How I built a successful Fiverr business, only to see my achievements washed away in seconds.

[edharutyunyan]

Hello there,

I'd like to introduce myself first.
I'm Ed, an expert Webflow Developer & Senior Graphic, UI/UX designer, previously from one of the top crowdfunding agencies in the world.

A year ago, I made a decision to quit my job and become a full-time Fiverr freelancer.

In just one year, I've made a successful freelancing business here with the following achievements 👇

✅ 229x 5-star reviews with nothing below that
✅ 10/10 success score according to the new level system
✅ 5-star solid rating that never changed
✅ A solid 100% response rate that never changed
✅ I received a TOP-RATED seller level extremely fast.
✅ Some of my works have been featured on Fiverr Community
✅ I've been invited to participate in a Fiverr certified program
✅ I've been invited to apply and become a mentor on Fiverr
✅ I have given a ton of lectures to the people in my country's biggest forums about Fiverr and encouraged everyone to become a Fiverr freelancer
✅ Most of my services were on the first page and given Fiverr's choice badge for many many months.

Last month, I celebrated my best month here on Fiverr in terms of earnings. I started off this month great.

On Feb. 13 or 14 (I don't remember exactly), I woke up to get my working day started and I noticed that Fiverr has introduced a new level system. And I suddenly noticed that my account has been flagged for a severe violation of Fiverr policies and as a result, I'm not able to participate in the level system.

I immediately opened the "account issues" page which says "Your account does not have any active warnings at the moment". I contacted the support to see what's going on as I was sure it was a bug from the new system.

I got a message from them confirming that my account has been flagged due to location inconsistencies or because an account connected to mine was disabled. I kept on messaging them and I got the same exact answer.

However, the next time I messaged them, they said that they manually reviewed my account and that it's permanently restricted from participating in a level system. I asked them what they and their new level system say contradicts with what the "account issues" page says and I asked them to explain to me that.

They have never replied to my question. Instead, they just marked my thread as "solved" leaving me without a proper answer. They did it twice after which I no longer wanted to discuss this with customer support. What they have done was completely unacceptable and not professional to say the least.

Now, let's go back in time.

A few months ago (probably 6-8), I received a TOS warning.
When I began my freelancing journey, I had to use my friend's PayPal account to withdraw money from the platform because PayPal isn't available in my country. It's available but only to purchase stuff. I'd like to add that I used it 2-3 times only and then I attached my very own PayPal account.

After a few months, I encouraged my friend to open a Fiverr account for himself. He got some orders, closed them with a solid 5-star rating, and decided to use the same payment method to withdraw money. At the time, we didn't know that's a violation and we're not allowed to share the same payment method.

His account was permanently disabled and since I was a top-rated freelancer, I received a TOS warning for "having multiple accounts". That was super inaccurate as I knew I don't have multiple accounts on the platform. I probably messaged them 10 times to explain to me the reason I received it for having multiple accounts but they never did. It was my first bad experience with Fiverr support. After a few days, I remembered that my friend and I used the same payment method and asked them if that was the reason or not. They told me that it was the reason. A conclusion from this - sharing the same payment method doesn't mean you have multiple accounts.

Anyway, they told me that it's a violation and the warning will stay there. I thought there is no point to change the title from "multiple accounts" to "payment method sharing" because a violation is a violation.

2 months ago, I noticed that Fiverr has removed my warning probably due to my professional freelancing career here on the platform.

Today, I'm left with 👇
NOTHING 🙂 Everything is gone for good.

• My impressions dropped drastically
• All my Fiverr achievements were thrown into water
• My services are no longer on the first page and I don't have Fiverr's choice badge on anything like I used to do for the past months.

P.S. I'd like to add that I have only left my country once during the past year. I went to Georgia for a week.

So why I'm messaging here is because I need to contact a Fiverr employee who has a higher position than just a customer support specialist to discuss this with them.

Thank you, and I really do hope that Fiverr will get back to me.

Edited February 18 by edharutyunyan
I forgot to mention one of my achievements

[edharutyunyan]

I know you guys are extremely busy but please check this out. Thank you!

@Kesha @Lyndsey_Fiverr @Lena

[Lena]

Hello @edharutyunyan 

We understand this may be disappointing for you, but please be aware that the relevant department made this decision and it cannot be changed. Please be advised that we don't have an insight into the review as it was done by our dedicated team. 

If you are not satisfied with the explanation provided by our Customer Support, please reach out to your Success Manager for further assistance.

Furthermore, we have recently implemented new updates. Please take a moment to check them out.

• Important Updates: Level System (now live!) and Ratings & Reviews (testing changes)
• Update: Addressing new level system questions and feedback

Thank you. 

[edharutyunyan]

Hi @Lena,

Thanks for getting back to me.

Yes, knowing that my warning was removed by Fiverr and I still face issues like this is beyond disappointing.

I wish I had the ability to discuss this with my success manager, but Fiverr took away Seller Plus Premium (CSM) from my account when I first received my TOS warning. As I mentioned, 2 months ago, they removed the warning from my account, but I never got the feature back.

In my opinion, the new leveling system is super unfair when it comes to flagging accounts. If a freelancer takes the communication out of Fiverr and places an order outside of the platform, that should result in a permanent restriction for that freelancer from using features like leveling.

I spent an entire year grinding on the platform, and for a simple payment withdrawal method, my hard work has entirely gone to waste.

In my honest opinion, I shouldn't have received this account flagged status because, again, Fiverr removed my warning 2 months ago.
Even if Fiverr thinks I deserve it, it shouldn't have been made permanent.

I'm quite disappointed in the platform and the decision-makers, but it is what it is.

Good luck with your future freelancers, and I really hope the team considers changing unfair rules like this in the future.

Sincerely,
Ed

[Lena]

Hello again @edharutyunyan 

I do understand your point of view, but please understand that there is nothing I can do. I apologize that I couldn't be of more assistance.

Thank you. 

[yonixer]

1 hour ago, edharutyunyan said:

Hi @Lena,

Thanks for getting back to me.

Yes, knowing that my warning was removed by Fiverr and I still face issues like this is beyond disappointing.

I wish I had the ability to discuss this with my success manager, but Fiverr took away Seller Plus Premium (CSM) from my account when I first received my TOS warning. As I mentioned, 2 months ago, they removed the warning from my account, but I never got the feature back.

In my opinion, the new leveling system is super unfair when it comes to flagging accounts. If a freelancer takes the communication out of Fiverr and places an order outside of the platform, that should result in a permanent restriction for that freelancer from using features like leveling.

I spent an entire year grinding on the platform, and for a simple payment withdrawal method, my hard work has entirely gone to waste.

In my honest opinion, I shouldn't have received this account flagged status because, again, Fiverr removed my warning 2 months ago.
Even if Fiverr thinks I deserve it, it shouldn't have been made permanent.

I'm quite disappointed in the platform and the decision-makers, but it is what it is.

Good luck with your future freelancers, and I really hope the team considers changing unfair rules like this in the future.

Sincerely,
Ed

bro at least you have 1 warning i dont have none and the flagged my account for no reason the CS will not do anything just copy paste or AI @Lena just one question can an account got flagged without emails or warnings?

[chronos_1]

How do you know your warning was removed, Did any of the CS told you? I think warning remains for lifetime..

[Lena]

Hey @yonixer 

1 hour ago, yonixer said:

can an account got flagged without emails or warnings?

• Account flagged

If an account is flagged for a severe breach of Fiverr’s policies, such as location inconsistencies or any other tactic suggesting a connection to previous activity in violation of Fiverr's policies (Terms of Service or Community Standards), it will be excluded from participation in the level system. 

Learn more with our How we enforce policies article.

The above paragraph is taken from Fiverr's new level system. 

[edharutyunyan]

8 hours ago, chronos_1 said:

How do you know your warning was removed, Did any of the CS told you? I think warning remains for lifetime..

My warning has been removed by Fiverr according to the 'account issues' page, as shown in the attached screenshot. Back in the day, Fiverr informed me that the warning is not permanent, and as you can see, they have removed it.

[edharutyunyan]

10 hours ago, yonixer said:

bro at least you have 1 warning i dont have none and the flagged my account for no reason the CS will not do anything just copy paste or AI @Lena just one question can an account got flagged without emails or warnings?

I'd like to clarify that as of now, I don't have any active warnings. However, there is a contradiction between the information provided by Fiverr's system, which indicates that I have no active warnings, and the assertions made by their staff.

The new system has detrimentally affected many careers without justification. This experience is by far the worst and most absurd I've encountered in my career.

[chronos_1]

5 hours ago, edharutyunyan said:

My warning has been removed by Fiverr according to the 'account issues' page, as shown in the attached screenshot. Back in the day, Fiverr informed me that the warning is not permanent, and as you can see, they have removed it.

This is incorrect. Warning remains in the overview for the level system and it lasts for 30 days I think. Other than warning remains in your account for lifetime, this is my understanding.

[edharutyunyan]

23 minutes ago, chronos_1 said:

This is incorrect. Warning remains in the overview for the level system and it lasts for 30 days I think. Other than warning remains in your account for lifetime, this is my understanding.

Once again, Fiverr's support team previously stated that a Terms of Service (TOS) warning may remain in the account permanently, but there is a possibility they might consider removing it. As indicated on my account issues page, the warning has been removed, and my account has been free of warnings for the past 2 months.

[chronos_1]

36 minutes ago, edharutyunyan said:

Once again, Fiverr's support team previously stated that a Terms of Service (TOS) warning may remain in the account permanently, but there is a possibility they might consider removing it. As indicated on my account issues page, the warning has been removed, and my account has been free of warnings for the past 2 months.

Okay, maybe the information I have that warning remains forever is maybe incorrect then.

Edited February 20 by chronos_1

[edharutyunyan]

7 minutes ago, chronos_1 said:

Okay, maybe the information I have that warning remains forever is maybe incorrect then.

I believe that in most cases, it does, especially if the warning was issued for a 'very bad mistake,' such as taking the client outside of the platform. However, I think for a simple mistake like using the same payment method, they may reconsider their decision and remove warnings if they see your achievements in the future.

We have observed an existing experience because they removed mine. Two months ago, the account issues page clearly stated that I had an active warning, but it has since been removed.

I also personally know of a case where they removed a Terms of Service (TOS) warning from a freelancer's account, and she is currently one of the top freelancers on Fiverr.

Edited February 20 by edharutyunyan

[edharutyunyan]

Fiverr has actually unflagged my account today.
I'm glad to see this because the whole situation seemed absurd to me.
Hopefully, more innocent people will also get unflagged.

@Lena

[mike_builderall]

24 minutes ago, edharutyunyan said:

Fiverr has actually unflagged my account today.
I'm glad to see this because the whole situation seemed absurd to me.
Hopefully, more innocent people will also get unflagged.

@Lena

Congratulations 👏 bro 🎉

More success ahead 😁♥️🎖️

[edharutyunyan]

14 minutes ago, mike_builderall said:

Congratulations 👏 bro 🎉

More success ahead 😁♥️🎖️

Thank you! 😀

I hope your account gets unflagged too if it was flagged.

[catwriter]

45 minutes ago, edharutyunyan said:

Fiverr has actually unflagged my account today.

They mentioned on the webinar today that some accounts were flagged by mistake, and that they're working on it.

Looks like another account got unflagged:

 

[edharutyunyan]

17 minutes ago, catwriter said:

They mentioned on the webinar today that some accounts were flagged by mistake, and that they're working on it.

Looks like another account got unflagged:

 

Yep! I'm glad to see them fixing the bug.

[yonixer]

1 hour ago, edharutyunyan said:

Fiverr has actually unflagged my account today.
I'm glad to see this because the whole situation seemed absurd to me.
Hopefully, more innocent people will also get unflagged.

@Lena

can you till me what did you do

 

[edharutyunyan]

11 minutes ago, yonixer said:

can you till me what did you do

 

I've done nothing. Fiverr is aware of the new system bug, and they're currently investigating and resolving the issues. If you have no warnings in your account but you've been flagged, then be patient, and they'll unflag you too.