On 1/14/03 my girlfriend spotted an advertisement on the internet stating that they were looking for models for TC Talent. My girlfriend responded back stating that she knew a model that is looking for work. They gave her a ID number and told my girlfriend that they wanted to scheduled an appointment for my daughter, my daughter to gave them a call.
Our appointment was for 1/25/03 at the Oakbrook office for 11:30 AM. They told us not to be late. At the same time, my daughter's boyfriend meet us there because he wanted to support her. Believe it or not, he also got scouted. No experience at all.
This looked kind of fishy to me, but I just went with the flow. They took her to this room and took 4 photos of my daughter with a digital camera, next they took her to another room for measurements. They told her to wait in the next room where a T. V set was, I assume it was a waiting room. After the room was filled with all these models, this lady came in and said that an order to be a real model you have to advertise yourself with compcards.
They also mention that they were not a model agency, they are a database to promote to the industry. Their mission is to build the largest, most comprehensive and user-friendly database of talent in the world and provide full asistance to their registered agencies and clients to enable find the talent they seek for.
The cost to be on their database is $795.00 plus $19.95 for maintenance fee. Does that mean everyone that walks into their doors are automatically a model? They gave us a magazine called INDUSTRY, lifestyles of fashion, entertainment, people, culture, and said to read it. I saw this magazine before, but it looked like to me that they just added their literture in there to make me believe that this magazine is part of their business. Their literture slipped right out with the staple still on.
Second step interview was for an Open call with an
evaluation Excutive. She was telling us how beautiful my
daughter was and she had the looks for the industry. The 4 pictures they took of my daughter with their digital camera were terrible. We had professional pictures (black & white) already and told the excutive if we can put our own. She said yes, but color would be better. She mention that she knew a photographer that charges $495.00 for a package.
I told her I was not interested so she scan our black & white pictures. Now we were part of Trans Continental Talent. Next step was money. How we were going to paid the $795.00. She said someone from their headquarter in Orlando, Florida will be giving me a call. The call came in the next day.
We arranged a payment plan. 1/28/03 $200.00,2/12/03 $300.00,3/12/03 $195.00,4/12/03 $100.00. On 3/6/03 I received an e-mail stating that they were going to take the maintenance fee quarterly totaling $59.85, instead of $19.95 monthly. I received another e-mail on 3/6/03 for an event going on in Florida called South Beach Superstar Search. This would cost $1,790.00 not including air fare. I told them NO. I was not interested.
On 3/24/03 I received another e-mail stating that TCTalent just completed a multi-million dollar deal to work with Wilhelmina scouting to create the Wilhelmina Scouting Network. Since we were a current TCTalent client we were eligible to be part of this network for $69.95, instead of $995.00. I said O.K. I then called TCTalent and told them that I would like a statement of all my deductions for my records and they told me that my statements are my bank statements. I found that kind of odd.
I then went into the internet and looked for modelscams and found that TCTalent was a scam. Furthermore my daughter participated in Manhattan Model Search on May 10 and they mentioned that Trans Continental Talent, eModel and Options are the same people, change their name 3 times and using Wilhemina name; that was going to be corrected.
Wilhelmina was there at the convention looking for models. On May 19 I called TCTalent and spoke with Tangi, I tolded her that I wanted my money back because I found out they were a scam. I did not receive nothing an black or white stating my enrollement and participation. Futhermore, Dateline NBC which aired a segment against the company. I would appreciate any help I can get to receive my money back in full.
Mini
Chicago, Illinois
U.S.A.
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