As someone who also wrote quite lengthy public warnings to legit freelance writers regarding Upwork, I can tell you that once Upwork demolished Elance, the shitstorm hit the internet.
Pay attention: Upwork DOUBLED the amount they take from freelancers. The place is nothing more than a content mill on steroids. The clientbase is mostly from 3rd world countries violating copyright laws.
The employee that responded here was only giving lip service and doing damage control because once freelancers started telling their stories, Upwork saw a significant drop in sign-ups. The jobs that they allow to be posted are crap, by shady people.
My story? I had refused a client project because it was in direct violation of Amazon rules and a whole bunch of other things. The guy started stalking me all over the internet and tried to destroy my business, all because I wouldn’t accept his fake project. That’s when I left Upchuck. (I also exposed them and took out the silly little man all over the internet).
I find it funny that Upwork responds to complaints ONLY publicly — on Twitter. Can’t get much more fake than that. They did it to me, too.
They have shit on too many great freelancers to ever get them back. Most of us have started our own businesses and are doing better for it.
