

I suggest that you do some research on the forum to understand the types of complaints clients sometimes post about freelancers cheating them. Some have legitimate complaints. In other cases, when the clients respond to a few questions from forum participants, it becomes clear that they either didn't do their homework or didn't use any of the tools Upwork has in place to responsibly manage their contracts (they haven't read the terms of service or reviewed the weekly reports, etc.). I don't know the specifics of this case, but sometimes the most vocal ones won't admit that they failed to proceed in a sensible way. 

I'm curious about why a client who had been cheated on Upwork would want to hire someone else from Upwork to write an article about it. That makes absolutely no sense. 
 

[AleksandarD]

Hi Golda,

Please note that taking communications with a freelancer or client off of Upwork before a contract is in place is against our Terms of Service. You can use Upwork Messages, where you can send messages, have video calls, and more. 

Thank you.

[mwiggenhorn]

Off topic, but the fact that you communicated through Skype before a contract was in place is a clear violation of the Terms of Service.