Paying a deposit

talldallasguy

I have been on this site for a while now and met several professional cuddlers. I have never been asked to pay a deposit before meeting a cuddler. The deposit is not through the website but through the cash app. Has anyone else come across this before? Is this a new thing? I don't want to pay a deposit as I have been burned by this before on another website. I understand the reason behind it so if you cancel, you don't waste their time. But if we are going yhat route, why not have the cuddler pay a deposit too. I have had several cuddle appointments canceled at the last moment after rearranging my work schedule. Anyway, just wanted to see if paying a deposit is a common thing now. Thanks!

skyhighsugar

I ask for a 10% deposit of total session cost for new clients, particularly because I live and work in Las Vegas which attracts a lot of tourists and my experience with new clients wanting to cuddle on a trip is booking a session and completely ghosting. Lots of profiles without karma. Without profile photo. I take it on a case by case basis and waive deposits for those with multiple good karma usually.

People get hungover and forget to let me know or cancel, some people want to book a session and then haggle on price an hour before I leave and then want to cancel last minute when they don’t get their way, there’s a myriad of reasons. For me as a pro, I’m a business owner and have a full time job as a flight attendant, cuddling isn’t how I pay my bills, so I don’t mind a smaller circle of clients. I have locals and frequent visitors as regulars and an active inbox of potentials, and if 10% for a deposit is too much of a commitment that’s okay with me. Bless and release, I suppose. 🥰

Rezz

When a client cancels last minute that is a time we could have booked another client. People are less likely to flake when they pay a deposit.
Don't want to pay it, look for another pro who doesn't require them. Yes it's common and not unheard of for pros to require them for first time, new cuddlers or ones who have proven themselves to be problematic in keeping their scheduled appointment.

But if we are going yhat route, why not have the cuddler pay a deposit too.

Huh .. Why would a pro pay you for an appointment you made and for a session you're paying for? The deposit typically goes towards payment of the session.

If you're unsure about paying a deposit, check their join date and karma. New pro with no karma, I'd personally pass. If they have 5+ positive karma I'd consider it as they have established themselves here and shown integrity to show up.

Nature_Lover_

Deposit requests are common and often warranted as many have previously expressed here and within other threads that cancellations happen. Sometimes without notice after we have declined sessions with other respected clients or could have otherwise spent that time with our family and friends.

If you are required to pay a deposit and unsure, review their karma, ask if you will be refunded or possibly applied towards a future session if the original session needs to be cancelled or rescheduled. And of course you can simply book with a pro who does not require a deposit.

I believe there is something in the terms and conditions which strongly suggests that if a pro cancels last minute without notice that they should pay a portion of the hotel cost the prospective client may have prepaid. Please fact that as that is just a vague memory / reference.

There have been circumstances in which I had to cancel or reschedule due to inclement weather or situations beyond my control. In these instances I do everything in my power to help the prospective client connect with another trusted pro if there is synergy there, comp for lost money from travel, securing a hotel or otherwise just try and do right by them to the best of my ability.

Babichev

Unfortunately, both pros and clients flake on each other. We get reports of a pro who asked for a deposit and then blocked the member, leaving them no way to recover their deposit. We’ve had clients flake on pros which is why some pros require a deposit. We’ve had clients pay for a hotel room and then have a pro no-show on them, leaving them stuck with paying for the room. I don’t know how one gets around it since the problems work both ways.

When one can see that a client or a pro has been around for awhile and racked up some good karma, that helps build trust. Short of that, I don’t know what can be done about it.

Libra0

Don’t book with a pro that requires deposits. All it takes is one to burn you, and you’ll grow salty. There’s plenty that don’t require one.

tucsonaz

What @Libra0 said. Sending a deposit is a scam waiting to happen.

SuperManCuddles

Personally I have cuddled many pros and never paid a deposit before. I normally pay cash before session. Some pros require a deposit and some don’t. If you do decide to pay a deposit make sure the pro has many karmas. As a site moderator, I know many men recently that paid pros 50% of session costs. Sadly the pros had no friends or karma. These pros made excuses for, constant rescheduling, no shows and or blocked the man who paid prior to session (all were banned). If you decide to pay a deposit prior to session, use your best judgment and again many karmas may be a helpful factor in decision making.

xandriarain

As others have said, deposits are necessary to ensure the client is serious about showing up and won't flake or ghost. There are a few ways to ensure you don't get robbed. If you book a reputable pro with a lot of karma, chances are they will value their reputation and not get banned over the amount of money you sent them. The other option is to make a deposit through a payment processor that offers consumer protection like Paypal or Square (these will be processed as a business transaction rather than personal ones, and the pro will be charged a fee, so you might want to offer to offset this fee).
I initially didn't ask for a deposit, but after a few nightmarish situations, including one where I was robbed for my services, I decided to start requiring deposits. By that point, I had already had racked up a decent amount of karma.

tucsonaz

You don't pay a deposit when you make a doctor's appointment, massage, hair appointment, etc.

I would never pay a deposit to a stranger on the Internet. That's a scam waiting to happen.

tucsonaz

@xandriarain

"As others have said, deposits are necessary to ensure the client is serious about showing up and won't flake or ghost"

So how can the client be insured that pro is serious about showing up and won't flake or ghost? It goes both ways.

carino

Hmm as far as deposit goes what does CC Ssay abut this? Will they contact the pronto refund the money if the proncancel for whatever reason? If CC doesn't intervene or is not required too then it keave the person out of money if they don't refund. I don't believe thays in the hand of CC but when it comes to booking a room and if the pro doesn't show up then I belive CC does say something about refunding or rescheduled. Ahh it's a tough question me personally I don't ever pay a deposit, that leaves me out of pocket and more postion on the pros side.so what do I do I go elsewhere ,regardless if the pro has 1 karma or a 100 karmas I don't ever pay a deposit, either you trust or you don't and go about your merry way🙂

carino

And I can tell you from experience I was wanting to cuddle with one pro she had about 3 karmas and she asked for a deposit I told her I don't have cash app which I really don't I always pay cash on hand ,well apparently she was upset that I wouldn't leave a deposit and she blocked me lmao like I really care if you do or don't a week later I was going through old message and deleting old stuff and saw that the pro was banned.so what's the moral of this had I done the deposit thing she woukd of been banned for some other reason and wouldn't be able to get that money back. So if you do the deposit your doing it at your own risk

tucsonaz

@carino

The same thing happened with me. I was planning to meet a pro in 2 hours. She asked for a $50 deposit. I told her I would pay the full amount when we met. She instantly blocked me.

Some pros don't understand what clients have to go through.

carino

Yep it goes both ways and if your going to meet in 2 hrs why ask for a deposit? Thays just crazy..but what can you do..your gonn agave bad apples that spoil the bunch for both pro cuddlers and paying clients nothing you can do like I said either you trust thay he ir she will pay you when you.meet and trust that the pro will show up and thats with the room being paid so again your out of money if the pro doesn't show up after you paid for the room and that's a chance we are taking ,if for some reason they don't show up you just report them to CC AND leave a karma letting buyer beware thats all you can do

carino

And if you really look at the whole picture you will be out of money not once but twice,1 for paying a deposit and 2 for paying the hotel room and the pro doesn't show up lmao hiws that for an eye opener 🤣🤣🤣

tucsonaz

I like the pros who ask for deposits who say I will lose my spot if I don't pay.

I learned the hard way by getting scammed online.

Sinette

I go back-and-forth on it. My profile does say not to say that I required deposit. Mainly because so many people schedule and flake. I also do it because it shows me how serious a person is and also if they even read my profile. Those little indications show me a little bit more about the person and how serious they are about respecting you and your boundaries.

carino

Lmao ya like they have 100 ppl waiting to cuddle with them 🤣 🤣🤣🤣🤣

ClubSamwiches

There are far too many threads with enthusiasts complaining about pro’s practices. We all operate differently and we’re allowed to because it’s a free market. If you don’t want to pay a deposit, then see a cuddler who doesn’t charge one 🤷🏽‍♀️

carino

I agree with Sammi 💯 look for another cuddler problem solved.

tucsonaz

@carino

LOL

I had one pro say I had three people in front of me for the same time, so the first person that paid would get the spot. Yeah, sure!!

If a pro asks for a deposit and then gets mad or won't meet if you ask to pay the full amount in person, then most likely there's a scam.

tucsonaz

@SweetiSammi

Agreed. We're not telling what others should do. We're just saying why we don't pay deposits.

IslanderMuscles

@Libra0 @tucsonaz THAT PART

carino

I heard that many times I have 3 in front of you.i think I should add to my profile I do charge a deposit for holding the hotel room in case you don't show up 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

ClubSamwiches

@tucsonaz that’s your prerogative just like it’s pro’s prerogative to charge it.

The fact is that it’s common to ask for deposit and there are some very well established pro’s commenting very valid reasons as to why. To say they’re scamming is a slap in the face.

If you’re uncomfortable paying a deposit then move on.

skyhighsugar

@tucsonaz Some of my doctors (specialists like chiropractor, etc) as well as my hair stylist have a card on file for me and other clients/patients because they bill for late cancellations and or no shows. Hair stylists, for women especially, do typically charge deposits for speciality services such as hair extensions, fashion colors, etc. I’m a portrait photographer and when my services are booked, a contract is signed, and the entire services are paid for prior to services being rendered.

But as aforementioned, it’s a free market. Cuddle with enthusiasts for free or with pros who don’t ask for a deposit. Alternatively, cuddle with pros that won’t ask for a deposit because of karma history / account age / etc.

skyhighsugar

@SweetiSammi said it best 👏

JoyfulHeart

Anyone who comes to the forum and makes statements mocking a segment of the pro population is essentially writing their own negative karma.

If someone has had a negative experience with someone marked as a pro, they should report it. Reluctance to pay a deposit after having been burned, is understandable. Generalizing about the rest of the pro population may be frowned upon by forum moderators.

I support what @SweetiSammi and others have said: we are all free to make our own decisions. That includes pros who charge deposits and people who choose to look for pros who don't.

CuddleWho

IME the large majority of pros don't ask for deposits. It happens but is relatively rare.

Plenty of pros are scam artists, and for that reason my default position is to not pay a deposit. But for a pro who's been on the site a while and has a decent amount of karma, sure, why not?

MrMarkAndrew

@skyhighsugar the difference with those examples you listed is that you have a physical address/paper trail by which to seek compensation if they somehow scammed or otherwise mischarged you. You have built-in customer protections. There is not the same mechanism through Cuddle Comfort (other than asking your credit card provider to contest the charge, which is not guaranteed). That is the crux of the issue, and it's not a blanket statement against pros.