The Perils of an International Job
Posted on | February 22, 2009 | No Comments
Sounds like the working title of a James Bond screen play, huh? Unfortunately, it’s nothing that exciting.
I’ve owned ZenMastering since 2000, and in the past 8 years (going on 9) I’ve never had a single deadbeat client, as far as payment. That changed yesterday.
I recently did some mastering for a musician in West Africa. I know, you’re already thinking of the Nigerian General and, “how could I be so gullible?” But that good track record I mentioned above includes work for musicians in over 30 states in America and 19 countries around the world. So as far as mastering and doing business goes, I’ve been around the block.
Today I was informed of a charge-back on my credit card billing due to an “unauthorized” activity. I had to think a bit, but it finally hit me the amount was an exact match for the African musician I did work for in January. Then, as confirmation, I received a letter from my cc processing company explaining in detail what happened.
As far as I can surmise, the client paid with a stolen card number. There are several security hurdles clients must pass when using a credit card, but my guess is that thieves have all this worked out in advance.
I’ve filed a report with the credit processing agency and have full documentation, from his first e-mail soliciting my business to the confirmation receipt of him receiving the master disc. Included are the client’s address, phone, and e-mail.
I hope the processing company can get ahold of this guy and get things worked out. I’ll keep you posted.
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From Ohm to Om reflects the opinions of mastering engineer Paul Abbott, owner of San Diego's ZenMastering.
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