Modeling Scams

Introduction

There are basically three times when parents or models, family or friends find out about modeling scams:

1) before payment;

2) after payment but before the cancellation deadline; or,

3) after payment and after the cancellation deadline.

1. Before Payment

Those who discover the modeling scam before payment can obviously avoid becoming victims of modeling scams, although some have confessed they signed up when they knew they should not have.

2. After Payment but Before The Cancellation Deadline

Those who discover the modeling scam shortly after payment may be able to cancel before the deadline, and cancel their contract or get their money back, but sometimes they become the victims of modeling scams.

Scam companies have been known to block attempts by those who signed up to meet the cancellation deadline. They have refused to respond. They do not answer email, faxes, or phone calls. Or they answer the phone, but they hang up or disconnect the phone line.

Generally speaking, modeling scams do not have money-back guarantees. This is obviously because people would find out it was a scam, or fail to receive anything for their money -- no modeling jobs, for example -- and then ask for their money back.

Review the contract and its fine print and, if there is one, the terms and conditions of the guarantee.

Cancellation Deadlines

The Federal Trade Commission has a business rule which gives a grace period to protect consumers. Depending on the state, there is a cooling-off period of three to 10 days during which consumers are allowed to cancel and get a refund.

But even if you are within the deadline, you can still run into the scam, as already noted, if the company does not respond. Therefore one way to deal with them is to send your notice of cancellation by certified mail.

Send a certified letter to the company address or use a courier service to notify them of your intentions. This way you have proof you met your obligations and the scam company cannot claim in court you failed to meet the deadline.

3. After Payment and After The Cancellation Deadline

If you find out about a modeling scam after payment and after the cancellation deadline, it is more difficult to get your money back. The chances of getting your money back could relate to the type of product or service you received.

If it was just a comp card on a website, it didn't cost the company anything, really, to put the picture online and most likely the photo was never seen by an agency. If it was photos, expenses were already made for development, etc. If it was a modeling school, the teacher was already paid.