Industry Model & Talent Studios Did not honor cancellation policy - SCAM! Edgewater New Jersey

I'm embarrassed to admit being scammed - but for the benefit of other innocent, hardworking parents who try new things to enrich their children's lives - I will admit that we too were fooled by Industry Model & Talent Studio's. We were "stopped" at Menlo Park Mall in New Jersey by a teenage girl who asked if my son would be interested in modeling or acting. Of course my 7 year old was very excited at the idea and BEGGED me to fill out a card. Before I gave my information, I asked if this were a "Barbizon" type gig - where you have to pay for lessons, because if so, I wasn't interested. She adamently stated "no, it's not like that..." but pressed that she didn't have much more information, as that is what the phone call from an "agent" was for and I could ask them all the questions I had. I figured there was no harm in passing my number and my son was very happy. I figured foolishly - hey - they have to be legitimate since they have a place at the Mall, right? Wrong.

So I receive a call the next day from an agent who sounded like he was 18 years old. I asked all my questions which he answered quickly but man was he back to "Ok Miss - are you sure you're going to show up at 1pm? You only get 1 chance to show up Miss so be sure you are ready and there at 1pm..." In hindsight - and after reading the testimonials from others - you can clearly see that these employees are paid by the appointment. The "agent" must have warned me to show up at least 8 times during that call (I should have gotten the hint...) and called me twice during the week to confirm. I swear he was trying to trick me because he called me back to back and the 2nd call was "sorry miss, our computers are down and I can't remember what your appointment time was - do you know what time it's for?" I said - yes - 1pm and he replied "ok" after a short pause as if he were testing me.

So we show up on a Saturday at 1pm. I got 3 more phone calls before showing up (my son was very excited...) and we thought - wow - what great follow up! We had to be buzzed in - and my 1st impression left me skeptical because their parking lot was totally covered in ice and not shoveled at all. I had a passing thought - don't legitimate businesses worry about lawsuits? Someone will kill themselves if they slip on this... I should have turned around .. but my curiousity was getting the better of me. Long story short - we meet with a Director named Christopher who showed us pictures - raved about my son's beautiful eyes... etc. He too said - we're not a modeling school and you won't pay a thing to us for that... etc. Then he talks about composite cards and the marketing process and honestly - we thought - well doesn't every potential actor or model need a "business card?" We didn't mind the idea of $1000 for a legit photo shoot and thought we could use them at other agencies as well. We were sold on their marketing capabilities and Christopher assured us that they market the children 7 days a week over the phone and internet and that all professionals in the company had been connnected for over 10 years.

So the golden question comes - when can you do a photo shoot? He wants us to come the following Saturday but we explained we didn't come prepared with a credit card assuming there was nothing to pay. My husband had his debit card but only wanted to pay $250 of the $1000 fee. So Christopher said he would "up front" the balance and if we couldn't make the shoot, call by Monday and let him know or we would be charged a $100 cancellation fee. We left feeling excited, but as the day wore on, I felt restless. I came online and found this thread and I was sickened. I should have done this before paying ANYTHING. I called on Sunday and left a message saying I wanted to cancel my shoot. I called 1st thing Monday morning and talked to the receptionist and told her I wanted to cancel the shoot. She immediately asked me what other day I wanted to come and I told her "I'm not using your company since you exploit children and take advantage of their parents.." I demanded a refund and was told I would receive a call from a manager. I still have not received a phone call. I had to close my husbands debit card to avoid any further charges. This is a lesson learned folks - BEWARE and do RESEARCH before entering into any situation that costs money or requires your service! This company must be shut down! Make no mistake - I will hire an attorney and sue this company no matter what the cost as they need to be stopped from taking advantage of hard-working people. We are fortunate not to have lost more money and fortunate that the $250 loss does not does not cause us hardship but there are those who sacrifice the money in hopes of bigger dreams and are taken advantage of. I'm willing to enter into a class-action suit or help anyone who wants to fight. Reply to this post if interested in contacting me.

T arabian
Edison, New Jersey
U.S.A.