Why Im planning to leave Elance after 1 month nightmare?

Hi! Im writing this post for two reasons, first because Im very pissed with Elance support and second to alert other people what could happen to you.

Long story short:
After two years of working on Elance with 100% positive rate profile and paying for my premium account every month I got into trouble and it's getting worse and worse.

My problems started when suddenly I couldn't withdraw my money to Payoneer as always did. After getting a few error messages I decided to open a support ticket. That was October 28

By November 15 I was already tired of waiting and getting no answer other than "engineering team is looking at it" while my money was dancing on a limbo, so I decided to open a thread in quora

On November 17 my money was returned but the issue still persisted.

On November 20 I got the last message from support saying again "engineering team is looking at it"

On Monday 24 I got a private message on Quora from one of the Elance social media team called Alexia Nielsen asking for my support ticket to help me with the issue, which Im glad to provide.

Two days after sending my support ticket to the representative on Wednesday, November 26 my support ticket is overtaken by "Elance Risk Management" and tell me that my account is on hold because of a policy violation. I try to explain them that I didn't violate any rule but obviously I didn't explain myself very well....

Today Friday, November 28 I got officially suspended and officially pissed off. Their message and my reply below:

My reply:

I don't know how all these is going to end, but I was in the need to tell about it.

 

I also had negative experience with them as they refusted to pay the money i earned over their site. After 2 months of hassle i finally moved on and said godbye to my money. Much better option for me was Odesk never had any issues with them so far.

 

I'm from oDesk and want to move to elance actually. they do offer premium accounts?
I suppose these premium members get to have more privileges. I better stick to odesk then.

 

Odesk and Elance are same thing now (same owners). I was a premium users for more than two years. At this point I don't care about my account, Im more worried about my 5k USD

 

Just keep bugging them. Emails, phone calls, customer support, posting to their FB page, etc. If you've done nothing that goes against their ToU regarding the money earned, they have no right to hold it back. I'd bug them for at least a month before giving up on the issue.

I like what Stewie does when somebody owes him money.

Stewie Griffin "Where is my money!?"

 

elance support is bad, their website has errors. I have also noticed it too. I don't know anybody getting projects from there.

 

I currently use elance right now but I am a newbie. This sounds like a problem on the receiving end (developer). What kind of problems have people had on the paying end?

 

I would keep trying to get the money and also let them know that you are posting about your horrible experiences on forums like DP and other social media sites. They will lose business as a result of such negative publicity and it should catch their attention at some point.

 

Do people generally prefer oDesk to Elance? Are there any other alternatives?

 

It depends on what services you are looking for. I have accounts on both sites just in case.

 

They are all pretty the same really, and lucky, when you join this sites you basically don't have to pay to find jobs, here in France, you can register for free, but to get contratc, you must pay a yearly fee or something, like if you pay $150 you can get up to that much contracts, YET, this isn't sure you wil have them, they just put you in contact.

If you are good enough and can have access to your feedbacks, then set up a good website and put your job in, you might get some really cool contracts

 

There are lots of them actually. I have been to freelancer.com but didn't like the interface. I even prefer seoclerks because it acts as escrow so you won't be scammed. Its where you guys should be too.

 

Is elance really that bad? I am asking this because I am just lurking around there trying to test it out if I can actually get a decent project. I tried creating proposals, but so far I haven't get hired. I've been studying how to convince clients to pick me over other proposals (which are usually sealed). I haven't got the right formula for that yet.

Now, the OP is telling us that there is a problem over there. I am not sure. Maybe it is just a "rare" case or is it really happening to most designers at elance? Did the OP courteously resolve the issue with their support ticketing system? I think the main cause of suspension may have been the posting to a public forum (Quora) and now this one (DP).

The lesson here is that if you have an issue, deal with the person directly first. Give it time. Do it politely with a diplomatic attitude. Maybe you'll get some results. Also take note of their responses. They may need you to send some documents or proofs, but you have not provided it to them. That's happening to some online B2B like Paypal where they ask for credentials to prove your claim. Did you receive back all your 5K? If not, what is your plan? You can probably follow up with a different support ticket, but this time with a cool head (maybe?). Or if you cannot do it that way, you might hire a lawyer for this purpose.

That's just my opinion on this matter. God bless.

 

I have accounts both at Elance and oDesk and I have had not issues related to finances. May be I am lucky. I think, @chifliiiii should have been a bit careful in handling the issue because it was his 5900 USD which is at stake. A few kind and supportive words to the support should have worked wonders. Things are messy at the moment, I guess.

All the best @chifliiiii and we would like to see you out of this as soon as possible. Don't loose your cool.

 

I've always avoided this websites because in reality they control your funds until they decide to release them. If you did a job for 50k and you've had a past violation something as small as yours, say an open account that from 5 years ago that you never used and forgot about then they could take it just to increase profit.

Not to mention people seriously under value their skills there and most people hiring don't appreciate quality work instead want the cheapest website they can find. I literally seen people asking for a 5 page website for $50, and people were bidding on it! Ridiculous!

 

This is actually what it should else you get scammed by employers, you never know. elance and odesk are actually great site to earn. But remember to only go for the employers who already have rates and pay hourly. Fixed rate seem not a good idea unless you are willing to provide your effort just to acquire ratings.

 

Elance is although a good platform for freelancers but their support is very arrogant and they don't even listen the other side/aspect. I've also had a very bad experience with their support.

 

they do offer premium accounts?








فال روزانه

 

Not really.. I deal with business owners and I always require 50% upfront. I haven't been scammed in years - you learn to tell the scammers from the legitimate clients very fast. Of course this may be different if your offering websites for $200 but in the thousands scammers don't bother because they don't have the money to pay the 50%, or once they know I require 50% it gets rid of them real fast.

 

50% upfront isn't a guarantee though. the employer may not give you the other half if his intention is to scam. Remember that you can not force them to do so even the staff of these freelance sites can't force them to give the other half. This is why you are prompt with the advisory when you go enter a fixed contract.