Typical Model Agency Scams

Please note that these guidelines have been put together after real cases have come to light. The guidelines can be applied to both the Modelling & Entertainment's Industry. Check out our Top 10 Tipspage for a summary of our recommendations from these cases. If you have a case that is not highlighted below and you feel would be of help to others then please do let us know by e-mail.

Avoid Newspaper Adverts & By Post Applications and Acceptance

Numerous calls have been received by us from parents of children, teenagers and even adults who have answered newspaper or free magazine advertisements or even yellow pages adverts by Agencies asking for models, actors and film extra's of all ages and all sizes to apply by post.

More often than not the agency is located a long way away from the local press area they are advertising in.

In the case of by post scams people wanting to apply answer the advert then they have then been asked to pay money up front in order to join that agency. Cases have varied from £50 to £250 stated as being an administration fee, or marketing fee.

The Agencies Act revised 6th April 2008 - ensures any fee charged to models for aministration or marketing is refundable within 7 days, so you have the right to change your mind.  top

Portfolio Packages

Once you are accepted by an agency, they will need some pictures of the worker to start, so that clients can see how the novice looks, however, do not get coaxed into a "Portfolio Package " by photographers BEFORE seeing a genuine agency.

Genuine agents will if they like your look; recommend professional test photographers once they decide to take you on the agency books. They will not want to see pictures stylised by high street photographers agencies will want to mould your look the way they see best and often have a cache of photographers that will take their instructions on the type of look they want for each person.

We have seen many so called "portfolios" which have cost anything between £350 to £1,900 for photographs that just are not up to the style and quality a model agency requires!

So completely useless and a waste of money to the novice.

Yes, genuine agencies do suggest test shot photographs to get the portfolio started, but these are not expensive (usually around £150 - £200) and are only needed until the model starts to get assignments and then their own working shots or tear sheets from magazines, which are also put into the portfolio to build up a good book. You should also have a hair & make up artist at the shoot to ensure top quality photos and this will usually add £50 to the cost.

Models usually go for a test shoot and the photographer will shoot around 150 shots digitally.

The novice often pays the photographer directly.

If a top agency has great confidence in a model’s potential that agency can agree to pay for the initial photographs for the novice to get started and the cost of that is then repaid to the agency by the model when he or she gets paid for assignments. However, you should ensure that you find out what they will charge later for the photographs as you will need to know the cost if you are being given credit by an agency - you do not want any nasty surprises at a later date when those fees are deducted from earnings.

So be wary. Never part with large sums of money up front for a portfolio package.

BEWARE of Unfair Contracts

Most people are so keen to get onto the books of an agency, that in their excitement they sign contracts without reading them carefully..

Never sign ANYTHING in this business without reading it carefully first!

You should NEVER sign a contract without first taking it home and reading every bit of it very carefully, and make sure that you do fully understand the terms of the contract before you even consider signing it. By that I mean read it and make sure that you fully understand what each clause (paragraph) means and how it will affect you. Carefully consider how the contract will tie you if you decide that you want to leave the agency or how it will affect you if you end up in a dispute with the agency.

We have seen a number of contracts which are very unreasonable and that are biased against the novice and totally in favour of the agency with trumped up and inflated costs should the model even sneeze in the wrong direction!

If you sign a contract the Law states that it is legally binding, even if you signed it without reading it first. So do not be the victim be the victor and make sure that you take the contact away, read the contract, understand them and how that contract will affect YOU.

I know of plenty of models who work with their agencies and have not signed a contract. DO NOT be in such a hurry to sign one yourself!!  top
 

Misleading Model Release Forms

NEVER sign a MODEL RELEASE FORM without reading it first and knowing how it affects you or your model child. In most cases if you have been for an assignment your agent deals with this matter. However, recent cases have shown that some unscrupulous people have actually taken pictures of models of all ages, themselves, then got the model to sign a very alarmingly worded model release form and for no payment those pictures can be used by the agent in whatever publication they choose. So be very careful make sure that you read and understand the implications before you sign anything!   top

Bogus Model & Casting Agents / Companies

This has to be one of the biggest and most successful cons throughout the UK in this industry. Alba has in the past received hundreds of calls from people of all ages who have been conned out of varying sums between £50 to £200 per person by bogus casting and model agencies which set up in different hotel conference rooms throughout the UK over a weekend period and then held so called casting seminars. These agencies perform their casting seminars in different towns in various areas throughout the whole of the UK. More often than not they have very catchy names and do appear to be totally genuine when they are not.

The public are convinced into parting with money up front to be represented by that particular casting agency. The promise is usually that the casting agency will take some pictures find the hopeful at least one top agency which will offer the hopeful a contract. The promise is that if the applicant does not receive the offer of a contract from an agency within a set period of time the money paid by the applicant will be refunded. Sounds too good to be true and frankly it is too good to be true!

The double sting comes when the applicant, having already paid a large sum of money up front to the first casting company /agency, is then offered contracts by other agencies, however, those agencies are either owned by the same persons running the seminar or they also want a fee up front.

Genuine Agencies will only take on persons that they believe they can find work, and do not ask for any joining fee's up front whatsoever. However, the DTI does permit agents to charge a modest fee for listing on their website or the supply of model cards. As I have said earlier, if any agency receives a large income by charging fee's up front to join, then why should they bother to find any work with a large income for the agency coming in for doing virtually nothing at all?

I find it very sad to have to tell people that they have been conned. Many people have paid up front large sums of money that they could have saved if they had come to Alba in the first place. So be warned. Prevention is so much better than cure; because you will never get your money back from this type of scam. Stick to Alba A-List agents.  top

Copycat (Mimic) Roadshows

Alba has in the recent past advertised the very genuine Sugar Magazine Roadshow, which was in conjunction with Maybelline Cosmetics and a Model Agency (similar to the BBC Clothes Show Roadshow). Sadly other unknown entities have decided to attempt to copy these events, promising much but in reality offering little except to take your money.

Note the poor locations and venues of these copycats, the real roadshows are in huge locations like the NEC Birmingham, Excel in London, or in the case of Sugar their roadshow was held throughout the UK in large easy to get to venues such as a major city indoor shopping centres within Newcastle, Glasgow, Manchester, London, Poole, Belfast and finally Birmingham.

The aim of the copycat roadshow is to appeal to all ages interested in the world of modelling and entertainment. Do not let yourself be conned into believing these roadshows are genuine. If you do decide to go along when you get there be aware that simple snapshot pictures taken by friend or family are all that is needed to send to agencies for them to see if you are suitable and do not pay any fee's for photographs, do not pay for picture slots (places) in any magazine publications and especially do not pay to be put onto a web site !! You can approach genuine agencies yourself.

Model Training

I have seen a number of males and females who have paid at least £500 for a one day modelling course run by anagency. All of theses people were told that without doing the course they would not be accepted by the agency. Sadly they are not fully trained after that one expensive day. Often this is the only income that some agencies have and they do little else for the model once they have attended a compulsory course and paid.

Model Competitions

We have a full list of the competitions we know trade well and ethically....

Alba recommended competitions and Pageants are listed on our competitions page - think carefully befroe parting with sponsorhip fees to new pageants without any track record of ensuring winners do get their prizes.

See our Latest news section to read all about beauty pageants, which are entitled to charge a sponsor fee.  top