Beware ScottMichaels

[GI Joe Doll]

Well, I did something I knew not to do so it's really my fault.   I wanted to book with this guy and he gave me a sob story that he had flakes so he asked for a deposit to book an appointment 3 days in advance and I paid it and made it clear I'd be there.

Without much noticed we had an ice storm that shut down the city.  I was 25 miles away from his hotel and the roads were either iced over or closed.  He had been pretty cool up until that point, but when I told him with several hours notice that my neighborhood roads were frozen over and I couldn't get there.  He was in Dallas for a wedding (according to him) and no doubt was aware of the storm because the area where his hotel is located was among the worst areas of ice.   When I asked about the deposit he went dark and no longer responded.   Nothing at all.   I had a friend ping him and he responded to them right away so he was simply ignoring me.

Normally I wouldn't have such an issue with it if my plans had changed and I simply was breaking the appointment, but given it was an ice storm outside of anyone's control I feel like he's basically a crook;  if he weren't he would have at least responded back to me.  

Lesson learned on my end, and beware if you choose to meet up with this guy:  https://rentmen.eu/ScottMichaels/#platinum

 

Edited January 31 by GI Joe Doll

[+ nycman]

You knew better.

Chalk it up to a lesson learned the hard way and move on.

Thank you for warning the rest of us and helping to teach the young ones. Somehow every man eventually believes “it’ll be different for me”.

It won’t. 

[Luv2play]

I know Scott but won't comment on his behaviour in this case since I don't know all the details such as size of deposit. 

I had a different experience on the weekend again because of a snow storm that hit Eastern Canada. I had an overnight scheduled with a provider I have seen twice. He was supposed to drive to my place some 120km away and arrive around 8. I offered him dinner and breakfast.

He left very late, saying his car was snowed in, altho I had been out earlier in rhe day to ensure he had a place to park his car in my snowed in driveway. He did keep in regular touch as he drove but encountered an accident and stopped to help a woman. He stayed with her for 50 minutes until help arrived. At this point he still had the major drive ahead of him and it was past 10;30. He also said he would have to stop to get some dinner as he hadn't eaten.

 So I pulled the plug and told him to turn around and go home. I said I would give him a cancellation fee. After thinking about it overnight I wired him $100. He texted me today saying thanks. So our relationship is maintained and no hard feelings on either side. His fee would have been $1000.

[GI Joe Doll]

2 hours ago, nycman said:

You knew better.

Chalk it up to a lesson learned the hard way and move on.

Thank you for warning the rest of us and helping to teach the young ones. Somehow every man eventually believes “it’ll be different for me”.

It won’t. 

 

Yep, you're exactly right.  I can understand if someone asks for a deposit because they keep having people make appointments then flaking out and so I fell for it.   Won't happen again.  

Edited February 1 by GI Joe Doll

[GI Joe Doll]

1 hour ago, Luv2play said:

I know Scott but won't comment on his behaviour in this case since I don't know all the details such as size of deposit. 

I had a different experience on the weekend again because of a snow storm that hit Eastern Canada. I had an overnight scheduled with a provider I have seen twice. He was supposed to drive to my place some 120km away and arrive around 8. I offered him dinner and breakfast.

He left very late, saying his car was snowed in, altho I had been out earlier in rhe day to ensure he had a place to park his car in my snowed in driveway. He did keep in regular touch as he drove but encountered an accident and stopped to help a woman. He stayed with her for 50 minutes until help arrived. At this point he still had the major drive ahead of him and it was past 10;30. He also said he would have to stop to get some dinner as he hadn't eaten.

 So I pulled the plug and told him to turn around and go home. I said I would give him a cancellation fee. After thinking about it overnight I wired him $100. He texted me today saying thanks. So our relationship is maintained and no hard feelings on either side. His fee would have been $1000.

I think the difference is you nicely agreed to give him the fee when he was way late.  You didn't have to do that and that was nice of you to do it.  (Just by the way, his name isn't Scott).

In this case he took the deposit -- and I actually (stupidly) gave him $100 instead of $50 (this was on a Friday for a Monday appt -- he wasn't available Sat or Sun).   I texted him Sunday afternoon to make sure we were still on and he confirmed.  I woke up Monday morning to freezing rain and a Winter Storm / Ice Warning (it wasn't supposed to get cold until Tuesday/Wednesday).   Schools, businesses, etc all closed.  By Monday night roads were impassable all over the city.  I even tried to drive around and the roads were sheets of ice.   I gave him at least 3 hours notice.   He was perfectly chatty until I told him I couldn't take the chance on the frozen roads then silence, not another word.  I asked him if he would return the deposit in good faith given the situation -- and he ghosted me.  Even a "go to hell" would have let me know where I stood but he went radio silent which tells me he knew he was being a crook, or at least someone who is unethical.   I asked a friend to chat him up about booking to see if he would respond and he was very chatty with my friend while ignoring me.   

I gave him that deposit in good faith and he knew it.   A good guy would have returned it before being asked.   A good guy who is having financial problems might have waited until being asked to return it, but he would have.   A person with bad intentions would ghost the person and keep the money which is basically stealing given the situation.   Had he been cool about it I might have even split it with him since it impacted him as well, but Ethics 101 would be for him to return it.   The thing is I know his name and I know just about everything about him -- LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc.   I'm probably not a big enough jerk to dox him over only $100 but the next person he pulls that with might just be pissed off enough to post his ad all over his numerous personal internet hangouts.   I doubt he wants his family, friends and whomever else up in Canada to know about his Scott Michaels alter ego.

When someone in his profession does jerky things and has a substantial internet footprint he's opening himself up to problems.  He's pretty damn lucky I'm not a big enough asshole to take advantage.

Edited February 1 by GI Joe Doll
syntax

[+ nycman]

1 hour ago, GI Joe Doll said:

The thing is I know his name and I know just about everything about him -- LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc.   I'm probably not a big enough jerk to dox him over only $100 but the next person he pulls that with might just be pissed off enough to post his ad all over his numerous personal internet hangouts. 

 Veiled threats make you look bad bro.

I know you’re hurt, but you had the high ground….stick with it. 

[+ glutes]

Cheap lesson.

Move on.

[Enronnja]

Well, this hobby of ours is not something we can share with the general public, if you know what I mean. Thats why we have this space. Sometimes situation like this is probably a sacrifice for the greater good of the community. I have seen him show up in my city a couple times. I believe he is based in Canada. My experience was a similar one, only difference, I was in the room with the crook named 'thebenefit' when I happily sent him 300 up front. Claimed he never got anything and got angry at me. Tried disputing it with my bank initially, but they said nope, he got it.

Eventually, my luck turned around and 1 year later, I got my money from Zelle and apology. I am so glad I ruined that fuckers scamming and exposed him to the community.

[Luv2play]

I actually don't think Scott did anything very terrible given the fuller explanation given as to why he kept the deposit. Going silent as opposed to explaining why he was keeping the deposit wasn't the best way of handling it but his right to keep the deposit was his call unless you had stipulated in advance that the deposit was conditional.

Like any deposits or advance payments with service providers, there are usually situations where you may not get the money back if the service is not rendered. During the recent pandemic many airlines and hotels kept a portion or all of the money paid for reservations. Practices varied in different countries and depending on the conditions spelled out in the advanced sales.

Escorting is like any other business except less is spelled out in formal contracts. To me there is an etiquette to follow. We're buying time with an escort and he is selling you his time and foregoing doing business with someone else. 

It would be unrealistic to expect him to make alternate arrangments on 3 hours notice, especially given the weather situation. You didn't day how many hours the engagement was for. In my case that is also a factor but not the only consideration in how much I give to cancel an appointment. 

Also I hire on a regular basis and during the course of a year have to cancel some engagements. I am reminded each time I e-transfer since my bank keeps a list of all previous contacts and asks if this is a new contact. I see the list of names and amounts paid in fees.

The reason this happens is I travel to see providers a lot or vice versa and there is always the element of uncertainty where travel is involved.   

[Skip]

Restaurants are now asking for deposits "non refundable if you don't cancel 24 or 48 or some longer period in advance." . I have a reservation at a resort in Mexico., "50% deposit refunadable if you cancel 2 weeks or more in advance"  On the weather front, American Airlines did not offer to pay my hotel bill when they canceled my flight out of LaGuardia at 10 PM. He shouldn't have gone dark, but I would not have expected nor asked for it back, (If it were a large deposit involving an overnight, I would reschedule.)  This is not some guy that stiffed you in the lobby of a hotel.  I would chalk it up to weather and move on. 

[GI Joe Doll]

4 hours ago, Luv2play said:

I actually don't think Scott did anything very terrible given the fuller explanation given as to why he kept the deposit. Going silent as opposed to explaining why he was keeping the deposit wasn't the best way of handling it but his right to keep the deposit was his call unless you had stipulated in advance that the deposit was conditional.

Like any deposits or advance payments with service providers, there are usually situations where you may not get the money back if the service is not rendered. During the recent pandemic many airlines and hotels kept a portion or all of the money paid for reservations. Practices varied in different countries and depending on the conditions spelled out in the advanced sales.

Escorting is like any other business except less is spelled out in formal contracts. To me there is an etiquette to follow. We're buying time with an escort and he is selling you his time and foregoing doing business with someone else. 

It would be unrealistic to expect him to make alternate arrangments on 3 hours notice, especially given the weather situation. You didn't day how many hours the engagement was for. In my case that is also a factor but not the only consideration in how much I give to cancel an appointment. 

Also I hire on a regular basis and during the course of a year have to cancel some engagements. I am reminded each time I e-transfer since my bank keeps a list of all previous contacts and asks if this is a new contact. I see the list of names and amounts paid in fees.

The reason this happens is I travel to see providers a lot or vice versa and there is always the element of uncertainty where travel is involved.   

He couldn't make any other arrangements, period because unless someone was in his hotel they couldn't get there.    I shouldn't have left him any deposit whatsoever, lesson learned.   American Airlines didn't keep your money -- if you told them you didn't want to continue because of the cancellation they would have returned the fare you paid.   Them buying you a hotel room is apples and oranges from this situation.  

Yes airlines and hotels keep deposits most of the time, although right now the airlines and hotels locally are returning them in this area because of the weather.   In his case given the discussion we had beforehand he should have returned it and didn't.   But going dark was a pussy move on his part, period;   If airlines and hotels keep your money they will explain to you why -- they don't stop answering the phone because they're scared to discuss it.

I've had my say on here,  but above all else I'd recommend at the very least not leaving this guy any money up front.  Lesson learned.  

Edited February 1 by GI Joe Doll

[GI Joe Doll]

8 hours ago, nycman said:

 Veiled threats make you look bad bro.

I know you’re hurt, but you had the high ground….stick with it. 

Point taken but I said I wasn't going to do it.   I also said the next person might not be that way and it's true -- I was certainly mad enough to do it.  

[+ Pensant]

10 hours ago, GI Joe Doll said:

gave him $100

Dude, that’s a trip to Trader Joe’s. He’s not that hot anyway. You saved a lot more by not seeing him.

[pubic_assistance]

The point of taking a deposit is to secure an appointment.
If you break the appointment for any reason ( ice storm included ) you've still broken the appointment.

Your reasons for breaking the appointment, are obviously valid, but you're missing the perspective from his side, which is he left a spot for you and you didn't show up. Period.

Remember your elementary school teachers who wanted your homework handed in. NO EXCUSES. ( No matter how valid ).

 

 

Edited February 1 by pubic_assistance
spelling

[GI Joe Doll]

7 minutes ago, Pensant said:

Dude, that’s a trip to Trader Joe’s. He’s not that hot anyway. You saved a lot more by not seeing him.

You're right.  It was the principle but you're right.

[GI Joe Doll]

2 hours ago, pubic_assistance said:

The point of taking a deposit is to secure an appointment.
If you break the appointment for any reason ( ice storm included ) you're still broken the appointment.

Your reasons for breaking the appointment, are obviously valid, but you're missing the perspective from his side, which is he left a spot for you and you didn't show up. Period.

Remember your elementary school teachers who wanted your homework handed in. NO EXCUSES. ( No matter how valid ).

 

 

I don't know where you went to school but in the area I did if an ice storm shut down the city that was considered a valid excuse.

I hear what you're saying and would agree if it were a personal issue where it caused him to not be able to get new business.   He was basically saying he expected me to risk my life and drive 25 miles over frozen / closed roads to get to him.   Our original discussion was that he had people flake out so he asked for the deposit;  I clearly didn't flake out because I tried to make the appointment.  And he couldn't have gotten any clients because no one in the city was able to get there unless they just happened to be in the same hotel.

I've had my say (I keep saying that, lol), so I'll leave it at that going forward.   At this point I'm just reiterating my lesson learned which is to never leave a deposit, especially to this guy.  

Edited February 1 by GI Joe Doll

[ChasingGirth]

No one should pay a deposit. Having to cancel sometimes happens. Anything can come up in our lives that will prevent us to go through with meeting someone and escorts have to understand that.

And most do.

Only insecure guys that don’t get hired often will ask for a deposit. Confident, honest and working guys never ask for a deposit. 
 
if the guy is smart he also knows that keeping your deposit will close the door for future booking. 

if you are premium, give it a few days, if it doesn’t get back to you leave a review. I’m pretty sure he will get back to you very quickly offering to refund you. 

it doesn’t matter if the deposit was $50 or $100 or $25 it’s a question of work ethic and principle. This guy shouldn’t keep your money. 

[ChasingGirth]

31 minutes ago, pubic_assistance said:

The point of taking a deposit is to secure an appointment.
If you break the appointment for any reason ( ice storm included ) you're still broken the appointment.

Your reasons for breaking the appointment, are obviously valid, but you're missing the perspective from his side, which is he left a spot for you and you didn't show up. Period.

Remember your elementary school teachers who wanted your homework handed in. NO EXCUSES. ( No matter how valid ).

 

 

We are not talking about having to deliver a homework to a teacher. 

And even if that was the case, when kids couldn’t get to school due to weather condition obviously they wouldn’t get penalized for handing their homework late.

We are talking about an exchange between two human beings agreeing to spend time together in order to have a good time. 

The OP couldn’t safely go to the meeting. 

In the event of a storm even non refundable plane tickets are rebookable or refundable. 

There are no excuses for the guy to keep the money and go silent, period.

[BaronArtz]

11 hours ago, GI Joe Doll said:

I think the difference is you nicely agreed to give him the fee when he was way late.  You didn't have to do that and that was nice of you to do it.  (Just by the way, his name isn't Scott).

In this case he took the deposit -- and I actually (stupidly) gave him $100 instead of $50 (this was on a Friday for a Monday appt -- he wasn't available Sat or Sun).   I texted him Sunday afternoon to make sure we were still on and he confirmed.  I woke up Monday morning to freezing rain and a Winter Storm / Ice Warning (it wasn't supposed to get cold until Tuesday/Wednesday).   Schools, businesses, etc all closed.  By Monday night roads were impassable all over the city.  I even tried to drive around and the roads were sheets of ice.   I gave him at least 3 hours notice.   He was perfectly chatty until I told him I couldn't take the chance on the frozen roads then silence, not another word.  I asked him if he would return the deposit in good faith given the situation -- and he ghosted me.  Even a "go to hell" would have let me know where I stood but he went radio silent which tells me he knew he was being a crook, or at least someone who is unethical.   I asked a friend to chat him up about booking to see if he would respond and he was very chatty with my friend while ignoring me.   

I gave him that deposit in good faith and he knew it.   A good guy would have returned it before being asked.   A good guy who is having financial problems might have waited until being asked to return it, but he would have.   A person with bad intentions would ghost the person and keep the money which is basically stealing given the situation.   Had he been cool about it I might have even split it with him since it impacted him as well, but Ethics 101 would be for him to return it.   The thing is I know his name and I know just about everything about him -- LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc.   I'm probably not a big enough jerk to dox him over only $100 but the next person he pulls that with might just be pissed off enough to post his ad all over his numerous personal internet hangouts.   I doubt he wants his family, friends and whomever else up in Canada to know about his Scott Michaels alter ego.

When someone in his profession does jerky things and has a substantial internet footprint he's opening himself up to problems.  He's pretty damn lucky I'm not a big enough asshole to take advantage.

 

I understand the argument of ice storms making the roads not passable.  But instead of cancelling, the client could simply have offered to re-schedule.  Did that not happen?  Hard to tell.

[StarQualityLuke]

17 hours ago, GI Joe Doll said:

Well, I did something I knew not to do so it's really my fault.   I wanted to book with this guy and he gave me a sob story that he had flakes so he asked for a deposit to book an appointment 3 days in advance and I paid it and made it clear I'd be there.

Without much noticed we had an ice storm that shut down the city.  I was 25 miles away from his hotel and the roads were either iced over or closed.  He had been pretty cool up until that point, but when I told him with several hours notice that my neighborhood roads were frozen over and I couldn't get there.  He was in Dallas for a wedding (according to him) and no doubt was aware of the storm because the area where his hotel is located was among the worst areas of ice.   When I asked about the deposit he went dark and no longer responded.   Nothing at all.   I had a friend ping him and he responded to them right away so he was simply ignoring me.

Normally I wouldn't have such an issue with it if my plans had changed and I simply was breaking the appointment, but given it was an ice storm outside of anyone's control I feel like he's basically a crook;  if he weren't he would have at least responded back to me.  

Lesson learned on my end, and beware if you choose to meet up with this guy:  https://rentmen.eu/ScottMichaels/#platinum

 

That is horrible.  Wasn't your fault.  The deposit should be given back, or he could offer to reschedule.  I'm sorry that happened to you!  How did you pay the deposit? 

[ChasingGirth]

15 minutes ago, BaronArtz said:

 

I understand the argument of ice storms making the roads not passable.  But instead of cancelling, the client could simply have offered to re-schedule.  Did that not happen?  Hard to tell.

I think the escort was visiting Dallas for a wedding, not a local. 

[BaronArtz]

1 minute ago, ChasingGirth said:

I think the escort was visiting Dallas for a wedding, not a local. 

Understand.  But an attempt could have been made to reschedule.  From the description, it is not clear that happened.

Cancelling altogether is very different from a cancel/reschedule offer.  The escort could have accepted the latter and the client would not have been out of his deposit.

[GI Joe Doll]

47 minutes ago, ChasingGirth said:

We are not talking about having to deliver a homework to a teacher. 

And even if that was the case, when kids couldn’t get to school due to weather condition obviously they wouldn’t get penalized for handing their homework late.

We are talking about an exchange between two human beings agreeing to spend time together in order to have a good time. 

The OP couldn’t safely go to the meeting. 

In the event of a storm even non refundable plane tickets are rebookable or refundable. 

There are no excuses for the guy to keep the money and go silent, period.

Agree -- by keeping the deposit he clearly expected me to risk my life getting to the appointment which no one in their right mind would do.

 

[GI Joe Doll]

40 minutes ago, BaronArtz said:

Understand.  But an attempt could have been made to reschedule.  From the description, it is not clear that happened.

Cancelling altogether is very different from a cancel/reschedule offer.  The escort could have accepted the latter and the client would not have been out of his deposit.

I did attempt to reschedule;  I told him I'd meet him the first day after the storm was over if he were still here (due to flight cancellations).  No response.   

EDIT to Add:  A simple response from the guy would have made a lot of difference.   The deposit was so I wouldn't flake out;  it was clear I didn't flake out and his completely going dark tells me he knew he was in the wrong.   If you know you're right you respond and say so.   I was pleasant in all my communications with him so there was no reason for him to ghost me other than he knew he was basically stealing my money at that point.   It's only $100 so it's not like it's a lot of money, but I doubt anyone on here would ghost someone in that situation.  

Edited February 1 by GI Joe Doll

[BaronArtz]

36 minutes ago, GI Joe Doll said:

I did attempt to reschedule;  I told him I'd meet him the first day after the storm was over if he were still here (due to flight cancellations).  No response.   

Thank you for clarifying that.  Him not responding to your attempt to reschedule is not very professional.  

I will avoid.