Star Entertainment Lefteris and Laura Choriambus Scam Agency not paying and bullying Entertainers Pafos, Other

I worked for this company for six months over summer 2012. I have to say that it has to be the worst company i have ever worked for. All the negative comments above are absolutely true. And just to bring to your attention, the two positive comments are written by two of the managers! They lie and cheat you out of your salary, and you end up working for nothing. if you do challenge this then your life is made an absolute hell as you are bullied by the so called management team who have no concern for your welfare. i am owed 350 in back wages as i worked a month in hand, therefore when i returned to the UK i was not paid the last month that i worked. on top of that i had to find the fare for my flight home, this was part of my contract which they failed to honor. after making several phone calls to chase up my money bearing in mind this was at my expense calling Cyprus from the UK, trying to speak to Laura who dismissed my claims for payment stating that i had already been paid everything i'm owed. this was an absolute lie and i have never come across in my entire working life such a company who scam, cheat and lie in order to take advantage of British entertainers, exploiting them at every opportunity. DO NOT EVER WORK FOR THIS COMPANY unless you want feel worthless exploited and demoralized. DO NOT TOUCH THEM WITH A BARGE POLE. 

Regards an ex employee.

I have just finished my second season with Star Entertainment, and I have to say there has been no problems. Sometimes my pay was delayed, but as already pointed out, this was due to the Hotels being late with payments.

As for accommodation, the rooms in which i have been placed have always been clean and of good condition, of course its not 5 star accommodation, but what do you expect for free!

The company helped me with any problem that arose, whether it being work or personal issues, and for that they have gained my respect.

I have recommended the company to both family and friends, which I certainly wouldn't do if I believed they bullied or mistreat their staff in any way.

I will be returning to the company again next summer for my 3rd season with them.

As said previously, if your coming to work your best and don't just abuse the opportunity to party all the time, then you will have no problems :)

Hi

I have been a Star employee since May 2012 and im about to complete the season with them.

In my opinion there have been no problems with my pay and they have never let me down. 

The only time there seemed to be pay problems are with staff that leave without notice or are so poor at their job the venue/hotel refuses to pay for their services. They seem to have been fair with all the animators and singers this season and even moving one problematic individual around the hotels when one said they didnt want them there anymore.

I have been asked back and if there are no problems in my final 2 weeks here then i see no reason why i wouldnt consider returning.

I would assume from my own findings that Lefteris is a very charming man and im sure he may have had his moments as we all have but he has always had time for me and i respect him for that.

I would think that some of the things said about Laura and Lefteris would have been possibly made up by others in the entertainment industry here in Paphos and as there are several entertainment agencies, Star seems the biggest by far.

I have got to play in some of the nicest 4 & 5 star hotels here and have enjoyed the season.

So if anyone wants to know about wether to work for Star or not i would say 

"If you are good at your job and dont just want a drinking holiday with pay then go for it, If you are coming here to be lazy or get hammered everynight then just forget it!"

I can assure you Steve it is no fun not being payed. Especially when you have turned down well paid work at home. Incidently, I actually arranged a deal where the return flight would be payed.

Bleieve me Steve I tried and tried and tried to get my wages in the end my phone calls where not answered the office was always closed and Star Entertainment took on an aggresive stance, it was quite blatant I was never going to get payed.

I would remind people these are very smooth talking proffesional scammers who gain your trust only to use you.I hide my identity because such is the mistrust of the agency that they may try and discredit me or use any other low life thing they can think of.

I would also point out I have nothing to gain by discrediting good agencies unfairly in Cyprus as I do not live or work there. I only don't want others to fall into the same trap and feel strongly justice should be served. It does seem strange the other agency Steve mentioned as being bad, when I checked it out it plays at many of the same venues as Star Entertainment so is a direct competitor and against there interests?

Anyway Iv'e said pretty much said all I can as this is starting to turn into a slagging match. I wanted everyone to know, It cost me a small fortune both in money and trust in human nature, which was a bad experience I now want to put behind me.

Bye

My name's Steve and I've been working for Star Entertainment in some capacity since 2009.

I first started working with Laura and Lefteris in the summer of 2009 when I used to travel once a week to Paphos from Agia Napa to do a couple of shows for them. I then decided to return to the UK to try and settle in 2010.

After being back in the UK for a year I decided that I wasn't enjoying myself and a life abroad was probably the thing for me so I got in touch with Lefteris and he offered me work straight away.

I arrived back in Paphos in early April 2011 and worked through til late November with a pre-agreed set wage. I will say that none of my flights were covered and they generally aren't for any of the acts or animators but this is clearly stated in the contract offered. (They do pay for some people's flights but this is only in special cases where some deal has been made with regards to wage, length of contract etc. and is totally at the company's discretion and also included in the contract.)

When I finished my work in late November I was given all monies owed and returned happy to the UK.

I am now back in Paphos and have been here since March 6th 2012 and this year I have been a lot more involved in the office with the running of the acts and animation. I will tell you that Star Entertainment is an Agency and as such, needs to get paid from the venues before they can make a payment to the staff. This sometimes means that wages are slightly delayed due to hotels etc. not paying on time. (e.g. cheques were not received on time from hotels this month which meant that some people were paid on the 19th instead of the usual 17th) Unfortunately, this is just something that tends to happen in Cyprus and is common with ALL the agencies here, not just Star Entertainment.

I'm not sure who Anonymous is and I don't quite understand the need to hide your identity if you have a valid complaint. My name is Steve Welsh and I am very well known in the Paphos region of Cyprus. If you would like to contact me directly then feel free to call me on +357 99028347. Also, with regards to "asking around" about Laura and Lefteris' "reputation". I will tell you now that Paphos isn't a very large resort and has a lot of competition when it comes to different agencies and so a lot of Rumours are spread to dent each others reputation.

I personally have heard lots of "rumours" about pretty much all the companies here and that's just life. The only one I can make a personal comment on is that my girlfriend worked as a dancer for SM&KC entertainment. She was basically harassed and not allowed to live her own life outside of working hours and so eventually handed in her notice. She worked her full notice period and fully trained her replacement to take over from her. To this day she has still not received 1 cent of her final wage.

I will be staying here through the winter with Star Entertainment and carrying on into next summer so if anyone is reading these reports and worrying about joining us then don't!! You will have a great summer with a great team. (We already have at least 8 people from our acts that have expressed an interest in coming back next year.)

I hope this has helped allay any fears you may have and once again, feel free to contact me directly if you have any more questions. :)

Steve Welsh

I wish I could beleive your above statement.  Fantastic genuine and honest company, I think not.

The wages never appeared, apparently according to Laura problems with the bank but when checked no money had ever been put in, strangly when I then tried to contact her no answer?

 Lefteris put one female employee in hospital for asking for her wages. She hadn't been payed for 3 months. He threw 2 girls out on the street for complaining about cockroaches in there accomodation.

And these are only what I was told by the persons concerned let alone those too frightned to tell.

 He has been black listed by several websites due to other complaints about his treatment of staff. Numerous staff never got payed or/and there return flight payed, they ended up taking part time jobs to survive. All staff when I was there had a deep fear of Lefteris as a bully. They would not say a lot as fear also of being thrown out of there accomodation and any chance of being payed nilled or being beaten up by Lefteris.  Lefteris and Laura lie so much they can't remember half the time what there last lie was. And they work as a team of proffessional scammers who are only inerested is getting free labour and reaping all the profits at your expense. These are 2 dispicable people and would clearly not want others to suffer the same fate. I am not one to put people down for no reason. But I can only assume if what you say is true Lefteris has turned over a new leaf and realises he can't run a buisness like this. But I doubt it, possible this is another of there scams.

Personally I would avoid these 2 at all costs. Look elsewhere there are much better and more honest agencies in Cyprus, no one should be treated this badly and I would not like to see others suffer. Karma has a way of cathing up with the evil.

Hi anonymous,

I would just like to set it straight that my comment about my summer 2012 with Star was not a hoax it was my own opinion based on the great summer i've had.

I am currently still in paphos enjoying a busy season and stand by all of my findings.

If you would like to discuss the problems you have had and maybe try and find a solution i know the owners would be only too happy to help.

On behalf of the office as i'm just one of the acts......If you can provide some contact details or your name as i'm sure you will be on file or contact the office as i'm sure you have the details, they will do all they can to help rectify any greivences you may have.

For anyone else reading this please also feel free to contact me or any of the acts currently here and speak to the people doing the job for the company...... it's great :)

Cheers Simon 'Legends Show'

The report Great Summer with Great Company I beleive is a hoax. Star Entertainment are a scam company

 If you want to be bullied, not payed and stay in appauling conditions with no return flight payed, then be it at your peril. These are trully evil people who will stop at nothing to take advantage of you and rip you off. I repeat go around the bars and clubs in Coral Beach and Papos and ask the staff about Star Entertainment to find out the truth.

These are trully evil low lifes that should be avoided at all costs. I learnt the hard way.

I have worked for Star Entertainment since the beginning of May2012.

I am also an English artist and have had an amazing season with this company and on this contract. I have had all my pay onetime and on one occasion 3 days early as a kind gesture from Lefteris the company owner as I lost my wallet and was without funds so he helped me as much as possible.

I have had all my contractual agreements met and more...... The accommodation is very clean and well maintained and on the one occasion I needed my bathroom facilities seeing to someone was round within the hour and it was sorted.

Whilst my car provided is not a fresh off the shop floor model it fits it's purpose and is again maintained ie tax,mot,insurance and 20euro petrol every week by the company.......not bad for free!! Most other companies leave you to provide your own transport when acting as a self employed artist!!

My return flight is included in my contract and has already been paid for and confirmed.

It has been an absolutely brilliant season with a fantastic genuine and honest company and I look forward to returning next season.

Thank you Star Entertainment :)

The Legends Show

Star Entertainment, Pafos, Cyprus. These guys are sick. They have some massive chip on there shoulder and think they can treat you like a third class citezen because you are English or foreign to Cyprus. Why would anyone who is morral and sane get English and other country entertainers to travel vast distances then abuse them and act like they are some sort of supereia race compared to the English or other foreigners expecting them to jump imedietly when they say so but will keep you waiting when it suits them. Most Cyprians are great but Lefteris has got some sort of mentally disturbed problem. My advise is stay well away from Star Entertainment, Cyprus. He can be a violent bully who holds the agency together by scaring employee's. Look elsewhere, these guys ( Star Entertainment will Just abuse you) Don't let them take advantage of you they are sick in the head, evil people. You will work your socks off get no pay and they will keep the money.