Hi everyone i need a wee bit of advice on a weekend booking in Paris. I am touring in London for a week next month and have advertised on all the sites as recommended on here and this morning i got a lovely email inviting me to Paris. I have never met this gentleman before so what should my next step be, should i ask for a deposit upfront? What is the usual proceedure? Thanks as always xx

I personally wouldnt do a overnighter or a break with someone unless they had been my client for at least a couple of sessions. In regards to deposit it can be paid into a paypal account which will protect your identity however paypal will freeze funds if they believe the money is from 'immoral earnings'.

kisses

amber

Ladies thanks for the input. Violette i  have sent you a pm and would really appreciate your opinion when you have time, thanks. xx

There are a variety of issues with using WU for this, including their fees, what ID they require, and their apparent reluctance to send money short distances (to discourage money laundering), but I think that once you have the money in your hand, there's no way of getting it taken from you.

It wouldn't be so popular with scammers if victims could get their money back.

Yeah, if this gentleman does turn out to be genuine, I wouldn't have money sent to me via Western Union, MoneyGram, or any other money transfer organisations. With this mode of transfer, he would require the recipient's name (yours)

LOL, I forgot to tell y'all about the story of the client who sent me the other half of my fee thru MoneyGram a couple months ago. I wont go into how it happened and why I didnt get it all during the booking, but I was quite surprised he did it LOL. And yes, I had to give my real name...but I had all his information too     

So if he doesn't use a wire transfer service, how else is she suppose to get the money to her? Strap it to the ankle of a racing pigeon, since carriers are extinct and send it on its way? Stick it in a FedEx box and post it? Ok so he has to have you real name, he will have to have your real name and banking info and address to wire transfer money to you via the bank. I often have a friend or even my mother, who happily volunteers to pick up the money for me. So he still doesn't know my real name. Think out side of the box. He can also do the same on his end. At the end of the day, if he is genuine, he wouldn't have a problem with this.

Paypal?

I've been doing a bit of checking and there doesn't seem to be a western union office in my city so it will have to be moneygram or bank transfer. Anyway he is calling me tommorrow for a chat so i will let you all know how it turns out. Thanks again for all suggestions xx

Paypal's been mentioned a lot recently so I want to point out that it's only as anonymous as the information you've given them. If someone sends money to an account which has a name associated with it, they'll be shown that name.

I should be clearer. You can set up a business account at Paypal, for instance say, A-M Holdings. Or you used to be able to a few years ago. I must admit I set up my account a fair while ago. As long as your payment details are accurate (credit card, bank account whatever), you money goes right in.

I've been doing a bit of checking and there doesn't seem to be a western union office in my city so it will have to be moneygram or bank transfer. Anyway he is calling me tommorrow for a chat so i will let you all know how it turns out. Thanks again for all suggestions xx

Funny that. And I've got at least 1 of each in my high street alone. Then again, it's pretty urban with different ethnicities, with people always sending money home, so they make a packet here.

I hope after all this he turns out to be kosher. Let us know how it goes. And don't hesitate to ask if you have any more queries.

Tell you what though, I've never entertained the idea of Amazon gift vouchers as a deposit, I think Ani-Mae says she uses them. For years I thought all they sold was books and CDs. I had no idea how expansive their site is. There's a couple of items on there that's caught my eye already.