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
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- 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:
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.So is that even a fair and legal rule?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.
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

