Any U.S. freelancers having problems with freelancer.com?

15 points by dustinls ↗ HN
I was awarded a programming job for $10,000 on freelancer.com back in March for a client with a good reputation. I began work on the project and a few weeks into the project the client created a milestone for $2500 and released the funds. My account was already -$1,000 as freelancer.com was charging 10% for their fee being I am on a free account. When the $2,500 was released, I requested a wire withdrawal and it went through the process on schedule, then it was supposedly sent on 4/22 but I still have not received it.

As the project progressed, the client created another milestone for $5,000 and released the funds immediately. I made a withdrawal request, freelancer.com locked the funds to send it, just like the first $1,500 wire. The next day I received an email telling me my account is now limited and they wanted me to submit a government issued ID and proof of residence, like a utility bill, before they would restore my account and send the wire. They said this would be resolved within 24-48 hours of submitting my documentation. I sent a scan of my New York state driver's license and my electric bill. They rejected both of them.

I then submitted a bank statement and my New York state driver's license. They accepted the bank statement as proof of residence, but rejected my driver's license again.

It clearly states on their identity verification form that a driver's license is an acceptable form of ID.

I am posting this because I am curious if anyone else has had this problem. I am currently getting the runaround, nothing but canned responses (if any) from their support and their facebook page.

At the very least, I want to warn NY residents that if they use freelancer.com, they can expect similar problems.

1 comment

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I didn't realize they charged their fees before you get paid at all, that just seems unfair. Have you looked at Guru.com? They only charge their percent when you actually get paid.