They scam young people at local malls and say that thier children are so beautiful and it will cost nothing to just get an appointment and speak with a director. They never say they are only a "marketing development company" which hosts a quasi phony site which no real agents go on to.
Me and my husband and our 14 month old daughter go in for the appointment and to our surprise its packed. It also looks and feels like a real modeling agency. They dont come right out with the truth that they are just a development center and do not get you employment at all. Just exposure! We meet with a director who tells us that she loves our daughters look and she will "definitely" get work within the week if we do her headshots right away. (I need to note that a 14 month old does not need headshots at all! Every reuputable company out there says its absurd for a baby to have her headshot done becuase children change so often.) So this director tells us that there is no way we will get her in the business without a composite card filled with her headshots. Since she makes it seem like time is of the essensce and believing we needed a comp card with professional pics. We do it stupidly. It cost $700 for a 15 minute photoshoot which was not spectacular. All the while the director tells us that she is 125% sure our child will be booked for work. What she did not tell us was that they are not a modeling agency at all but a so called development center that does nothing more but offer overpriced pics to parents who dont even need them for thier kids... But wait it gets better! She also made us think that since we spent so much money on these photos... That when we needed to purchase our comp cards we would only need about 10 to start off at 1.50-4.50 a piece. When we go in to view our slides, i immediately know something is up because i am meeting with a marketing director about my daughters slides. I ask for about 15 comp cards to be printed. This director straight out lied and said i needed 100 at the price of 4.50 and since that was so expensive why not go for the online option which is only 800 a yr! I then tell he she is insane... And she keeps dropping the price... 450 for 6 mos and lower and lower. She never actually gives me an option to have a printed out card becuase they dont send these pics to anyone! At best they bully you into thinking your small baby needs web exposure online for an insane amount of money... Dont they know what children change every week! The sales pressure is high and they use straight out lies to try and make me o with the online option since its such a "better deal"... Bottom line is dont ever do business with this company! They sell young people dreams not modeling jobs! A real agency collects money after they find you work! This business is clever becuase they look, feel and even act like a modeling company. Thier website that hosts models pics is only named in lawsuits when you do a search for it... Also if you look at thier website. It says nothing! It just gives directions! It never says its only a development center that sells highpriced "tools". It has various complaints with the BBB. I finally got my money back becuase this company is very frightened of bad press. The person who i spoke with said they didnt want or need the bad press. If you have been scammed by these people then complain to the bbb and demand your money back!
Kristin
Bloomfield, New Jersey
U.S.A.
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