Deposit resolution

Thanks for sharing & glad you got a favourable outcome.

Lucky you had her address before paying the deposit.

Sensual Art said

AlanJay Bank transfer payments come with the double check that the name you enter matches the name on the account, so that will have helped if things got sticky.

Absolutely!

It's an easy way of adding a little protection.

The balance of probability is that this is unlikely to be a "first offence."

I would report the model on whichever platform the shoot was booked.

A cautionary tale that references are not, in isolation, gold-standard currency.

mightywhite said

AlanJay said

mltpw said

How did you get her address?

The shoot was to be at her home.

That was fortunate. I would have thought though, with the shoot being at her her home, the model would be unlikely to muck you about so you'd be pretty safe paying a deposit (she doesn't know you and you may have been the type to send round your big brother to 'sort her out'). Guess she has done this before though without anybody taking it further.

But well done for following it through. Hopefully taught her a valuable lesson.

But another though springs to mind; how did you get her real name (and did you know if it was genuine?) It's all very well people asking for an invoice with the model's name and address before paying a deposit, but (unless the shoot is at the model's home) you have no way of knowing if either is genuine. You'd need a copy of their ID and a recent utility bill to back it up which all starts to get a bit complicated (and unlikely they'd agree!)

Edited by mightywhite

It just taught her that she ended up dealing with someone who was not a goofball like all the others.

B17fan said

Thanks for sharing & glad you got a favourable outcome.

Lucky you had her address before paying the deposit.

Sometimes, of course, we make our own luck ;)

Having her address and and bank details were a pretty good safeguard,  without which I don't think I'd have been so willing to pay the deposit.

I get the principle. But ruining someone's credit score (especially someone like self-employed like a model, many of whom struggle financially) for six years over £40 comes across as extraordinarily petty and vindictive to me. I hope you're proud of yourself.

Same for all the photographers piling in. I despair of the mentality here. Then you're all posting threads about how models don't respond to your castings.

gm7.photography said

I get the principle. But ruining someone's credit score (especially someone like self-employed like a model, many of whom struggle financially) for six years over £40 comes across as extraordinarily petty and vindictive to me. I hope you're proud of yourself.

Same for all the photographers piling in. I despair of the mentality here. Then you're all posting threads about how models don't respond to your castings.

So are you suggesting she should have got away with it, to carry on, presumably, again and again?

gm7.photography said

I get the principle. But ruining someone's credit score (especially someone like self-employed like a model, many of whom struggle financially) for six years over £40 comes across as extraordinarily petty and vindictive to me. I hope you're proud of yourself.

Same for all the photographers piling in. I despair of the mentality here. Then you're all posting threads about how models don't respond to your castings.

he didn't she paid up so no harm done. You'd have let it slide then obviously?

I don't think it's vindictive. Models who act unprofessionally is why so many of us are unable to do simple business things such as asking for a deposit. I have no trouble getting deposits for every single one of my jobs when I'm working as a photographer, but as a model I have no chance because of people who abuse it.

A deposit should be given back if the terms of the booking were incorrect at the time surely? If the photographer had cancelled for no reason than fair enough, you loose your deposit like every other business. But if it's gone through court there must have been good reason.

I pay my taxes, I can send invoices when requested, I get deposits as a photographer, and yet every single model job I get is a risk because I can't ask for a deposit.

It's the smug clipboard and a hi-vis "It's my god given right, aren't I clever" of it that bothers me.

Trust me from experience, letters dropping through your door with the words CCJ on them do not have "no harm done" attached to them.  

Like I said. I understand the principle and why you're all cheering on. But I have this weird thing were I understand why models quit all the time. 

Edited by gm7.photography

Edited by gm7.photography

gm7.photography said

I get the principle. But ruining someone's credit score (especially someone like self-employed like a model, many of whom struggle financially) for six years over £40 comes across as extraordinarily petty and vindictive to me. I hope you're proud of yourself.

Same for all the photographers piling in. I despair of the mentality here. Then you're all posting threads about how models don't respond to your castings.

You have got to be kidding. It's up to her whether she ruins her credit rating - this will only occur if she fails to refund the deposit.

I could sympathise with the model - perhaps - if she described it up-front as a "non-refundable" deposit.

Or if the "error" (I'm being kind) had been with the photographer. 

But "updating" (again, being kind) the fees from her side and then declining to return the deposit when the photographer does not agree is not business practice which should be rewarded with acquiescence.

Photowallah said

gm7.photography said

I get the principle. But ruining someone's credit score (especially someone like self-employed like a model, many of whom struggle financially) for six years over £40 comes across as extraordinarily petty and vindictive to me. I hope you're proud of yourself.

Same for all the photographers piling in. I despair of the mentality here. Then you're all posting threads about how models don't respond to your castings.

You have got to be kidding. It's up to her whether she ruins her credit rating - this will only occur if she fails to refund the deposit.

I could sympathise with the model - perhaps - if she described it up-front as a "non-refundable" deposit.

Or if the "error" (I'm being kind) had been with the photographer. 

But "updating" (again, being kind) the fees from her side and then declining to return the deposit when the photographer does not agree is not business practice which should be rewarded with acquiescence.

Becoming pretty obvious round here that human empathy is a negative skillset for a photographer to have. I'll work on that.

gm7.photography said

Photowallah said

gm7.photography said

I get the principle. But ruining someone's credit score (especially someone like self-employed like a model, many of whom struggle financially) for six years over £40 comes across as extraordinarily petty and vindictive to me. I hope you're proud of yourself.

Same for all the photographers piling in. I despair of the mentality here. Then you're all posting threads about how models don't respond to your castings.

You have got to be kidding. It's up to her whether she ruins her credit rating - this will only occur if she fails to refund the deposit.

I could sympathise with the model - perhaps - if she described it up-front as a "non-refundable" deposit.

Or if the "error" (I'm being kind) had been with the photographer. 

But "updating" (again, being kind) the fees from her side and then declining to return the deposit when the photographer does not agree is not business practice which should be rewarded with acquiescence.

Becoming pretty obvious round here that human empathy is a negative skillset for a photographer to have. I'll work on that.

if you read the OP's opening statement she apparently said "I don't return deposits and blocked him"...I would imagine that empathy understandably left the building at that point and the OP decided he didn't want to be ripped off.

gm7.photography said

But I have this weird thing were I understand why models quit all the time. 

 

I really don't understand the relevance.  Are you seriously saying that models will quit if they aren't allowed to be fraudulent? You must have a very poor opinion of the modelling community!

I only have one problem with deposits and I’ve asked this question before but never had a proper reply.

If I book a model and studio, with cancelation fees then, for example, the model is ill on the day, everything gets cancelled. The studio turn around and say, you owe us 100% payment because you cancelled. Who pays that ?