Freelancer.com
reviews and complaints

They've locked my funds due to "external issues" with the contest holder, funny thing is they did this 2 months after the money was released and the client is profiting from my designs (they have it up in a web page), I don't think thats fair, I have to pay for my clients wrong doing and nobody in the costumer service want to help, they just tell me they are trying to contact the contest holder and I honestly think they won't answer back, nobody on freelancer willing to really wanting to solve my problem and they have a flaw on the way they handle things, is no safe for you to put your work on freelancer, don't fall like I (foolishly) did.

I had posted for a work and I awarded a project to one of the bidder. I made a fund of 50000 inr and after few mins my accounts shows limited access. Even though I had given proof of address still they holding my money and not responding proper. I m frustrated. If they need to do verification they should had done prior to funding, after the funding they just hold money and ask silly qns! This is unacceptable and I caution stay away from these people

I was charged $70+ dollars that I did not authorize. When I sent the company and email to resolve the situation, They told me there were no charges made to my account when my account clearly states otherwise. Also, after I filed the complaint, I immediately received an email from Freelancer support representative "Noah" stating that because I filed said complaint, my account was limited. This website is a rip off. I've lost almost $100 that they say was never taken to begin with, which is a lie as you can see in the photo, for nothing! This website is a SCAM. Do NOT sign up.

Freelancer.com is totally doing scams with everyone. I have earned 35000 in my account and I submitted the request of withdraw and I saw after some time they refused it and took my all money and now giving silly excuses and also when I submitted a ticket on 16th of feb I didn't got any response from them yet.

I am attaching the screenshot where you can clearly check the submitted ticket and still I am waiting for response.

I was deducted 30+USD x 14 months=430 USD membership fee from credit card. The last deduction was stopped and I was scammed almost 400 USD by Freelancer. I contacted an employer whose name is Erwin C and the guy replied they can refund at most 6 months of membership fee 2nd December, 2017 when I communicated with Freelancer. Today I login my account and found they ask me to provide government issued identification like ID, passport, photo, signature, birth date information and my residential bill information before I can refund my money from my freelancer account to my credit card account. I consulted my bank and was told these documents and information could be used to fraud authorization on behalf of the account owner, me, myself. I have emailed Freelancer and asked them to refund me money unconditionally. I hope someone here can tell me how to communicate with this company. Their action is dangerous to society. I am in Shanghai, China.

Here I post the details of my communication with Freelancer:

Username: williamcyber

I know this chat box looks
broken but it's not! :) You'll be able to type and 'send' a message as soon as
an agent gets connected with you. *Please keep this chat window open (don't
close it!) to hold your spot in the queue. :) * We want to help you asap!

You are now chatting with Erwin
C. (CX Specialist - Live Chat Support). Let us know if our Customer Support
Agent assisted you well by answering the survey at the end of the chat.

14:35Erwin C.:Hi, this is Erwin. Welcome to Freelancer.com Support
Desk.

14:35Erwin C.:How may I help you, Williamcyber?

14:36williamcyber:hi, my ticket ID is AEM-[protected]

14:36Erwin C.:please give me a minute or two to look into this.

14:37williamcyber:after submitting the request, I am trying
to cancel my membership

14:38williamcyber:I follow the instruction, to click the
setting, then membership, but when I click the membership under setting menu,
there is no response

14:39williamcyber:I need to cancel the membership immediately

14:39Erwin C.:please give me more time to look into this.

14:39williamcyber:"If you wish to go back to Free
Membership, you can cancel your current membership plan instead.

To do
this, click the thumbnail profile picture from your Dashboard page and select
Settings. On your Settings page, select the Membership tab and click
Cancel."

14:40williamcyber:OK

14:47Erwin C.:Our records show that you took advantage of the Free
Trial of our Professional Membership on 25 October 2016.

14:47Erwin C.:Since it was not downgraded back to Free, it was
automatically renewed with its respective charge.

14:47Erwin C.:Moreover, since you didn't have funds when the renewal
occurred, the system drafted funds from your credit card due to our billing
agreement.

14:47Erwin C.:There should also be a notification on the Newsfeed of
your Dashboard which states that your Professional Membership will
automatically renew at $29.95 USD per month, starting Nov 25, 2016 unless you
cancel it before then.

14:47Erwin C.:As a one-time courtesy, we may stop your membership and
refund up to 6 months of the fees that you incurred.

14:47Erwin C.:However, you will lose all of the benefits of the said
plan listed below:

14:47Erwin C.:300 Bids Per Month, 100 Skills, Daily Withdrawals, Unlock
Rewards, Unlimited Project Bookmarks, Preferred Freelancer Eligible, Custom
Cover Photo, 20 Employer Followings, 15 External Invoicings, Free Project
Extensions, Free Sealed Projects, High Value Project Bidding.

14:48Erwin C.:Would you like to proceed with the cancellation of your
plan, the refund of 6 months of its fee, and lose the mentioned benefits?

14:49williamcyber:why not return me all money?

14:50williamcyber:please tell me the reason you charge me
without my consent

14:51williamcyber:even I have make use of your free trial,
you still have no reason to charge me without my consent

14:52williamcyber:I have reported to my local police office
and China Bank

14:53williamcyber:I don't need any benefits you mentioned

14:54williamcyber:I even don't know what are they

14:55williamcyber:I am angry just because I was charged money
by others without my consent.

14:56williamcyber:no body sent me even a email to verify the
confirmation of my spending.

14:57williamcyber:I feel to be stole by someone

14:58Erwin C.:As discussed, the charges were for the renewal of your
Professional Membership that you incurred.

14:58Erwin C.:The auto-deposit from your credit card was due to our
billing agreement.

14:58Erwin C.:Adding a verified payment source or initially depositing
funds automatically activates a billing agreement.

14:58Erwin C.:This payment feature has been implemented so depositing
funds via credit card becomes a one-step process which can be completed on the
site.

14:59Erwin C.:Also, please give me more time to see if it is possible
to refund all the fees you incurred.

15:00williamcyber:please show me any agreements which prove
my fault for my being charged by anyone else. I need them.

15:00williamcyber:Thank you, sir.

15:01williamcyber:My angry is to Freelancer, rather than a
specific employee

15:02williamcyber:If I offended you personally, I am sorry.

15:06williamcyber:It is just today when I clicked the
confirmation email to activate my account in order to operate to cancel my
membership with Freelancer website. You can check if I said the fact.

15:10Erwin C.:You may check the notification on your Dashboard which
states that the said membership will renew at $29.95 USD per month, starting
Nov 25. Also, we may refund only up to 6 months of the fees that you incurred.

15:11Erwin C.:Would you like to proceed with the refund of 6 months of
the fees that you incurred and cancellation of the said plan?

15:14williamcyber:first please delete my membership today.
second return me money what you said. third I tell you here I will start the
accuse from my local administration.

15:15williamcyber:If you think you have proper reason to
refuse returning my rest amount of money please show me any agreement.

15:17williamcyber:That I am wronged is worse than the money I
lost. Because you still do not admit your improper doing.

15:24Erwin C.:We have now stopped the said plan and refunded up to 6
months of the fees that you incurred to your Freelancer.com account.

15:24Erwin C.:It is also stated on section "6. Fees and
Services" or our site's Terms and Conditions that "We charge fees for
certain services, such as introduction fees for Projects, listing upgrades and
memberships.".

15:24Erwin C.:Furthermore, there is a notification on the Newsfeed of
your Dashboard which informed you that the said membership plan will renew at
$29.95 USD per month, starting Nov 25 2016 unless you cancel it before then.

15:24Erwin C.:Since you have been notified about this on our site and
you failed to cancel your membership before it renewed, you were charged the
fee for its renewal according to our site's Terms and Conditions.

15:24Erwin C.:You may check our site's Terms and Conditions on the link
below:

15:24Erwin C.:https://www.freelancer.com/about/terms

15:29Erwin C.:Is there anything else that I can help you with?

15:29williamcyber:yes

15:30Erwin C.:If you have other questions, kindly let us know so that
we may provide recommendations.

15:31williamcyber:I just have made use of the free trial. I
can keep my property safe with out answering any notification from an equal
business company.

15:32williamcyber:I have received many emails including spam
emails

15:33williamcyber:need I to see and reply every one of them
to protect my money from being charged?

15:34williamcyber:the terms is defined by Freelancer who is
not government, nor judge

15:35williamcyber:why should I have to reply the notification
from Freelancer to ensure my money still in my purse?

15:36williamcyber:yes, I made use of the free trial. But it
is free trial.

15:37williamcyber:Is there any agreement to rule that I have
to reply your notifications if I used your free trial?

15:38Erwin C.:Just to clarify, it is also stated in section 1. of our
site's Terms and Conditions that "By accessing the Website, you agree to
the following terms with Freelancer.".

15:38Erwin C.:Also, if you are referring to the charges for the said
membership, you do not have to reply to every email or notification.

15:38Erwin C.:What you could have done was downgrade the said
membership plan before it renewed since our site has informed you of its
renewal with its respective charge starting Nov 25, 2016.

15:38Erwin C.:Since you failed to cancel it and downgrade to Free
before its renewal date even after you have been informed on our site, you were
charged fees for it according to our site's Terms and Conditions.

15:41williamcyber:who has the right to set an automatic
trigger to take my money when he/she is not aware of?

15:41williamcyber:you have not answer my question directly

15:43williamcyber:I don't have responsibility to do anything
to keep my money safe.

15:46williamcyber:Freelancer want to get my money. Freelancer
set its questions to be replied from me. They are Freelancer's issue, they are
Freelancer's business tricky, nothing to do with me, nothing to do with my
responsibility of doing something.

15:49williamcyber:My money should be safe no matter are there
any notifications or other questions raised by anyone else to be responsed.

15:54Erwin C.:As earlier discussed, the automatic deposit from your
credit card was due to our billing agreement which our site implements so that
depositing funds via credit card becomes a one-step process which can be
completed on the site.

15:54Erwin C.:We also respect your opinion.

15:54Erwin C.:However, as discussed, you were charged the fees as you
have failed to cancel your membership plan to free before its renewal date.

15:54williamcyber:in 10 minuted I will have to leave to do
something else. the discussion will be stopped but the cased is not ended.
thank you, sir

15:55williamcyber:the case is not ended

15:55williamcyber:till you return all my money

15:56williamcyber:thank you for listening my reasoning

Last edited: 13 minutes ago

On my bank statement I see that Justanswer charged me $37 US for help I didn't get! I got as far as having an expert on the screen but I told him that I could fix the problem myself. (My husband came home & he did get a new email address, so He helped me!)
The expert remained on screen, but he did nothing because I didn't ask him for any help! I expect you will give me a refund for that $37 US to my Visa card.
Thank you. Carolyn Harrington

I recently got scammed by one of the freelancers on the FREELANCER.COM platform. He forced me to release 50% milestone without showing any work. I did it because I am very unexperienced in this world.

So he stole my money and my other half milestone is also stuck in my account.

I created a PayPal dispute as the support did not want me to help with this case. Just because I created a PayPal dispute they limited my freelancer account and told me to close to disputes so they can work on it. I closed the PayPal disputes but they are not responding now! Now it is not possible to open a new PayPal dispute because you can only open once for one PayPal transaction! So FREELANCER.COM SUPPORT also tricked me.

Shortly, FREELANCER SUPPORT limited my account and not helping me to solve my case!

My 232 USD got stolen and no one cares. Plus I lost so much time and energy. Meanwhile I hired another freelancer on UPWORK and he finished his work in 24 hours. No scams no support issues or anything! Don't use FREELANCER, use UPWORK. It is way much better.

I WANT MY MONEY BACK FREELANCER. DO YOUR JOB AND TAKE CARE OF IT.

Support case: #UEV-[protected]

My account was being suspended without any notice...Immediately i sent email to there support team to [protected]@freelancer.com with email ID asking them to provide reason for this and the further steps to resolving it but they Just assigned Ticket ID [#FNU-[protected]] by there automated system.

But just imagine even after 5 days they don't even send me any reply specifying the reason for suspending account so for today date i even don't know for what reason my account suspended...also just for the knowledge i am having premium membership plan for which i am spending $200/month charges each month also i purchase corporate badges spending more $200/year...After spending this fees still from last 1 week i am not able to login to the system and IMPORTANTLY I EVEN DON'T KNOW REASON FOR THIS ACCOUNT SUSPENDED...

I am ready to resolve any issue or can submit any documents for verification if they require but don't know how to contact them...they don't have any chat or real time system to communicate...

If here is any freelancer team reading this message then please help me you can see detail on my Ticket ID...

I am having very good corporate profile on freelancer and i really don't deserve this kind of support..

Please reply...

Why people do this I don't know. I'm taking them to court . Because I told that Witch to close my account and she took my money anyway. That was my last money so you know I'm pissed. They never sent the confirm letter to my e-mail, so I could confirm it. I didn't think to do a follow up like I normally do. This won't happen again I bet you. There no phone to contact them. They won't answer me on their website. So I called Pay Pal. Hopefully they'll close their account, so this won't happen to nobody else . This has happen before with Pay Pal customers dealing with these same people. Pay Pal got to know. I sure they been alerted. This has happen a number of times. I'm mad enough to sue pay pal

TLDR: Freelancer.com support agent single-handedly ruined my life.

Freelancer.com is ruining my life, and the lives of thousands of contractors, it's not to be trusted nor used. My review is long but worth reading and will show you how no one in their right mind, should use it.

I've been a member in this platform for over 5 years, I'm in the top 0.5% of contractors, I have 57 reviews, and 56 of them are perfect 5 stars. I only mentioned all of this, to show you that if they're treating me this way, then imagine how they would treat other users.

I had an issue with the website a while back, which I'll spare you the details of, that lead me to escalate the matter to get it solved, which I did. Prior to that issue, the website was placing a 2 months limitation on my account which stopped me from being paid or getting work, and after I resolved that I issue, I must have stepped on a few toes, because the day after, my account was placed under limitation once again. I contacted the website asking for an explanation, and the support agent rudely told me to stop asking questions and do my work, and they'll remove it when they feel like it. They didn't use these words, but it was the gest of it. I'm a proud person, and would never beg nor plead but i was put in a corner. A few months back my father passed away, and just a couple weeks later, i was in a bad car accident which left me in a bad shape and had to use all my savings to pay my medical bills. Right after that, the account was limited for two months as i mentioned earlier and i was barely getting by. But once the issue was resolved and the new "open limitation" was placed, i was desperate and strapped for cash. I had $3600 in my account which freelancer refused to allow me to withdraw, and at the same time I had bills piling up, so I contacted them appealing to their humanity and explaining that I did absolutely nothing wrong to deserve such treatment. I'm a well-respected person in my industry yet I was being treated like a criminal. It became clear later on that this limitation was placed by a support agent which I apparently angered during the first issue, and that the website had no basis nor reason to limit me. The first time I asked for the reason I was told that there's no reason and that I should keep working, then I was told that because a client complained, and in another occasion, i was told something else that I can't quite remember. At the end, they stopped making excuses and told me that the limitation will be lifted on the 4 of November, the date in which I'm writing this review. And I was told so on 5 separate occasions which I luckily have documented and asked for the Chat ID's (which is something you should always do when dealing with freelancer). A one-month limitation was hard and I didn't know if I can make it, but I basically had no choice, and they knew it. But a few days after this, the support agent that has something against me contacted me letting me know that she will only remove my limitation once I finish all my open projects, i tried to explain to her that this can't be, and that as a contractor I have no authority over clients to close projects, they can take forever with edits and improvements and new features, or just leave or any other scenario which I have no control over. I explained that my work is my life, that I will finish my work regardless because I have a responsibility toward my clients, and that how do they expect me to survive until then if my account is limited and I don't even have access to my money. And over our conversation that lasted a few weeks, i kept contacting freelancer and asking about the limitation and all the support agents assured me that it will be removed on the 4th, but she insisted that it won't, and apparently she won, because today I woke up, and indeed the limitation is still here.
A support agent, that had something against me is ruining my life, is pushing me to depression and shortly homelessness. Last year around this time i was a successful business owner, and due to a series of misfortunate events, I have been reduced to this. Being treated like a thief or something, and constantly being threatened and told that my account can be suspended and deleted at any time.
I gave 5 years to freelancer, I wholeheartedly trusted them, and one of their support agents basically ruined my life because I stepped on her toes. I'm at a loss for words, I don't know how I should feel, what I should do, the only clear thought in my mind is that I should warn people about this platform and tell them to stay the hell away. Whether you're a contractor or an employer, they will screw you mercilessly and you won't have a leg to stand on. If they did all of this to me, imagine what they would do to you...

PS: I heard of many cases where users had their accounts suspended after complaining about this platform. I realize the risk, and I'm taking it for you good people, so you know who you're dealing. And if my account does get suspended, I'll update my review and let you know.

I created a contest on Freelancer.com for a graphic designer. I paid $300 for the contest, selected the best artist then the artist said he didnt want to do it. I wrote to Freelancer.com to tell them of the situation and they basically said you cant have you money back. I also have email with them acknowledging the person refused to do the work. This site is fraud and I have been a victim of grand felony larceny by just using the site. I cant recommend this site at all and would ask that anyone even thinking about using it to stay far away. I have never used a site that takes your money and dont deliver the service paid for. Then turn around and shut down your account to stop you from capturing all evidence in their system for evidence.

I was looking for someone to make a logo for my company.
The website representative asked me to pay in advance, even though they hadn't started their job yet. A weak later they found a guy who wanted to work with me. I looked through his works and agreed to hire him. The deadline was the Friday evening. The project wasn't done on time and the guy just went away without saying anything. He got my money undeservedly.
I want you to look into this matter.
I will provide all needed details after you contact me.

Freelancer.com is scam! I have had my account suspended twice! The first time they suspended my account happened a few months ago.

I had to identify my self i did and now they limitted my account again asking for re identify my self.

i had an ongoing project with 155 dollar on my account they just stolen my money too. because off limitted account im not able to contact their [censor] live support. they dont answer my created tickets also not via mail i contacted them on [protected]@freelancer.com and [protected]@freelancer.com

Just fix my account issue and give my money back . !

I invited one of my relative to work and share my work with him but freelancer.com suspended all of my and his activity to perform any work also they banned us from withdrawing any money from accounts its scam for frist time users like me to work at freelancer.com
scam via account suspension
scam via account suspension
scam via account suspension
scam via account suspension
scam via account suspension
Photo 1 indicate all money earned reverted back to clients all earning gone
my relative are frustrated and complaining me for inviting at freelancer
freelancer.com are affecting my personal life itself
scam via account suspension
scam via account suspension
scam via account suspension
scam via account suspension
Don't invite someone if not want happens like me

Ticket ID: QSW-[protected], Ticket ID: JAK-[protected] & Ticket ID: FBA-[protected]

Username: marko66
email: [protected]@msn.com

Please respond as soon as possible, my account was closed without any notification and I have NOT violated any of your rules I have urgent projects running which is about to complete. Freelancer working on my project has responded and I am about to end the dispute with the freelancer. When I tried to login the account has been closed. Please respond asap this project is very important and I have money in freelancer. Why is the account close for no reasons

I opened an account in freelancer.com but after that i never used it.Signed up for free right? My bank account now has insufficient balance. I went to the bank and asked where did my money go and confirmed that freelancer charged me a payment I don't know what it is and I don't have any idea what's the payment for coz after signing up I just leave my account as it is. Date that you guys charged me was last Oct 3. Why charge my debit card to a payment I never know? You don't do that to your customers! This is rude . I want my money back to my account! Please response !

Hello. I have been registered on freelancer.com as a freelancer for a while now. Recently, I took a job from a user, ITb69_Translation Service. This person not only used my goodwill to his advantage, but also marked the job I have already delivered -and which he said to be reviewed-incomplete the second 14 days dispute period ends.

Support team is no help at this point, understandably, they are not responsible after 14 days of milestone claim. However, my further research into this scammer revealed that he is also outsourcing the outsourced; rewarding jobs he is awarded on the same platform to freelancers.

It is frustrating to learn further about non-protective policies of the website, but it is more frustrating that I cannot give a feedback to this guy anymore.

I completed job and get paid, I saw money in my freelancer wallet, after few hour's I found had negative balance in my account, in detail I found Payment Reversed -$200(no reasons). And they added transactions charges -$20. I try to contact with client but found his account was deleted. In screen sort they written Reverse Milestone payment, But had client released payment, and had $180 in my freelancer wallet.

i am a member of freelancer.one day a guy messaged to me and said that about work .he said deposit 1500 rupees in indian rupee to transfer from mobikwik wallet . he said that 150/ page will be given .
i sent the money to his wallet and he gaved me 25 pages of work and i had completed that in 4 days and submitted to him, but there is no respose
that guy cheated me and i have wasted my time

I signed up to freelancer.com to work as freelancer. They gave me membership plan on free trial for one month and asked me add payment method. I added my credit card details and same moment 3 amounts of Rs.16.02, Rs 123.08 and Rs.91.67 got deducted from my account. When i contacted their customer support, they told me that it is for credit card authentication and i'll get refund in 2-3 working days. But till now i have not received any refund.

Furthermore, I was charged Rs.1654.97 as project fee for a fake project. An employer posted a project on the website and awarded me the project. When i accepted the offer, Rs. 1654.97 got deducted from my credit card as project fee. I tried to contact employer for further details on project but she didn't respond. I raised a ticket about same for providing me refund but i have got no response from them.

This website is looting money from its users for everything.
Please tell me how can i take this matter on legal grounds.