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"Dear Craig Jennings,
I have forwarded the address to my client and i asked my client that he should inform his customer to increase the amount of the check , so that it can accomodate the hotel accomodation of the participate and travelling expenses of the participate which he accepted
So please as soon as you receive the check and cash it, you have to do me a favor by deducting coaching fees from the amount and you will send the remaining balance to the agent that will be in charge of booking for the accomodation of the participate and the travel . I will give you the information that you will use to send the money to avoid delay . I hope the check will be mail to you hopefully by monday according to my client and i will keep you posted .
Regards
Peter "
I didn't want more than I'd quoted (perhaps my saving grace) and I didn't want to become the travel agent for a couple of Limeys on a one-week all-expenses-paid junket to New York. I framed a strong disagreement, and then compromised with the following suggestion:
"Peter -
Do you really want us involved in your accounting?
I appreciate your trust in us, but I'd suggest that separate checks are in order here.
CJ"
At this point, we exchange daily emails for 10 days, Peter assuring me that the check should arrive momentarily, me asking him to provide an alternative method of payment.
I am also concerned that the lateness of his check will force me to delay his training, and possibly risk cancellation. As you will see, both alternative means of payment and cancellation are the furthest things from Peter's mind.
"From: peter kline [mailto:peterklineuk@yahoo.com]
Sent: Wednesday, January 30, 2008 10:44 AM
To: Craig Jennings
Subject: option
Dear Craig Jennings,
I received your mail and you might receive the check today or hopefully by tomorrow and if you did not receive it within this period, the option of wiring it to your account or transfering it to your card will be the next option in order to meet up with the commencement date
Have a blissful day
Regards
Peter"
Blissful!!! I'm hanging by my thumbs, my wife is totally skeptical, and he wants me to be blissful!
"Dear Peter Kline,
Thanks for your note below.
Check still unreceived, Tuesday mail.
Suggestions:
1. Wire transfer - Bank of America - NY
Client Swift Code: XXXXXXXXX
Routing Number: XXXXXXXX
Checking: XXXXXXXXXXX
2. Credit card transfer. AMEX, VISA, MASTERCARD, DISCOVER
Provide card name, card number, name of owner, expiration date, security code (reverse side).
3. Reschedule training to week of February 18-22. (We'll have undetermined obligation for classroom re-rental.)
Best,
Craig Jennings"
"From:
peter kline [mailto:peterklineuk@yahoo.com]
Sent: Monday, January 28, 2008 5:25 AM
To: Craig Jennings
Subject: update
Dear Craig Jennings
I leant that you will receive the check unfailingly this week . Keep me posted as soon as you receive the check .
Regards
Peter Kline"
More exchanges, and phone calls. Both his emails and phone conversations are hard to understand. I decide to get a little crisper with him.
"January 29, 2008
Dear Peter Kline,
Thank you for your note below.
We agree that the training cannot tale place as originally scheduled.
The reason: the promise of payment was not fulfilled.
Your client says she would like to resume on the 11th.
You have several emails from me offering a start on the 18th. Did your client have this information?
I have commitments on the week of the 11th that do not permit me to run his training class.
Please advise if the start date of February 18 is agreeable.
Also, please advise whether your client is agreeable to one of the two payment alternatives I have offered.
Has he seen this information? For the record, In the event that your client agrees to a credit card or wire transfer method of payment, I agree to return his check whenever it may arrive.
For the record, can you advise when it was actually sent?
Please confirm your client's decisions.
1. Agreement on starting 18 February
2. Agreement to using wire transfer or credit card for payment.
Best,
Craig Jennings"
On Feb. 4 the check arrives, made out to my company for over $26,000. I rejoice, deposit it over my wife's protests. I send Peter this message.
"Peter -
I'm pleased we have achieved payment. I will deposit it to my account.
I will send the balance to your agent, and he can disburse appropriate funds to support your trainees in their visit to New York.
Please advise Agent name, address, phone, etc. so I may get the balance to him.
Best,
CJ
I'm sure, dear reader, that both you and Peter are now smiling. This is exactly the response he wants.
"Dear Peter Kline,
Thanks for the instructions.
Bank will take a while to clear the check. They'll let me know today - I'll advise you immediately.
BTW, their first advice was that it will take 4-8 weeks to clear! We are pressing them for a more definitive response.
Best,
CJ
At this point, Annie's train leaves the track! I'm upset because it will take his check a long time to clear, postponing if not ending the job, and Annie's terrified that it's a bad check and we'll be out of pocket the reimbursement.
Our bank, a big one, is totally useless. Annie speaks with them, they just wag their heads and say it'll take a long time to clear. Finally, I call June Alleyne, the Manager of State Bank in Port Washington. Her comment jolts me: "Craig, I think this might be a scam. It's happened before with commerce between England and Canada, and sometimes Nigeria. Please fax me the check and let me make some phone calls."
I ask mysefl: Could Peter's accesnt have been Nigerian? Is that why he had some difficulty both speaking and writing english?
Ten minutes later, June calls back. The Canadian banks won't give her any informaton (privacy, don't ya know) so she's moved on to the company issuing the check and spoken to the Comptroller. Comptroller's response "Oh No, not again!" He has no connection with Peter's firm, or interest in Leadership Training. But someone on the inside has been lifting check numbers and forms, and tweaking them to their own purposes.
Annie quickly gets into action. We ask our bank to freeze the account and tell them why.
In the next day, we will switch all our accounts to the State Bank where June Alleyne is the manager.
I write back to Peter:
"Feb. 5, 2005
Dear Peter.
Not good news. The check I deposited yesterday is bogus. The company it was written on will not honor it - apparently the account numbers were stolen.
My banker believes this is a scam and has advised me not to absorb any expense whatsoever.
If you actually have a training requirement that you would like to fund, please provide one of the following: A Certified Check, A Wire Transfer, or a Credit Card Number.
Otherwise, thank you for the education.
Best,
Craig Jennings "
I still can't believe this same-day response from Peter!
"Craig Jennings,
Thanks for the update of the check and i have forwarded your complian to my client which he was dumb-founded that i could his customer do such a thing and i have made it clear to her that i believe that good name is better than silver and gold and that no any other form of payment will be accepted except wire transfer , a certified check or credit your card otherwise the contract is as good as being cancelled which he promised to get back to me and she was saying that if you have the copy of the check you can send it to me through email attachment to enable her to have a serious battle with the customer .
Friend, you have been a good person and i know with or without the coaching , our good relationship would not stop to exist and if i have any good business venture you will always be in my mind , i always appreciate your level of communication that is the reason i can trust and believe in you and i will be proud to recommend you to anyone for business because you are sincere
Regards
Peter"
Yep, I'm absolutely sure Peter will keep me in mind if he has any new business ventures! And I'll remember to weigh my wife's skepticism more carefully in the future - but for her and for June we could easily have gotten caught for $25,000!
Dear Reader - I hope this long note was worth reading through.
In subsequent months, I'll be mailing you some less dramatic concepts on managing as entrepreneurs - they include self-disovery, vision, and action.
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