Nicola Terry, Nicolas Terry, Nicole...

The name he used was Nicolas Terry, but it’s possible to see Nicola Terry in his email. His. “company” is Nicole Gadget Collections.

He initially requested a logo design. I required a signature on the contract before moving forward with the project, and he filled it out online and sent it back to me for both contracts with no issues.

I was to be paid a retainer of $250 before the completion of the project. He stated, “I will be sending you a check for the payment; it’s the option of payment available to me at the moment.” He refused the option of doing a bank transfer through Square’s platform, which made no sense. I went along with it despite reservations.

I restated that I could not guarantee check payments and requested an ACH bank transfer. I was informed the next day that “Your payment for the branding fee. My partner, who is in charge of accounting, sent it out. There was a miscommunication on the payment when he forwarded the check details due to him rushing based on a business trip to Asia instead of separate payments; payment for the furniture supplier of our office, and yours…” It seemed to be an honest mistake.

I waited until the check arrived and noticed it got waterlogged. The pen leaked pink on the paper, but I didn’t know that was another sign. I waited until the funds loaded in my account before sending anything, thinking once the funds loaded that, the check cleared after all. I then went about sending a Zelle payment to the information he provided, and he was VERY persistent while asking for updates. I sent the excess funds by March 14, and on March 16, my bank showed a negative $1,950.06 balance.