In Fall of 2001 I had sent my son's information to a reputable talent agent in Cherry Hill, NJ. They sent a reply letter saying that he was not what they were looking for at the time. THEY suggested we contact Kids.com! I called and made the appointment and we were taken in by the whole thing. (My husband and I were both very impressed with the large Miss Saigon photo and many other "examples" of children who had "found work" with them. We had 2 sets of photos taken - about six months apart. My son's photo and description did appear on the Kids.com web page as promised.
After over a year of not hearing from them (except those impersonal letters making sure to update your photos!), we became lax in having more photos taken. In Fall of 2002, I spole to a local talent agent who assured me that the way Kids.com works is NOT the way it regular agents operate.
Then, last winter, I received a letter from Kids.com saying "Your child has come to our attention, etc." I was curious as to how he was brought to their attention - and even more curious about the fact that they didn't even check to see if we were already a client before they sent us that introductory letter.
So I called and a rather rude man answered. I asked him "how my son had come to his attention" and he didn't answer me. He said they were really busy and someone would call me back. No one ever called back. I felt very put off by this brief and gruff conversation. I didn't even get to the part that my son was already "a client."
Needless to say, we have become more lax in getting photos taken - plus the closest "official Kids.com" photographer to us is an hour away. My son is now 3. The last photos we had taken were at one year. I recently received a letter saying that if we didn't update our photos soon, he would be taken off the website. I looked on the website last week to see his old photo and the file number that was assigned to him DOES give his first name and description - BUT HAS THE ONE YEAR-OLD PHOTO OF ANOTHER CHILD THERE.
I thought that was rather interesting. I even ALMOST made another appointment with the photographer until I saw that section of their website titled "important news" in which they defend themselves from the media, the class action suit and this website. It was there that I learned about ripoffreport.com and finally came to my senses. They will not get a penny more of my money. Thank you for making people aware of this scam.
Trina
Allentown, Pennsylvania
U.S.A.