Model and Talent, This company is a JOKE!!! Kansas City Nationwide

I would like to just make everyone aware of our recent experience with a “so-called” talent agency that has proven to be a scam.  First things first, both of my sons, who of course, I think are the most talented, beautiful and amazing kids are 6 and 8 years old.  Recently a friend contacted me and told me about an audition that she heard about on the radio out of Kansas City.  She said that is was a chance to audition for shows on the Disney Channel.  I was immediately excited and thought, wow, this could be our chance to stardom!!! Ok, so anyway, she had already called the number and gotten her daughter an audition and wanted me to call and get my boys an audition, too.  I called the number and they wanted simple information, like my name, the kids’ names, their birthdays and my email address.  I gave them this information and, BAM, they got an audition!!! The lady on the phone said this was only open to 200 kids and we were one of the first callers!  WOW, I thought, this is going to be awesome.  My first mistake was then asking my boys if they would be interested in auditioning.  They of course were immediately excited and, being 8 and 6 years old, thought this was an instant ticket to be on a show like, Jessie, Lab Rats, etc.  I explained that they have to audition first and then we’ll see where that goes.  This “agency”, then emailed me a very generic email stating our date and time for the audition, place and a 3 line script that they needed to practice and know by heart at audition time.  My first impression of this “agency” was that the email was very generic.  There was no contact information, no address or phone number, NOTHING about the company.  Red flags were going off like crazy, but I just thought, maybe it is a private agency that only seeks talent first and then gives you all their info if they become interested in you.  Ok, so anyway, all week long, my boys practiced to their little hearts content their lines.  I mean they MASTERED these lines!  I went out and bought new outfits, because the email said to have your child dress in upscale casual clothing.  So, the day of the audition comes and we all get up early and head to Kansas City.  The audition was going to be held at the Four Points Sheraton Hotel (by the airport).  I later figured these con-artists just picked this place because it was convenient for them to hop off the plane from their scamming city to city and go across the street to a hotel with an open ballroom.  Now, they told me when I made the audition appointment to be there at 11:30 am, my friend and her daughter had their audition at 9:00 am, so I thought we would have to wait our turn.  When went inside the hotel, we got in the line and stopped at a table, they did not ask who I was, just had me put my child’s name on the sign in paper, sign my name and put his age.  Then you were directed to a woman who was taking a group picture of you and your child with her iPad.  This woman then “checked” my driver’s license.  I have absolutely no idea what the hell she was “checking”.  I mean, how did she know I was these kids’ mom?  I could have been anyone, she didn’t ask me for my audition time or in that matter if I even had an appointment.  We were then led into the ball room where all kids and parents were being seated and started filling out a one page “application” for your child.  They gave us a booklet, it was good quality, had several pages, but it did not really validate who this company was, where they are located, etc.  I couldn’t help but scurry to fill out the application.  This application asked things like child’s name, parent’s names, our phone numbers, address, height, weight, eye color, hair color, child’s interests, hobbies, how we heard about the audition, parent’s occupations, how committed we are, child’s talents and why we think our child is “the one”.  When the room was full, the doors were closed and then it felt like a seminar was starting.  The director, “Anna”, who had a very thick European accent, stood up and started telling us about how the next hour would go.  She even said there was a real celebrity who flew in for this event that would be there!!! Talk about sucking your kids right in, my kids were thinking, wow, this is so exciting, we are going to get famous and get on TV!!!  They introduced the “scouts” who would be auditioning your child.  These “scouts” were the same ones who checked us in, took our picture and were walking around the room before they got started.  This was a large room with probably 12 rows of chairs.  There were probably 125 kids in the room along with parents.  They then start to tell us about the process, that each child will only get about 3 minutes with the scout to show them what they got.  They introduced the “scouts” who were very dressed up.  These people looked the part.  They looked like they were models and or actors themselves.  Who knows if they were even legit or not, this is just what they were up there telling us.  Anyway, they introduced the “celebrity”.  It was a guy who supposedly played the red power ranger on Nickelodeon.  I had no idea who this guy was, he was a pretty boy, he talked about his acting career and how he “made it to the top”.  They then went over some skits with the audience to show them how the audition was going to go.  Then it was time to audition.  We were broken up into groups based on a number on our application.  We actually were third in line.  When we got to the table, he took our application, asked for his picture and asked my son about his interests and hobbies and then asked him to say his lines.  He flawlessly performed, I of course thought he did great and thought he deserved a ticket straight to Hollywood.  The “scout” then asked if we were serious about pursuing this and if we had a “flexible” schedule to accommodate my son if he was chosen.  Then the audition was over.  We were of course excited, kids were pumped up and all the false hope started again.  They told us that we would get a text message that evening if he made the cut.  They told us only 5% of the kids auditioned would get a call back.  Later that evening, we got the text!!! I was excited at first and then my husband and his friends were like what’s the catch?  The catch was, you had to come up with a financial plan and had to be able to “secure” this at the second audition which followed the next day.  The prices in their booklet were outrageous!!!! The cheapest one was $1,900.  The most expensive package was $7,900.  These prices did not guarantee anything except “access” to more auditions and jobs.  What a rip off.  It was them confirmed in my mind this was a rip-off scam.  My friend, who went with us that morning, also got the magical text saying her daughter had been picked for a call-back.  That confirmed it even more that this was bogus.  I mean what are the chances that both of our kids were part of the 5% that they were supposedly calling back.  I just want to make everyone out there aware that this, in fact, is a SCAM!!! The biggest red flag for me was that I couldn’t find anything about this agency on the internet.  Their name was so generic, “Model and Talent”, that when you google them, their particular company does not come up but every business in the world that contains the words, model and talent does.  I then found a blog where this company changed their name recently from “Casting Hub” to “Model and Talent”.  So needless to say, we are staying undiscovered and fortunate we didn’t get reeled into this any further.  Please beware that most of these scams have these seminar like events in hotels.  They recruit via the radio or newspaper and lead you to believe that your child is the “chosen” one.  BEWARE!!! This made me want to go down there and stand in front of the hotel lobby on the second day and tell these parents who thought their child was headed to stardom, the truth.  I hope this helps you for any questions you may have if you get jipped into one of these ads.  Remember, if it’s too good to be true, then IT IS!!!!!!!!