Something I am curious to know, have any of you actually been scammed on this website? If so what happened, and how did you deal with it? Also what advice would you have for me in case I unfortunately run into this issue.
I’ve had a couple pros from this site steal from me. I was sort of dumb though for trusting people I didn’t know very well.
In general, I’d say
Pretty much common sense really. Despite having met a couple thieves on this site and some others who weren’t exactly model citizens, I don’t feel too worried about meeting others in the future.
I leaned to NOT leave any meds in the bathroom that a guest may use. It was not from this site, but it was a learning experience !!!!!
As a pro.... some of us do require a deposit and are trustworthy, like myself. @CuddleMeLater has a good point good karma should be a key indicator of a legitimate pro. I am quite often on the opposite side of the spectrum, Dice will often make the excuse not to book the hotel because either their married or their significant other has access to their bank account. I end up booking the hotel Room and 90% of the time I am stuck with it if I don't get a deposit. That has happened to me many times I have even travelled out of state and that has happened. I used cash app and venmo once in awhile I will use pay pal if you really want to be safe you can use pay pal because then you can dispute it. Having a quick 30 minute virtual with a potential pro cuddler Can give you kind of a sense that they are real. Heppy cuddles Stay safe and I hope you find what your looking for.🤗
@Andy1996 What @CuddleMeLater said is spot on. I have never paid by deposit when dealing with any cuddler and been quite successful getting cuddles. Do some ask? Of course they do but i walk away from those who do. And never ever book a session until all your questions are answered. Those who pressure you to book have always been the worst cuddlers.
Im pretty much done with this site as it is anyway. I have been burned on here and blocked so you can't even try to find out what happened. My own fault for trusting. I had set up a session date after respectful correspondence. Something came up and I had to postpone . then on the reschedule she had to cancel. this went back and forth multiple times. To show her I was serious I pre paid for a session ( again my own fault) she got the cash and the was that. the was in the beginning of Covid as well so that didn't help. But in general I am just tired of the BS and lack of respect when you reach out to a cuddler. Again not all of them but I have found a majority of them do not even care. Thats their prerogative tho. they owe me nothing. last two cuddlers I corresponded with went like this. A few weeks of correspondence. set a date. confirmed night before. woke up the next am and her profile was deleted. Week and half ago I was approached by a pro. we sent some friendly respectful messages talking about a session/life and I agreed to a pre meet by video chat even tho we did not have a date to do said video. then a few days later I was blocked. So I am going to stick with my real life
@RockRollCuddle, I actually had something like this happened to me. I was supposed to do with virtual session with one person. And I went to try and message them to confirm and their account was deactivated.
A lot of good advice here As Fox Mulder would say " Trust No One "
@RockRollCuddle I'm sorry to hear your tale. I suppose the lesson is that everybody on Cuddle Comfort is hurting.
Remember the good ones, they are the ones that really matter.
I haven't had it happen to me. Just be careful and use common sense. If something doesn't look right don't let the cuddler come into your place.
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Also make sure if you are cuddling with an enthusiast that no money will be changing hands before you finalize plans. I met with one who expected me to pay her after our 3 hour cuddle. I refused and before I could leave there were two large guys who beat me down and took my wallet.
Edit: typo
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@CuddleMeLater Were you able to report them, or get them banned? I hope so.
If a professional is requiring a deposit, I'd use your gut. If they need a deposit and it's a local session and they aren't booking a hotel, I would stay away because it seems a bit unnecessary which by itself is suspicious. If the professional has lots of good karma though, then they are probably pretty safe and are just trying to protect themselves from flaky clients in order to remain profitable.
I think it is very reasonable for a professional to require a deposit if they are traveling a long distance, or especially if they booked the hotel. If there would be a last minute cancellation, at least they would be partially compensated for their time and travel expense.
Once a professional has established trust with you on a first successful session, I'd imagine they wouldn't require a deposit for future sessions. However, even if they had a first initial successful session, they may still try to scam you in future sessions - this has happened to others before.
@Scarxlett It's not silly. I truly believe that the high quality professionals on here are really making a dent on people's depression levels. It's also a wonder you guys are still around with all the crap you have to deal with.
@creedhands I'm really sorry to hear that. That's a police matter if you can bear it, not just a banning one.
@Scarxlett "only" cuddling?? I don't think so. Cuddling has had a significant effect on me, and I know it has on other people. I don't know you, but I've looked at your profile and I know the care and effort that professionals like you put in to their work and their clients. Please don't say 'only', you are doing both yourself and us a disservice.
Deposits and the like a matter of judgement depending on the circumstances. Problems can happen in any direction.
For the record, I have paid the full price in advance to professionals on Cuddle Comfort who I have not previously met with .... I was going to say no problems but in fact what I meant was 'above and beyond' customer service. However, in those cases I did find the professionals elsewhere first.
It hasn't come up for me, but I kind of feel that if I don't trust a professional enough to pay a deposit then I'm not sure I trust them enough to cuddle with them. If they vanished I would feel it was a bullet dodged.
I had one person who wasn’t a professional tell me that I had to pay her $50 an hour for her session. Needless to say, I have no intentions of going to see her. I would like to know where I can look at the terms to see where I can get proof of it not being allowed so I can show it to any person that tries to pull this
@Andy1996 you don't need to look anywhere, it's a common problem. Report the profile using the phrase 'unregistered professional'. Just tell them, you don't need to prove it to them. It's their job to check the TOS. It's mentioned in several places around the site.
@Andy1996 Please report that person. https://www.cuddlecomfort.com/forum/discussion/4232/frequently-asked-questions/p1
CTRL+F "Someone who isn't a professional"
@Andy1996
Someone who isn't a professional said they charge for cuddling. Is that allowed?
No; this is known as being an "untagged pro". You can report them by visiting their profile and clicking on the "..." button, then selecting Report. They will be informed by the admins that in order to be a paid cuddler they need to sign up as a professional.
The fee professionals pay goes towards maintaining the site, and is not unreasonable to ask in return for the exposure they gain here.
thank you so very much @CuddleDuncan @sunnysideup It truly means so much to me that I can add value to a persons life while giving such close intimacy without compromising my boundaries/values.
You two are the best!
Cheers
@CuddleMeLater
I’ve had a couple pros from this site steal from me.
Does that mean you paid in advance and they canceled and kept your money? Or did you have them over at your place and they stole something from your place?
So I have looked at the person‘s profile that I mentioned and it turns out that she has been banned.
@FlyingToaster
One stole something from my place. The other, who I had seen multiple times before, asked me to loan her money in advance of a future session. Then she ghosted me.
Can’t imagine why anyone would pay a complete stranger money upfront, karma or no karma. The vast majority of legitimate pros on here don’t require deposits so tread cautiously if someone does. Not saying that equates to scamming but be aware.
@CuddleMeLater I think this site should do more to vet professional cuddlers.
@FlyingToaster a number of people have suggested that and it's mentioned in the GREEN PAPER thread. We'll get to it in due course. It's not the highest priority right now because it may have a significant impact on site revenue. Better to do some smaller changes to boost revenue first, before taking that big risk.
In the long run, it has to happen in some form.
If a salon or massage place charges a 50% deposit in case you don't show, pretty sure we can too! We are providing a service and lose business/income with other potential clients if an appointment is cancelled! I honestly think these sites need to require ID and background checks of ALL members!
@Snuggle_Burrito The distinction is that if a salon or massage place makes off with your money, their establishment is a physical location so the injured party has a much easier time getting their money back. When someone with an online profile asks for money and you don't know anything about them, it is much easier for them to make off with your money and that's the distinction behind the risk here. I agree with you about your suggestion, many have suggested it and it's in the thread that suggests ways to improve this website.
I do support professionals charging deposits, but the customer must watch out for the red flags of scammers.
I think this site should do more to vet professional cuddlers.
I actually don't think so, despite the fact that I've had a number of bad experiences with pros. Some other sites do more to vet pros and they hardly have any active pros. I much prefer it here at CuddleComfort, where a largish city may have 20+ active pros - even if some of those pros are garbage.
@Snuggle_Burrito
If a salon or massage place charges a 50% deposit in case you don't show, pretty sure we can too!
I don't know about salons, but I've never been asked to pay a deposit for a massage. You are free to require deposits if you wish, but I don't blame people for not wanting to pay them. There are plenty of dishonest pros out there.
While I do support the idea of deposit, the thing I fear as someone who can’t see is, how do I know if I can trust the person that I am potentially going to meet with? What if I show up and the person is not there? I would not be able to just simply hop in my car and go home. I would have to pay additional money to get home with service like Uber.
Are you serious about the appointment and want to reserve the time? That is a good way to show you are not here to waste the pros time. To me a deposit is all about the security of an appointment. You'd be surprised how many accounts that want to "set up" appointments completely ghost without giving deposits. No client of mine has ever had a problem with my deposit policy unless they were out to test pros and "price haggle".