Modeling offers often too good to be true
Dear BBB: I have a beautiful little girl, and everyone says I should get her into modeling. I have heard radio commercials about modeling agencies that come to the area, occasionally. Are these reputable agencies?
BBB: This is one of the oldest tricks in the book, to prey on the dreams of unsuspecting and hopeful consumers. Whether you have a beautiful child you’d like to get into acting or modeling, or you have a song or a book you’d like to publish, there are literally thousands of so-called agencies out there ready to convince you the path to stardom is just a check away, YOUR check, by the way. The Better Business Bureau has enough tales of duped dreamers to fuel a book of its own with a very unhappy ending.
First let us say there are ethical and legitimate talent and modeling agencies in the entertainment business. Unfortunately, the scammers far outweigh the reputable agencies.
Before becoming involved with an agency, know exactly what it should be doing for you. An agency should be engaged in the marketing and booking of talent, and the agent’s role is to promote the talent who has contracted for their marketing services, negotiate the most favorable contract for the talent and collect a commission from the talent.
You should interview your agent as thoroughly as you would interview your doctor, lawyer, or CPA. Remember, the agent will be working for you, not vice versa. Carefully review your contract with your agent. This is your agreement regarding what the agent will do to earn the commission you pay.
To help you detect fraudulent opportunities, the BBB warns disreputable agencies often:
• Ask for up-front money, which may be called “registration,” “consultation,” or “administrative” fees. Legitimate agents work on a commission. They don’t get any money until you get paid for doing the work they have obtained for you.
• Pressure you to leave a check or cash deposit or sign a contract immediately. The agent may insist you take acting lessons at a particular school or from a particular teacher, or may try to get you to buy expensive photographs, audition tapes, or other services or materials sold by someone he or she suggests. An agent’s time should be spent finding work for his or her client, not selling products and services.
• Display pictures of famous models or celebrities on the walls to make you believe they are represented by that agency, although they’re not.
• Use names which sound similar to well-known agencies. Fraudulent companies will sometimes do this to give the incorrect impression they are connected to a legitimate entity.
• Place phony ads in the help wanted section of newspapers that say something like, “new faces wanted” for commercials, movies or modeling or claim that “no experience is necessary.”
It is all too easy to become carried away when an “agent” promises you or your loved one fame, fortune, and stardom. Lavish praise and the lure of a dream-come-true and life on easy street can turn even the most skeptical consumer into a red-faced victim, considerably lighter in the pockets.
Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Investigate before you invest. To obtain helpful consumer information on a particular agency, or to report a problem with one, contact your Better Business Bureau at (615) 867-0032 during regular office hours and 24 hours a day at (615) 242-4222 or toll free at (800) 989-4222. The Website is www.middletennessee.bbb.org.