Hi ladies, when doing outcalls I’ve never asked for a small deposit up front, I’m thinking of asking for a small deposit upfront now which will be deducted from the total cost. If they end up cancelling  etc on my way to them then it would cover my travel fare & I won’t be out of pocket.

Is asking for a small deposit upfront reasonable? I’m worried in case asking for a small deposit might put them off. How many of you ask for a deposit upfront? Xxxx

Hi ladies, when doing outcalls I’ve never asked for a small deposit up front, I’m thinking of asking for a small deposit upfront now which will be deducted from the total cost. If they end up cancelling  etc on my way to them then it would cover my travel fare & I won’t be out of pocket.

Is asking for a small deposit upfront reasonable? I’m worried in case asking for a small deposit might put them off. How many of you ask for a deposit upfront? Xxxx

I ask for a large deposit for both incalls and outcalls, yes many will be put off but what I found was/is eventually you work through those who will not. I mention the deposit in all my adverts, mention it reasonably early on in any enquiry, and if anyone starts arguing or wheedling around it I take that as a good reason to end the enquiry. Also be aware of some who will offer to bring it in cash, send it by carrier pigeon etc. I have actually tried allowing cash drop off a few times, usually results in a lot of hassle and not something I will do with someone I have not had a booking with so is no go.

One thing to watch out for is clients paying the fee in full by gift card, one of the reasons I stopped accepting deposits by gift card - including can't pay the tax due in gift card.

I now take deposits for all bookings. I'm predominately low volume, part time with a focus on longer bookings. Clients interested in that kind of set up tend to expect it more than same day/shorter bookings but overall I think deposits are more common in the UK than they used to be. It's definitely reasonable to ask for them though however you work, incl. outcalls.

Like someone else said, you will still get last minute cancels/TWs with deposits though, but your trouble has been somewhat covered. I always put it prominently on my adverts; I still get guys trying to skirt paying but I just ignore them/block. The one time I let it slip after a guy said he didn't 'do' deposits was the first time I got a walk out in two years, so never again. I'd definitely take deposits for outcalls; at least 30%.

Unfortunately I cannot share my real name via bank transfer or I would do this for outcalls.

I googled my full name and LinkedIn, photo and work place came up as the first link..too risky for me!