I'd like to present you with this case I was involved with and try and protect others from the possibility of getting hustled and cheated by a certain individual.
Couple of years ago, an individual presenting himself as Mr.Thomas Geeraerts replied via e-mail to my application for a job he posted on Creative Cow.
He presented the project as a commercial for Pepsi Cola beverage and described the visual effects and digital altering he wants to be done on a video clip he had previously shot. He also send me the clip and a medium resolution Pepsi logo which he needed to be placed on a green can used by the actors in the clip along with thorough description of all additional effects he wants applied and announced the budget for the job. I've accepted the terms and began work.
We didn't went to a mediatory site to sign a contract and ensure the money is there upfront. Nor did we even signed a formal written contract. I took the job regardless - I guess I felt confident enough by the fact it was a major brand who is ordering the commercial, thus making it nearly impossible for cheaters to be involved, and our letters via e-mail are in fact a verbal contract in case there is a dispute of some sort.
It took me (and two of my colleagues as well!) almost a full month of work to finish the video clip altering and after numerous revisions everything was according to the client's demands.
Then the time came for payment and delivering the full resolution video and the scam started to reveal.
The guy has been pretty polite and professional up to this point, but when I send him the final half res clip with watermark on it for check he immediately responded to send him the full res and with no watermark because, he said, his deadline is up and he needs the final clip to show it to a VIP meeting and has no time to argue.
My demands for payment (at least half of the agreed amount) before delivering met furious resistance and threats for me not getting paid at all if I don't deliver the files, because, he said, if he don't make it for the meeting it will mean a lot of trouble and potential project rejection.
Even if I already knew in my mind how this is going to end I felt it is my only option to hand over the finals and pray that the client is a "professional" and pay me whats due. Keeping it for myself would've done no good.
What followed next as you can imagine was a long and ineffective struggle by my side to try and collect my fee.
I've wrote tens of e-mails inquiring, asking, truing to get things to moral and professionalism, even threatening.
Nothing. He kept replying though.
"You'll have to trust me - everything is gonna be fine", "i'm working with partners and I'm waiting for their respond", "We are still waiting", "Don't threaten me, I'll sue you! Either wait or consider yourself no longer part of the project"(?!?!) etc.
I've contacted Pepsi and asked for investigation and advice. They did examined the case and replied there is no record of such person contacting them, or being hired by them in any form.
Here are the details of that man, he choose to share with me:
Name: Thomas Geeraerts
e-mail address: thomas.geeraerts1@gmail.com
Personal phone number: 0032 483 124 260 (no one was ever answering when I tried to call)
If any of you comes across a "client" with similar details or modus operandi or has been working for him already, be warned and please give it a shout here.