Kaback Model Management reviews and complaints
Bait and Switch/Fraudulent requests for money
This is a complete SCAM! I was almost fooled by this company and their requests to leave ridiculous deposits with them. I was approached by a lady in the mall and invited to an "interview, " which I attended and which seemed very legitimate on its face. I was then invited to a "second interview" where they essentially inflated my ego and called me a "rich kid." They initially made it appear as though they were professionals and that they would not request models to pay them. In facts, they stressed that modeling agencies NEVER request models to pay a deposit. Of course, it is common sense that they are supposed to help you find work and that they would take a commission. However, then they asked me if my parents would be the ones paying my deposits to them. At this point, I expressed shock and said that I did not expect to pay any fees because agencies are never supposed to request payments, but are only supposed to take commissions. (I thought: "Why would or should I pay to work for them!?") The interviewer instantly flipped and turned hostile, incessantly requesting that I make a payment right then and there; pressuring me and threatening that the "deal" was only good that one day. The fees? They were $595 for the "deposit" and $1, 295 for the "New York Event." I was SHOCKED by this request and saw the red flags go up immediately. When I told the interviewer that I would have to think about it, she became extremely rude and made remarks putting me down and pressuring me further into paying them the non-refundable amounts. After I finally left, they called me constantly in an almost harassing manner continuing their scheme and requesting that I make payment to them as soon as possible. I am SO GLAD I did not pay them a cent, but am extremely disappointed that they wasted my time and attempted to scam me out of so much money. PLEASE READ THE THOUSANDS OF OTHER WARNINGS HERE AND ALL OVER THE INTERNET OF THIS SCAM! This company should be ashamed of themselves for committing such fraud. Not only is it disgraceful in that it takes advantage of aspiring individuals, but such fraud is also highly illegal. PLEASE do not fall for this horrible SCAM!
Country of complaint: United States
Address: 210 E Street Rd #2A, FeastervilleTrevose
ZIP: 19053
Website: kabackmodelmanagement.com
Scam
I (extremely stupidly) was essentially guilted into signing a contract with VIP Talent aka Kaback Model Management. They wanted an obsene amount of money upfront to "represent" me, but I talked the souless Alycia Kaback into lowering the price. After signing, I was told I had to make a third appointment with Golde in the Feasterville office. With no car and no great way of public transit to get there, I rented a car for the day. Upon arrival, I was told that Golde could not see me that day because she was way behind in her schedule. I was livid but rescheduled. Next time a week later, exact same scenario. I freaked out, faxed my letter of resignation as stated in my contract, and left it as a learning experience. Well to this day (3 months later) I am STILL getting charged my $40 monthly "website" fee, which I was never even put on in the first place. No matter how many times I call, no one can give me a straight answer. DO NOT SIGN WITH THIS "AGENCY." It is a scam and they will rob you.
Company Business Name: Kaback Model Management
Country of complaint: United States
Address: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
Wow this brings me back to the days I was going back and forth to Feasterville on train then walking the highway to get to the office to be told oh if they want you you never have to pay only for them to ask me for hundreds of dollars for photo shoots only their photographers could provide. I was young and ambitious, I had a dream they killed it.
Seemed fishy to me. I applied to an ad for job as a "Talent Scout" for this "organization". It turned out to be unpaid and commission based only. I was not too surprised by that and was considering it. However, I was worried about a possible future "Training or Initiation " fee as are common in multilevel scams. So I asked, "So, what will this job cost me?". The 20 something girl interviewing me looked nervous when I asked that. She nervously claimed it would only cost me time and gas money and then quickly ended the interview. I got the impression that they are fishing for suckers and may try to charge me to work for them. They never called me. I later read that they scam their talent scouts just like their models. The only thing that is real seems to be the party invites, so they're not lying about the networking. You can meet people for a price. Other reports claim the people you meet are barely celebrity level.
I was scouted by Kayback Modeling Agency and was told I should attend their VIP Talent Summit in NY, which would have scouts looking for experienced talent. SCAM #1: I was asked to pay $1265 to attend and if unable to pay on the day they offered me the ability to go, I would have to pay more to attend. I went to VIP Summit at Caroline's Comedy Club in Times Sq. NY. After hearing Scouts talk about how they got their start in the business, talent had the chance to do a one-on-one mtg the Scouts. SCAM # 2 I was given business cards by Scouts with disconnected phone numbers listed on them. SCAM #3 A supposed guy who claimed to be well known Casting Director Robert Rusell asked talent to invest in his personal acting classes at the rate of $178 per hour. If you didn't take his classes, he could not book you for work. SCAM #3: Scouts who asked me to email or call them after our meeting, never returned any messages. SCAM #4 When I requested a follow up mtg with Goldie from Kayback Model Management, she never returned my calls or emails. SCAM #5 When requesting a meeting with Alycia Kayback, the president of Kayback Model Management, she never returned my calls or emails and told her assistant Goldie to call me instead. I spent over 2, 000 in preparation for the VIP Summit and never heard back from ANYBODY!
IF you truly are looking for a creditable agency, do not work with ALyCIA Kaback's Agencies to include:
IT FACTOR
COLBY MODELS
VIP SUMMIT
KAYBACK MODEL MANAGEMENT
wanted money without answering questions
A talent scout approached my daughter urging her to call for an appointment with Alycia Kaback, so she could be evaluated as a model. My daughter, quite taken with the idea, spoke with Ms. Kaback and was told to come back the next day. That was when she hit my daughter with the bill. A minimum of $500.00 was required. When my daughter said she was hoping to make money first and pay fees out of her first job, Kaback got very impatient and told her you have to spend money to make money--but 500 dollars to include a few photos on a website seemed outrageous. When I e-mailed the office asking whether or not this was a licensed modeling agency and what their policies are, I got a rude almost incoherent response followed by another text which the same woman had sent to someone else in the company, but she had mistakenly sent to me. The text read, "omg deal with this f-----lady" When a company won't tell you anything about themselves and expect you to sign up for a payment plan almost immediately without any photos taken--run the other way! Mothers--don't feed your daughters to these vultures because you wish to believe your daughters will make it into the business. Seek out a reputable modeling agency. Websites of models get hits from perverts--not potential clients.
Country of complaint: United States
Address: 125 South Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Phone: 267-318-7807
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
I signed with KMM in September of '14. I found a casting call on Film.org for a Microsoft commercial, so I submitted. They called me, and when I turned up to their offices, they informed me it was an open call. I was not happy about it, but I figured I was there, so I might as well stay. Just like everyone else, there was the long lecture, the belittling, etc. They didn't get as much up-front money from me as a lot of people because I had just put a large downpayment on my first car the day before and didn't want to part with much more money.
I went in for a workshop a few weeks later, and after telling me I had an appointment with my manager Goldie beforehand, when I arrived, they told me she was "too busy" to see me. Another women was waiting for Goldie as well and I saw the woman ask Goldie if they would still be meeting that day. Goldie actually LAUGHED and said, "Well, THAT won't be happening." Apparently, their makeup artist for the headshots they were doing that day hadn't shown up, so she was doing makeup. Since Goldie couldn't meet with me, the receptionist told me I could get my (apparently free) headshots taken. I told her I didn't need any- I had three good, professional ones that had been done just a few months ago, and besides, I was dressed for the workshop, not for headshots. She said, "Oh, don't worry- the picture's just from your chin up!" No. No no no no no.
The only casting calls I ever had emailed to me were hair shows. I am not a model. I am short and chubby, and what's more, I told Alycia that I was not there to be a model of any kind. Plus, if I got my hair cut in any drastic way, I'd have to get new headshots.
The staff has always been rude- in person and over the phone. When I was signing my contract, the receptionist Ashley was so mush-mouthed I couldn't understand a word she said and had to ask her to repeat herself multiple times. Every time, she sighed annoyedly and repeated the same unintelligible thing, just louder. It was this rudeness that eventually drove me out. Just remember that THEY work for YOU, not the other way around.
Colby models and KMM are a huge scam. They never pay their models. All the models on their website all want nothing to do with either Colby models or KMM. They were just dumb enough to sign a contract so they Colby and KMM can sell and rip off other wanna-be models. I dare to find someone who can say they have been paid cash money from either of these sham agencies.
I read many reviews before I met the second time with the manger and I should have listened! After singing the contract in Nov 2012 and paying over $700.00 dollars for what they call marketing fees and $40.00 a month for technical fees for being put on their website for their purposes. I realized "BIG SCAM"! I have done bridal runway and have experience legitimate jobs. I googled an audition to find it on 5 different sites that you can market yourself on a website for much cheaper! (example Explore Talent)! I called and the "Manager" who was not professional at all. She already had a tone of defense in her voice and wouldn't let me speak to ask questions she cut me off every time I spoke but I guess that's what happened when you catch them in lies. She explained to me when we met that we would be a team and she is their to only benefit her team( but really all she cares about is collecting money if you look in public records you'll find her home that she bought for $350, 000!, but on the phone she explained I wasn't her client? Why would have paid them so much many and they explain that you are represented their name... I advise those who really want to pursue these industry to try companies that you have only heard good things about because anyone can audition any where you don't need to pay money for listings of auditions. The staff aren't exactly the nicest or smartest. You can't even call without someone using the word like every other word.
I made the mistake of signing up with them. I am 120lbs 5'9" and have done plenty of runway and print on my own. I thought signing with an agency would be to my benefit. Too bad this isn't an agency. Once they got the initial $695 they were drooling over and I had my "photo shoot" aka Nicole took me into a back alley with her cheap Nikon pocket camera and snapped a couple washed out photos for the website, I hardly heard from them again. I then had to call over and over again just to get the proper emails for casting calls and workshops. I found out at my first casting call that they are pulled from Craigslist. Luckily I didn't end up at the Craigslist Killer's house. The second casting call was supposed to be in NYC which they failed to mention so I ended up at a burned out church crawling with junkies in North Philadelphia. I have since had to cancel my credit card so they would stop charging it since asking nicely did me no good. I have recently been in an email battle with several employees who are beyond rude and disrespectful. I hope this is helpful for anyone to avoid those hyenas.
alycia kaback KMM vip talent find my audition colby models is a scam Here is a good review
http://starstruckmagazine.blogspot.com/
and here is who they have working for them, a felon who got found guilty of credit card fraud and check fraud
http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/burlington_county_times_news/former-strip-club-manager-indicted-on-theft-forgery-charges/article_e8982f84-6702-549b-9b2b-6f632a236113.html
total scam Alycia Kaback is a scam. Kaback Model Management is a scam Colby Models is a scam VIP Talent is a scam KMM is a scam Find My Audition is a scam here is who they hire to run their office A felon who has been found guilty of credit card theft and check fraud.
http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/burlington_county_times_news/former-strip-club-manager-indicted-on-theft-forgery-charges/article_e8982f84-6702-549b-9b2b-6f632a236113.html
here is a great review
http://starstruckmagazine.blogspot.com/
My friend and I were approached by one of KMM's talent scouts in October 2011 while we were playing music together in Rittenhouse Square. The scout gave me the impression that he wanted us to interview us as a duet act. Had I been alone, I would have turned down the offer, because that was my custom in 2011. I just wanted to go back to school and practice, since my true love is classical music, but my friend, who apparently has Hollywood ambitions, begged me to accompany her to the evening appointment, since she was new to this country and especially unfamiliar with the subway. We decided to focus on her modeling and acting ambitions, since she had headshots and a resume while I had never before considered modeling. We had no idea what to expect, so I burned a CD of my friend singing, and we prepared an instrumental duet and brought our instruments along. I won't say which instrument, because I have become a somewhat familiar street performer in Rittenhouse and want to maintain a certain level of anonymity here, but it was annoying to carry from Market to South and back, especially since I never got a chance to play it.
The office smelled like a hair salon-maybe there was a small one upstairs. The staff was friendly but pushy, and the "talent" was pretty enough to quell my scam suspicions for the moment. The scout was there again, registering people. He seemed like an easy-going and philosophical dreamer, but at the same time he seemed to consciously attempt to project his ambitions as a "brand, " which made him hard to connect with. He gave us a standard name, address, weight etc. form to fill out, and also a questionnaire with questions such as "How much do you think you can earn as a model/actor/musician?" and "Who inspires you the most?" I drew a blank on both of those questions. I never finished the form completely.
Next, we were escorted to the back room, where we waited with 40-50 other people long enough for me to worry about the time. When Ms. Kaback came in, she said that anyone worried about the time could leave. She chewed out and dismissed a guitarist who said he had been scouted a year ago but never bothered to come until that day. (KMM opened March 2011, this was Oct 2011...he could have been planted) She explained how their system worked, paying $500 for photography, about $1000 for a networking event etc, and said that nobody will invest in you if you don't invest in yourself. As a classical musician, I am familiar with large investments, but when you spend $7000 on a violin, you get a beautiful instrument to take home even if you never make it to Carnegie Hall. They pushed this opportunity as a once-in-a-lifetime chance., so I of course told them that I was just there to help my friend with her English. We went to an interview in an office between the front and back rooms with a chisel-chinned white man in his 30s. I told him I was there to help her, but he encouraged me to finish the form anyway. He gave us the impression that we would be good contacts because of our instrumental abilities. He focused the interview on my friend, but asked me more questions than I wanted. Mostly he had trouble understanding how my friend pronounced "Arkansas." He invited us both to come back the next day, and I left my unfinished forms somewhere on his desk. My friend got someone else to drive her the next day-it was during orchestra rehearsal, which I am proud to have never missed. They said that she would not be able to work since she was in the country on a student visa, but they would help her if they found any opportunities. A few months later, she mentioned in passing that she went to one of their events and met a few people, but nothing came of it. So, they talked her out of $1000 even though she's here with a student visa. Honestly, that bit of news somewhat deflated the self-esteem bump I had developed since getting scouted. I don't know all the details though-maybe she was telling me about something else.
Despite their NOW OR NEVER message of '11, in Sept 2012 someone from KMM called my cellphone. When I called back, the man on the phone said that they're calling all of their 2011 contacts because of Fashion Week. Seemed like a silly strategy, since I am only 5'6. I told him thank you, but I need to finish school and will not be able to seriously pursue modeling as a supplement to my music career until January. He said that they'll call in January. I'll see what happens, but I'm also going to look at other agencies with the strategy of marketing myself as a "modeling musician" to as many non-exclusive agencies as I can. It should be noted that I would never have considered this career strategy without KMM.
My theory: they're like The Music Man, starting out with a pushy, sketchy business model but ending up turning it into a legitimate enterprise. Alicia Kaback seemed like the only sort of woman you could call a "###" as a compliment-hounding people into giving her results. She seems like she would be a good agent to have on one's side, like she has the resilience, determination and intimidation skills to fight for her talent and establish a successful new agency. She definitely doesn't seem like the sort to stop at taking people's money when there is the potential for commissions and renown as a CEO. At the same time, her combination of pushiness and intimidation gave me a bad feeling about the agency. Also, she-and the entire agency-gave off this aura of "wannabe." She told us about failing a Mickey Mouse Club audition as a child, and she admires people who connect their way into success-she is the only person I have ever seen speak of the Kardashians without an air of derision. My Hollywood heroes are the knuckle-down-and-do-what-you-love-fame-will-follow types: your Felicia Days, your PSYs, your Marx Brethrens. I think it's a legitimate agency, but definitely not the best agency for me. I would work with them, but not exclusively. Make sure you know what you're getting into with them, but I haven't written them off as a scam yet. Once they have enough success to ditch the "borderline-scam wannabe" vibe, they could become a very influential agency.
it's definitely a SCAM, they monitor these site and write their own positive reports... i've worked with multiple companies and KMM is completely RUDE and making money, i'm sure some of the models do make money and go on calls, but they take everyone and make money off most, they are not selective for that reason... they say the are but are NOT... the photo shoot they offer is definitely to make money they say there will be a make up artist but it's just one of their current works that does it... If you are really serious about doing modeling or acting go to NYC or LA. there are also many acting companies here in philly...but STAY AWAY from KMM... hopefully i'll help from at least some people not wasting their money with this company...they are really really rude... your better off with any other company but them.
My daughter got jobs through KMM. She went to almost every casting she was asked to go on and she got jobs, from fashion shows to hair shows. She is loving it. It has paid us our money back. I don't know what people are talking about because we have had such a great experience with them.
No doubt about it this is a scam! Luckily you only got scammed for 500. We spent much more and never got one casting call. After 10 months and not one casting call we stopped Waisting the monthly fee too. How are they still in business?