Ask How do freelance platforms handle it when a client disappears after work has been submitted?

[Brendan]

Working hard on a project and sending it in only to have the client go silent is a very scary experience. You start to worry if you will ever get paid for the time and effort you put into the task. Most platforms have some kind of protection for payments, but it is not always clear how it works when someone vanishes. How long does the website wait before they automatically release the money to you? What should a freelancer do in this case?