was Upwork always siding with the client and neglect the freelancer?

[aya_tammam]

I'm new here but i heard alot about how amazing this site was

i was very happy when i got my first job here with a payment verfied client , i worked 8 hours and was very excited that my client was satisfied with the work then i got this message from upwork team

we found compelling evidence of fraudulent activity by a client you’re working with, and we’ve taken action to protect you and other freelancers. In this instance, the action includes reversing the payment from your client back to the billing method on file.

i mean if there was a proplem with the client and he turned to be a fraud shouldn't the site protect me and help to get my right back instead of giving him his money back ?

now he got the money and the job for free but what about me ?

how can  i work again and spend hours working hard and wait for days for the payment when i know that anyone can be a fraud and the site will help him get his money back and don't care about me?

[cylver1z]

Hello Aya,

I'm sorry that you experienced this kind of problem using our platform. Unfortunately, we can't share any information about your client's issue. You may read this article to help you avoid questionable jobs. Thank you.

[aya_tammam]

hi i have read the post you sent me and nothing of this happened to me ?

my contract was hourly and the client was satisfied with my work

so i still don't know how can i work again on this site knowing if the client was a fraud

i would still get nothing !!

so here is my 2 questions and i hope you will help me and answer them

how are you protecting me by giving my money back to a fraud without my permission ?

how does the client become payment verfied ?

[rayecooper]

Hi Aya,

I think you have misread my post. I'm just another member of this site, and a new one at that, not an employee. My post to you was because I was so disgusted that you had payment taken away from you for the work you completed because your client was fraudulent. If you re-read my post you will see that my sympathies are with you, and that like you, I do not understand why the fraudulent client is being protected, and not you, who has done everything right! So I can't answer your questions because I don't know the answers. I just hope this mess is resolved and you are paid as you are entitled to be.

[rayecooper]

So sorry this happened to you! This is what annoys me the most about these freelance sites. The client can be as disrespectful or as rude as they like to a freelancer, or even scam a freelancer as has happened to you, and they're protected by the "powers that be" on the site. I would love to know how they justify "taking action to protect you and other freelancers", by taking payment back from you for work you've done, and giving it back as a reward to the client for successfully scamming you. It's not right, and I'm beginning to believe it's just not worth being a member of these sites. It's just one more way for unscrupulous scammers to rip you off when the site protects them and not you, and you have no recourse. Way too many so called "people" have no morals and no ethics!! My faith in the human race is slipping to an all time low!!!

[kat303]

Aya - You said this was an hourly job. Did you use tracker and annotate the screen shots it takes. If so, you should be protected by Upworks Gurantee Payment Protection. That basically states that if you followed the above procedures, Upwork will pay you if the client doesn't or if something goes wrong with the clients account.

Of course, if you didn't use tracker, or annotate each screen shot, then you don't qualify for Payment Protection and will not get payment for your time and energy for the work you did.

[aya_tammam]

I used upwork time tracker and my work diary has many screen shots of my work

that is what irritates me the most , i have done everything based on the site rules to have a safe first job

hourly contract + payment verfied client + upwork time tracker

so where is the problem, why are they saying that they gave the money back to the client because he turns out to be a fraud!!

I didn't annonate my screen shots but i did used the tracker

what should i do now ??

my first job that i thought to be a dream turned out to be a nightmare

[astro_writer]

Aya, I'm sorry this happened to you. It really sucks. Just so you know going forward, you MUST write memos while using the time tracker to qualify for payment protection. (And your activity levels for most segments must be reasonably high.)

Dont let this one bad client discourage you or define your experience here. Keep trying. There are plenty of good clients and jobs out there.

[aya_tammam]

thank you for the advice

i checked my work diary

i worked 8 hours and unfortunately only the last 3 hours are the ones with a note

but the previous 5 hours most of them with activity 10 out of 10

I'm attaching a screen shot of the last 3 hours i worked

can you help me and tell me do i qualify for the protection or not

[AveryO]

I'm sorry for your experience, Aya. Please know that in order for you to meet the eligibility requirements of the Payment Protection for Hourly Contracts, you need the following: 

• An hourly contract
• A client with a verified billing method
• An account in good standing
• To log your hours with the Upwork Desktop App
• To be visibly working on a contract-related activity in your Work Diary
• To annotate your Work Diary with memos or activities labels that adequately describe the activity performed
• To maintain adequate and fair activity levels
• To stay within the contract's weekly limit

You may check Section 6.4 Disbursements to Freelancers in the User Agreement for more information. I followed this up with the team so that they they can get back to you with more information on your open ticket. 

[aya_tammam]

thank you so much Avery could you please help me with 2 points of what you said

what do you mean by an account in good standing ?

and about taking memos i worked 8 hours but only wrote a memo at the last 3 hours does that make me unqualified ??

other than this 2 points everything else you said  applies to my case

[AveryO]

Hi Aya, 

An account in good standing is an account with no recent account holds. Here are some reasons on why an account will be put on hold, or suspended. 

I have noted your Work Diary memos and screen grabs and escalated it to the team so that it can be reviewed further. The team will send more information and updates via the same ticket thread. 

[aya_tammam]

Hi Avery

i know I've bothered you enough but this is driving me crazy

the help and support contacted me saying that fixed contract isn't under protection can you please check this screenshot and tell me how my contract is fixed and not hourly ? when it clearly says 40hourper week is the limit ??

another thing the client was payment verfied when i started the contract that was something i'm so sure about howcome he is now not verfied ? and would that affect me even if he was verfied at first ??

[aya_tammam]

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

[nkocendova]

Hi Aya,

You are correct in that the information shared with you by an agent most recently on your open ticket was not relevant to the contract in question and I apologize for the misinformation on that ticket. I have just now followed up with the team handling this and you can expect another update with correct information very shortly.

[aya_tammam]

hi Nina

i apologize for what I'm going to say but it feels like everyone at the upwork help centre don't bother to read my messages as they all reply with the same thing that my client is a fraud and that's it

no one says why I'm not included in the protection or am i included and have to wait to get paid

the message i recieved after your reply was this

Hello Aya Tammam,

Apologies for the confusion. Having your client permanently suspended means either fraud, abuse or violation of the User Agreement has occurred thus all Upwork Payment Protection will be revoked.​ 

I realize this is unexpected and apologize for the disruption to your work.

Thank you for your understanding.

if you have seen my ticket you would feel like everyone there has some sentences wrote before and whenever they see someone asking they just copy and paste

it make me feel like I'm invisible, no one is answering anything

sorry for bothering you and thank you for caring

[kochubei_valeria]

Aya, Saphna and others,

We have escalated this case to the team and they will still be reviewing the payment against the terms of Hourly Protection. We'll update Aya via the ticket as soon as possible.

Thanks!

[1judywigginton]

Finally! A message with compassion and detailed information. I was really losing interest. Now I want to wait and see how this turns out before diving in. 

[astro_writer]

Edited: Whoops, never mind, Avery replied to you.

[richard_wein]

Hi Aya. For what it's worth, I doubt that YOUR CLIENT got his money back. It sounds like your client was not paying with his own money, but was fraudulently using someone else's payment method. And THAT person got their money back. But I realise that doesn't help you.

[astro_writer]

Would someone care to clarify? It seems that Aya is not receiving a refund for the three hours she did track and annotate, because her client was fraudulent. I was under the impression that hourly payment protection applies even if your client turns out to have done something like use a stolen credit card.

Advice on this forum has said the same--I specifically saw posts that said fixed-price work is vulnerable to client fraud and chargebacks, but not (properly tracked) hourly. Did I misunderstand this?

[aya_tammam]

thank you everyone for your support ❤️ ❤️ ❤️

another member of the support contacted me and said that they will review my request about the protection

whether my request will be approved or declined i will let you know

so all new members like us can learn from this experience 🙂

though I'm frustrated that my first  5 hours are not under the protection though my activity of the screenshot was 10 at most of them but i was a fool and didn't know that i should take notes

so I'm hoping that i will get paid at least for the last 3 hours 😞

[m_terrazas]

I hope you get those three hours at least.
Tell us how everything was solved.

For the moderators.
Since, it seems that not writing something in the memo is a way that your payment is not guaranteed, instead of just appearing the phrase "What are you working on?", Could not you add a warning that it is "IMPORTANT" or "MANDATORY" fill in this information?
Or do that, when you try to start recording time, do not let you do it until this section has information.

[1judywigginton]

I am new as well. I am very concerned because I do not want to work for free. What is Upwork going to do to protect freelancer in this case? Anyone?

[JoanneP]

Hi Judy,

Upwork provides payment protection to give security and peace of mind to clients and freelancers working together on both hourly and fixed-price projects. You can read more about it on help article.