Your account has been flagged for a severe violation of Fiverr policies As a result, you are not able to participate in the level system.

[markenbuilder]

I was about to become a Top Level Seller yet out of nowhere this message appeared with (as usually) no further explanation.

 

Does anyone know what this is up to? 

[vickieito]

Hi @ana_tomy and @Lyndsey_Fiverr - It looks like there are a high number of sellers on this thread who had their accounts flagged for "location inconsistencies." I'm not sure if it's related to the launch of the new review system or if this is something that Fiverr is now cracking down hard on.

Can you reach out to the individuals on this thread to provide insight into their account flagging?

@markenbuilder @jamesoliver132 @bobstouch @usamaash127 @yonixer @arsalan_design1 @iza_bell @canvabook @nrajuud

Also, if this is to address a widespread issue on the platform, we might want to have @Kesha make a post to help users understand Fiverr's ToS better and what they are doing that causes their accounts to be flagged due to location inconsistencies.

Thanks in advance for all of your help!

Adding @backlink_work @shahzaibhameed8 @acreativeminds @amazon_zk @sajan91 @martian_guy @tayyba253

Edited February 15 by vickieito

[vickieito]

Hi Everyone, I think @Kesha is addressing some of these questions in the main Fiverr update thread. It may be good to check the thread below or jump in on the conversation there (@Kesha can only be in one place at a time):

Unfortunately, there probably won't be any new information coming from Fiverr over the next few days. It looks like @Lyndsey_Fiverr is monitoring this thread and is relaying relevant information to the Product team. I'm guessing it will be a week or more before Fiver has an official update with more information/direction regarding location inconsistencies and linkages to accounts violating Fiverr's ToS.

Note: I wish I could say something more reassuring to those who have been flagged. know how frustrating it can be to be left in the dark with no answers and your account and livelihood at risk. 😟

Edited February 16 by vickieito

[vickieito]

4 hours ago, cheftychefty said:

That's easy for you to say so calmly because your livelihood and everything you've worked for isn't on the line

When my Fiverr account was shut down by a hacker last year (yes, I did have 2-factor authentication), I thought it was the end. The hacker withdrew all my Earnings, and closed my account with the reason of "I have multiple Fiverr accounts." All of my orders in queue were canceled and I had to wait (and hope) for Fiverr to fix things on their end. I didn't know if they would believe that I didn't actually close my Fiverr account (even though it looked like me) and that I didn't have multiple Fiverr accounts. My Fiverr account wasn't the thing that was hacked, my online ID was also stolen, so other crazy things were going on online (in my name) that I was trying to stop, which resulted in several thousand dollars lost. PayPal wouldn't believe that someone else was making online purchases in my name (even if their logins were on the other side of the globe). 

Since Fiverr was my only source of income, my only choice was to rely on the help of CS. Even if it took them days to respond and I couldn't communicate with any of my buyers or explain to them why their orders were suddenly canceled. It was a scary feeling to be cut off that way. Especially when I have kids at home and mouths to feed. I had a folder called "End of Fiverr" because I didn't know if I would be able to pull out of it.

I was very lucky that my account was restored and that I was able to recover from that hacking incident. It really makes me more sympathetic towards those whose accounts are flagged for ToS violations (and they never get an acceptable response from Fiverr - after 60-90 days their accounts are permanently suspended). I would never wish that on anyone.

4 hours ago, cheftychefty said:

And I'm sorry for being so angry but this is literally my only form of income for myself and my family

You have every right to be angry. Or to feel whatever feelings you're having right now.

As @emmaki mentioned, Fiverr puts its sellers through an emotional rollercoaster with its gamification of seller stats. As much as I love Fiverr, the way that they run their business does impact sellers' livelihood, mental health, and physical health. Sellers are expected to perform at 110% for each and every order, and sometimes, that's not enough. The algorithm also isn't kind if you ever find yourself on the other end of the spectrum where there may be a dip in buyer satisfaction or if you somehow trigger an account flagging. It's a very brutal system. It's really tough being a seller on Fiverr. Especially if it is your only source of income.

I played Fiverr's game and got hooked. Within three months of posting my first gig, I was able to quit my day job and do Fiverr full-time. I got Fiverr's Choice orders and gazed lovingly through all of my 5-star reviews. I spend a lot of time working on making my Fiverr business better. If there was even a blip on my seller stats, I worked feverishly to correct it. And when the hacking incident happened, I went into a frenzy for months to pull myself out of that and was able to hit all-time highs in my Earnings. Then five months ago, my husband suddenly passed away. When I came home from his funeral, I got the alert from Fiverr that I finally reached TRS status. Suddenly Fiverr didn't have the same appeal. All that work, and somehow I missed what really mattered.

So you are right, @cheftychefty, if I don't seem like I care much about Fiverr and their response rate. I've already checked out. Fiverr will do what they always do. But I do care about the plight of sellers. And I do want to see you all succeed. You are all still my war buddies, even if I'm not really in this war anymore.

[vickieito]

16 hours ago, kulkicreatives said:

Fiverr released the new AI system which went Red Queen and flagged a bunch of accounts falsely. I am further assuming that those whose accounts are flagged might have at least one warning in the past (I had one warning in 2019) so the AI assumed that all those who had a past warning are "bad sellers" and should be flagged.

4 hours ago, kerpoostudio said:

Does anyone have any news? 

Based on the different threads on the forum (showing screenshots of CS responses), it looks like Fiverr decided that all past history would be relevant (this includes all cancelations -regardless of the reason - and all past/forgiven warnings). So many things that haven't affected accounts before the change are now affecting accounts and Fiverr doesn't have plans on reversing this change at the moment. At least that's what some of the CS responses were saying (I see mixed responses from CS in all the different posts).

If Fiverr really doesn't have plans on changing this, that may be the reason why no one is getting a response from Fiverr regarding their account (or if they do, they are just told that the decision is final and the ticket gets closed). This is how Fiverr usually communicates with flagged accounts.

However, this doesn't excuse Fiverr's actions (or lack of communication). Fiverr only states that they started implementing a "new policy," but they owe it to sellers to be transparent about what this new policy entails, what's being flagged, and why. An official statement from Fiverr really needs to be posted somewhere (and sooner is better than later) to clarify this policy to all sellers, regardless of whether their account is flagged or not.

March 14th is just around the corner and it's really concerning that this hasn't been addressed by Fiverr yet (to all sellers on the platform).

Edited February 22 by vickieito

[vickieito]

2 minutes ago, priyank_mod said:

One peculiar thing I observed in someone's screenshots of CS response yesterday is that flagged accounts can still share their gigs with buyers and get the orders too but they cannot participate in the new level system!! 

I mean there might still be some hope for certain accounts, if not for all of them. 

Yes, none of these accounts look like they are permanently suspended - they can just operate as normal, it's just that they won't have a level assigned to them. This looks to be a permanent thing, though, and who knows what the long-term effect of being "level-less" will bring. There's not much motivation if your account is permanently out of the level system (especially if you were falsely flagged). Newer accounts will get hit harder than established sellers (with lots of repeat buyers).

[vickieito]

6 hours ago, Lyndsey_Fiverr said:

Hi! I raised this issue to our product team and will keep you all updated on what we hear back,

Thanks for all your help, @Lyndsey_Fiverr! This is really strange - I've never seen 4 pages of "reports" on the forum (all within a day), reporting the same issue. I'm curious to see what the Product Team says.

[Guest nrajuud]

Dear Fiverr Team,  

We, the service providers, might not be out there protesting, but we can surely make a big impact on your business.  We have many orders to complete for our clients, and we need your guidance on what to focus on.

@fiverr_admin @Lyndsey_Fiverr @Kesha, could you let us know if we should fix issues with this account flagging or concentrate on finishing our current orders?

We're feeling really stressed, both emotionally and financially, and it's because of you and your policies. Just a quick response from you could make a big difference and avoid making things worse for everyone.  

We strongly disagree with how things are being handled, and we need to know why.  Hoping for a clear and quick reply.

@Lyndsey_Fiverr Don't send the same emails to everyone. It makes customers more upset and makes them trust your customer service less

Regards

[msw_77]

It's been 2 days since hundreds of freelancers got their account flagged maybe thousands as not everyone is active on community. 
We still don't have an official response from fiverr regarding why their account is flagged and what will be the fate of their accounts. 

Thankfully, I'm not one of the people whose account got flagged but the fact that there is still no proper reasoning for this and many people I know who faced this issue are the most professional people I have met with no warnings etc at all makes me wonder if this can happen to me as well one day I will wake up and my account will be gone for no reason or explanation at all?

Is this the right way to treat the freelancers who make millions of dollars for this platform?

[emmaki]

It's a shame that people are taking the time to write their stories and nobody is listening. But then again, nothing will be done. Look at how you trample people underfoot in your greedy quest for profits, Fiverr. 

You should be ashamed of yourself. I know that's not possible as insentient corporate blob, but even so. At the very least, heads should be rolling for the gross incompetence displayed during this rollout. But that's not going to happen, is it? Why should it happen? What does Fiverr know about accountability? 

Only disposable sellers heads will roll as the machine makes more profits and belches out a thick cloud of black smoke lies about transparency. In a little over two weeks, Fiverr will be celebrating how its Q4 results, and all of this will be swept under the carpet.

That's the only thing Fiverr cares about. It is wholly transparent. Mind you, I suppose it is the weekend. For anyone who isn't a Fiverr seller that is. We're not allowed weekends, at least not if we care about our gamified stats that can and do pull us away from the things that really matter, in order to feed Fiverr's lust for profits. 

It's OK, I'm not expecting this point to be addressed. I just felt like waking up with a thundering sermon. 

[edharutyunyan]

I have the same issue here.

My success score is 10/10 and I'm a Top-Rated freelancer with 228 five-star reviews and nothing below that.

According to the "account issues" page, my account doesn't have any active warnings but the new level system says that my account has been flagged for a severe violation of Fiverr policies.

And the thing is that the Fiverr's customer support keeps on confirming that my account has been flagged which contradicts the information provided by the system. No further explanation whatsoever. This is very confusing to me and according to this thread, it is confusing to a lot other freelancers as well.

I'm almost sure this is a bug in the new system and it's going to get resolved (hopefully).
I'd rather raise my concerns and solve this issue with customer support but commenting here is probably going to help other fellow freelancers to get this issue resolved as Fiverr will see that a lot of people raise this question.

P.S. I can confirm that I haven't had any location changes.

First of all, thanks for improving the system, guys. I truly admire your work, and I think this system is almost great, at least in terms of transparency. So, good job on it. We really count on you and hope that you will resolve the current bugs and issues. @Kesha @Lyndsey_Fiverr @ana_tomy

[emmaki]

@vickieito

I need to go back to the UK to sort out some deathly dull official things that I was meant to do in 2020. I was unable to in the end due to The Event and then I was quite ill for a couple of years. This is really the first year that I can do it. 

I'm currently wondering if I should go the long, scenic route (car) or the air cigar route where I'm treated like a diseased cow. I'm leaning very strongly towards the road trip. In any case, it now looks like my unavoidable, already extremely dragged-out business in the UK might scupper my Fiverr account because...

...I don't know, the computer said no? 

It's also super annoying that I can't just road trip without having to consider Fiverr my passenger just to make sure my metrics and success scores and God knows what remain shining. 

Now, what do I keep saying about the adverse psychological impact of gamification? If this was a substance or any other thing I had to nervously keep checking or doing regularly, it would be called a badword, and recognized as a serious health problem by the medical community and Fiverr would come with health labels slapped all over it.

As it is, it's a company so nothing will happen and we get to listen to the online equivalent of call center your are number 3545867624356786 in the line. Your call is important to us. Please keep holding. as some ghastly rendition of Beethoven's 5th on pan pipes tortures your ears. 

And then when you get to the front of the queue nobody wants to answer your questions anyway or tells you the wrong thing so you need to call again and again and again. 

I hope one day the world will rise up against the stain of corporate greed (in general) and destroy it before it destroys us. 
 

[emmaki]

11 minutes ago, coerdelion said:

Having had three of them, I can only agree ...

Oh Lord, I can't imagine. 

Well, I can. Did you ever take your little darlings on a road trip to the United States, only for the extremely stroppy, petulant 16-year-old to asset their independence by storming out of the car after a completely trivial argument into a dangerous park in the middle of LA? 

And then consequentially have to chase after them, screaming very white-ly and English-ly for your daughter amongst a bunch of quite friendly and bemused people who all looked like vicious gang members?

And eventually find your little darling sobbing their heart out to a kindly old lady in the dead center of this incredibly dangerous part of LA? And then return to the car to a parking ticket for "holding up the traffic"? 

Surprisingly, there were no more road trips after that. It probably doesn't help that said teenager loudly complained about how r-cist their parents were being claiming that the nice park with friendly people was dangerous, because at least they UNDERSTOOD ME!

Not that I did this. I was a wonderful teenager. 

A baby couldn't do this either. You can strap them in so all they can do is wriggle and scream a lot (sounds a lot like Fiverr sellers at the moment!). 

[emmaki]

Nothing's going to happen and this will go ahead as-is with minor tweaks to reflect "listening to the community".  Those tweaks (if any) will mostly be to appease very minor things. It's nice they let us shout for pages and pages about it though. Freedom of speech ftw!

Source: been on Fiverr since 2013.

[emmaki]

Don't forget their CS is understaffed and overrun at the moment. 

[emmaki]

You're not wrong, but they're not going to change. This is the future of all big business on the internet. AI copypasta and user-unfriendly upgrades. Even the latest Google updates make it hard for non-corps to get visibility in SERPs.  

It doesn't matter whether man cares or not, the machines are taking over in the name of profits. 

[tagraphics2021]

Surprisingly! I scrolled through this entire question and there is not a single response given by any of the Fiverr Staff on this issue.

@fiverr_admin @Lyndsey_Fiverr @ana_tomy @Kesha HOW ABOUT A BREEZE OF HOPE FOR MANY OF US AS WELL???

 

Edited February 16 by tagraphics2021

[emmaki]

18 minutes ago, jamesoliver132 said:

All Freelancer want they provide a valid explanation and without any warning Account is Flagged. Any other platform not do like this.

1) As far as Fiverr is concerned, they have given us valid information. 

2) This information will probably be tweaked in the coming weeks

3) You need to badger CS about that until they give you a response. But bear in mind that right now, potentially tens of thousands of sellers are doing the same thing. Blame AI for false positives and Fiverr for its overreliance on AI systems, whatever you like, but it won't change the fact that CS is overrun and unable to do much except plod through tickets as best they can. This is not their fault: it is Fiverr management's fault. 

4) Other platforms are just as bad, take of the rose-colored spectacles. So UW only charges 10% per the "demands of freelancers"? That's nice, but they're raking in cash left right and center with connects. It's all a numbers game... 

Check out the UW forum or subreddit. You'll see that many freelancers there will disagree with your assertion that Fiverr is the only platform to treat its sellers like disposable waste paper. 

[visualstudios]

10 minutes ago, emmaki said:

So UW only charges 10% per the "demands of freelancers"? That's nice, but they're raking in cash left right and center with connects.

UW seems to be great for established sellers with regular clients and long term projects. The successful people there don't have to bid at all, therefore they don't need to pay for connects, and get 10% commission on ongoing work (which is something that doesn't even exist on Fiverr, retainers and hourly billing). Sounds like a dream to me.

It's absolute garbage to start from scratch though.

Edited February 16 by visualstudios

[emmaki]

8 minutes ago, visualstudios said:

UW seems to be great for established sellers with regular clients and long term projects. The successful people there don't have to bid at all, therefore they don't need to pay for connects, and get 10% commission on ongoing work (which is something that doesn't even exist on Fiverr, retainers and hourly billing). Sounds like a dream to me.

It's absolute garbage to start from scratch though.

I was doing really well on UW before I started doing really well on Fiverr. You're right, the platform is great for est. sellers. 

But Fiverr sucked all my time up so the profile is there, looking good in terms of reviews and all that, but largely abandoned. And ugh, the job list there, never mind the connects. I do look every so often but then decide I don't want to bother. One freelance platform annoyance at a time is enough. 

Anyway, all the big successful sellers got BIG MAD there when their rates were increased from 5% to 10%. Many of them threatened to take them all off-platform using the mechanism provided, but I don't know how many actually followed through.

It's actually quite fascinating how the two biggest platforms are hostile to their top sellers, but I think it's clear to everyone reading this where the money actually is in terms of volume and cashflow and whatever. 

2 minutes ago, edc_lab said:

Wait, are they flagging remote workers accounts?
I mean, if this summer I want to move to another country and enjoy the remote work from there, can I do that or no?

Apparently so. Nobody from Fiverr has come to confirm/deny yet... 

[Alex.M]

14 minutes ago, edc_lab said:

I think the verification method would be something like sending them a postcard.
"Hello CS, I'm on vacations, please don't ban me. See you!🌴🥥"

believe it or not I was doing this for years... I always notified support when I was going somewhere outside my country...  freelance should be fun not so stressful honestly , they are making decisions that are destroying what Fiverr was a few years ago... 

[catwriter]

31 minutes ago, Alex.M said:

What if in the room next to me someone else on Fiverr was using the wifi? With the new system, they might say that I have multiple accounts right ? 

Perhaps not, if you use the same device you're always using (phone, laptop, tablet, whatever).

[vickieito]

2 hours ago, emmaki said:

1) As far as Fiverr is concerned, they have given us valid information. 

2) This information will probably be tweaked in the coming weeks

I have to agree with you, @emmaki. Except I don't know if going to CS will do anything for these sellers. Since we still don't have a response from Fiverr, this is what we can devise, based on the sellers who have posted here:

1.    There is no bug, all of this was expected by Fiverr.
With Fiverr’s changes in the new leveling system, Fiverr expected a high number of sellers to 1) get really low success scores (these threads are getting responses from Fiverr) or 2) have their accounts flagged (these are treated as standard, flagged accounts – cookie-cutter responses from CS and also very little response from Fiverr on the forum).

2.    Fiverr is confident in their new flagging system.
Based on the CS responses, with this new launch, Fiverr instituted a “new criteria” to flag accounts that have location inconsistencies or are somehow linked to a Fiverr account that violated Fiverr’s ToS. However, this system is automated, and since Fiverr is confident in it, there doesn’t seem to be any manual reviews. At best, Fiverr CS may quickly review the alerts of this automated system and decide if there was a false flag or not.

3.    Fiverr’s treatment of flagged sellers hasn’t really changed.
Any flagged account will simply be “flagged for violation of Fiverr’s ToS” (notifications may not be sent but sellers will see this flag in their levels overview). Sellers may or may not be told the reason for the flagging (at least in this case, sellers are getting a reason). Sellers will be instructed to go to CS, and CS will be instructed to send the same responses to any account with this flag and to close the ticket as “resolved.”

4.    Sellers are left in the dark.
We don’t know what this new criteria is for “location inconsistency” or “linkage to another account.” It may all be valid, but many of us are wondering if it will be okay to use shared wifi, travel, move, work remotely, (or even be in the same area as another Fiverr seller). We also don’t know exactly what will happen to accounts that have this flag (what sellers are supposed to do if they have the flag, whether this flag is permanent, or if it eventually leads to an account suspension).

I’m hoping Fiverr will provide all of us with answers, but maybe this is all part of their plan to start culling and differentiating sellers on this platform. For Fiverr, this was all to be expected and they don’t see any issues with all of the flaggings that just took place.

[markenbuilder]

15 minutes ago, mwaqarbloch said:

Does the mean our gig will not show on first page

Can you read? This means you cant run ads, you can only show like what 4 gigs... you wont have a level

[kerpoostudio]

I am just wondering why this penalty is forever. Imagine some guys make a mistake and have a warning. Why they must be restricted permanently? A permanent restriction could be imposed on the one who makes the mistake twice.
I think that's too much of a mistake. Everyone can make a mistake unintentionally. And a warning that remains for a few months can prevent more mistakes. 

Am I right?
@Lyndsey_Fiverr @ana_tomy @Kesha

[foxsquare]

Same Issue!! I am seller on fiverr from last 10 years. I was a Top Rated Seller as well. Two days ago I saw that account level system turned into "Flagged". When I contacted Support firstly one person said that the reason is location inconsistencies when I asked for the details than other support member said that our account was linked with other account.

I was still confused. I added another ticket and requested them to clarify which term specifically was compromised and give us our status back but they closed the application without even replying.

Really Disappointed!!