Studio Models USA
To Whom It May Concern:
I only recently came upon your website and noticed that Studio
Models USA was listed.
The address I visited was the same as the one listed
in the letter that already exists on your site:
Studio Models USA
209 North 3rd Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
(215) 627-3244
www.studiomodelsusa.com
I had a similar experience to the girl whose letter
appears on your site in that I saw an ad in a local paper,
called, and set up a meeting time. This was in early
November.
At my meeting, I provided them with a few pictures,
filled out a little form about my experience, asked a
few questions; then was given a business card and asked
to call back a day or two later to find out if they were
interested in me.
I did as I was asked and was told that they were interested,
and that I should come back in to discuss plans for a
photo shoot.
I was asked to bring a check for $114.95; $95 was for
an "online set-up fee," and $19.95 was for
my first month's "monthly marketing fee."
When I went back, I was told that they had no contract
and I could cancel at any time. They asked for my check
and then the photo shoot was discussed.
The photo shoot was to be with their photographer and
a makeup artist was to be provided at their studios later
that month.
The photo shoot was free; however, I had to do my own
hair and makeup. I actually found out that I needed to
do this by accident.
They called me the day of my shoot to see if I could
come in earlier, and I said that I could not.
I then asked if I should bring my own makeup for the
makeup artist.
The person talking to me said, "You have to do
your own makeup and hair at home before you get here.
Our person will only do touch-ups."
This made a little nervous, because I am no professional,
but I went ahead that evening, because I had already
paid them money, and had been told that canceled shoots
would cost an extra $100 for the photographers' and makeup
artists' wasted time.
At the photo shoot, I was given a name and a password
to access my online comp card to update the information.
That evening I went home and followed the supplied directions
to update my information.
When I checked a few days later, my pictures and information
was not on the site. When I checked a week later,
and still nothing appeared, I contacted the agency.
I was told that the pictures had just arrived and would
be updated on the site by the end of the week with my
information.
I checked back a week later and my pictures were loaded,
but there was no information.
I called again, and was told that in time my information
would appear.
That was in mid-December, and now it is late January,
and still the information has not been updated.
Currently, limited information appears, but only because
I pressured them to type in the information themselves.
As for the photos, I was given a CD of the pictures
that they took; however, they were not good in quality
at all.
I was not consulted about which pictures were to appear
on the site, nor given any chance to see the pictures
in advance.
I was also given no instructions as to how to access
and print off pictures from the CD, such as which photo
program to use.
Consequently, even though it was free, I have not been
able to use this to my advantage.
The part that really made me upset was that when I received
my bank statement for December, I saw that this agency
had made a withdrawal from my checking account for $19.95.
I never signed any papers allowing them to make such
withdrawals without prior consent. This made me feel
as if my money was being taken from me. Theft.
After this occurred, I called the agency and left a
message asking to be called back. I did not say why I
wanted them to call me back, only that I wanted to discuss
with them what services I was being provided.
Weeks have passed, but still no one from their agency
has called me; in fact, they have not contacted me at
all. On the contrary, any contact has been through my
steadily pursuing them.
Recently, I began to search every page I could access
of their website. I came across a contract, even though
I was told that their agency had no contract, and that
I could cancel any time.
I also came across a statement in the frequently asked
questions page that said: "We do not charge a set-up
fee to post your photos. You pay only a small fee of
$19.95/month to be in our database."
But I have a receipt from the agency that clearly states
that I was charged $95 for an online set-up fee.
I emailed their customer service department today, asking
that they stop "representing" me (which in
truth they are not really doing, anyway), and that they
explain why they have charged me a set-up fee when their
website says that the agency does not charge one; why
I was charged a monthly posting fee in November when
nothing was posted until December; why they took money
out of my account in December without my authorization;
and why their site has a contract posted, but I was told
that nothing of that matter exists.
I have received no email back yet; however, not much
time has elapsed since I sent my message.
Can you think of anything else that I could do to rectify
this issue or any way that I could possibly get my money
back from them?
Any information you could provide me with would be much
appreciated.
Thank you in advance for your help.
B.A.
B.,
Your complaints are reasonable and you make a good case.
Have you contacted your bank? Unauthorized withdrawals
from your bank account is something you should discuss
with your bank, especially if the company does not respond
to you.
You can and probably should also contact the BBB. At
the time of writing the BBB record for SM USA says: "The
company has responded to customer complaints brought
to its attention by the Bureau." Therefore if you
direct your complaints to the BBB, you could get their
attention.
The BBB record also included Customer Complaint Information: "Complaints
against this business concern selling practices and service
issues."
Service issues could obviously include customer service,
which is a part of your complaint.
The basic problem with upfront fees is a company can
lose interest in you pretty quickly.
If your complaint with the BBB does not produce a satisfactory
result, you can escalate and file a complaint with the
Attorney General's office.
Finally you could ask for your money back since they
have done nothing for you with their virtually worthless
online photo post. It probably gets most of its page
views from their webmaster.
Paying $95 for the "online set-up fee" is
ridiculous. Find out where they come up with that price.
A teen or even a preteen could upload a digital picture.
Many of them do.
The "monthly marketing" for $19.95 every month
is a scam if nobody sees your picture, either because
it is not online, or nobody downloads it. If it is not
seen, no marketing has taken place. If no marketing has
taken place, but they say it has, that is fraud. If they
want you to pay (in advance) for something that does
not happen, it's a scam.
In any case, if an agency has to make money from upfront
fees, it is probably pathetic because it cannot get models
good enough modeling jobs to earn them a significant
income on commissions.
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