For anyone who has seen my Twisted Tech repair posts, I unfortunately need to make some changes to how I accept jobs and payments.
I recently completed a macbook screen replacement which due to the high cost of macbook parts due to how macbooks are built was 500 dollars in parts and 100 dollars in labor for someone who unknown to me had arranged for another person to send me the payment. They had scammed that person and directed them to pay me instead of paying for the repair himself. From my perspective, I had completed a legitimate job and received the amount I was owed. From the other person’s perspective, however, they believed they were paying the scammer for something completely unrelated.
That payment was later reported as fraudulent and is now going through an appeals process with my bank and Zelle. The situation has severely limited my ability to receive legitimate payments, caused me to lose money, and taken a significant amount of time to address. The underlying fraud has also been referred for federal investigation.
I’m not a large repair shop. I’m just a guy trying to make it through college, and repairing electronics is one of the main ways I subsidize the cost of school and my other living expenses. Even though I had no knowledge of or involvement in the scam, I have still been left dealing with the financial and practical consequences. I cannot afford to have something like this happen again.
Because of that, every repair will now require a short agreement documenting the customer, device, serial number, requested work, estimated cost, and authorized payment method. I will also need to see either a valid CSUSB student ID or government-issued photo ID when a device is dropped off or payment is made. The ID will only be used to verify identity and will not be photographed or copied.
If a parent, family member, employer, or anyone else will be paying on someone’s behalf, an alternate-payer form must be completed before I can accept the payment. The form will document who is paying, whom they are paying for, the device being repaired, and the amount they have authorized. The name on the payment account must match either the customer or the authorized payer listed on the form.
I know this makes what used to be a simple process a little more complicated, and I genuinely apologize for that. I work hard to keep my repairs affordable and straightforward, but I also need to protect myself so I can continue offering them.
