If you’re like me, you probably have a lot of questions about Upwork account suspensions, but not the answers. I’ve been suspended twice in the last year and have spent countless hours trying to get my account reinstated.
How much time do you think it would take for someone with no experience with SEO or marketing to find all the information they need on their own?
Probably quite a while! That’s why we created this guide: To help people get their accounts back by providing actionable advice and resources that will make it easier for them to succeed.
| Takeaways |
|---|
| 1. Understand the reasons behind Upwork account suspension. |
| 2. Follow Upwork’s guidelines and policies for recovery. |
| 3. Submit an appeal and address the issues effectively. |
| 4. Demonstrate your commitment to Upwork’s terms of service. |
| 5. Communicate promptly with Upwork’s support team. |
Here Is What You Need To Know Before You Try To Get Your Account Back.
Here’s what you need to know before you try getting your account back:
Be truthful; Even if it’s not the whole truth, being honest is always better than lying. Honesty goes a long way in human relationships and will help you in this situation as well.
Be polite and professional; While you may feel like the suspension was unfair or unjustified, remember that the person handling your case is probably just doing his or her job and they have no reason to think any differently about your situation than they do now.
Don’t insult or threaten them; instead, show them respect by using proper language in all correspondence with them (and if possible, even offer an apology for whatever happened). Remember that being respectful means saying “I’m sorry” when appropriate instead of “You’re wrong!”
Be detailed and specific about what led up to the suspension, especially regarding what steps were taken afterward (e.g., reaching out for help from customer support).
This shows that not only were you trying hard but also making progress toward resolving whatever issue caused this entire mess for Upwork staff members to understand why they should give/her another chance at working on Upwork again someday down the road when all things have been cleared up completely once more.
If your Upwork account has been suspended, don’t panic! There are steps you can take to resolve the issue. Check out our guide on how to get your Upwork account unsuspended to learn the necessary steps and regain access to your account.
The Upwork Disciplinary Process
The disciplinary process is broken into four stages, each of which has its timeline. The first step is a written warning; the second is a suspension; the third and fourth steps are bans.
Suspension. This status applies when you’re being investigated by Upwork for violating our Terms of Service (TOS). It lasts for seven days and can be extended up to 14 days if your account doesn’t have any activity during that period for example, if you don’t log in or post a job listing during the suspension period.
Suspensions usually result from cases involving fraud or disputes between freelancers and clients; however, they can also occur due to other violations of Upwork’s TOS.
Ban & Termination/Removal: These statuses apply when an investigation reveals evidence suggesting that your behavior violates Upwork’s TOS beyond what would warrant only a two-week suspension – such as multiple reports against you from different clients within short periods, or repeat violations committed over long periods (more than one year).
Bans last indefinitely until there is no further suspicion against your account activities being illegal or non-compliant with our policies; meanwhile terminations/removals last only so long as necessary until we can reasonably conclude that no further action needs taking under such circumstances.”
Why Is Your Account Suspended?
Before you can get your Upwork account back, you need to know why it was suspended in the first place. The possible reasons include:
Low quality of work; If you have been losing reviews regularly, or if your overall performance rating is low, Upwork may suspend your account.
Low quantity of work; If you haven’t been completing enough jobs on Upwork, they may find this suspicious and suspend your account out of concern for fraud or abuse.
Poor communication with clients/companies and other freelancers/members on the platform (for example: leaving negative feedback without communicating with them first).
Low ratings from past clients (if any), which could indicate improper behavior toward those clients as well as a general disregard for quality standards set forth by Upwork itself (such as when one member accepts a job but does not complete it within the time frame specified by the client).
Avoiding bans on Upwork is crucial for maintaining a successful freelancing career. Learn valuable tips and strategies in our article on how to not get banned from Upwork to ensure you stay in good standing and maximize your opportunities on the platform.
Action Plan To Get Back To Normal
- Check your inbox for any messages from Upwork.
- Check your account settings, contract, and status.
- Account Settings: On the left side of the page, click Your Account to see if you have any new messages or other updates since you were suspended. You can also check here for a link saying “Get Back in Business” that will help you get started on getting reinstated.
- Contract: Click on Contracts & Customers in the top navigation bar and then select a project where you were suspended as an Escrow Partner to review what happened with it during suspension (if applicable).
There may be more information here about why this project was closed out early by either party and when it happened (if relevant). This could be helpful information in working with Upwork support to get reinstated sooner rather than later!
The Best Way To Get Your Upwork Account Reinstated
If you’ve been suspended from Upwork, there’s a good chance that the reason for your suspension is that someone reported you. And this can be very frustrating! You’ll need to go through a review process, which involves responding to questions from their team and making sure that what happened was just an honest mistake.
After all, it happens to everyone eventually even the best freelancers get themselves in trouble with clients sometimes. But what if I told you there was a way around this? That no matter how many suspensions or warnings your account has on its record now, there’s still one thing that will help keep it safe: getting back on track after being suspended.
No matter how many times they’ve let their guard down or been careless with their work (or even forgotten about their client!)
How To Submit An Appeal To Get A Suspension Removed From Your Account
It’s in your best interest to follow Upwork’s instructions and submit an appeal. This will show them you’re willing to take responsibility for your actions, and it shows that you are aware of the rules and are making an effort not to repeat the same behavior.
Explain what happened (and why). You may have been suspended after receiving negative reviews from clients or colleagues, violating Upwork’s Terms of Service (TOS), or for other reasons. Whatever happened, make sure your reason for the suspension is clear in this section!
If there was a misunderstanding about TOS violations, say so here too; don’t ever blame anyone else but yourself you want them thinking “No one could have done better than this guy”, not “Oh no, another case of ‘blame the client'”.
Describe how it has affected you personally since being suspended on Upwork this might be hard at first but just think about what would happen if everyone else had access while only *just* you couldn’t how much worse would things be? Then start brainstorming ideas for how you could help solve those problems by doing something different next time around…
Explain Why The Violation Occurred And How You Plan To Avoid Making The Same Kind Of Mistake Again
If you’ve had your Upwork account suspended for violating the platform’s rules and regulations, then the first thing you should do is email support. Explain why the violation occurred and how you plan to avoid making the same kind of mistake again. Be specific about what you did wrong, explain what you will do differently in the future, be sincere and humble (avoid making excuses), and avoid blaming other people.
As a freelancer, it’s important to know the do’s and don’ts to navigate your career effectively. Discover key insights and actionable advice in our comprehensive post on the do’s and don’ts of a freelancer to enhance your professionalism and thrive in the freelance industry.
Don’t Be Defensive Or Angry
If you’re going to talk to an Upwork rep, don’t be defensive or angry. Don’t be mean, rude, or sarcastic. Your goal is not to get a refund (even if that’s what you want). Your goal is to make the decision-maker think of you as someone who needs help and will benefit from their services and not as someone who’s trying to cheat the system.
Don’t Use Contractions Like “Don’t” Or “Can’t”
This is a tip that you should pay attention to. Although the use of contractions like “don’t” or “can’t” may be common in day-to-day conversations, they are not appropriate for business writing. Most English teachers will advise students against using contractions when writing essays and other formal documents.
Contractions are also not appropriate for a formal appeal because they make your appeal appear informal and unprofessional. If you want to avoid having your appeal rejected by Upwork staff members, then make sure that you don’t use any contractions in your appeal letter (even if it feels like overkill). Instead of writing “don’t”, write “do not”. It’s better to write out all words in full than risk having them misinterpreted as an informal way of speaking.
Proofread
The last thing you should do is proofread. Proofreading your appeal is important because you don’t want to submit a document that’s full of errors and typos.
First, use a spell checker and grammar checker. You can find these online or in MS Word or other word processing programs. They will catch many common spelling and grammar mistakes, but it’s still best to manually review your document for any remaining errors before sending it in.
Next, ask someone else to look over your appeal as well as someone with good writing skills who has experience proofreading documents (like an English teacher). This person can let you know if there are any parts of your message that might be unclear or confusing to reviewers at Upwork even though they make sense when read by yourself or another writer with similar interests as yours!
Upwork has made significant changes by ceasing operations in Russia and Belarus. Stay up to date with the latest developments by reading our announcement on effective immediately: Upwork is ceasing operations in Russia and Belarus to understand the implications and how it may impact your freelancing activities.
Avoid Discussing Your Situation Or Circumstances
This is a delicate matter, but one that you need to keep in mind if you want to get your suspended account back: don’t talk about yourself or your problems on Upwork.
While you must explain what happened when describing why your account was suspended (see tip #4), avoid getting into too much detail about the circumstances surrounding your suspension this will only make hiring managers uncomfortable and make them less likely to hire you in the future.
How To Prevent Future Suspension
Don’t violate Upwork’s Terms of Service by doing any of the following:
- Uploading or sharing inappropriate images or videos.
- Inciting hate speech.
- Posting profanity or vulgar language.
Don’t violate Upwork’s Community Guidelines by doing any of the following:
Harassing other members through unwanted messages, comments, or posts. Be respectful at all times this applies to your behavior as a member on-site and also in public forums like discussion boards, blogs and Twitter feeds where people post about Upwork projects (including yours).
Do not make personal attacks on others (including both current and former clients).
Bullying other members through unwanted messages, comments, or posts. Bullying includes but is not limited to repeated insults; name-calling; intimidation; harassment; stalking another member repeatedly over time with no legitimate purpose other than harassing them offsite (e-mail account etc.) will be monitored closely by Upwork too while they’re still under suspension!
Upwork reserves the right to remove them permanently if they determine that action is warranted based upon their judgment alone as both moderator/administrator with full discretion – so don’t do it!
These types of actions are never acceptable under any circumstances even if you think your intentions were good ones such as helping someone else out who has been attacked first before yourself because that doesn’t matter either way when it comes down to how things look online from an objective standpoint.”
Freelancing websites can sometimes pose risks of scams and fraudulent activities. Stay informed and protect yourself by reading our FAQs on how to avoid scams while using freelancing websites for valuable tips and insights to ensure a safe and secure freelancing experience.
Final Thoughts
If you think your Upwork account is being suspended or frozen, there are a few things that you can do to get it back.
First of all, make sure that you have followed the Upwork Terms of Service (if not, then don’t use the site). If an account was suspended due to any of the violations mentioned above and if those violations have been fixed, then there shouldn’t be any problem in getting it reinstated.
If an account was suspended because of abuse and/or fraudulent activity on behalf of the freelancer’s side, then this needs additional review by Upwork’s Fraud Department before reinstatement can happen.
We hope that this guide has helped you get your Upwork account back after suspension. If you have any other questions, please feel free to leave them in the comments section below.
Further Reading
Here are some additional resources for further reading on the topic of Upwork account suspension:
Upwork Account Suspended: Tutorials and Tips: This comprehensive guide provides tutorials and tips on dealing with Upwork account suspension and how to resolve the issue effectively.
Reasons for Upwork Account Suspension and How to Recover: Learn about the common reasons behind Upwork account suspension and discover the steps to recover and appeal your account suspension.
Is Your Upwork Account Suspended? Here’s What You Need to Know: Gain insights into the implications of having your Upwork account suspended and understand the necessary actions to take to address the situation.
People Also Ask
What If Your Account Gets Suspended Again?
You can get suspended, but the good news is that you’ll probably be able to get your account back. If you’re suspended a second time, however, it will be permanent and there’s no appeal process.
The most important thing about Upwork is that it’s a business platform for freelancers and employers to connect to find work opportunities. It does this by having people sign up for accounts so they can begin using the platform and finding jobs (or completing them).
While this seems simple enough at first glance, there are rules about who can have an account on Upwork (and what happens if those rules aren’t followed).
What Does Upwork Do When Someone Is Suspended?
In the event of a suspension, Upwork will notify you by email. You must go to your account and request reinstatement within 30 days of receiving this email. If you fail to reply or respond within 30 days, your account will be permanently removed from the system and all work history will be deleted.
How Long Does It Take To Get Reinstated?
It depends on why you were suspended in the first place and how long ago it happened. In most cases, reinstatement can happen within a week or two at most (although it could take longer if there are other factors involved).
What Is The Difference Between Suspension And Termination?
Termination means that your account was permanently banned from using Upwork indefinitely. This means that if you try to create another profile or open up an additional profile under different names, it will not work at all – even if you use different IP addresses or accounts. You’re done for good!
What Happens To My Account If I Don’t Get Reinstated After My Suspension?
If you fail to comply with all requirements set forth by Upwork, their system may choose another route such as terminating your account permanently instead of reopening it again after being suspended once more within a certain amount of time (which varies depending upon which specific action caused them to make this decision).
In other words: if this happens before getting reinstated either way (i..e., both being reintegrated into society again), then there isn’t anything else left except contacting Customer Service which shows no signs whatsoever they want us coming back even though they did nothing wrong themselves besides.
Perhaps having poor communication skills during conversations with customers like myself who did everything possible within reason to avoid getting into trouble again. It’s simply too late now…
How Do I Get My Account Back?
To request an account review, you’ll need to submit a letter explaining why you believe your account was unfairly suspended and how you intend to avoid future suspensions in the future (if applicable).
The letter should address three main points: why it was unfair for your account to be suspended; steps that have been taken since your last suspension; what you plan on doing differently for this suspension not lead to another one again if it is lifted (or if it doesn’t seem likely that it will).
Costantine Edward is a digital marketing expert, freelance writer, and entrepreneur who helps people attain financial freedom. I’ve been working in marketing since I was 18 years old and have managed to build a successful career doing what I love.