Discussion: Morality Police?

[niceandthick]

There is a masseur that I have been wanting to book a session with for a few years. His rates are a little higher than most. He was on my "to do" list and then he moved away. He recently moved back to the area and I told myself that I would go ahead and book that session before I lost the chance again.

 

This time he was only doing outcalls. I inquired if he would travel to my location and he said that it was too far. Recently (within the past couple of weeks) he changed his ad to say that he was now doing incalls. Yes....Not going to miss the opportunity again. I reached out to him to book a session. He told me that I could book through the automated process on his website. I checked his availability and then proceeded to book a session. I was then presented with a confirmation step which asked for full name, address, credit card information including the 3 digit CVC code and expiration date. You had the option of paying now or paying later, but you still needed to supply the information to confirm the appointment. I did not complete the confirmation.

 

I reached out to the masseur and explained that I needed to be discreet and was uncomfortable providing this information. He replied with "Thanks for the feedback! All the best." I had communicated with the masseur many times in the past and he always seemed to be very friendly and responsive. I was surprised to receive such a curt response.

 

I responded by asking if he had any other ways of booking an appointment. he replied: "Not at the moment. One of the purposes is to keep people who are in precarious personal circumstances from jeopardizing themselves. All the best".

 

Wow. I did not see that coming. I guess he has a right to cater to a certain clientele...but come on...really?

 

 

Questions:

(1) Would you confirm an appointment with the requested information regardless of your personal circumstances?

(2) Is it wise to make this kind of judgment call to believe that folks not willing to supply this information have "precarious personal circumstances"?

 

 

Thoughts?

[+ azdr0710]

sorry to hear this, n and t....I'm sure you were psyched to meet him....

 

I'd never give that info to anybody, regardless of my circumstances....cash only and confirmed that way beforehand with him....

 

he may've had an earlier episode with somebody in a "precarious" position and it all went bad...or something....so now he does this, but it's still not the right way to do it.....

 

All The Best!

[EastbayMike]

1) absolutely not!

 

2) "precarious personal circumstances" ??? Regardless of the request for credit information, that kind of a reply from a potential masseur would make me look elsewhere.

[Steven_Draker]

The masseur has every right to set whatever payment policy he wants.

 

You have the right to say "Thanks, but no thanks".

[Frankly Rich]

He sounds like a complete toad. Go elsewhere.

[bigvalboy]

He sounds like a complete toad. Go elsewhere.

 

+1...Yes he sounds like a toad, however the only thought I had would be to pay with loadable credit card. Then just load the amount you wanted to spend and be done with it. I did believe at one point that those kinds of cards were a dead end for those trying to steal your identity, but I remember 'rvwnsd' mentioning one time that they weren't as secure as people might think, but I don't recall the reason he gave. Personally, as FR mentions, his attitude would make me go elsewhere...

[maninsoma]

There is no way that I would book an appointment with someone like that. I wouldn't go through the effort of getting a loadable credit card and I wouldn't question his practices. I would just drop the matter and look elsewhere.

[armadillo]

He sounds like a complete toad. Go elsewhere.

 

+2. And the next time you communicate with him, wish him "all the best"!

 

(I was shaking my head in the affirmative, until he asked for your credit card CVV code. For an escort or massage therapist, an absolute no-no!)

[rvwnsd]

If I was paying for the appointment in advance via credit card I could see providing the information, as it is required when a merchant is submitting an internet-initiated transaction to their credit card processor. However, I see not reason to request that information to book an appointment, unless he intends to submit a cancellation charge if someone does not show up for an appointment. I wouldn't provide that information to book a session.

 

Quick question: how does this thread pertain to "morality police?"

[jawjateck]

Whew! You dodged a bullet and saved some cash. And hell naw, I would not enter that kind of info into his booking system.

[instudiocity]

The masseur has every right to set whatever payment policy he wants.

 

You have the right to say "Thanks, but no thanks".

+1

All the Best!

[niceandthick]

OP here.

 

If I was paying for the appointment in advance via credit card I could see providing the information, as it is required when a merchant is submitting an internet-initiated transaction to their credit card processor. However, I see not reason to request that information to book an appointment, unless he intends to submit a cancellation charge if someone does not show up for an appointment. I wouldn't provide that information to book a session.

 

At the confirmation step, you are given two options:

(1) Pay Later, place card on file only

(2) Pay Full amount of $XXX now

 

So you are not required to pay up front, but he is asking for some critical personal and financial information to place on file. Big companies like Target can't keep this information private. What makes me think that this unknown masseur and his unknown [technical] capabilities can keep this information safe.

 

With a little more research I discovered the service he is using. You can see what the booking page looks like here on this sample page.

 

 

Quick question: how does this thread pertain to "morality police?"

 

I immediately felt like he was judging my moral character with his statement "...keep people who are in precarious personal circumstances from jeopardizing themselves.". Maybe "morality" isn't the correct word, but I was certainly feeling judged negatively for my choice of not willing to provide this information. I twas like he was saying that I was a bad person and he was protecting me from myself.

"

[Lewis H]

OP here.

 

I immediately felt like he was judging my moral character with his statement "...keep people who are in precarious personal circumstances from jeopardizing themselves.". Maybe "morality" isn't the correct word, but I was certainly feeling judged negatively for my choice of not willing to provide this information. I twas like he was saying that I was a bad person and he was protecting me from myself.

"

I can see how you could take it personally, but yeah, maybe there's a better word than 'morality.' At the very least I would call him presumptuous, expecting you to believe without proof that the masseur is both trustworthy enough with your financial info, AND more trustworthy than you are yourself. That whole scene and statement presupposes that he is a better judge of someone else's use of their own money.

 

It must be frustrating after trying on several occasions to book with him only to get this scenario. Might be best to cut your losses and walk away...

[luvsrubs]

I agree with everyone who said look elsewhere. But.........of course, now I'm dying to know who this person is and where he advertises

[BgMstr4u]

I think you were right to walk away. A request like that is way too much.

[rvwnsd]

At the confirmation step, you are given two options:

(1) Pay Later, place card on file only

(2) Pay Full amount of $XXX now

 

So you are not required to pay up front..

 

Thanks for the info on the options and the sample page. Placing the card on file for future use is bullshit, as is his comment on filtering out people with precarious personal circumstances. If he wants to accept credit cards he can get a Square credit card reader. Regarding his comment, I wouldn't describe it as a "morality" issue nor would I assume the comment was directed at me personally. Nonetheless, I would walk far, far away from this one.

[niceandthick]

OP here.

 

 

 

At the confirmation step, you are given two options:

(1) Pay Later, place card on file only

(2) Pay Full amount of $XXX now

 

So you are not required to pay up front, but he is asking for some critical personal and financial information to place on file. Big companies like Target can't keep this information private. What makes me think that this unknown masseur and his unknown [technical] capabilities can keep this information safe.

 

With a little more research I discovered the service he is using. You can see what the booking page looks like here on this sample page.

"

 

OP here again.

 

It appears that the masseur has taken one step forward and softened the personal/financial information requirement. Looks like he now just requires some minimal identification information when requesting an appointmentt. He has also added a blurb of explanation, some privacy policy and security policy information to his page as well. See below.

 

-

 

 

Hey guys,

 

If you haven't used the online scheduler, welcome! This is a third party service so if you choose pay by credit card rest assured that I don't personally store or have access to this info. It meets industry standards for security, etc. If you'd like more info follow this link: Full Slate's privacy policy.

 

If you haven't already please register so that you can access you appointment info and reschedule with greater ease. Preference is given to guys who have no issues providing their full name and who I've worked on before. Discretion and confidentiality are important to me. However, I do not make anonymous appointments or appointments with guys who only provide google voice numbers, aliases, and junk email accounts. Thanks for your understanding!

 

 

First name*

Last name*

Email*

Phone*

Seen me before?*

[Steven_Draker]

That sounds like someone who has been screwed over and over again and wants to put some measures in place to protect him from people wasting his time.

[niceandthick]

OP here again.

 

It appears that the masseur has taken one step forward and softened the personal/financial information requirement. Looks like he now just requires some minimal identification information when requesting an appointmentt. He has also added a blurb of explanation, some privacy policy and security policy information to his page as well.

-

First name*

Last name*

Email*

Phone*

Seen me before?*

 

OP Here:

 

Since the masseur softened his booking requirement, I decided to go ahead and book a session. After all, I have been wanting a session for years and would never be able to get it out of my head unless I had the session...for better or worse.

 

Well I am glad I did. He was everything that I had anticipated and more. Very good mix of therapeutic and sensual. The best part was that he asked me what I was looking to get out of the session. He actually listened, and he delivered. I will definitely return. I have written reviews on his MasseurFinder and MassageM4M ads.

 

One thing of note: His responses in person were sometimes as curt as some of his responses to me via email. He has certain opinions, philosophies, and methods. He is not shy in expresses that and no apologies for it. Otherwise, he was warm, nurturing and caring.

[LookingAround]

Who was the masseur?

[Frequentflier]

That sounds like someone who has been screwed over and over again and wants to put some measures in place to protect him from people wasting his time.[/color]

 

Or someone who wants to take money with no services being provided. Paying at the beginning of a session is a bad idea and paying before one even gets in the same room with the service provider is even worse. Believing that someone you have never met (especially in the circumstances members operate in) with all the information they need to run your credit card won't actually do so is naive. The potential client should just move on to a different guy.

[Steven_Draker]

Paying at the beginning of a session is a bad idea and paying before one even gets in the same room with the service provider is even worse.

 

I wholeheartedly agree with you!

 

Most clients wouldn't go through the trouble of securing an hour appointment with a credit card, or even worse sending funds to an unknown entity before the session occurs. That's never a good idea.

 

In my view, the provider was either new to the business, or has been screwed before, hence these extreme "protective" measures.

 

I'm glad to learn from the OP's subsequent post that since the provider softened his booking requirements, he was able to meet with him and everything turned out for the best.

 

However your advice that one should remain alert for con artists that operate within these sites was prudent.