Unpaid Escrow

[ee6aad0e]

I completed my initial assignment last year in December.  The person who hired me paid the money into Escrow but Escrow failed to pay me.  Furthermore I completed a 11 chapter book which was approved in March this year.  Escrow has still not paid me.  Is Escrow a scam?  I feel I have worked hard and lost all my money because no one at Escrow is prepared to answer my query, though it has been going on for very long.  I am very disappointed and feel let down by UpWorks who seemingly don't really care about their writers.  I have another gig right now with upworks.  I enjoy writing, but surely UpWorks can ensure that they treat us fairly?

[PradeepH]

Hi Premilla,

Thank you for your message. I see that you have an available balance of $180 on your Upwork account which includes the payment received from the client in Nov 2021. You can refer to your Transaction History page for more information. I am unable to trace any payment for March. Could you please confirm the contract / job title?

Thank you,

Pradeep

[ee6aad0e]

Thank you Pradeep.  So I now see that they have taken all the money.  6 months of hard work and not a single cent.  Upworks really doesn't care about it's writers.  I can perceive then that I got caught in a scam and worked for 6 months for free for upworks to take all my income.  Not fair at all.

[ee6aad0e]

Sadly, I am very very frustrated.  The "Get Support" line is manned by a Bot that gives me strange answers and obviously doesn't understand my cries.  I am simply saying repeatedly:  WHY DOES UPWORK NOT PAY MY MONEY???  We were affected by the floods.  We need food, blankets, shelter, clothes and meds.  Yet UPworkS is so insensitive that they have taken my 6 months pay for all my hard work and they don't want to resolve the money stolen by their staff.  That's all I can understand.  That someone stole my pay.  This is so unfair.  It is wicked and cruel to steal an innocent person's hard earned money.

[kochubei_valeria]

Premilla, 

All the payments made to you by your clients will show in the Transaction History report here (you may need to adjust the time frame to see earlier transactions) and there is balance available for you to withdraw. I can assure you that your earnings haven't been stolen, refunded or lost. You just need to withdraw them from your account. You'll see your available balance at the top of the Transaction History page and can go to you Get Paid page to set up a payment method and withdraw your funds. For more information on setting up how you get paid, check out this help article. 

[sofia2008]

Here is a help article on how fixed-price contract actually works.

Get Paid for Fixed-Price Contracts – Upwork Customer Service & Support | Upwork Help

These details will help you follow-up on your fixed-price contracts.

[pgiambalvo]

Upwork can't ensure that.

[ee6aad0e]

So it means that Upworks has stolen my money?  6 months of hard work and not paid at all?  I think they are a scam.  I have to tell everyone not to work for them because it is proof now that they steal our money.  I DIDN'T receive a single cent from last year and they also don't respond to me.  I am heartbroken but I realise that I got caught in a scam.

[pgiambalvo]

No, Upwork did not steal your money, The client did not pay you for your work and Upwork can't force them to or at least somewhat protect you from unscrupulous clients unless you use the time tracker.