OTM (On Track Modeling) aka
AMG (Alpha Model Group)
To Whom It May Concern:
I have signed with OTM and have been with them since
April of 2001. I've done a total of five jobs with them,
all promotional.
The first job was January 25-27 for $14/hr, signing
up people for MBNA credit cards, but I have not seen
one red cent from these people!
I have called and emailed, but when I expressed my concerns
of payment, they said: "This could close doors for
you."
I fail to see the open doors anyway at this rate.
I was also told by the person in accounting to whom
I spoke that her son works for an agency, and sometimes
it takes a year to get paid.
Would you work a job that didn't pay for a year?
I wouldn't think so.
To top it off, you can only access the accounting department
by email. I was not called by anyone until they became
afraid I would "bad-mouth" the agency.
Is there anything I can do?
Unless your contract says something different, the deal
with payments may be the agency cannot or is not bound
to pay you if they are not paid by the client.
In other words, they are due to get their commission,
but they can't get it if the client does not pay. A client's
failure to pay a model agency was recently reported on
another website.
But since the client you mentioned is a credit card
company, it is most likely they could afford to pay within
one week, two weeks, or at the most, 30 days.
However, it is not uncommon for agencies to receive
payment from their clients after 30-120 days.
The lower the cost, the more quickly you can expect
the client to pay. If they are paying $100,000, it is
not unreasonable for them to pay in full after 3-4 months;
it's a lot of money.
The Modeling Handbook by Eve Matheson has this to say
about payments and contracts:
- Agency contracts typically provide that the agency
will bill the client for your services and receive
the payment for you and permit them to cash your check
pursuant to a power of attorney contained in the contract,
even if the check is in your name. They will deduct
their commission and pay the balance to you. This is
standard procedure.
-
- Reputable agencies pay at least every two weeks if
they have agreed to advance your payments, which means
that they will pay you for your completed bookings
before they are paid, which can take up to several
months.
-
- Some agencies charge a model an administrative fee
for advances to cover their additional costs in connection
with the advances. The alternative is to wait until
the agency is paid, commonly 30-120 days after the
booking (p. 38).
What you have here are only two possibilities. Either
MBNA credit cards failed to pay OTM; or OTM failed to
pay you.
Which do you think is more likely?
Since you were doing promotional work, at about the
average rate, for only two days, it is highly unlikely
a credit card company did not have the money, and could
not afford to pay you. The MBNA website said:
- MBNA is the world’s largest independent credit
card issuer, with managed loans of $95.4 billion. The
company also provides retail deposit, consumer loans,
and insurance products.
You could conceivably call MBNA
credit cards and ask
if they sent the check.
Contact the BBB where OTM is based. They do dispute
resolution. If you present your complaint to the BBB,
the BBB will give OTM an opportunity to state their case,
or finally pay you.
If OTM refuses to pay you, and they were already paid,
they stole your money. You can take it to a Small Claims
Court. If you state your case to the judge, he or she
can make a fairly quick ruling.
If OTM received your money, they could tell someone
in accounting to take the afternoon off without pay,
and then suddenly they could afford to pay you?!?
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