I am currently looking to put my 7 year old son in modeling, and after searching for agencies online I came across Kids.com. I didn't find anything wrong with the website so I called to schedule an appointment.
After speaking with Ed, he said that my child met the criteria, and gave me a date and time to come in. I had to reschedule and he quickly put me in for a couple of days later. My appointment was for 6pm at the Cherry Hill NJ office.
I live in Philadelphia and while driving over, I received a phone call from a Marilyn, who was calling to confirm my appointment. When I finally arrived I thought that the office looked staged. There was a few toys & a small table for children. "Marilyn" immediately told my son how handsome he was & continued to throughout the interview. She went on to tell me how they get jobs for the kids and was sure that my child would get work. She said that he would have his own website and that they were booking large amounts of work.
She went on to say they would not want to sign my son, if they didn't think that he could get work. She also told my seven year old not to go to school and tell his friends about this until he actually got work. (I wonder why), she said that they would get 15% & that I needed to pay $20 to the photographer & take new pictures every 6 months.
Then she got to the $595.00 fee. I told her that I did not have any checks on me & could I get her one out in the mail tomorrow. She said, that she could postdate a credit card. She said I needed $250 upfront & then they could take the remaining balance in two payments. I agreed and gave her my card information despite my doubts. I just kept thinking that real agencies would not ask for upfront money, but I looked at it as an investment for my child.
Two days later Marilyn called me at work & said that she forgot to get my debit card's expiration number, I thought to tell her that I didn't have it on me, but I gave it to her. After that I decided to look at the website.
I viewed many different childrens' pictures & thought how can all of this kids get work, not to mention alot of them were just average looking. I then found this site & found out about kids.com's reputation. I immediately called my bank to cancel out my debit card, I'm not sure if that will work, my bank said that the old card was blocked & no charges can come through. The charge is due to go through tomorrow & I guess I will just have to wait and see. If it does I will do what is necessary to get a full refund.
I think that it is so sad how they find it so easy to prey on people & their innocent chidren this way. My son is so eager to start modeling & he is waiting to take his pictures. I don't know what I will tell him. Even still I know he can be a model & I will do what is neccessary to get him a start in it. Does anyone know of a real agency for children in the Philadelphia area, or what steps I need to do to get him started?
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