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This 'agency' is a scam. They do nothing but brainwash and manipulate innocent people. They have a policy of not speaking to anyone who is under 18, and that is because 16 year olds don't have credit cards so they cannot purchase a photo session which is essentially useless for the agent.
The office is run by a deceptive woman who is so naive, irrational, and immature. As well she has no work ethic. She spends most of her time outside smoking when she should be keeping an eye on the office. The 'owner' of the company spends zero time in the office, he shows up for a day and a 1/2 and leaves his sidekick (the deceptive woman) in charge when he's not around.
No one knows this, but 99.9% of the business Max gets is not word of mouth, it's not people seeing ads in the newspaper, Max sends scouts to large events and they approach people and ask if they want to model or be an actor. So obviously everyone is excited by this. Later on max has workers who call these people who were approached and try to con them into coming in for an evaluation and meeting with an agent. This agent will tell you whether you're nice looking or not, that you can make it big and they will try to sell you on purchasing photos, which can cost anywhere from $500-$1, 200 and it's a complete waste of money. They will tell you you won't be able to get any acting job without a head shot.
This message is here to let you know about the 'business' that goes on at Max. They say they're certified by the better business bureau. That doesn't really mean much, anyone can obtain a plaque from the government.
They work stupid hours, the staff is not allowed to use the washroom, there is a reptile of some kind that swims in a tank in the foyer and he never gets fed.
Max guarantees they will provide work for anyone who signs. 90% of the clients never see a days work in this industry.
It is very important that you take a look at this before you sign with max, you will reret it in the long run.
Thank you for your time :)
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
Juli-Ann Kay took me off the streets and off the booze and drugs she is the best teacher in Toronto if not in Canada
After her brother was murdered she made it her business to help every actor and person that came to that school.
Universal Academy of Acting should be upholding what she did for every student.
All her students would and still will stand beside her.
bemore
I think I posted twice don't know exactly how this thing works but it's good I got my point out
bemore
Just keep posting any and all info you have and it will get to the proper channels.
i went to their appointment today. thr company seemed legitamet -.- wow oh and btw barbizon is nawt a scam its just for people without money $2000 is nawt a lot.
I worked for MAX Agency as a promotion and event Model, what a scam business. Dont work for these people they tell you anything you want to hear and then you find out nothing is true. They don't even pay you on time, then I had to fight to get what they owed me., which was not a lot of money to begin with. I feel so bad trying get other people to give them more money. Don't work for them and DO not give them any money, they will just ask for more, you will get nothing in the end. They don't return your calls and if you are trying to be an actor or a model they will wait till you make one mistake and then tell you they can't be your agent any more. The real reason is that you have paid for everything so there is no reason to keep you around. They keep a few people on just so it looks good but if you talk to those people they don't get jobs that pay if they get any at all. STAY AWAY FROM MAX AGENCY. They are not the top Agency anywhere in Canada. STAY AWAY FROM MAX AGENCY
We believe these false slanderous postings originated from a person formerly associated with Universal Acting Academy.
MAX Agency and Universal Academy of Acting have commenced litigation in that regard.
In addition, we have contacted the police and they are investigating the matter further.
Please feel free to contact us if you would like more information in this regard.
By phone: [protected]
By email: info@maxagency.com
We apologize for any inconvenience this may of caused.
Sincerely,
Management
Thanks
Kamran
MAX Agency
www.maxagency.com
MAX Agency
2063 Yonge St. Suite 202
Toronto, Ontario
M4S-2A2
www.maxagency.com
Tel:[protected]
Fax:[protected]
MAX AGENCY IS A COMPLETE SCAM!. I have just broke my contract with this agency after doing more research on them and finding nothing but negative reviews. I have been done this unpretty world of modelling and have to face the facts that most agencies other than the known reputable ones (elite, ford, etc.) are nothing but scams and jokes. Jennifer De Faria is one of the agents, when you first meet her you are already sketchy, she is under 5 feet, and dresses like a street walker, all of her breast are exposed and you cannot help to wonder if it is really a real modelling agency or a stripper audition. Either way I decided not to jude the book by its cover and sign with max, as I said I did my research and then decided to break with them after finding such horrible info. The way I was dealt with was completely unprofessional, hostile, disgusting and rude... to get back my own money! she had her hands in my face, insulted me, laughed at my statements when I told her I was going to report her and the agency to the better business bureau. She laughed as if it was all a joke. When I left she threatened to charge me with trespassing if I ever came back. REALLY? is that how you treat a client, It was a simple reason I was there; to get back my money and to talk to the creative director on how I was deat with. It did not need to be taken to that level, all of the rules of business; being polite, the customer is always right ec. where thrown out the door. Her actions spoke so loud that max is a joke. The fact that THEY ARE NOT LISTED WITH ACTRA should raise eyebrows, yet they claim to also be an acting agency. I was constantly promised that my calls and emails would be returned the same day and they weren't until weeks later. Last the "creative director" if there even is one, is the hardest person to find in the world. He is never in the office... which is quite small... and the even more funny thing is that if all you want to know is his name you will not be granted that information. All i wanted to know was the creative director's name.. to make a long story short.. and i STILL AHVE NOT RECIEVED MY PROMISED REFUND. anyways to make this short MAX AGENCY IS A SCAM, RIP-OFF, and ijennifer de faria and all the other girls who call themselves agents have no reputation, no history of modelling or acting and you should have your guard up.
On June 12th I received a phone call from Max agency informing me that they wanted to represent my daughter. I accepted the offer and was told that I could either book an appointment right away to sign the management agreement and make an appointment with the photographer they recommended, or I could come in at a later time with pictures if I decided to work with a different photographer. I told the agent that I would contact her back after I spoke with one photographer in particular. The agent claims that I said I would call her back the next day. Regardless of which it was, at no time was I was given the impression that the offer to represent my daughter would be broken and given to someone else if I didn't get back to her within a certain time frame. The photographer called me back on June 18th, (he had been away on business, ) and still up until then I hadn't heard from the agency that they had been expecting to hear from me right away and were going to break their promise to represent my daughter if they didn't hear back from me. They didn't even have the decency to call to find out if something was wrong and that's why I hadn't called back (as it turns out, my mother was admitted to the hospital on the evening of June 12th with chest pains and I probably wouldn't have gotten around to calling them back right away even if I had heard from the photographer.) So right after speaking with the photographer on June 18th, I called the agency only to be told that someone else had been chosen in her place because they hadn't heard from me sooner. Max Agency broke a verbal agreement with me to represent my child with absolutely no warning or notice. I have found several reviews and spoke with several people in the industry that suggest that the agency tends to treat people differently once they decide to go with an outside photographer and unfortunately this seems to be the case here. This is disappointing not only to me but to my child and is completely unprofessional. I have read mostly good reviews when it comes to the quality and quantity of work provided through the agency but they need to be clear with their expectations and deadlines through proper communication and if you really want to work with them, I suggest you be prepared to hire their photographer for a minimum of $500 for kids photos or be treated poorly.
MAX AGENCY IS TERRIBLE my sister tried out max it was horrible. The lady who worked there smelled like smoke and i could tell she was drunk and had been smoking. They told us that they would call is back in about 72 hours. 6 days later still no response. we called them 3 times and they said they would call back in 5 minutes. IT HAS BEEN 6 MONTHS NOW. And the first time we went to max agency. they told my sister they needed pictures of her to see if they would want to work with her. WE HAVE NOT GOTTEN OUR PICTURES BACK YET. they took out money and my sisters pictures. WHO KNOWS WHAT THEY ARE DOING WITH MY SISTERS PICTURES NOW. My uncle is a lawyer and we are going to max tomorrow to get my sisters pictures back. If they dont give us what we want. those ###s better watch out. we will sue them if they dont give us back our money and my sisters pictures. DO NOT GO TO THIS AGENCY
I'm not sure I could be as specific as to call it categorically a scam, but my experience with Max was not positive. They represented my daughter for 2 years and she got 1 badly paid job in all that time.
Previous to Max, we were with Ford until it closed down its kid division. With them she did well-- lots of auditions/ go sees resulting in work in flyers, commercials, catalogs-- and I never paid a penny for anything beyond their usual commission.
My first impressions were good-- people seemed nice, office seemed professional, offers of free classes. Before I knew it, however, I was agreeing to pay close to a thousand dollars for portfolio pictures and comp cards. And I went for the minimum. No one forced me to pay, but things went fast and officiously and I didn't feel I had the time to process things. They don't force, but they pressure.
I got periodic emails claiming that my daughter had been submitted for jobs and never heard any more about them. Were they legit? Who knows. We did get 1 audition for a commercial (in 2 years), which she got. I was given no details until two days before the shoot, and when I heard the location (over 1 hour outside Toronto), time (5:30am-5pm), the pay ($200 flat), and the fact that we had to supply all of her outfits I wanted to cancel. Did I mention my daughter was 3 at the time? We ended up doing it, but when I finally got the check (3 months late) they had deducted HST. I think we actually lost money.
If you sign with this agency, do your due diligence and be prepared to be very proactive-- they frequently lost documents/ photos, failed to call/ email back, made us wait close to an hour for scheduled appointments, failed to pay for our 1 job until I hounded. I never got any tax documents from them either.
I can't say outright that it's a scam. But I certainly would never never sign with them if I had it to do over.
This company is the worst agency out there. They take the innocent and build up their dreams, make them look and feel important, take thousands of dollars, and then give them nothing . I know business is business, but they should not take an individual dream and turn it into a nightmare. Beware people. These employees look nice but watch out
Max agency is a total scam.anyone who defends them is part of that scam.my daughter was approached by them and told how beautiful and talented she was. She was told she could be a model, actress or anything she wanted.They got her hopes so high up that she emptied her bank account on pictures, acting glasses and going down to the agency.She is a 13 year old naive girl who was taken advantage of.Here we are 6 months later and not one audition or even a check up call.Once they have your money they move on too the next victim.The only time we hear from them is when they try to sell us something new by e mail.Defending them is like a woman defending Donald Trump on how he respects women.They should be shut down completely and anyone who works for them should be investigated.
My husband went to a interview and one of the ladies was flirting with him and calling him telling him she loves him ...proffessional my [censored]. ..