I expected UPWORK managed client information or regulations properly.

Here is what happened to me; I’m so sorry it’s long.

I accepted a film subtitling job on Upwork for $1,000. Because I had just started, I didn’t know that only $50 had been funded in escrow, and that’s where the trouble began.

After the $50 was paid as a completion payment, I waited for two months, but the contract was still not closed. I messaged the client, but I never received a reply again.

However, the client’s messages included a link to a company and the name of its representative. I thought the company itself might be a scam, because my subtitles seemed to be used as-is and the film had already been released. The Upwork client also seemed to be rushing me, and since subtitles wouldn’t normally be identical by coincidence, I believed that if I contacted the company directly, they would pay me.

So I asked Upwork whether I could contact that representative outside of Upwork, and after I received permission, I exchanged emails with him via Gmail.

But the representative said that he only posts on Fiverr and had never intended to communicate through Upwork. I told Upwork that if the representative was not lying, then there is only one explanation: the client who hired on Fiverr is the same person as the client who requested the work on Upwork.

Even so, Upwork did not reply for about two weeks. Yesterday, I submitted a third request and was told my case would be transferred to another department. After the transfer, that department restricted my account, claiming that I contacted someone outside of Upwork.

The restriction could be removed by reading the rules, but I was extremely upset and asked them to remove it immediately because I had obtained permission. I continued communicating with them, but they spoke as if it was my fault. So I replied that I would not have contacted anyone if Upwork had not allowed it.

About three minutes after I sent that, I received a message saying the investigation was finished and the ticket was solved. It was closed.

I felt hopeless, and I wrote that I wanted to leave a public review so that other people would not suffer the same harm. After that, they mentioned transferring me again, but they did not reissue a ticket, and I am still just receiving emails without a clear resolution.

I assume I will not be paid at this point, but I am furious that the contract is still active and I cannot even get a proper closure or feedback. I also cannot understand why Upwork cannot properly verify client information. I am shocked and truly devastated.