Suspended by Online Service and Funds Withheld After Dispute With a Client
Hi everyone,
I'd like to know if I can take legal action against a company (oDesk), which is an online Marketplace for finding Jobs or hiring Workers.
(I am re-posting this Topic, because I could not edit the old one, to add a Short Version at the top).
- The Short Story -
I have been a loyal, hardworking, honest Top Designer on oDesk for 2 years.
My last Client there turned out to be bad. Overworked me, forced me to work hours without pay.
I did as the Client demanded courteously, completed the project as desired.
At the end he gave me the lowest possible rating.
This made me retaliate and Edit the Title of his site to "Under Construction" and I also told him that Hackers will probably attack him for that. (I know it was silly and immature of me to do so).
Nonetheless, no one was harmed, the Edit was fixed shortly after.
The Client reported this to oDesk, they then Banned me from their site, and took all my earnings that other Clients paid me over the previous months.
I later learned that their User Agreement does say that they can take all funds anytime they choose:
http://www.odesk.com/help/help/policies/user_agreement
Sections: (1.4 & 2.9)
So is that even a fair and legal rule?
Those Monies were not paid to oDesk, but to me by other satisfied Clients.
(oDesk is simply holding the money until I withdraw).
Please advise me on what can be done here.
Are they (oDesk) in the position to do that?
Thanks for your help and time!
-oDeskVictim
--------------------------------------------------------------
- More Detailed Story -
I have been a loyal, hard working, honest Freelancer for that site for 2 years, with around 50 Client Feedbacks, outstanding track record and one of the Top Rated Graphic Designers on that site.
Early last year, I ran into a very bad Client, that overworked me and forced me to work many hours without pay.
Despite this, being the good person I am, I strive to make sure all of my clients are satisfied, so I:
- Did all he requested.
- Completed the Project underpaid.
- Delivered all the work.
- Held no grudge against the Client.
- Was very polite and professional with them the entire time.
At the end of the Job however, the Client gave me the worst possible rating (All 1 Star out of 5), for what ever wicked reason, I did not understand.
These Star ratings are very important on oDesk, it reflects how well you did a job, and affects how many jobs you will get in the future.
I became very disturbed by this, and kindly asked the Client about it.
I was ignored without response, so I did retaliate and made a harmless edit on his Website I built for him, changing the Page title to "Under Construction", something like that.
Also I told him that Hackers will attack his site. (Yes I was a bit young (~20 yrs) and not fully mature, so I said something silly).
The Client had all the work I did for him already safely, so he I knew if I changed something, he could just re-upload the files and fix it in seconds.
I realized what I did was not the right thing, but it harmed no one.
No one attacked his site, I just bluffed, and the Title Edit was fixed very soon.
So anyway, the Client reported this to oDesk, and to my surprise, oDesk immediately Suspended my account without even contacting me and asking me about the issue.
This was in the middle of a hard time for me, with Final exams and other stuff going on, I tried contacting them for a week, with no reply.
I had to search for and talk to the CEO of oDesk on Facebook, then a Manager finally replied me.
They told me my account is permanently suspended, but also, they are keeping all the money I had earned in my account.
Now, again, I admit what I did what immature and wrong, still no one was harmed.
I was one of the Top Freelancers on that site, but they closed my account without even speaking to me about it.
I was abused by my Client, and would have not retaliated if he even gave a slightly reasonable rating on the job I did for him.
So in the End:
Client wins:
- Gets away with the completed Project.
- Abuse done to me.
- Got the Free work I was forced to do
- Was not penalized by oDesk.
oDesk Wins:
- Keeps all the money I had earned in my account.
- Including payments from previously satisfied clients.
I the Freelancer looses:
- Lost my only source of income.
- Lost all my Earnings in my oDesk account.
- Failed University Exams that term because of the mental stress.
- Got kicked out of University because my GPA that term was too low.
- Got in Debt because I had other payments due, which I was supposed to pay for with the money oDesk stole.
So the main question at hand again is:
Can a company like oDesk take your Hard earned, Honestly deserved money like that?
I stress again on the fact, that some of the money they took was from Clients who were very satisfied with my work, and gave me Full 5/5 Star ratings.
They never paid that money to oDesk, oDesk was only the medium for which that money should be transferred from them to me.
Here is the oDesk user agreement:
http://www.odesk.com/help/help/policies/user_agreement
I looked at it, and found what that oDesk manager used against me:
Quote:
1.4 Acknowledgement of oDesk's Interest in Proper Performance of Service Contracts.
oDesk reserves the right to place a financial hold on and reclaim funds available in the User's account in the event of a material breach of this Agreement.
Quote:
2.9 Hold on funds.
In cases of fraud, abuse or violation of this Agreement, the oDesk payment guarantee shall be revoked and all monies in the account may be held and/or reclaimed, not just those from the Contract(s) under investigation.
So is that even a fair and legal rule?
Can they just take whatever money the want, that does not belong to them?
Those Monies were not paid to oDesk, but to me by satisfied Clients.
If oDesk chooses to suspend my account on such a petty and unfair issue, I can't argue with them about that.
If they don't want me using their service, I abide by that.
However I do not believe that the taking for my Earnings was a fair move, and should not be legal, whether they have those ridiculous rules in their TOS or not.
Please advise me on what can be done here.
Are they (oDesk) in the position to do that?
Was my "little" infringement guilty of such harsh punishment?
I stated only true facts here, and did not hide my faults in this case, because I want real answers to this problem, and I'm a very honest person.
Thanks for your help and time!
-oDeskVictim
Re: Suspended by Online Service and Funds Withheld After Dispute With a Client
Take them to small claims court to get your money. Everything else oDesk has done is legal.
Re: Suspended by Online Service and Funds Withheld After Dispute With a Client
Basically, you acted in a completely inappropriate and unprofessional manner with one of your clients, whatever your motivation. It sounds like oDesk is exercising its rights under your contract to hold the remaining funds in escrow until it is certain that there won't be similar problems with any of your other clients. You've put them in the position of having to contact your past clients, inform them of a possible security problem and that they should change their passwords (and possibly check for back doors), and deal with the associated business reputation issues they will suffer. You have contractually provided them with the right to put a hold on your funds while these issues are investigated and resolved. Once they are resolved, to the extent that the resolution is in your favor you should get the balance of your earnings.
Quote:
Quoting 1.4 Acknowledgement of oDesk's Interest in Proper Performance of Service Contracts.
User acknowledges and agrees that the reputation and goodwill of oDesk may be adversely affected if, as an Employer or Contractor, the User engages in violations of the Service Contract. oDesk has the right to take action, including legal action, against the User as oDesk, in its sole discretion, deems necessary to protect the interests of oDesk. oDesk reserves the right to place a financial hold on and reclaim funds available in the User's account in the event of a material breach of this Agreement. Nothing in this provision should be construed as providing oDesk with the right or obligation to supervise or monitor the actual Services performed by the Contractor.
Quote:
Quoting 2.9 Hold on funds.
oDesk will make funds deposited in your account generally available for you to use or withdraw. oDesk reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to place a hold on funds for Employer payments to clear or if oDesk suspects monies may be subject to charge back or if fraud is suspected. oDesk will release a hold as soon as deemed appropriate. In cases of fraud, abuse or violation of this Agreement, the oDesk payment guarantee shall be revoked and all monies in the account may be held and/or reclaimed, not just those from the Contract(s) under investigation.
It may be that some of your other clients make claims in association with the cost of a security review or having to stop using portions of your past work due to security concerns.
Re: Suspended by Online Service and Funds Withheld After Dispute With a Client
Hi, thanks for your response Mr. Knowitall.
oDesk actually isn't taking any further steps than what they already did which is, Permanently Suspending my account, and keeping my Earnings forever.
Actually, I spoke to my previous clients about it, and they felt sympathy for the situation, but they were not able to withdraw (from oDesk) the funds paid to me even though they tried.
I am very much sure that oDesk did not contact any of my other Clients and asked about their experience with me.
As I said, I had a perfect track record up to that point of the bad client, all of my other clients were more than pleased with my work and attitude.
So there is no other resolution to look forward to. They simply took all the money my other Clients paid to me, and that was the end of the story.
Thanks.
Re: Suspended by Online Service and Funds Withheld After Dispute With a Client
The oDesk terms provide,
Quote:
Quoting 13.12 Informal Dispute Resolution and Arbitration.
oDesk and User hereby agree that any Claims shall first be settled through the oDesk dispute resolution program. Claims that the parties cannot resolve informally and where the amount in controversy is less than USD$25,000, the parties agree to resolve the Claims in a cost-effective manner through binding non-appearance-based arbitration conducted by a single arbitrator. If a party elects arbitration, that party will initiate the arbitration through an established alternative dispute resolution (ADR) provider mutually agreed upon by the parties or the American Arbitration Association (AAA) if no other service is agreed upon. The arbitrator shall be selected from a list of no less than five names through alternative strikes. Unless the parties mutually agree otherwise, the ADR provider and the parties will proceed as follows:
a. the arbitration will be conducted by telephone and/or be solely based on written submissions, as specified by the party that initiates the arbitration;
b. the arbitration shall not involve any personal appearance by the parties or witnesses; and
c. any judgment on the award rendered by the arbitrator may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction.
Disputes over $25,000 that do not involve oDesk may be resolved in whatever forum the parties deem appropriate. The California state courts of San Mateo County (or, if there is exclusive federal jurisdiction, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California) will have jurisdiction and venue over any Claims where oDesk is a party and the amount in controversy exceeds $25,000; each party hereby irrevocably consents to the personal jurisdiction and venue of these courts. This Agreement does not prevent the filing of charges with a government agency like the Department of Labor or participation in any investigation or proceeding conducted by a government agency.
You can explore with a lawyer in your undisclosed state (or country) whether your jurisdiction's laws provide you with a way around the arbitration provisions or the choice of venue clause. Or you might want to take advantage of the arbitration clause. I don't know if the amounts involved in your dispute would justify the costs.