Staying Safe

[Frankie B]

Hello Ladies,

Working within the 'escort' industry can be very risky business and lonesome business. I personally applaud the buddy system and would like to commend Penny and of course this site for all the work they do in trying to keep us all safe!

From everything I have learnt, it seems to me that many crimes against working girls go unreported and as 'working girls' we often 'disappear' from our normal lives and stop being 'Kelly' mother of 2, friend of Jane and girlfriend to Jack to become 'Sexy Samantha' for an hour or so and perhaps, without much thought or consideration as to whom the person really is that is answers to the name of 'rich941' and is waiting for us to arrive for the purpose of an intimate liaison.

Our friends and family, in the majority of cases, let's be honest don't have a clue where we are going, who we are going to meet and what time we're due back, let alone what we are actually going to be doing for the next hour or so.

I am a working girl and I have to be honest it bothers me that, the truth is I don't know if the man I am about to meet is a violent creep that's going to attack me, rob me or worse as in the case of Maria Duque-Tunjano, who was murdered and not found for several days.

We all think the worst won't happen to us, but how do we really know? Fact is we don't. Last year a friend of mine, a working girl, was badly beaten and raped by a punter. It was shocking stuff and the photos do not do her injuries justice, but perhaps more shocking was the belief that in reality she was lucky. Lucky not to have been stabbed or killed. However, she was left alone in her flat for hours before she managed to get help. No-one knew she was there, no-one knew what had happened and no-one missed her. She wasn't missed because she, like most of girls, become an expert in hiding her 'secret life'

After this incident, it made me more aware and conscious of the risks associated with my choice of work and I became obsessed in trying to assess the true level of risk and what could I do to prevent anything bad happening, because I certainly do not want to end up dead just as much as I don't want my friends or family knowing what I really do for a living.

Personally, I actually do like the flexibility and of course the money this industry provides. And, for the most part I like the guys who I meet and I've not had any real problems, but as I said you just don't know what's round the corner. What if my 'luck' runs out and I do actually meet a nutter?

Well, after a lot of research and a lot of positive comments and encouragement from other working girls, I have set up a company called 'Let's Stay Safe'. It's primary focus is to help all working girls try and stay safe. This is what 'Let's Stay Safe' offers;

A check in and check out service for use when you go on a booking. You simply text, call or email the booking details, ie. time, length, where, who with etc and upon arrival we will call/text you to make sure you are ok. You will be provided with a safe word in the event of a problem. At the end of the booking you have ten minutes to check in with us ether by text or phone call that you have left and are ok. In the event you fail check in within ten minutes, we will contact you and if we don't get a response we will raise the alarm. If in the event you are in trouble we have 'minders' now situated throughout the UK who can come to you and will assist you with full discretion but if necessary we will contact the police.

A facility by which you can check out the person you are going to meet either by phone number, name, username or address.

A facility through which our gentlemen members can book you as to them, they also have peace of mind that you are reliable, genuine, over the age of 18 and not being coerced or 'pimped' and your photos are genuine. From your point of you, any gentleman that books you through 'Let's Stay Safe' has already been verified by us, is genuine and will treat you with respect. 

'Let's Stay Safe' has been running on a trial basis for the last 6 months and as previously mentioned the feedback has been very positive. We run 24 hours a day. 365 days a year. This means there is always someone on hand manning the fort.

In April we plan to launch nationwide as we now have all the necessary systems in place. Remember, I am also a working girl and have been for a number of years. I am aware of the risks. I fully empathise with ladies who have a family and wish to keep their escorting secret. I understand and respect the need for discretion and privacy. This is a priority of membership and under no circumstances we will ever give out personal information on our members that will cause detriment, unless of course it is to prevent an attack/crime on a lady.

In addition, we have a facility for ladies to post their own 'reverse bookings' that is akin to that offered on AW for punters. It is free to post unlike AW.

Ladies who wish to join must be independent.

For anyone wishing to join, we currently have a introductory offer of just ?25.00 which expires on 31st March 2015. After this date it will cost ?49.00 to join. There is also a monthly fee of ?7.50 which covers our running costs for anyone who joins before 1st April 2015 otherwise it will revert to the full price of ?15.00 per month. Membership includes a free photography and make-up session which at the end of you will get to keep the photos for external use which is really great because all photos taken will have our verification stamp on so punters will know they are genuine. 

We have already amassed a fair few gentleman members who have been thoroughly checked and are actively seeking 'dates' from our members.

If you would like any more information, please do not hesitate to contact me by sending me a pm.

I also welcome your suggestions in regards to any additional services we can add for you.

Thanks ladies and stay safe.

Moderators/Admin; I apologise if I have placed this advert in the wrong place and I appreciate any support you can give me in this endeavour. Thank you.

[Shewolf]

Hi

You say you are 'nationwide', where exactly do you mean?

Where do your men come from i.e where have you sourced them?

Do your men want out calls or in calls?

Thanks

[amy]

TL;DR

I can't imagine many punters agreeing to give their personal information to some random internet strangers in the name of 'verification'? This isn't the US, and discretion/anonymity is part and parcel.

Likewise, I wouldn't be giving mine. Do you think people are going to give their full incall addresses to said randoms on the basis of this? If it was a credible system being set up by a local sex work project (where somebody would always be accountable if this information was misused) then maybe but in this case, not a chance.

I would be impressed indeed if you could have a fully SIA licensed 'minder' with me in any useful amount of time, and even if you could I don't want a: yet another total stranger knowing where I work or b: some bloke I've never met turning up expecting to be let in - I only let punters in once I've decided I'm happy to see them.

I can understand the provision of safety calls, but why not just call the police? Nobody's breaking the law, although if you're both taking payment from prostitutes and setting up actual bookings with your 'verified' punters I suspect you might be. And we already have National Ugly Mugs to check details for free.

We get these things popping up from time to time and they always disappear for all the reasons above and more, although I think this is the first one to refer to actual victims of violence by name to try and flog their idea. Classy.

I'm out.

[milfy]

Have you registered the company yet? Who are the owners? We don't want to be giving our information to unknown people after all 

[Frankie B]

Hi

You say you are 'nationwide', where exactly do you mean?

Where do your men come from i.e where have you sourced them?

Do your men want out calls or in calls?

Thanks

I appreciate you taking the time to comment and your query is welcomed. 'Our men' are quite simply verified members who are genuine punters looking for genuine escorts to have a good time with.

Our facility allows the guys to search through our verified members and book them direct. We take no payment in respect of this from either party. It is simply a benefit to the guys to book a verified member escort who is less likely to 'fleece them, con them or be someone else' (No offence intended).

Whether they require an incall or outcall is up to the individual and not for me to summise.

Nationwide means all over the UK.

I hope that answers your questions.

[Frankie B]

TL;DR

Hi, I really appreciate this post, it raises a lot of issues and that's great. Thank you

Whilst I appreciate 'You're out' so therefore, clearly not interested I think it's important to answer the queries raised. So I have responded under each relevant point

I can't imagine many punters agreeing to give their personal information to some random internet strangers in the name of 'verification'? This isn't the US, and discretion/anonymity is part and parcel.

Why not? We all give out personal information to random strangers all time. You may not appreciate just how much but I understand your scepticism. I thought the same thing. In fact, it was the main reservation I had when setting the company up.

The aim behind the company, was to find a way to provide a service to genuine independent escorts to assist them in staying safe however & wherever possible. To do so properly, meant getting potential members to trust that it is a genuine service and to join it would involve disclosing personal info, whilst at the same time remaining discreet. It has not been an easy task as due to the nature of the escorting world, people are as a whole distrustful. Fair enough when you consider what goes on and is exactly the reason why I set the company up.

However, that said when we talk to people, disclose all the relevant information to them and explain the benefits and purpose, MOST gentlemen to date, who want to join, are not put off by providing ID and the response overall had been more positive than I initially imagined.

Likewise, I wouldn't be giving mine. Do you think people are going to give their full incall addresses to said randoms on the basis of this? If it was a credible system being set up by a local sex work project (where somebody would always be accountable if this information was misused) then maybe but in this case, not a chance.

Whether you wish to disclose your personal information is up to you. How exactly do expect this information to misused? You are clearly very distrustful and suspicious which is understandable in your line of work as you've clearly got something to lose and your identity is precious.

You are not alone in these thoughts, but consider this, what is the worst happened to you? Who would know where you are ? If you were beaten unconscious by a 'random lowlife punter' who would help you? If you were stabbed and left to collapse in your own blood who would know where you are and get you medical help?? There's being careful and there's being too careful due to misplaced paranoia that everyone is out to screw you.

I apologise for perhaps being a little graphic, but it's true. Most of us independent girls keep this life separate and we do it in secret. None of know what is round the corner and we all think nothing bad will happen to us but we don't know that and in such a risky occupation, and it IS risky isn't it better to be safe than sorry?

Also, you are presuming and implying, that this is not a reputable company and maybe it's just a scam and my motives are therefore questionable.

Well, here are facts behind the company, I am sure most people can make their own minds up as to our intentions as a company;

1). We set up 6 months ago on a trial basis to see if this was a service people wanted. We had already established a need despite  their being other similar 'products/services' available.

2). As we were unsure if the company would take off, it was set up as on a sole trader basis.

3). Due to the success of the trial, we plan to take the company nationwide, this means we will become a limited company registered with companies house and the information commissioners office. We also have an accountant. As a company and individual there are serious penalties for misuse of clients details.

I would be impressed indeed if you could have a fully SIA licensed 'minder' with me in any useful amount of time, and even if you could I don't want a: yet another total stranger knowing where I work or b: some bloke I've never met turning up expecting to be let in - I only let punters in once I've decided I'm happy to see them.

We are not a minder service and do not pretend to be one. We have no intention, desire or need for the company to be registered as such or a licensed SIA minder. We provide a check-in/out service and if necessary will send someone round to check you are ok and safe in the event you fail to check in.

I can understand the provision of safety calls, but why not just call the police? Nobody's breaking the law, although if you're both taking payment from prostitutes and setting up actual bookings with your 'verified' punters I suspect you might be. And we already have National Ugly Mugs to check details for free.

Oh dear, I think you're a little confused. Let me clarify, firstly, would you call the police if you've been beaten senseless or raped or worse? Probably not but I don't know you so let's hope you would and COULD but you need to be honest with yourself, if you're flat out cold no matter how good you are, you would not be in a position to call for help.

Nope you are not breaking the law. Neither are we. We are a legitimate company providing a genuine service that we expect to get paid for, just like any other legitimate business. Do you think we can have our phone manned 24/7 and it costs nothing? I have already disclosed our charges and we take no money from arranging bookings, as we do not arrange bookings. Clients have the facility to arrange a booking direct as all registered escorts will be able to advertise their services on our web pages for free.

If you advertise on AW, correct me if I am wrong, but last time I checked AW charge for you to list yourself as available now or for guys to place a RB and the like, we charge nothing for this, to use this facility is simply a benefit of becoming a member.   

We get these things popping up from time to time and they always disappear for all the reasons above and more, although I think this is the first one to refer to actual victims of violence by name to try and flog their idea. Classy.

I can't comment on other ventures and wouldn't presume to do, fact is all kinds of businesses pop up every day and some make it, some don't. I hope my business is the latter as it has certainly not been easy to set up, there have been a ton of obstacles and logistics to overcome. I am sure we will make continue to make improvements and changes as we progress.

Yes, I have referred to actual victims and your sarcasm and opinion is duly noted. Let's home your arrogance and misplaced pride doesn't let you become a victim.

Setting up a genuine business in the 'world of escorting' is far from easy and I would say harder than setting up a business in any other environment but I care about people and if that means giving some real life examples which might shock some people, then I am sorry you find this offensive or 'trashy' but it's about having fun and staying safe while you work and it underlines everything Let's Stay Safe is all about. If you can't see that then and would prefer to stick your head in the sand and not wake up to the fact that crimes against escorts are real then that's not my problem but I wish you well and I sincerely hope you never get to experience a scary punter or have a bad experience.

I'm out.

You were never in.


quotes fixed

[Frankie B]

Have you registered the company yet? Who are the owners? We don't want to be giving our information to unknown people after all 

We are in the process of registering the company. It will be registered as a limited company as from the 1st April 2015. We will also be registered with the Information Commissioners Office. This is a legal requirement.

Being registered with the Information Commissioners Office or ICO does not mean we will be passing on our clients personal details. It is there to protect our clients in the event we misuse their data. We agree to the terms as set out by the ICO for the storage of data and are liable to prosecution in the event of misuse, poor handling or fraud.

By being a registered company this means you can check us out at any time. If anyone, in the meantime requires my details or that of the company etc. please do not hesitate to PM me.

We take the responsibility for any information provided to us very seriously. Confidentiality is a priority. Without personal information being provided to us, we cannot assist in keeping you safe and any information provided to us will not under any circumstances be disclosed to a third party unless a crime has been committed and the relevant authorities demand disclosure in accordance with the law.

[berri]

One of the things that I am noticing about this is the very vague way you are talking about numbers.  How many people are signed up (as clients and service providers)?  How many people are you projecting to sign up each quarter for the next year?  Are those numbers split up into regional areas?  How are you promoting yourself? Apart from here?
For those of us who are not as secretive and inform people of our location are there really any benefits to this?

Also how are you going to vet these "minders" who will turn up?  If they aren't sia trained that means they have no qualification to intervene and resolve conflict.  Also how long would it take for one to turn up? Unless you plan to have a lot of minders then travel times are going to be prohibitive to useful response times.  In which case a call to the police from a safety buddy - probably more useful

[Shewolf]

Hi

You say you are 'nationwide', where exactly do you mean?

Where do your men come from i.e where have you sourced them?

Do your men want out calls or in calls?

Thanks

I appreciate you taking the time to comment and your query is welcomed. 'Our men' are quite simply verified members who are genuine punters looking for genuine escorts to have a good time with.

Our facility allows the guys to search through our verified members and book them direct. We take no payment in respect of this from either party. It is simply a benefit to the guys to book a verified member escort who is less likely to 'fleece them, con them or be someone else' (No offence intended).

Whether they require an incall or outcall is up to the individual and not for me to summise.

Nationwide means all over the UK.

I hope that answers your questions.

Thank you.

I am interested in where your clients have been sourced from. Would you be able to give me this info? I am not being sceptical, I have an open mind.

[Midsstudent]

This sounds exactly like an agency to me, just with a different fee plan. You get paid even if the girl doesn't get any bookings from you. And your response to Amy was really quite negative, you should expect people to question your authenticity as you should know due to being an escort, there are an awful lot of scams out there and you being vague makes you look like one too.

As the above poster said, I too would like to hear actual numbers.

[Jenny 2]

I'm a very lazy reader I confess and tend to skim over things until they take my interest then I read over thoroughly.  Initially reading about safety and the way the OP started I thought it was another buddy security system which I guess, even though we have in place many already, isn't a bad thing. 

Then seeing charges involved I switched off immediately and in all honesty whilst we moan a lot about aw, I can't see anyone to date, matching them on the reverse bookings system etc............ and for all the faults and gripes with aw, the feedback system there and notes on clients, is a great way of at least giving us the heads up on some of the lunatics out there.

However, your last comment to Amy has actually reinforced my opinion that you're far from a reputable company/advertiser with genuine concerns for us girls..............

Why say you were never in?  How petty is that ? 

I'm out too and guess most on here will also be.  We legitimately question something and then get petty retorts for doing so but it's the curse of the industry in many ways! 

No way on earth would a client give out all his personal info and I for one wouldn't either.  Apologies if I have misinterpreted your business in any way but I do get bored reading over a long essay about something that I feel I am far better informed on then those not in the industry or those who have an angle (as in making money out of us.......... yet again!).

[TheLittleMatchGirl]

Is this not what the buddy systems about.

I can't believe you're trying to con wg's and claim to be one yourself, shameful. Never going to happen, I'd suggest you go back to the drawing board and come up with a business plan that entails you doing the work, not trying to con anyone out of hard earned money

[TheLittleMatchGirl]

Hi

You say you are 'nationwide', where exactly do you mean?

Where do your men come from i.e where have you sourced them?

Do your men want out calls or in calls?

Thanks

I appreciate you taking the time to comment and your query is welcomed. 'Our men' are quite simply verified members who are genuine punters looking for genuine escorts to have a good time with.

Our facility allows the guys to search through our verified members and book them direct. We take no payment in respect of this from either party. It is simply a benefit to the guys to book a verified member escort who is less likely to 'fleece them, con them or be someone else' (No offence intended).

Whether they require an incall or outcall is up to the individual and not for me to summise.

Nationwide means all over the UK.

I hope that answers your questions.

You've yet to answer where you find these clients who are extremely careless with their identities

[TheLittleMatchGirl]

TL;DR

Hi, I really appreciate this post, it raises a lot of issues and that's great. Thank you

Whilst I appreciate 'You're out' so therefore, clearly not interested I think it's important to answer the queries raised. So I have responded under each relevant point

I can't imagine many punters agreeing to give their personal information to some random internet strangers in the name of 'verification'? This isn't the US, and discretion/anonymity is part and parcel.

Why not? We all give out personal information to random strangers all time. You may not appreciate just how much but I understand your scepticism. I thought the same thing. In fact, it was the main reservation I had when setting the company up.

The aim behind the company, was to find a way to provide a service to genuine independent escorts to assist them in staying safe however & wherever possible. To do so properly, meant getting potential members to trust that it is a genuine service and to join it would involve disclosing personal info, whilst at the same time remaining discreet. It has not been an easy task as due to the nature of the escorting world, people are as a whole distrustful. Fair enough when you consider what goes on and is exactly the reason why I set the company up.

However, that said when we talk to people, disclose all the relevant information to them and explain the benefits and purpose, MOST gentlemen to date, who want to join, are not put off by providing ID and the response overall had been more positive than I initially imagined.

Likewise, I wouldn't be giving mine. Do you think people are going to give their full incall addresses to said randoms on the basis of this? If it was a credible system being set up by a local sex work project (where somebody would always be accountable if this information was misused) then maybe but in this case, not a chance.

Whether you wish to disclose your personal information is up to you. How exactly do expect this information to misused? You are clearly very distrustful and suspicious which is understandable in your line of work as you've clearly got something to lose and your identity is precious.

You are not alone in these thoughts, but consider this, what is the worst happened to you? Who would know where you are ? If you were beaten unconscious by a 'random lowlife punter' who would help you? If you were stabbed and left to collapse in your own blood who would know where you are and get you medical help?? There's being careful and there's being too careful due to misplaced paranoia that everyone is out to screw you.

I apologise for perhaps being a little graphic, but it's true. Most of us independent girls keep this life separate and we do it in secret. None of know what is round the corner and we all think nothing bad will happen to us but we don't know that and in such a risky occupation, and it IS risky isn't it better to be safe than sorry?

Also, you are presuming and implying, that this is not a reputable company and maybe it's just a scam and my motives are therefore questionable.

Well, here are facts behind the company, I am sure most people can make their own minds up as to our intentions as a company;

1). We set up 6 months ago on a trial basis to see if this was a service people wanted. We had already established a need despite  their being other similar 'products/services' available.

2). As we were unsure if the company would take off, it was set up as on a sole trader basis.

3). Due to the success of the trial, we plan to take the company nationwide, this means we will become a limited company registered with companies house and the information commissioners office. We also have an accountant. As a company and individual there are serious penalties for misuse of clients details.

I would be impressed indeed if you could have a fully SIA licensed 'minder' with me in any useful amount of time, and even if you could I don't want a: yet another total stranger knowing where I work or b: some bloke I've never met turning up expecting to be let in - I only let punters in once I've decided I'm happy to see them.

We are not a minder service and do not pretend to be one. We have no intention, desire or need for the company to be registered as such or a licensed SIA minder. We provide a check-in/out service and if necessary will send someone round to check you are ok and safe in the event you fail to check in.

I can understand the provision of safety calls, but why not just call the police? Nobody's breaking the law, although if you're both taking payment from prostitutes and setting up actual bookings with your 'verified' punters I suspect you might be. And we already have National Ugly Mugs to check details for free.

Oh dear, I think you're a little confused. Let me clarify, firstly, would you call the police if you've been beaten senseless or raped or worse? Probably not but I don't know you so let's hope you would and COULD but you need to be honest with yourself, if you're flat out cold no matter how good you are, you would not be in a position to call for help.

Nope you are not breaking the law. Neither are we. We are a legitimate company providing a genuine service that we expect to get paid for, just like any other legitimate business. Do you think we can have our phone manned 24/7 and it costs nothing? I have already disclosed our charges and we take no money from arranging bookings, as we do not arrange bookings. Clients have the facility to arrange a booking direct as all registered escorts will be able to advertise their services on our web pages for free.

If you advertise on AW, correct me if I am wrong, but last time I checked AW charge for you to list yourself as available now or for guys to place a RB and the like, we charge nothing for this, to use this facility is simply a benefit of becoming a member.   

We get these things popping up from time to time and they always disappear for all the reasons above and more, although I think this is the first one to refer to actual victims of violence by name to try and flog their idea. Classy.

I can't comment on other ventures and wouldn't presume to do, fact is all kinds of businesses pop up every day and some make it, some don't. I hope my business is the latter as it has certainly not been easy to set up, there have been a ton of obstacles and logistics to overcome. I am sure we will make continue to make improvements and changes as we progress.

Yes, I have referred to actual victims and your sarcasm and opinion is duly noted. Let's home your arrogance and misplaced pride doesn't let you become a victim.

Setting up a genuine business in the 'world of escorting' is far from easy and I would say harder than setting up a business in any other environment but I care about people and if that means giving some real life examples which might shock some people, then I am sorry you find this offensive or 'trashy' but it's about having fun and staying safe while you work and it underlines everything Let's Stay Safe is all about. If you can't see that then and would prefer to stick your head in the sand and not wake up to the fact that crimes against escorts are real then that's not my problem but I wish you well and I sincerely hope you never get to experience a scary punter or have a bad experience.

I'm out.

You were never in.


quotes fixed

What a peculiar thing to say....of course you're breaking the law

[amy]

Ha. I'd forgotten all about poor old Flossie and hadn't even noticed 'she'd answered, but I can't be arsed to read their ridiculous cobblers now anyway.

What I will say is, and it's a general point with some other threads too, can we please stop with the giant quotes? It's completely unnecessary and unbelievably, migraine-inducingly irritating to have to scroll through a biblical epic just to read a few new words at the bottom.