Can I get a refund on Freelancer?

Many people buy on Freelancer and they have a system in place for refunds. On Sitejabber, as of May 10, 2024 1,568 members have written reviews where they rate Freelancer as a 1 star and said they had a problem with their refund system. Our users noted problems on receiving money back on refunds, shipping policy on refunds, time it takes to process a refund and overall customer service during the refund process.
In evaluating their refund process Sitejabber members had several insights on Freelancer.

Receiving money back on Freelancer refunds

Sitejabber member Ra A writes the following:

“freelancer.com is a scam and a fraud company. Stay away from this place. I have contacted paypal because paypal is a party of this scamming theft company. Paypal knowingly knows that this company is a fraud yet paypal collects money for freelancer. Paypal and freelancer are in to ripoff people. I am going to drive to San Jose and file a police report against paypal and freelancer for theft. matt.barrie@sydney.edu.au, Phone +(612) 9279 3305 Call and contact the CEO matt barrie in australia to refund your money. Here is MR MATT BARRIE External Lecturer Office Room, Building J03 Address School of Electrical and Information Engineering University of Sydney, NSW, 2006 Australia Phone +(612) 9279 3305 Fax +(612) 9351 3847 Email matt.barrie@sydney.edu.au”

Sitejabber member Rohan D writes the following:

“Stay away from this website, they're scammer. They let their freelancers worked for the clients and then once they have a lot of money in their account, they would blocked the account under pretence of Money Laundering Act. They would pocket the money for themselves and leave their freelancers high and dry. They also scammed clients on Freelancer.com. Whenever you create a project or contest, they automatically preselect some of expensive features that you may or may not want. If you accidently missed one of the preselect features, you will be charged $33 per feature. When you try to contact them to cancel, they said it's not refundable. So they're doing it on purpose to make money off unsuspecting clients. I'll use ODesk now.”

Time to process Freelancer refunds

Sitejabber member Mary J writes the following:

“I recently faced challenges on Freelancer.com and want to share my experience. Initially, my time on the platform was positive as I connected with clients and offered my freelance services. However, my account was unexpectedly restricted, and the platform's response lacked clarity, leaving me uncertain about alleged violations. Additionally, I encountered delays in withdrawing earnings. I believe Freelancer.com should focus on: Clear communication about alleged violations and account restrictions. Timely access to earned funds. Efficient customer support. I hope my feedback contributes to platform improvements for a more supportive and transparent experience.”

Freelancer customer service during refund process

Sitejabber member Nikolaj M writes the following:

“Be carefull, they are SCAM. I opened account for our legally registered company, hire one person for one work and put $150 in milestone. Day after this they immediately suspend our account with $200 in full balance, after I provide ID from me and they still refuse to reinstate account with our money in. They need to reply/if 2-3 days, before I upload funds in account they reply in less than 1hr always. They can not require any ID from own customers as they don't have this in terms of service and they are not any type of bank. THEY JUST WANT THAT YOU UPLOAD FUNDS AND THEN YOU WILL NEVER SEE IT AGAIN, I already call my bank for Chargeback so I will not have loss, but il never again use it! FREELANCER.COM SCAM REVIEW”

However, not all refund experiences on Freelancer were negative. 14,149 (82%) reviewers rated Freelancer as 5 stars and had a good refund experience.

Sitejabber member Emad H writes about their refund experience on Freelancer

“Submitting the project and communication through the app. Are very easy and nice, communication inside the app needs some extra options like selecting some messages or photos from the communication thread and send it again with some comments as used to do with other CHAT apps. This might help faster and quick response commenting on the messages Steps and phases idea was great The freelancer was very cooperative even we didn't reach the final agreement on the phase one so we did agree to discontinue Refund process was very simple and easy I do appreciate using the app further more in coming projects Emad”

Sitejabber member Risa M writes about their refund experience on Freelancer

“I emailed support midday, yesterday July 1st, about charges to my pay pal account. They very quickly responded and attempted to figure out what happened, as I don't know what this site is and never commissioned any "projects", they were able to track the transactions, close the account and refund my money. I'm not thrilled my account information was used with out my permission but it seems that the fraudulent information did not come from Freelancer. I greatly appreciate the quick resolution.”

Sitejabber member Zahara S writes about their refund experience on Freelancer

“Hey hope you are doing well. I want to tell that the person who award me the project first ask me to pay security fee which would be refundable after the completion of project. After going through that, he award me the project, I did the project in time with accuracy, he said to wait to some hours, payment would be sent to you. But they fail to do so. Also they block me from the freelancer site chat, aslo from WhatsApp. Sending you the scam profile.”