FreelancerReviews 19,461

FRAUD!

I've been charged for 100$ just for winning a project where a client never shown, there were no any warnings or me being agree with this condition, sure they do have agreement according to which they actions are legit, but it just unfair! Also they said that they could help to resolve any issue but in fact they stay aside saying that they just introduce you to employer and they don't care what happened next, it's their's official policy:

Project fees are non-refundable whether a project is complete, incomplete, cancelled or re voked. This serves as the introduction fee for the employer and the freelancer. It is likewise for the purpose that contact details would be allowed to be given by both parties immediately. Our role as an online venue is already fulfilled when the the employer and freelancer meet, agree on and work on a project.

Note that Freelancer.com is an online venue for employers and freelancers to meet and work on a project. What will happen upon acceptance of the project is beyond our scope of support neither do we get involved in the transactions and interactions between employers and freelancers. It's our part to introduce the two parties but the project's success still lies only between the employer and freelancer.

The experiences here are of 'workers'... people who have done some work, and expect to be paid. They lose their money for fraudelent reasons. Yes, their hard-earned money.

But what do you say to users who want to have some work to be done? What, when they deposit some fund, then suddenly their project get cancelled or something,,, again for some fraudulent reason. They dont even bother to tell you!

If you want your money back... damn!

Mine is a story of such a case. My freelancer.com user id is jmathew256. I happen to be a 'Standard' user - this means, I am charged 24.95 US dollar per month to have my projects executed.

After I deposit my money, and even 'complete' a project. The money is still there in my account.

Result? The freelancer I was working, who has knowledge of the confidential information of the project (as with any project) is now threatening me to publish them if I do not release the funds.

I find, all of a sudden my account is 'limited' - and unable to transfer or withdraw my funds.

You guys can test it yourself:
1. Open a freelancer.com account
2. Deposit some money
3. Try withdrawing back.
Just try, and you'll come across tons of reasons why you cannot have your money back.

Now I know the kind of scam they are working on.

This site takes money from job seekers as a subscription and also has audacity to take fees per job.

In less than 1 month on two occassions they have taken fees for jobs that do not exist and on one occassion they simply look the other way and make excuses and transfer funds out of my account to places unknown.

They cannot explain their invoicing or charging system and when i was told of a refund recently for one of 7 odd charges, i asked for a credit note to show what a refund was for,

I was appaled when after 1 hour of chat the operative did not know what a credit note was and could not understand that if freelancer can raise an invoice for $15 and take money from my bank account or paypal and the invoice is found to be bogus either for a non existent job or some system glitch which happens often on their system then the remedy is to raise a credit note for the equivalent amount and refund the amount and the credit note should read taht it is credit note ******* for a reversal of xyz fee of $15 against invoive ******* of whatever date and this is the right way, any other way is tantamount to shady accounting and loopholes for theft.

I am also well informed that others use the site to sweep unsuspecting prospectors into pyramid job schemes, or job owners into paypal scams and much more.

Its a bizaare thing and the only reason I am staying on freelancer is because i believe that by the smallest of follies doth a giant fall and i have become rather determined to take them to the cleaners.

Its the only way they will learn that job hunting is not a brownie point scheme where you rob folk that are seeking work for any reason and expect them to work like slaves under any circumstance and fiddle accounts in exceedingly vast ways.

I have used people per hour for years., i have never once been charged a penny by them... same with guru and many others.

A massive lesson needs to be taught to these folk and I welcome anyone who has been scammed financially on this site to contact me for their details to be added to my shortlist.

England has a launderette, its called the county court.

What a horrid way to treat people.

I was posting a project, which was supposed to be a free activity on this site. However, in the review process for the project a $199 fee was added to the posting of the project. When I rejected the fee and tried to repost the project without the fee multiple times, this was not allowed. When I looked at the statement for the fee, which I did not have enough money deposited on the site to pay, it said that I would have to deposit on the next page if I wanted to post the project. I was given the impression that if I clicked through, I could change the project settings and then I wouldn't have to pay the fee. Instead, the money was taken out of my account.

Username- thoughtspeech
Project ID- *******

Edit- my account has been suspended because I suspended the UNAUTHORIZED Paypal payment. Freelancer wouldn't offer any hope of giving me back the $199, and it won't even let me get away with the $9 that Paypal was responsible for! In addition, they are forbidding me from taking any additional money that has been released to their site by my other employers.

They do not care about the ultimate end user: the freelancer. They charge both sides (project creators and project bidders) and will do whatever it takes to keep the money they squeeze out of both ends.

Example #1: If you put in a bid and are accepted, then do work and are not paid (partially your fault for not creating milestones and handing in the 100% completed work before being paid, sure.), they do not give a hoot whether you get paid. Even when you complain to them about an employer not paying you, they gladly place the blame back on you and don't lift a finger to punish the thief either in the form of a negative review (you aren't allowed to leave one if the project is never marked as "complete") or any other punitive measure.

Example #2: If you accept a project that is set to earn you, say, $500 dollars, 10% is instantly taken from you. $50. Say the employer never gets back to you, follows up, or anything even results (no work is even done, etc), you CANNOT get back your $50. You can plead them, but your pleas will surely fall on deaf ears and automatons towing the company line about the necessity of following their high and mighty "policies". USE THESE GUYS AS A LAST RESORT, or if you do use them, TREAD CAREFULLY!

I had a project that was transferred from vWorker to Freelancer without any notice. So I hae to re-leaen a new website - frustrating as this was my first project with vWorker. Fortunately I had escrowed money with vWorker, the coder did a great job and I then decided to put up a new (but similar project) on Freelancer. I paid $17 for various priviledges up front. I had only 5 bids for the new project none of whom had addressed to project details and none had the expereience. This compared to 16 who bid on vWorker all with experience. I invited my earlier worker to price the job, which he did but I could not then award the project as the site kept telling me it was not my project.
After 3 emails to support all I got were platitiudes. As I could not access my project to award it to my worker we went through a second site and the project is now underway (using Guru.com). I am still waiting for my money back and a response addressing the issue.
Farcical experience, website operation and support that will lose the Buyers and Coders that used to work with vWorker. There are lot better sites - biggest is not best!

They allow you to signup, deposit funds and to do work, as soon as you try to remove funds from your account, they limit your account and say they are holding the funds until identity proof is given, I gave all the proof they asked for and they told me that they will deposit my funds back into "the employers account" who I worked for and got the money from in the first place, whose account is coincidentally limited also, meaning that I then have to wait for them to sort their account till I can get my money, this is ridiculous, they prevent you from getting your own money and should be investigated, they have no phone number on their website to contact them. They are collecting copy's of passports and utility bills as identity proof, Please do something about this website they are thieves, stealing and withholding peoples funds purposely and making it impossible to release your funds. Freelancer, Scam, Scam, Scam, be aware and don't ever use them!

I was working in Freelancer.com last 6 years. Last 6 month I saw their payment section is very worse. They have no protection for provider. What they do with buyer no idea. But many time I loose my money. I did work then get paid. After few days my money vanish. Freelancer saying buyer has account issue or they do something.So my money gone. I did work not get payment and freelancer get his commission.So where is protection. 2nd ly most time if you go to dispute they 99% help buyer to win.

It is now very very bad site taking money from all. I am trying to leave this site and enter in elance.

I will not recommending any freelancer for this site. Even they don't have any phone no. They took my few money.

Sujoy

I would like to tell my experience. Is when a fake employer accepted all bids, and no response for the project. But freelancer charged fee deduction of the percentate from the project price., freelancer can charge fee., but the employer should pay for the milestone. Then we can pay the fee, but for fake employers, and dummy employer, we are getting burning our pockets with the fee.

I hope its a bit hard. And suffering like this.

There's just two things wrong with freelancer.com. First, the front end of their accounting process is a bewildering maze of tabs and subtabs. Good luck figuring out what you actually paid for - they take the money out of your account as soon as you award a bid. Secondly, every freelancer I hired used their lack of English to weasel out of finishing their projects and there's no recourse to argue the fact. Stay away from freelancer.com, you'll find yourself mired in a nightmare.

NOT TO WORK ON THIS. THEY WILL KEEP YOUR MONEY AND WILL WAIST YOUR HARD TIME.
One of my contractor buy a my service on freelance market. He bought the service and after the work complete he released the mile stone amount.

When I tried to withdraw it site told me status pending for 15 days, after 15 days nothing happen and no mail i got, I tried again and for my shock when i get nothing in a week.
I wrote to them them that why are you not releasing the money, they replied that you contractor is suspicious.

When I asked if you know that he is a fraud why you allow him to purchase and why you took his money, and if you got the money pay it to me.
THEY REPLIED THEY HAS THEY WRITE AS PER THEIR TERMS.

Suggested me to contact the contractor and asked him to solve his issue with freelancer.com

NEVER USE THIS SITE, THEY ARE SIMPLY FRAUD.

They've charged my credit card 10 times for over $400 on a $300 project. I've contacted them more than 5 times to fix the issue but all they could tell me is 'we can't resolve your issue until you validate your account.' To validate the account, I have to provide them with another credit card, paypal or bank account information. Furthermore, when I asked them to remove my account because I am tired of dealing with these con-artists, they told me they will not delete my account until I validate my account. What kind of crooks are these?