Face National Models and Talent
To Whom It May Concern:
I have just allowed my 10-year-old daughter to sign
a contract with Face National Models and Talent here
in Oklahoma City. It was signed at the same time as another
person who wrote.
I paid them the first $170, and I am supposed to be
at the workshop on July 30 with the second payment of
$213.
Am I stuck here? I don't really know what to believe
now.
Is there a way to cancel using their photo guy and use
another one? If so, can I get my $170 back?
I don't want to jump to conclusions, but more and more
people are writing letters to this site about Face.
Even if I contact Face personally, who's to say a line
of bull isn't being used to pacify me?
Do you have any suggestions? With so many people coming
forward, is there a legal road to pursue if needed?
Thank you for your help.
Since you have not actually paid for anything, either
a service (photography) or a product (photos), they should
return your money. Especially since the workshop is not
dependent on you. Others will attend with or without
you. Your cancellation is not going to waste their money;
although not cancelling could waste your money.
You questioned the possibility of being fed a line.
This is exactly right. You cannot tell. You don't know
these people.
The problem here is they are from out of town, they
are basically complete strangers, traveling salesmen,
if you will, and they can avoid the accountability that
comes with having an office in OK city. Can they just
leave town?
Generally speaking it is advisable to stick with local
agencies unless the others have a perfect record. Face
does not have a perfect record.
Legal action is possible. But only after other options
have been exhausted. Face apparently does respond to
at least some BBB complaints. You may want to contact
the BBB in Charlotte if they don't return your money.
A class-action lawsuit is one option if a number of
people conclude they have been tricked.
There was a company in FL which has received similar
complaints as Face National has received, and the parent
of one aspiring model, a retired firefighter, filed a
lawsuit against the "agency." The story was
in the news; it was then sent to this site by the model's
father.
There are people out there who "don't take crap
from nobody." They managed to get a large group
of people to testify or sign affidavits to support the
case. The man who filed the lawsuit actually wanted the
company to be shut down.
When complaints add up at the BBB, they can show up
on the FTC radar, because they all use the same fraud
database network. Furthermore, the FTC does visit websites
to find or monitor fraud. And it has effectively shut
down scam companies, including scam modeling companies.
Small claims court is another possible option, although
that may only be possible if the offending company is
in the same state. You'd have to check OK law.
Scams can last a long time when the amount lost is relatively
small. The scam artists figure people will just let it
go.
The people who do take legal action generally do it
on principle; money isn't the most important thing to
them. It can cost more in legal fees than the amount
which can be returned.
In such cases there is a higher purpose. They are fighting
for Americans. The prevailing attitude is: "This
is America, and we are not going to put up with this
in our country."
Thank you for your quick reply.
One problem with not paying them the rest of the money
is a contract. The night we signed for my daughter there
were actually two contracts. One was for them to represent
us, and the other was to use them for the photo shoot.
The contract states that no refund will be given if
not cancelled within three days of signing the contract.
I will call FACE and request a refund, and if it doesn't
work, I will take further measures to make sure this
doesn't happen to another city.
I would try to get the media involved some more and
request a petition be signed by all that believe they
have been misled or scammed.
If this is a scam or just a bad business decision, it
needs to be stopped.
Do you have any comments on this type of action?
Any help is appreciated. Thank you, and I will keep
you posted on the reply, if any, from FACE.
Face National Models and Talent gets you to sign a contract
before you can check their BBB record, check user complaints,
read published news reports, read state warnings, or
ask for and check client and model references?
Federal or state laws require at least a three-day cooling-off
period. The rules offer consumer protection giving three
days for contracts to be reviewed, etc. The cooling-off
period is designed to deal with sales pressure and emotional
manipulation by scam artists.
It looks as if they are covering their ass by giving
you the bare minimum of what the law requires: three
days.
Does Face misrepresent its ability to obtain modeling
positions for its clients? Complainants who signed Face
contracts said they did not receive modeling positions
or modeling jobs after being led to believe they would
get work.
The Federal Trade Commission prosecuted a scam modeling
agency called National Talent Associates, and required
it to have a three-day cooling-off period for contracts
to be reviewed, etc.
- In 1975 the company signed a consent order permanently
prohibiting misrepresentations of its ability to obtain
modeling positions for its clients, requiring it to
disclose specified information and providing customers
with a three-day cooling-off period.
In FTC vs. Screen Test USA, the FTC argued:
- The Commission will ultimately succeed in establishing
that the defendants have engaged in, and are likely
to engage in, acts and practices that violate Section
5(a) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. A7 45(a), and the Commission's
Trade Regulation Rule Concerning Cooling-off Period
for Sales Made at Home or at Certain Other Locations,
16 C.F.R. Part 429 (the "Cooling-Off Rule").
The FTC website said:
- The FTC charged that Screen Test failed to follow
the "cooling off'' rule, which allows consumers
some rights to cancel services when companies conduct
their businesses at locations other than their permanent
offices.
It sounds as if Face National does not have permanent
offices outside Charlotte, NC.
I can't advise you to break a contract. But do you really
think your 10-year-old daughter is going to get work
through Face National?
They can't force you to make additional payments. You
can't force them to return the money you already paid.
If you ask for your money back, and they refuse, contact
the Better Business Bureau. The BBB is very familiar
with Face National. One of the BBB leaders has already
spoken out against Face as cited in a news report.
The BBB is not just about filing complaints; it is also
about dispute resolution.
Companies which are scamming people often do nothing
unless they are challenged. Sometimes when challenged
by a BBB complaint, they will offer refunds, because
they know there will be a penalty against them in the
BBB file which others will see. In other words, it could
cost them more to resist the refund than to give you
your money back.
If it ever gets to this, your idea of a petition with
signatures could do something, but what would really
shut everything down in a city would be complaints to
the advertisers. Perhaps a signed petition sent to the
advertisers?
If the radio station or newspaper where the advertising
would be seen refuses to advertise, because the company
is considered a scam, it cannot effectively enter the
city. If they don't have an office in the city, nobody
would know they are holding a meeting, and nobody would
show up.
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