I got my hands on one of the Time Out New York copies,
on August 13, 2007. There was a series of interesting
articles about how to find a job in New York City. One
of them recommended Extra Talent Agency, for getting work as
an extra in movies and TV. Since I just moved to
N.Y.C. and was looking for a job with my recently
acquired Masters in broadcast journalism, I decided to
contact this agency, register and hopefully get some
work while looking for a more permanent job. After
about two months of not getting any jobs through Extra
Talent Agency, I decided to send a
$25 check, a fee they recommend their customers to
pay, for putting a picture and resume on their online
database. It says, on its Web site, that this is by
far the best way to get a job as an extra. So, not knowing any better at the time, I sent
that check on Oct.10, 2007. I kept checking its Web
site every couple of days, but my headshot and resume
weren't there. Then I contacted them about it. The
response was that the Web site is "under
construction."
On Nov.9, 2007 I realized that I've been a fool and
asked them not to cash my check and that I no longer
want their services, since they haven't really
performed any. They cashed my check on Dec. 28,
without ever putting my data on their Web site. When I
contacted them again about it, on Feb.14,a woman who
answered said that she doesn't know why my headshot is
not on their Web site. I asked for
a refund. She told me that at 3 p.m.
on a Thursday, no one from the accounting department,
that deals with these kinds of issues, is there. I
asked her to give the accounting people my message and
that after four months of not getting what I payed
for, I want my money back immediately. Nothing
happened days after that call. I
e-mailed and called again, not wanting to accept the
fact that I was duped by this so-called legitimate
agency and let it go. I'm just not a person who let's things "go." I knew New York is full of crooks, but since I read about this agency in the
Time Out New York magazine, I trusted them.
Today I received a condescending, threatening, and
mean-spirited e-mail from one of Extra Talent Agency's
partners, advising me to get out of acting, since it's
a tough business, and that if $25 means so much to me,
I ought to be in a different business. No apology.
Just, you'll get your refund, and you shouldn't have
disturbed us for such a small amount,the amount I
payed them, to do nothing..
If an agency asks you for money, any money, to put you
on its online database, don't do it. And stay away
from Extra Talent Agency. If they haven't been sued
already, it's going to happened any day now!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
I was just about to register with that site...i will do more research and think twice about this. Hey you and i have alot in common...i read about that agency in Time Out NY too and I also majored in journalism!!!! email me at painfullyshy@rock.com if you want. take care and i like you blog...visit mine too.
Thank you so much! I am so glad you read my blog before you registered with them. There are so many other legitimate agencies in N.Y.C.
I don't remember writing about Time Out but they were great about this whole scam. They've apologized to me and asked if they can contact Extra Talent Agency for comment.
One of the top guys of this agency is a total ass. Please stay away from them, for your own sake.
Thanks for reading and I appreciate your comment.
All the best,
Marija
Unfortunately, I did sign up with this agency. The reason why I did was because I got a job through them, interestingly enough, by NOT being with them originally. I had gotten word through another actor who was helping them to find last minute actors for a National Geographic gig. It was a paid gig and it was a fun couple of hours. Because I tasted that, I decided to contact them, send my headshots and send the $25.00 fee as their advice was this was 'the best way' to be seen by their clients. Yeah, right. It took several months to get my photo and stats on their online site and several phone calls and emails. The emails went unanswered, but I did manage to speak with Destiny twice, who was part of the company and gave pretty much the same explanations that she wasn't sure why but they were working on it. I had checked regularly, but there's no way to submit to projects, you are pretty much left hanging. I didn't want to believe they were shady either. I don't know what's happened now, but it seems the site is not up anymore. Haven't heard anything about it and figure the $25.00 is a wash. Never did get another gig or contact from them, but oh well. I did get featured prominently in the gig, and you can hear me speak and be a bit dramatic, which is nice. So I put it on my reel and moved on. It's a small world, and someday Destiny and I will meet again, and I'm thinking it will be under much better circumstances for me.
I agree, most agencies worth their salt do not ask for money upfront, but I think agencies are trying to work off people's desperation and naiveness. As with anything you think of getting yourself involved in, do your research and try not to make the same mistake twice.
Post a Comment