I met T.J. Through the company I used to work for. He used to to Public Relations work for them, but for some reason was let go. The company never really explained why they let him go, and that probably should have been a red flag for me right there, not to mention the inappropriate and DEFINITELY non-professional conversations he attempted to have with me during conference calls that were suppose to be about the "Literature" I was working on.
After agreeing to an HOURLY rate, and signing a contract, I completed a substantial amount of work for T.J. He told me I would be paid the following Thursday.
That Monday, he calls me and is trying to rush me into getting all loose ends tied up with the work I had done for him by Wednesday, the day before I was due to be paid.
Thursday comes and goes, so I call him asking him when I can be expecting my check.
He told me the check was in the mail, and he had stopped it and was having it returned to him. He told me he didn't feel I had completed enough work to be paid, and that my work was going to have to be reviewed. Even though I was on an HOURLY rate, not project based rate. He asked for me to send him another invoice.
I sent him another invoice, and asked when the review would be complete so that I may be paid. He said "Now that we see you are currently responsive, we will let you know."
Two weeks later, I send another email asking again when I could expect the review to be complete.
I never heard from him again.
Beware, when dealing with T.J. Hawkins or The Rhythm Brands. He comes off as a nice, down to earth and easy to get along with individual, but so do all con artists. I chose to publish a warning about him because I do not want anyone else being conned out of payment for hard, honest work.
I had to learn the hard way that you can't trust everyone out there who offers a job to you.
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