April l0 Steven a Tru Talent Management scout had approached me via the internet by writing me a message on Myspace telling me that I had the "look" he asked if I'd ever considered modeling? I replied with "I've thought about it, but never acted upon it, I am a bit shy and have low self esteem, and a little overweight, why would I ever consider doing that when I don't look the part." Our conversation continued and so did his flattery. I ended up scheduling an appointment for a personal interview on April 11. I arrived at Tru Talent on April 11 for my scheduled appointment, which I understood was going to be a personal interview with Tru Talent Management; I found myself in and office full of people. I was then handed a paper then told to memorize all of the following paragraphs, then one of the Tru Talent employee's herded us all in a room and put on a video showcasing opportunities and high paying jobs, which was sold as a chance of a lifetime. Next, I was taken into a room where there were 3 people sitting down waiting for me, they told me to pick one of the paragraphs off the paper and sell them on the product, also try my best to show off my acting ability. After, I was taken over to another part of the building where I'm told to show off my runway walk. Not knowing what I'm doing the music turns on and I proceed to do my version of a runway walk down this "runway", which was nothing more than a hall with carpet. I pretty much spent the last hour making a fool of myself.
I was taken into an office with Tami & Steven where I was given my evaluation. They told me that they wanted me for Acting and Modeling. I was shocked, I figured after the performance I had given no body would want me in the modeling and acting industry. I was told that I fit the profile of a plus size model and I would look great on film, but I would need some work and I would benefit from their workshops. I was asked if I was interested in being part of their new talent. This was not personal interview; instead turned out to be a high pressure sales pitch to sign on with them for modeling and acting. The spiel began, I felt like this was a car sales pitch, they crammed information at me so fast there was no way in which I could retain everything they had said. I was told that I would need photos, headshots and to enroll in their training workshops. Next I was told the total cost of all the up front fees. I was asked if I could make an up front payment of $3,000. I stressed my concerns to Tami that couldn't afford all the up front fees and that I had a full time job and was currently enrolled in school and should probably look into this at another time, I had a feeling that this wasn't legit, my impression of what was going on was if I gave them the money they could start my new life. Tami was very quick to respond and said that this is the best time for me to sign up if not I probably wouldn't have another chance to get in with Tru Talent and if I was to go anywhere else it would cost me more money. They assured me that everything was legit and I was better off signing with them.
They said that I shouldn't worry because they know the market and they will invest in me, and all of this was to prepare me for the market and that I shouldn't think of this $3,000 as an actually loan and I could work off the $3,000 with the high-paying jobs they'd get me, I figured that this was a small cost for becoming famous. With them letting me know that most of their begging talents were on payment plans and most of them have their fees paid off in a few weeks after having a great paying job. I felt pressured; I let the company's flattery get in the way of my emotions and my better judgment. With me not knowing any better this sounded like a pretty fair deal; I mean if I can pay off $3,000 within a few weeks, I ended up getting set up on a payment plan. I was given a contract stating that I was paying for Act. I & II and Mod I & II and my photo shoot, then Tami handed me a bunch of different workshop schedules to sign for the Modeling I Workshops 4/20/06-06/08/06 and Modeling II workshops 06/15/06-08/03/06, Adult Acting Workshops 4/13/06-06/01/06, Adult Acting Two Workshops 06/08/06-07/27/06. Then I set up an appointment to have a photo shoot and head shots done
I received a package in the mail which included a copy of my contract. And a photo shoot appointment set up for May 9th @ 10:00 A. M with instructions on telling me what to bring. Then I was told that all my prints are $40 a piece, I was confused by this because I was told that the $3,000 going towards my photos? I ended up canceling my photo shoot and never did re-schedule another one. I called Tami right after that and was unable to get in contact with her, I left her a voicemail stressing to her that I didn't think that this is going to work out for me because of my work and school schedule and that I don't think that I would be able to afford this new monthly bill. I told her that I wanted to pull out I didn't want to pay for these classes that I wasn't going to be able to attend. I made many other attempts to try and contact Tami, every time I called or went in to speak with her I was told that she was out of town or in a meeting. I never did speak with Tami on the phone or in person and never received one phone call back from her or True Talent.
I didn't know what to do at this point; I didn't know who to talk to about all of this? I looked through all of my papers and I saw that I should get in contact with Ashley Anderson if I was having scheduling difficulties. I called and spoke with Ashley she told me that I if I missed any classes that I would need to make them up and that if I didn't then they couldn't book me for auditions. I stressed my concerns to her that nobody would help me out with my scheduling and other issues I had with them I told Ashley that I already told Tami that I didn't want to continue my business with them, she said that I would have to speak with Tami again. I told her that I've tried numerous times to get into contact her and I never get a call back. The only thing that Ashley could say to me was that I could try and start classes in December and she could mail me out a copy of the December schedules; of course I never did receive a mailed copy of the December schedule. I was fed up with Tru Talent, I wasn't receiving any kind of attention from them I couldn't get a straight answer from anyone, they never once tried to work with me on any my concerns and I felt that I was being ignored and strung along.
I started receiving late payment notices in the mail and I was told to call their collections department, I called and spoke to a woman named Lindsey. I explained to her what had happened in the past with my scheduling issues and that I wasn't continuing my business there due to the lack of communication and misrepresentation on their part. I let her know that I had left voicemail after voicemail for Tami and never did receive any phone calls back from her or from anyone else I had left voicemails with. I told her that I only attended one class and I didn't do any photo work, therefore why should I pay for services never done? She said that my money went towards the instructors and the workshops and photo shoots. I told her again that I only went to 1 class and I never did any photo work with them. I was so frustrated and I asked her if I could come in and talk with her in person so we could go over this in more detail. I went into Tru Talent the next day, I went to the front desk and asked for Lindsey, I was pointed in her direction I walked over to her and I explained to her who I was and she answered back with a "who?" I said "My name is Misty Ohrn, I spoke with you on the phone yesterday, you told me to come in." She still didn't have any recollection of who I was and said "I'm pregnant, I forget everything." I tried to explain the situation to her again and she looked at me as if I were crazy and said "The acting class is starting and I should attend." I told her that I wasn't there for a class; I was there to speak with her in person like we agreed to do.instead of her taking the time to figure out who I was and addressing my concerns she rolled her eyes at me and continued to turn around and talk with someone else, I ended up walking out and Tru Talent never did try and contact me.
I was served with papers stating that I owe Tru Talent $2,716.82 in exchange for talent management services. Why am I responsible for paying this debt of $2,716.82 to Tru Talent for services that weren't used? I never once received any kind of career guidance, I could even get one ounce of customer service. I understand if I did actually attend the workshops and had photo work done, then I would be responsible for payment. I do recall telling Tru Talent that I would be more than happy to pay for the one class I attended. I understand that I signed a contract with Tru Talent Management under the agreement I would attend the workshops and have photo work done with them. Tru Talent isn't at loss here; I was the one paying for all these services, not them. Tru Talent never came through with their end of their deal, from day one I was never treated as an individual; I was constantly misled and over looked. Never once on their part did they try to help me succeed like they said they would. I tried to work with them for 8 months and only receiving horrible service and the run around.
I feel that Tru Talent has developed to take advantage of those who would like to become models or actors. This agency is run more like a telemarketing company, and more important that a person's measurements and appearance is whether or not they have a credit card number handy, they will work with anyone who pays them money. Tru Talent is a scam and rip-off industry that makes its money by alluding to or promising great careers in modeling and acting; making me and everyone else who has fallen suspect to their sales ploys think that they actually have potential. They said that I could be a model. Now what girl doesn't want to be a model? Fame and fortune suddenly come to mind all your worries go away and you seem to think that its your time to shine has finally come. "We guarantee you work, we are interested in you but first you need to go through our classes and it is going to cost you." Before any of your modeling career starts there are a few things first that need to be done; a bunch of paper work is put front of me, contracts that aren't explained, up-front fees, signing fees, new account fees, evaluation fees, ect. You hear that all the top models have great agencies, and you think, "If I can only sign with a modeling agency I will be set. This is what I thought with Tru Talent; instead I was just another honest person being ripped off. I was easy prey; another person not having any kind of knowledge on how the modeling industry worked, they definitely took advantage, I was nave about it, I had no idea what was going on. They told me what I wanted to hear. It was all a numbers game not a talent game.
If Tru Talent has to charge money at the front end it means that there is not enough money at the back end. It also means that the agency probably does not have enough modeling work to be able to survive on commissions, and therefore, not enough work for a model to survive on either. Again money at the front end means not enough modeling work at the back end. A combination school/modeling agency has a conflict of interest. For example, SAG (Screen Actors Guild) member agencies cannot offer both. Talent agencies are not employers. They say that they will represent you and "try" to get work for you. The sad thing about this is that they don't know for sure what type of job will come in or what "look" may be needed, thus there is no way a legitimate agency can guarantee you work. The best they can do is to give you and idea of their track record on placements. But remember that past performances are no guarantee of future performance.
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