Add your names to an open letter of complaint on new payment processing times
*****ATTENTION FREELANCERS AND BUYERS******
Please read our letter of complaint below and comment if you can with your name, when you joined People Per Hour, what CERT level you are and what your line of work is. If you are able to, please also comment and tell People Per Hour how this is affecting your life. This will be left up for a few days and then we will send it to PPH's complaints department and Head Office. The comments below are intended to do just the above, if you would like to enter a more general discussion there is one happening here:
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Dear People Per Hour,
We are a group of loyal and hardworking freelancers on your platform. Some of us have been working as freelancers on People Per Hour for over 11 years. For many of us, People Per Hour is our sole source of income and we have poured in years of effort and time to build up our footprint and presence on your platform.
We are writing to you to let you know what damage the changes to your payment processing times is causing us and that we, as freelancers, are not only the lifeblood of the platform but also real people with real lives and families to support.
We wanted to let you know just how much havoc, chaos and panic you have caused in our lives since you announced your decision to subject us to the new payment clearance process and times.
We have all lived through a year and a half of the most disruptive time in any of our lives due to the pandemic. We are sure it hasn’t escaped PPH’s attention that freelancers have had a rough ride during this time. As freelancers, we did not enjoy the benefits of furlough, of the Job Retention Scheme and many of us were not eligible for government grants or benefits. As we start to move out of the pandemic, many of us are reeling from the effects and have now been served a huge blow by PPH-a platform that is supposed to support us as freelancers and make our lives easier-by making us wait up to 18 days to receive money we have earned and worked hard for.
For some of us, our families rely solely on the money we earn from PPH and we live from invoice payment to invoice payment and for this, we work very hard. Everyone who has had experiences of being a freelancer knows that cashflow and being paid on time are big challenges. We are hungry, tired, our rents are behind, we are unable to pay our mortgages on time. Some of us do not know if we will be able to pay our internet and phone bills to enable us to keep working on the platform. Some of us have had to use foodbanks and negotiate with landlords and banks, even though we have money sitting in our escrow on People Per Hour that could cover all this instantly.
In particular, we are very concerned and feel let down about the lack of transparency People Per Hour have provided during this time. None of us understand what these ‘checks’ are, and we have been left to come to our own theories. There are many things we don’t understand and People Per Hour have not been forthcoming with any transparency. For example, you state "Clearing periods only limit the withdraw of funds from PeoplePerHour. Earnings are added to your available balance and can be spent within PeoplePerHour instantly." This makes no sense to us, you are saying you need extra checks before we can receive our money due to fraud, but yet we can freely spend the money on your platform. In addition, many of us are confused and frustrated by the fact that timescales for these checks vary wildly depending on how much a freelancer has earned - if it's a series of checks, it's a standard procedure for all, surely?
We have not heard anything from People Per Hour that makes us understand why you are doing what you are doing. We simply do not believe that in the world of instant payments, high tech and on-demand services why you need to hang on to our money for 18 days. It just won’t work for freelancers in the long term, but at the moment, many of us are wondering what we will do in a few days’ time when the food runs out, when we can’t pay our internet bill, or rent or our mortgages leading to us not being able to work at all and when the stress of this may just be too much to bear.
For some freelancers this will just be a frustrating experience, but for some of us, this is having real life, damaging effects on our lives and the lives of the people we love. We have been left with the impression that People Per Hour doesn’t care about its freelancers and that you do not consider us important.
We would like you to consider as a matter of urgency the following points:
- Restore the withdrawal and payment processing times to 48 hours
- Engage in meaningful dialogue with us about why this decision has been made
- Stop penalising freelancers who do not earn above your self-imposed ‘threshold’ to benefit from the 7-day withdrawal process
It is in our interest as freelancers for People Per Hour to be a success. We can help you do this, but not if you continue to treat us in this appalling way.
Yours Sincerely,
Meri W, joined PPH in 2013, Top Cert Level, Business Plan Writer.
Rachel B, joined PPH in 2012, Top Cert level, Voice Over Artist.
Thorsten H. t/a HPD Translations, Joined PPH in Aug 2019, Cert Level 5, Owner/Consultant/Translator HPD Translations.
Catherine A, joined 2015, Level 5, content creator.
Simon C, joined PPH 2016, Cert 5, Programmer.
Marcus B, joined 2015, top cert, print design, audio & video services.
Sehrish Mushtaq, Cert 5, Photoshop Expert ,Top Photo Retoucher ,Photo Editor and Graphic Designer .
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You're welcome. I have loved working on PPH but this new system risks destroying it.
When I started out on PPH, jobs came in very slowly but I was lucky, I had some money to fall back on. Many newbies won't be so lucky and won't be able to afford to wait 14 days for payment and will look elsewhere. Likewise, many buyers will be unhappy that those who they buy services from will not receive the money they have deposited in Escrow for potentially a couple of weeks.Another thing I fail to understand is the seemingly 'flexible' approach to potentially fraudulent payments. Why is it okay to spend uncleared funds on PPH services which - as they are not yet checked - could be potentially fraudulent, yet we have to wait up to 14 days if WE want to use the same money.
PPH still has time to do the right thing. Revert payments back to how they were and - as I have suggested to them a number of times - ensure that proper security checks are made on those signing up to the platform and that any new buyer has to pay up front for each of their first three jobs. This would cut down on scammers and fake buyers significantly. -
In reply to the post from PPH Community.
'Clearing funds faster for high earning freelancers is a form of rewarding loyalty'
I have been on the platform nine years and have earned over £47k on PPH. I will have contributed a significant sum in fees to your platform in that time. So are you saying that I have not earnt enough to be considered loyal? Wow!
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Discriminatory (wonder whether it's legal) and totally unfair. After all, our skills and talents do not justify the same amounts of pay. A typist can type all year and never earn enough as a lawyer, for example.
I've been on site for 11 years, earnt a significant sum and no, that's not enough. Year before last I contributed to PPH £6K in fees. Obviously not loyal enough either....
It's not as if we can choose to earn a lot here. We're reliant on the jobs coming in! Very short sighted stance from PPH. We now have to look after our own interests in the best way possible, but I don't think that includes badmouthing on public review sites.
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In response to PPH support team that replied to this post:
Seriously, who you think we are?! Your reply just insults my intelligence. It was much better when you was ignoring the comments here to be honest!!!
I'm just astonished how you could blabber this much nonsense and still think that we are going to believe you as well!
FYI, like the couple of comments/freelancers above, I have been on this site for a good few years and have earned YOU a good few £1000's.
So, we're not loyal enough?!
The phrase ingrate is the first thing that pops in my mind.
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I am just posting the updated letter with all your names on it so far and an updated point about the new 'regulations'. We have extended the cut off time for this letter to be signed until the weekend, so please share it with anyone you can think of.
PPH: We have read your official comment and we still are no clearer. Your lack of transparency and respect for us as freelancers is even more evident after reading your official response. It is not too late to turn this around. We all want to know the specific legislation/regulations you are referring to. It has got to the point where people are contacting your own suppliers to try and find out what this new regulation is. Why won't you consider starting the clearing process once the funds are in escrow? Trust in PPH is at an all time low with freelancers and buyers.
Everyone is suffering and making plans to adapt the way they work to gradually phase PPH out of our business models. You must change this policy before it is too late. We all want PPH to work and for you to be transparent and fair with us. We have played by your rules for all these years, worked very hard, supported PPH's growth and we feel let down. We cannot believe PPH is growing when our sales are not. We have lost the motivation to complete our current and future projects.
___________________________________________________________________________________
Dear People Per Hour,
We are a group of loyal and hardworking freelancers on your platform. Some of us have been working as freelancers on People Per Hour for over 11 years. For many of us, People Per Hour is our sole source of income and we have poured in years of effort and time to build up our footprint and presence on your platform.
We are writing to you to let you know what damage the changes to your payment processing times is causing us and that we, as freelancers, are not only the lifeblood of the platform but also real people with real lives and families to support.
We wanted to let you know just how much havoc, chaos and panic you have caused in our lives since you announced your decision to subject us to the new payment clearance process and times.
We have all lived through a year and a half of the most disruptive time in any of our lives due to the pandemic. We are sure it hasn’t escaped PPH’s attention that freelancers have had a rough ride during this time. As freelancers, we did not enjoy the benefits of furlough, of the Job Retention Scheme and many of us were not eligible for government grants or benefits. As we start to move out of the pandemic, many of us are reeling from the effects and have now been served a huge blow by PPH-a platform that is supposed to support us as freelancers and make our lives easier-by making us wait up to 18 days to receive money we have earned and worked hard for.
For some of us, our families rely solely on the money we earn from PPH and we live from invoice payment to invoice payment and for this, we work very hard. Everyone who has had experiences of being a freelancer knows that cashflow and being paid on time are big challenges. We are hungry, tired, our rents are behind, we are unable to pay our mortgages on time. Some of us do not know if we will be able to pay our internet and phone bills to enable us to keep working on the platform. Some of us have had to use foodbanks and negotiate with landlords and banks, even though we have money sitting in our escrow on People Per Hour that could cover all this instantly.
In particular, we are very concerned and feel let down about the lack of transparency People Per Hour have provided during this time. None of us understand what these ‘checks’ are, and we have been left to come to our own theories. There are many things we don’t understand and People Per Hour have not been forthcoming with any transparency. For example, you state "Clearing periods only limit the withdraw of funds from PeoplePerHour. Earnings are added to your available balance and can be spent within PeoplePerHour instantly." This makes no sense to us, you are saying you need extra checks before we can receive our money due to fraud, but yet we can freely spend the money on your platform. In addition, many of us are confused and frustrated by the fact that timescales for these checks vary wildly depending on how much a freelancer has earned - if it's a series of checks, it's a standard procedure for all, surely?
We have not heard anything from People Per Hour that makes us understand why you are doing what you are doing. We simply do not believe that in the world of instant payments, high tech and on-demand services why you need to hang on to our money for 18 days. It just won’t work for freelancers in the long term, but at the moment, many of us are wondering what we will do in a few days’ time when the food runs out, when we can’t pay our internet bill, or rent or our mortgages leading to us not being able to work at all and when the stress of this may just be too much to bear.
For some freelancers this will just be a frustrating experience, but for some of us, this is having real life, damaging effects on our lives and the lives of the people we love. We have been left with the impression that People Per Hour doesn’t care about its freelancers and that you do not consider us important.
We would like you to consider as a matter of urgency the following points:
- Restore the withdrawal and payment processing times to 48 hours
- Engage in meaningful dialogue with us about why this decision has been made
- Show us what the relevant regulations/legislations are to support this decision
- Stop penalising freelancers who do not earn above your self-imposed ‘threshold’ to benefit from the 7-day withdrawal process
It is in our interest as freelancers for People Per Hour to be a success. We can help you do this, but not if you continue to treat us in this appalling way.
Yours Sincerely,
Meri W, joined PPH in 2013, Top Cert Level, Business Plan Writer.
Rachel B, joined PPH in 2012, Top Cert level, Voice Over Artist.
Thorsten H. t/a HPD Translations, Joined PPH in Aug 2019, Cert Level 5, Owner/Consultant/Translator HPD Translations.
Catherine A, joined 2015, Level 5, content creator.
Simon C, joined PPH 2016, Cert 5, Programmer.
Marcus B, joined 2015, top cert, print design, audio & video services.
Sehrish Mushtaq, Cert 5, Photoshop Expert ,Top Photo Retoucher ,Photo Editor and Graphic Designer.
Steven Meredith, been with PPH about 9 years, Cert 5, marketing copywriter.
Nancy Callegari, joined this platform in 2010, now a Top Cert transcriber, proofreader, copy editor and writer.
Mohamed T. Content Strategist, Academic Writer & Translator, Joined PPH: November 2019.
Koshala, joined 1 month, Cert level 4, Social Media & Marketing.
Roozbeh Farhadi, joined in 2013. Cert 5. Mobile app developer.
Vicky S, Joined PPH in 2016, Cert 5, Proofreader/Editor/German Translator.
Simon B, PPH freelancer since 2013, Cert 5, Web developer.
Roger F, PPH freelancer since 2013, Cert 5, Illustrator.
Clive F, PPH freelancer since 2012, Top Cert, Web Developer.
Karen & Eric, PPH since 2014, Cert 5, Software Engineer & Content Creative team.
Sam A, PPH since 2011, Cert 4, Software development.
Yuriy R, PPH freelancer since 2013, Cert 5, Illustrator, animator, designer.
Gagan, Cert 5, Freelancer since 2017, Systems and Hosting Administrator, Web Designer and Developer.
Darshan Jadav, CERT4, Since 2017, Python.
PJ Dexter - Joined 2012 - Cert 5 - Graphic Designer, Video & Photography.
John Darvall, Cert 5.
Skye Godfrey, joined last year, Cert 4.
Joseph I, Member since 2018, Cert 5.
Kate Gabrys, Member since 2011, Cert 5.
Helen Keirnan, joined 6 months ago, Cert 4, Wellness Writer.
Muhammad A - Joined 2016 - Cert 5 - Graphic Designer, Video & Photography.
Paul B, member since 2012, Cert 5 (100%), over 1000 hourlies sold.
Alejandro Montes de Oca, Cert 5, in PPH for around 6-12 months, marketing consultant.
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Rob F
Member since 2011, Cert 5 , graphic designer, illustrator
14 DAYS to get paid ? it that looked unnaceptable what do you say about more than 20 days ?
Exactly that happened to me, client paid invoice on 22 june
and i just only now (12 jully) got the confirmation email that the funds are on their way to my bank.
That's unnaceptable, imposible to work like this here.
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Graham SEO
Member since 2011, Top Cert, SEO and WordPress Web Design
Very disappointed with the new payment structure.
You are not making it fair against freelancers who have different waiting times for their money - to the borders of discrimination. Why is it fair that people earning more money each month should be favoured?
My personal situation is very stressful as my partner is terminally ill - and this is an added frustration causing me issues with my own mental health.
Please rethink this as it is unbearable at the moment. Thank you.
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Melissa C, CERT5 seller, member since 2017, freelance writer covering everything from content creation to creative writing.
I currently have almost £200 sat waiting in "processing". At present, in my bank account, I have next to nothing. My rent just came out, I have a large overdraft I cannot avoid to pay off, and I feel like the money that I've earned from hours of communicating with clients and writing their projects for them is being held hostage. That's my money, PPH. You've had your cut, as you've had your cut of every project I've completed on here for the last 3 and a half years. I have so few clients on this site now because it's gone completely downhill, yet I can't leave because I need whatever income I do get from here. I have a chronic illness and several mental health conditions and cannot work a regular job yet am ineligible for government assistance - as is the case with many that have these issues. My home business and freelance work is all I have. -
@ Melissa - I hope you get paid now. It seems that we might be better to form a buying group. If two or three of us go together, we might get enough work to get paid faster. But as long as we work as individuals we are at the mercy of PPH. For me, I am just going to look toward getting more customers to my own site. I think there is no other way. PPH is just heartless.
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I've been a user of PPH since 2009. I can't believe it's that long or indeed that this looks like the end for me. It's absolute suicide. I've earned thousands for PPH over the years but because I don't earn thousands per month, they're penalizing me! And others...people who rely on what they earn on the platform. Vote with your feet everyone. The gig economy has become synonymous with fat cat behaviour - platforms such as this are no better than the cotton mills of the 19th century.
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Gadi B., joined PPH in 2012, Top Cert, Excel Developer
I'm extremely agitated from the way this new payments clearance has been communicated and applied. So agitated that I have yet to click the forced "Accept" button for more than two weeks now. It prevents me from doing any action in the platform, including billing ongoing projects and replying to messages. I'll elaborate further here: https://support.peopleperhour.com/hc/en-us/community/posts/4403556666001-An-Open-Letter-to-People-Per-Hour-Please-Comment-Below-on-Payments?page=20#comments
PPH - Wake up and revert this bad feature! -
If I submit a proposal that has a deposit, and the buyer hires me, then they must pay the deposit. Let's say it takes me 14 days to do the work. As soon as the buyer releases the funds, shouldn't I be paid right away?
And another thing, if the funds are fraudulent, then I won't get paid. So should I not start working for 14 days, or until the "fraud check" is cleared.
Is PPH holding the funds to make sure the Buyer or Seller is not fraudulent?
If it's the buyer, then no would should start until the buyer's funds are cleared. Is that being shared with the buyer. I'm not willing to wait 14 days only to be told that the buyer charged back the purchase AFTER I've done the work.
Making the freelancer wait 14 days makes no sense. As it stands, I'd need to change an insurance fee for every bid I sent in to insure I'll get some jobs paid, and to compensate for the wait.
Thanks for whoever posted about Fiverr being a good alternative. Because we're in the states, Upjerk provides consistent work. Although the 20% gauge fee is harsh.
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Petherick Productions
Cert 5
Top endorsed
I think that we should start a legal claim against PPH regarding this issue. I have serious concerns about the lack of transparency and the fact that our money is being held in what essentially amounts to a precarious and unsecured location.
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Yea, when a client pays the deposit, and the freelancer starts the work, that's when the clock should start ticking. From the date of deposit. And once the client says the work is done, THEN the freelancer should get paid.
What's actually happening, is SOME buyers get buyer's remorse AFTER they paid. AFTER they inspected the work. They just charge it back to PPH. SO PPH wants to charge it back to the freelancer. So WE take the hit. Why would I want to do the work, then wait 14 days AFTER the buyer's acceptance? Forget it.
With all the remote work (here in the U.S.) it's way easier to get full-time, remote work on Indeed or LinkedIn. Hell, even freelance work is easier to get on LinkedIn than to worry about PPH. AND with LinkedIn prospecting, when you get a client, YOU keep all the money ... forever. Even from day one.
So ... ya ... no more PPH for me until they change this. And maybe never again.
Eric
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PPH, you meant to upgrade your service not downgrade!!!
After waiting 14 days, the fund was available to withdraw at 3:58 pm :))) what weird timing!! ohhhh I know why, it will stay in the PPH account another day for extra interest... Ahhh by the way it was Friday afternoon, seems like another 2 days interset, baaaaaanging. Probably Monday morning will start to count for another 48 hours, boooooom 2 more days interest...
And the client said the money came out of their account immediately after they received my invoice, it's a long term client!
all in all 250 quid jobs and will take 20 days to clear, it's a proper joke!
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After waiting the 14 days to be able to withdraw my funds, i had to wait another 5 days for PPH to process the payment..from wednesday 27th october only today 1th November my payment was processed { ussualy processing takes 1 day } ... have to wait another 1-3 days for the payment to arrive in my bank account..that makes it more than 20 days waiting period not 14, shame on you PPH
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Dmytro Korolkov, newbee on PPH (1.5years, just 500+euros income here, 10 projects), but Top rated plus "somewhere else".
And what I can say, that 14-17 days of getting my money after client send them to me looks like ..not fair... and not good for both parties (client/freelancer) in general and first of all for PPH reputation, sorry.
For whom PPH is main platform of income - this situation is pain, for whom PPH is just time-to-time platform, situation is strange and unclear, but to be true - this is not only about withdrawal money process))) -
Yes. This is truly nuts. PPH was a cool place until this net-never payment policy. Why would anyone agree to do a job, then get paid 15 days AFTER the client release the money. And remember, you can have the client make a deposit.
They Deposit,
You do the work, and wait while they approve,
Then you wait 15 MORE days.PPH gets the deposit,
PPH gets the interest until you complete the job, and until the client approves it.
THEN PPH gets the money for another 15 days.Nice for them, crap for us.
We don't work on PPH jobs anymore. Too risky.
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