Shawna S.

As a company, we worked with about 5 contractors. Everything was fine. The last contractor we used was in August. She did ok work and we were done. Then December 21st and 22nd, she billed us for 30 hours. I had been out of the office those two days and immediately reported it to Upwork upon my return on the 23rd. The contractor was never asked to do any more work. I messaged the contractor with no response. UpWork stated that I couldn't do anything until the following Monday when the contractor was paid. That happens to be the week after Christmas when I was out of the office for the holidays. I clearly explained that I would be out of the office and they said they would note that and I could dispute the transaction upon my return on January 3rd. Again, this was my first task on January 3rd. UpWork asked me to provide a description of what happened. I not only provided a description of the work done in August, but also provided a copy of all of my communication with the contractor. UpWork stated that they have to ask the contractor for their side of the story and they would get back to me. Well, the contractor closed her account and took the money and ran. UpWork stated that since the contractor didn't reply that they closed my dispute. So basically, UpWork allows scammers to create accounts and steal money for work that was never approved or requested. Very disappointed in their process of approving time entries AFTER the contractor has received payment. UpWork states that they have a guarantee, but not for hourly work. Beware!