FreelancerReviews 20,146

I'm pretty sure the tests are rigged. If you get a wrong answer they ask you a similar reworded question like 5 times. Then they say you failed the test with a score of 70%. But they don't show you which questions you got wrong! They just want you to pay for the same test multiple times. I've been coding websites for ten years - by hand. I KNOW HTML! When I took the HTML test at oDesk I was in the top 10% on my first try - but their tests are free - so there is no incentive to screw you. I've got $10 bucks left in there which I can't get out because they have a $30 minimum withdrawal amount - I guess they will get it... I won't be bidding onor posting any jobs there.

Freelancer.com is not reputable. I had a rank of 9.85 on Vworker - decent employer with great reputation. Balance transferred from Vworker on November 20,2012. Roughly 50% of the balance transfer is not accounted for by Freelancer. It's all a big game to them, not serious at all. I asked for a phone number to discuss this or someone in management to explain, nothing - the email says they don't offer phone support. Patient and precise emails sent with specific questions are also NEVER answered - clearly obfuscation is the name of the game. Complete amateurs compared to Vworker. Barrie and his team are good at attracting investment dollars, but unfortunately have taken their eye completely off the ball in regards to running this business. Steer clear if you expect Vworker quality.

The website has payment/milestone problems.

My account was never credited the amount paid by the customer, and the website (freelancer) so far is not doing a lot to correct this.

The worst is that the website is saying everywhere "Released" (as paid) but the tally is far from the amount due and I wasn't in debt with them.

If you try to contact the Help system, they are coming with a story (regarding the amounts) different from what is appearing online on your account. Even more puzzling.

I became a member of freelancers.com when my dormant rentacoder.com account was first taken over by vWorker and then freelancer.com.

As I say my account was dormant and Rentacoder does not charge a membership fee - they make their money on the commission from the deals.

Without warning freelancers.com have taken $54 as a membership fee which they say they are entitled to as I associated a PayPal account with them to make payment to a worker for a project. At not time have they advised me that a membership fee would be due with their takeover of the Rentacoder / vWorker sites.

I cannot recommend a site that has this sort of underhand practise.

Dear, friends. Be careful. They are scam. I was robbed some times in total about 2,5k $. They take money without any reasons after some period 2-3 monthes after payments. Support is the dumbest. Only simple answers as bot. Many fake projects where they ask for take exams for money. Many customers with 0 reviews which asked for your personal emails or skype. It is a hidden staff. They ask your personal info: passport, creadit card with all digits and even security 3 digit! They are thieves. After some time they will get money from your card! They take money after you accept project, but if customer ignored pay escrow they would ignore your asking for help.
Never trust to them!
Best regards, Denis.

FRAUD!

I've been charged for 100$ just for winning a project where a client never shown, there were no any warnings or me being agree with this condition, sure they do have agreement according to which they actions are legit, but it just unfair! Also they said that they could help to resolve any issue but in fact they stay aside saying that they just introduce you to employer and they don't care what happened next, it's their's official policy:

Project fees are non-refundable whether a project is complete, incomplete, cancelled or re voked. This serves as the introduction fee for the employer and the freelancer. It is likewise for the purpose that contact details would be allowed to be given by both parties immediately. Our role as an online venue is already fulfilled when the the employer and freelancer meet, agree on and work on a project.

Note that Freelancer.com is an online venue for employers and freelancers to meet and work on a project. What will happen upon acceptance of the project is beyond our scope of support neither do we get involved in the transactions and interactions between employers and freelancers. It's our part to introduce the two parties but the project's success still lies only between the employer and freelancer.

The experiences here are of 'workers'... people who have done some work, and expect to be paid. They lose their money for fraudelent reasons. Yes, their hard-earned money.

But what do you say to users who want to have some work to be done? What, when they deposit some fund, then suddenly their project get cancelled or something,,, again for some fraudulent reason. They dont even bother to tell you!

If you want your money back... damn!

Mine is a story of such a case. My freelancer.com user id is jmathew256. I happen to be a 'Standard' user - this means, I am charged 24.95 US dollar per month to have my projects executed.

After I deposit my money, and even 'complete' a project. The money is still there in my account.

Result? The freelancer I was working, who has knowledge of the confidential information of the project (as with any project) is now threatening me to publish them if I do not release the funds.

I find, all of a sudden my account is 'limited' - and unable to transfer or withdraw my funds.

You guys can test it yourself:
1. Open a freelancer.com account
2. Deposit some money
3. Try withdrawing back.
Just try, and you'll come across tons of reasons why you cannot have your money back.

Now I know the kind of scam they are working on.

This site takes money from job seekers as a subscription and also has audacity to take fees per job.

In less than 1 month on two occassions they have taken fees for jobs that do not exist and on one occassion they simply look the other way and make excuses and transfer funds out of my account to places unknown.

They cannot explain their invoicing or charging system and when i was told of a refund recently for one of 7 odd charges, i asked for a credit note to show what a refund was for,

I was appaled when after 1 hour of chat the operative did not know what a credit note was and could not understand that if freelancer can raise an invoice for $15 and take money from my bank account or paypal and the invoice is found to be bogus either for a non existent job or some system glitch which happens often on their system then the remedy is to raise a credit note for the equivalent amount and refund the amount and the credit note should read taht it is credit note ******* for a reversal of xyz fee of $15 against invoive ******* of whatever date and this is the right way, any other way is tantamount to shady accounting and loopholes for theft.

I am also well informed that others use the site to sweep unsuspecting prospectors into pyramid job schemes, or job owners into paypal scams and much more.

Its a bizaare thing and the only reason I am staying on freelancer is because i believe that by the smallest of follies doth a giant fall and i have become rather determined to take them to the cleaners.

Its the only way they will learn that job hunting is not a brownie point scheme where you rob folk that are seeking work for any reason and expect them to work like slaves under any circumstance and fiddle accounts in exceedingly vast ways.

I have used people per hour for years., i have never once been charged a penny by them... same with guru and many others.

A massive lesson needs to be taught to these folk and I welcome anyone who has been scammed financially on this site to contact me for their details to be added to my shortlist.

England has a launderette, its called the county court.

What a horrid way to treat people.

I was posting a project, which was supposed to be a free activity on this site. However, in the review process for the project a $199 fee was added to the posting of the project. When I rejected the fee and tried to repost the project without the fee multiple times, this was not allowed. When I looked at the statement for the fee, which I did not have enough money deposited on the site to pay, it said that I would have to deposit on the next page if I wanted to post the project. I was given the impression that if I clicked through, I could change the project settings and then I wouldn't have to pay the fee. Instead, the money was taken out of my account.

Username- thoughtspeech
Project ID- *******

Edit- my account has been suspended because I suspended the UNAUTHORIZED Paypal payment. Freelancer wouldn't offer any hope of giving me back the $199, and it won't even let me get away with the $9 that Paypal was responsible for! In addition, they are forbidding me from taking any additional money that has been released to their site by my other employers.