You're quite right here, and yes it's sadly true about agencies too. The latter I think are almost worse because they do like to portray a 'family' kind of thing to new girls during their interview, going on about how carefully they look after all the girls on their books and how they would never, ever entertain a booking request from a known nutcase. In the end, though, it's not uncommon to find that their most regular clients are absolute wackos and the agency knowingly sends new girl after new girl into weird situations without even warning them beforehand. That was my experience with two different agencies and now I feel like a bitter crone when I hear new girls here on SAAFE talk about how excited they are about their wonderful new agency - I know how they feel, like you've been selected to join a group of great friends who want you to have so much fun! - but want to warn them that ultimately, only YOU are looking after yourself. And so you must take it all very seriously and be boring, work hard, and not jet off to Saudi Arabia with the first client who asks, with nothing but condoms and bikinis in your suitcase.

Sorry for that tangent! Fallen Angel, reading this thread and hearing about your experiences with Punterlink et al makes it clear that gross prejudices and ignorance still run rampant everywhere, even amongst people who would cal themselves 'sex-positive'. People who say we are in a post-racial/sexual/feminist society are so horribly wrong! I've been meaning to put an ad on Punterlink since I started as an indie but now will not bother. It's so awful that not only do you (and all women and escorts) have to deal with the big, immediate potential dangers of walking into a trap like you describe, or even a lone booking with a psycho, but also this insidious crap from what is essentially a bunch of gits running an agency or listings website, making a ton of money from us and staying snugly safe at home while we do all the real work.

Thanks Emily, you've answered quite a few questions that I have pondered on in the past regarding agency work. Since the start of the current recession, with work being so up and down I had considered agency work. I always had reservations about such things as, would I be able to carry out the same level of security checking as I would when working independently?

The thought of being sent to meet a client 'sight unseen' always filled me with dread. Another issue which may be a little contentious is why should I part with my hard earned cash  to someone who just answers the phone? A blog posted on the Harlots Parlour http://www.harlots-parlour.com/ pretty much answered this question. It was comment received and posted by Douglas Fox. A brief synopsis is an agency whinging about finding one escort a month to be unreliable, ie a reverse timewaster if you like. All I could think about was the fact that I have an entire group within my phone directory dedicated to timewasters. Some days I can't move for them and this agence is complaining about one a month. Maybe there are reputable agencies but reading between the lines most seem to be lazy parasites taking money off us for very little advantage, to us!

Some how after reading about your experiences Emily, I don't think I'll bother.

As for the level of prejudice and discrimination, being transsexual you just get used to it. This doesn't mean I accept it, personally, I just try and ride above it. The punterlink thing, just got to me a bit as they mention nothing about any restrictions on membership in their terms and conditions. You just receive a curt email telling you to 'sod off, we don't want your sort here' after you've wasted your time putting together the best profile you can! As their admin lurks around this forum I will be expecting a horses head in my bed when I wake up in the morning 

Although I find PL a contemptible bunch of Neanderthals I don't want to cause any of you or anyone else to loose work or money  because of the way they have treated me. That said the solidarity that people here have expressed over this has been fantastic 

As I said in my previous post if anybody would like to read the unsolicited email they sent to me and my reply please do PM me and I'd be glad to forward it.