Parents Beware!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Does your child have the "IT" factor? Does he/she smile at the drop of a dime? Are strangers, friends and/or family members raving on a daily basis about how beautiful he/she is or that they should model or be in commercials? Is your child photogenic? Do they make friends easily, very active and outgoing? Is your child very polite and talkative around new people? If you answered yes to all of the above questions (just like I did) then maybe...just maybe your child could be the next face of Baby Gap, Gerber, Old Navy, Barbie, Babies R' US etc....
But please whatever you do beware! Just last week I was just like you. After three years of people literally begging me to put my three and a half year old daughter in the entertainment industry, my husband and I finally thought hey what the heck let's go for it. We searched and searched the web for child modeling/talent agencies and management companies. After searching for two days (because alot of companies don't represent kids under five years old) we hit Gold (so we thought).
FABULOUS FLASHCAST Was the name of the "agency"...I mean "casting"...no wait "management company" well, whatever it is they do they were definitely the ones to make my daughter the next big star! ( Oh, so I thought). They will for surely dazzle you with their fun and friendly website and long list of clients and on location photos of current jobs. But don't be fooled! My husband and I uploaded our daughter's photo Thursday night and answered several questions they emailed us regarding "OUR" income, what we do for a living and how much cash flow we "Net" yearly. Sounds kind of strange we thought but maybe they don't want us to live off our child's rising career. So we filled out the info and told them we own and run a couple of family businesses and that we are in the financial industry and how much we make annually. Right after that, not even an hour later our phone rung off the hook, we were so happy that they wanted to meet us in person at their office in Hollywood. They kept going on and on about how our daughter was just the face they've been looking for and that she was guaranteed a Top Agent and could be getting work by this week! We were so excited, they wanted us to meet with them the next day! So immediately I called my mom to tell her the good news and of course she was skeptical. Not because my daughter isn't cut out for the business but because she's heard it all. My mom( who is a self proclaimed amature investigator) wanted to do her research on this so called company., and oh did she! She called me back later that evening with a long list of Danger signs. The owner Carl, was convicted on 16 counts of fraud and false advertisement in 2002, he served 36 months probation and was fined $4,000 ( per the city of Los Angeles County records). Also they received an "F" under the Better Business Bureau and countless complaints and horror stories of those the scammed is available to the public on Rip Off.Com. All of this information literally made me sick to my stomach and disgusted. So to top it all off i called the owner Carl and he (of course) denied any such allegations. I asked if i had to pay him to have my child sourced out to talent agents and he said there was a fee of $1400 non-refundable that we had to give him in order for agents to view her picture. What! I could have sent her pictures directly to an agency(which I thought THEY were) myself for free. So parents please beware, if you are interested in entering your child in the entertainment industry NEVER BY ANY MEANS pay any money out off pocket to get your child work. If a company wants your child then THEY WILL PAY YOU!!!!! An agent will charge around 10-15% once your child books jobs and that's it. We are still searching for an honest, ethical and sincere agency to represent our child and we will definitely update this often with our endeavors in finding the perfect agency. So please be welcome to comment your successes or horror stories that you have experienced. Good Luck!
Does your child have the "IT" factor? Does he/she smile at the drop of a dime? Are strangers, friends and/or family members raving on a daily basis about how beautiful he/she is or that they should model or be in commercials? Is your child photogenic? Do they make friends easily, very active and outgoing? Is your child very polite and talkative around new people? If you answered yes to all of the above questions (just like I did) then maybe...just maybe your child could be the next face of Baby Gap, Gerber, Old Navy, Barbie, Babies R' US etc....
But please whatever you do beware! Just last week I was just like you. After three years of people literally begging me to put my three and a half year old daughter in the entertainment industry, my husband and I finally thought hey what the heck let's go for it. We searched and searched the web for child modeling/talent agencies and management companies. After searching for two days (because alot of companies don't represent kids under five years old) we hit Gold (so we thought).
FABULOUS FLASHCAST Was the name of the "agency"...I mean "casting"...no wait "management company" well, whatever it is they do they were definitely the ones to make my daughter the next big star! ( Oh, so I thought). They will for surely dazzle you with their fun and friendly website and long list of clients and on location photos of current jobs. But don't be fooled! My husband and I uploaded our daughter's photo Thursday night and answered several questions they emailed us regarding "OUR" income, what we do for a living and how much cash flow we "Net" yearly. Sounds kind of strange we thought but maybe they don't want us to live off our child's rising career. So we filled out the info and told them we own and run a couple of family businesses and that we are in the financial industry and how much we make annually. Right after that, not even an hour later our phone rung off the hook, we were so happy that they wanted to meet us in person at their office in Hollywood. They kept going on and on about how our daughter was just the face they've been looking for and that she was guaranteed a Top Agent and could be getting work by this week! We were so excited, they wanted us to meet with them the next day! So immediately I called my mom to tell her the good news and of course she was skeptical. Not because my daughter isn't cut out for the business but because she's heard it all. My mom( who is a self proclaimed amature investigator) wanted to do her research on this so called company., and oh did she! She called me back later that evening with a long list of Danger signs. The owner Carl, was convicted on 16 counts of fraud and false advertisement in 2002, he served 36 months probation and was fined $4,000 ( per the city of Los Angeles County records). Also they received an "F" under the Better Business Bureau and countless complaints and horror stories of those the scammed is available to the public on Rip Off.Com. All of this information literally made me sick to my stomach and disgusted. So to top it all off i called the owner Carl and he (of course) denied any such allegations. I asked if i had to pay him to have my child sourced out to talent agents and he said there was a fee of $1400 non-refundable that we had to give him in order for agents to view her picture. What! I could have sent her pictures directly to an agency(which I thought THEY were) myself for free. So parents please beware, if you are interested in entering your child in the entertainment industry NEVER BY ANY MEANS pay any money out off pocket to get your child work. If a company wants your child then THEY WILL PAY YOU!!!!! An agent will charge around 10-15% once your child books jobs and that's it. We are still searching for an honest, ethical and sincere agency to represent our child and we will definitely update this often with our endeavors in finding the perfect agency. So please be welcome to comment your successes or horror stories that you have experienced. Good Luck!
11 comments:
Wow, Thank you EVER so much. I thought I was the only one going through this MADDNESS... My Child has also been given the "RUN AROUND". I think it is also "SICK" how people in this business can take ADVANTAGE of children. It's really sad, because these children have no CLUE, and most of the PARENTS have neither been in this business as well. I really would like to thank you for taking time out of your day to TOUCH these SPEICAL TOPICS that could HELP myself or anyother PARENT out THERE.. Thank you for the SUPPORT and GOOD LUCK to you and your DAUGHTER....
oh this is such good information!! thank you for your honesty and concern!
What a great blog... I got got that way with my daughter and I never heard from the agency again. Thanks for letting people know your story. Keep up the great work!!!
I went through the same exact thing with the same company and if it wasn't for you they would have used my child to make us flat broke! I emailed the company and they wrote back to me telling me that these were all lies on these websites and that I was just pissed off because I didn't get called back right away, which were the exact words. I couldn't believe that this was coming from a so-called professional company. Thanks for doing your research!
hi- my name is Shirley and I'm from Laguna Hills. My friend forwarded my this because I have been with Fabulous Flashcast for about a year now. I must say that we have had only positive results with the talent agents that Carl and Debbie referred us too. I also speak with them on a weekly basis through email and Carl has never ever been rude to me or my husband. quite the opposite, they have been great to deal with. my son has been called numerous times and has booked three jobs. we're very happy. these comments about the company apparantly saying that your kid is going to be a star is just plain not true. they were very upfront that we could go, get an agent and never get work. They never made any claims like that. the people who made these stuff up seem to have alterior motives. we're aware you don't pay an agent upfront because they receive a percentage. you should also be aware that getting an agent for a baby is very difficult. we know, we tryed. Fabulous Flashcast cuts out the footwork for parents. we didn't think they could do what they do for free. we think the cost was very reasonable. if a new parents thinks they can do this without putting out anything, it won't happen. try to do it on your own, you'll see. i had to respond after reading this it made me very angry. i will not (unlike others) remain anonymous. me email is shirleycarlson1234@yahoo.com and we're proud supporters of Carl and Debbie and everyone at the Fabuloous Flashcast! feel free to contact me anytime.
hi, this is Shirley again. part 2.
I had to add somthing i forgot. rebecca joy keeps mentioning rip off report.com likes it some kind of legitimate business. it's not. my husband actually did research on htis issue, unlike rebecca obviously, and he found that the man who owns the company is wanted by by authorities for extortion. what a joke. also, with this bbb company, Fabulous Flashcats addresses the issues with them on their web page. i, myself checked many other entertainment companies in ca, including Ford Models and others. they all have an "F" with the bbb. i think that's very odd. my husband knows that yes, you have to pay to be a memmber of bbb.
I just needed to correct rebecca joy. thanks.
shirleycarlson1234@yahoo.com
Hey, thanks for getting back to me, I didn't expect a response. i don't know were you think you found this accurate information. let me tell you this, my husband is an attorney and researched their case from years ago. first, they were never convicted on fraud, that is completely incorrect. the main case against fabulous flashcast was that they were operating a job listing agency without a bond. guess what? they won the case. they went all the way to a trial. My husband say most companies always settle these cases. they lost on the misleading advertising because the jury just thought the amount of their service should be included in their advertising. what companies do you know that list their prices in their ads? that's crazy. my husband said that companies all over the country are charged with this type of case, nothing new or original here. guess what? they appealed that part of the case and won. so, do you not do business with any company that has had legal problems? if that's true rebecca, you probably wouldn't deal with any companies. every business has legal issues...oh well, as my husband says it's the cost of doing business. ford models, a world renown agency, had a 25 million dollar suit against them for fraud and all kinds of things, which they settled because they knew they would not win in court. so, would you not deal with ford models now? my husband is in court almost every day. the fact that they went through the case, many years ago and are still doing great, should say alot. every mother thinks that they're kid is so cute that anyone should take them; i certainly did and from the tone of your letter, you do too! I found out the hard way. i sent out pics, made phone calls, emails, follow up letters, to find no one wants babies. so, i went with fabulous flashcast, knowing that it would not be free as they say, got a great agent, and we're happy. i think the real issue here is that you think you shouldn't have to spend money at all to do this. The fact that you say they're are several agencies "dying to represent your daughter" shows a bit more of the kind of person you are. Please, do you know how many cute kids are out there? Come on rebecca. I would love you to inform me of the names of these "agencies" who are so motivated to take your baby. It's easy to say that, and yes, since I've been in this business with an agent for a while now, i do think i have a bit more experience than you. As one mother to another, i think you should definitely try to do this on your own, see how much time and energy you will put into this, and money too. Then, decide what's really easier. you seem to be so well educated on this, but when I read your blog, it showed quite to the contrary. you referred to fabulous flashcast, carl and debbie, as a management company, casting company, talent agency, none of which they are. you also claim they asked you about your net income, that is also untrue. i contacted them via email also, they never asked me that. so, on top of being a spiritual person, you're also a person that is making untrue statements. they also never said to me, or anyone else at their office, which happened to be the most kid happy business we've ever been to, that my kid was "exactly what they were looking for". that's odd how they only said this to you? as you admitted, most agents do no handle kids under 5, that's a fact. you also tell people that they can just send out pics for free, you're right, you can, just like i did, but it's "who" you know, believe me. the agency i got through carl and debbie is one of the agencies i sent pics to 3 times over. isn't that funny how i got no response, but with them, we got in? i suggest that you stop trying to convince yourself that you're now an expert in the business; you're not, and neither am I. I'm still learning a lot but i will tell you this. go out and see what it's like and let me know. i think you're in for a shock. i wish you only the best rebecca.
Shirley
WOW SHIRLEY!
IT SEEMS TO ME THAT YOU ARE A VERY ANGRY PERSON. MAYBE YOU SHOULD DO MEDITATION WITH DEBBIE AND ME SOMETIME BECAUSE SHE COMPLETELY UNDERSTOOD MY EMAIL AND AGREED TO EVERYTHING I WROTE. YOU TALK ABOUT HOW YOUR HUSBAND IS IN COURT ALL DAY MAYBE HE SHOULD SPEND MORE QUALITY TIME WITH YOU SO YOU WON'T BE SOOOO BITTER! IT SEEMS THAT HE IS A VERY WELL EDUCATED MAN, HE SHOULD HAVE FOUND A PARTNER WITH AN EQUAL EDUCATED BACKGROUND. THIS ENTIRE EMAIL YOU SENT ME WAS PURE NONSENCE. YOU BASICALLY CONFIRMED EVERYTHING I WROTE IN MY BLOG. OH AND GUESS WHAT I THINK MY NEXT BLOG WILL BE ABOUT CRAZY ENTERTAINMENT MOMS WITH NO LIVES..... STARRING GUESS WHO?
GET A LIFE
WOW SHIRLEY!
IT SEEMS TO ME THAT YOU ARE A VERY ANGRY PERSON. MAYBE YOU SHOULD DO MEDITATION WITH DEBBIE AND ME SOMETIME BECAUSE SHE COMPLETELY UNDERSTOOD MY EMAIL AND AGREED TO EVERYTHING I WROTE. YOU TALK ABOUT HOW YOUR HUSBAND IS IN COURT ALL DAY MAYBE HE SHOULD SPEND MORE QUALITY TIME WITH YOU SO YOU WON'T BE SOOOO BITTER! IT SEEMS THAT HE IS A VERY WELL EDUCATED MAN, HE SHOULD HAVE FOUND A PARTNER WITH AN EQUAL EDUCATED BACKGROUND. THIS ENTIRE EMAIL YOU SENT ME WAS PURE NONSENCE. YOU BASICALLY CONFIRMED EVERYTHING I WROTE IN MY BLOG. OH AND GUESS WHAT I THINK MY NEXT BLOG WILL BE ABOUT CRAZY ENTERTAINMENT MOMS WITH NO LIVES..... STARRING GUESS WHO?
GET A LIFE
Actually, I'm not an angry woman at all! I think I struck a nerve with you rebecca. I think you're also showing YOUR AGE right now. I wasn't attacking you. i was simply saying that you were making ignorant statements and acting like you were this industry "know it all" mom, that no one wants in this industry, including most agents out there. I think you will find this out. Also, i am an educated woman, but my husband does well enough that i can stay home with my child, i believe i'm very lucky to be in that situation. to many mothers these days put their careers ahead of their child's, why even have a child then? Think about that. Again, YOU having the need to attack me shows your age.
you need a thick skin to be in this business, i don't this is for you AT ALL rebecca.
Shirley...
I just want to add that I am not afraid to put my name or email on here! I just don't feel like being bothered by hater-moms that have nothing better to do than to get mad at someones personal blog. Secondly, I wanted to add that for someone who was not on the phone during Rebecca's conversation, sure does seem to think she knows what was said! Matter of fact I did have the same experience and this company isn't for everyone. I really don't understand how someone can get so irritated off of a personal blog, this isn't debate class and your not the prosecuter! Some people don't want to be surrounded by negativity and I have been to many agencies that have had no such problems...So thanks for your opinion (NOT) and hopefully we won't hear from you again...
P.S. umm hit spell check before you send anymore messages!
Post a Comment