I will say no 100% of the time. Deposits only benefit the provider and is a one sided deal. Not to mention it facilitates scammers.
So many Scammers out there. I learned the hard way. Never make a deposit. You'll never see them. They gone.
i dont like paying them, but all the providers i have had required deposits. I understand the cause of concern with scammers, but all the one's ive hired have been legit providers with good reviews.
the only time it has been a problem was when i booked with a provider who was a "no refund on a cancellation for any reason" and i wasnt aware of that when booking and only found out when i had to cancel a few days in advance due to a canceled business event. sucks to be out that $100 but it isnt the end of the world.
I have been and will continue to be a solid NO. Scammers are one reason, the bigger issue is the trail of bread crumbs will lead right back to me. No ability for "second" account, and using a hobby phone is no protection from that electronic trail IF l.e. gets lucky.
Are people still going off on this?
Its like any other aspect of this. Research your provider and decide if you think they are legit or not. You are already taking a huge risk to enter a room with a complete stranger and whip your dick out. So if you trust them to not steal your kidney or call/be the cops, you can trust them with a deposit. And if you don't trust them with a deposit, why are you going to risk the kidney?
And we can already see the impact on NM (also, from chatting with a regular, it sounds like some of the "no tips, ever" crowd have, as expected, turned to harassment). Cici's is pretty awesome but we have seen a pretty sharp drop in touring providers. Which mostly leaves a line out to the interstate to rawdog one provider and lots of "I took a risk on this stg ad. Her photos were fake and she stole my money but I guess I would recommend?"