...need some advice.
In my non-band time I use the P.A. to do some DJing at private parties and the like, and a few months ago I was offered some work with a DJ agency called Party Time Entertainments. I met the guy running the show in person and although he chatted on a bit it all seemed above board and every job he was offering me had a contract that went with it.
A few weeks back I did my first job for them in Keighley. A few days before the gig I got an e-mail off the man in charge saying that as he worked in Rhodes over the holiday season he was selling on his business to another party company and all old bookings were to be passed onto the DJs, whilst all new bookings would be through the new business. The client for the above gig had paid via the PTE website so it was agreed that after I'd done the job I'd be sent a cheque for the money I was owed. True enough, the day after the job I got an e-mail off Aaron (the aforementioned man) asking what my address was, shortly after he said he'd sent the cheque. A week passed and no cheque, I contacted him and he said that it could take a while as he was visiting family in Ireland. I waited another 10 days and still no sign, so Aaron said he'd cancel the cheque with his band and sort out the payment in person.
A few days later, I still hadn't received contact from him so I decided to call. Lo and behold his phone number went straight to voicemail so I sent him an e-mail addressing the issue and my fears that I wouldn't be paid. He then replied saying that my payment was nothing to do with him after all and that a girl called Ceri sorted out all of his admin stuff and was responsible for selling the business and that I should talk to her, he left me two e-mail addresses for her. This conflicted a bit with what he'd said earlier, as if my fee wasn't his responsibility, why did he say he'd sent a cheque to me? Suprise, suprise... both e-mail addresses didn't work.
At this point I was panicking as to my knowledge Aaron was moving away that weekend and he wasn't replying to my e-mails complaining about the dodgy addresses. So, I took matters into my own hands, I decided to find Ceri through his facebook friends and contacted her over there. It turns out I had the wrong person, and this girl was just infact his cousin, but as I'd got my wires crossed a bit I then got a very abusive e-mail off Aaron calling me a 'silly little fucker' for having 'stressed' out his cousin by 'pestering' her. Obviously this was untrue as my messages to her were very polite and she was nice back to me, so clearly this guy has a bee in his bonnet otherwise there would be no psycho response. Anyway, he left me a phone number for the real Ceri so that's that I presumed. I haven't had chance to call until today (to my knowledge, Aaron is now in Rhodes) and you won't be suprised to hear that the number has gone straight to voicemail. I've left a message with her and an e-mail Aaron, but I'll be shocked if I get a peep back.
Another worrying point is that the new party company is actually owned by Aaron's brother, who I've e-mailed about this problem. In response I got a very stern 'Aaron has nothing to do with this business'.
So, anyone got ideas what I should do? The money is not a colossal amount (£140), but I'm only a student so the entertainment industry is my only source of income. Plus I spent £40 getting my gear PAT tested just so I could be all nice and professional at the job and Keighley is a whopping drive from mine.
Thanks for reading, I appreciated it's a very long and boring story, and any advice would be much appreciated.
Gareth