MissAntrophy wrote:
I reached out to the BBB with my complaint, and the guy texted me saying that he received the complaint and again continued to tell me he wasn't going to give me my deposit back,

I don't believe the bbb would ever give out your info to anyone.

MissAntrophy wrote:
I was foolish to give an Upfront Fee (half of the total) for a photoshoot with a Talent Agency, the photoshoot never took place, because they cancelled the day before and never rescheduled.
Unfortunately I didn't Google the owner or the agency before,  later I found out he had been investigated by fraud a couple of years ago and also had a couple of complaints on ripoffreport.com.
I called the agency and said that I wanted my deposit back but he insisted that they where no refunds on photos and got very aggressive, he even got the nerve to threaten to sue me for slander.

I reached out to the BBB with my complaint, and the guy texted me saying that he received the complaint and again continued to tell me he wasn't going to give me my deposit back, but if I payed the rest of the $450 his brother would re-schedule and do the photoshoot.

What else can I do? I also called the Canadian anti-fraud commission, they wrote down my complaint but since it's less than $500 they can't do much. Thanks in advance.

Oh I'm sorry, that's terrible! I hope you hit a streak of good luck to make up for this. $900 is a lot for a shoot (most likely wanted a few shots to represent you?)

Have you looked at www.newmodels.com?

Expensive lesson, but at least you didn't pay the entire amount for a handful of worthless photos his brother took.

MissAntrophy wrote:
I was foolish to give an Upfront Fee (half of the total) for a photoshoot with a Talent Agency, the photoshoot never took place, because they cancelled the day before and never rescheduled.
Unfortunately I didn't Google the owner or the agency before,  later I found out he had been investigated by fraud a couple of years ago and also had a couple of complaints on ripoffreport.com.
I called the agency and said that I wanted my deposit back but he insisted that they where no refunds on photos and got very aggressive, he even got the nerve to threaten to sue me for slander.

I reached out to the BBB with my complaint, and the guy texted me saying that he received the complaint and again continued to tell me he wasn't going to give me my deposit back, but if I payed the rest of the $450 his brother would re-schedule and do the photoshoot.

What else can I do? I also called the Canadian anti-fraud commission, they wrote down my complaint but since it's less than $500 they can't do much. Thanks in advance.

Not sure where in Toronto you are located but your first stop should be at Metro Police http://www.torontopolice.on.ca/
Don't send them a text or an email or even phone... put whatever evidence you have (contract, receipt, paypal, names and addresses) together and go to a police station.
An officer or detective will take your statement/complaint and go to work on it.

Going to the BBB is completely useless.

You may also want to look into Small Claims Court http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.c … efault.asp

JoJo wrote:

Not sure where in Toronto you are located but your first stop should be at Metro Police http://www.torontopolice.on.ca/
Don't send them a text or an email or even phone... put whatever evidence you have (contract, receipt, paypal, names and addresses) together and go to a police station.
An officer or detective will take your statement/complaint and go to work on it.

Going to the BBB is completely useless.

You may also want to look into Small Claims Court http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.c … efault.asp

This
/thread

Drew Smith Photography wrote:
Obviously don't even consider paying the other half to secure the shoot. Please don't do that.

Do what JoJo said - go and make a damn nuisance of yourself in person. Don't give up or give in. And good luck.

+1

yup

Drew Smith Photography wrote:
Obviously don't even consider paying the other half to secure the shoot. Please don't do that.

Do what JoJo said - go and make a damn nuisance of yourself in person. Don't give up or give in. And good luck.

+1

JoJo wrote:

Not sure where in Toronto you are located but your first stop should be at Metro Police http://www.torontopolice.on.ca/
Don't send them a text or an email or even phone... put whatever evidence you have (contract, receipt, paypal, names and addresses) together and go to a police station.
An officer or detective will take your statement/complaint and go to work on it.

Going to the BBB is completely useless.

You may also want to look into Small Claims Court http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.c … efault.asp

The police would likely call it a civil matter. Proving intent to defraud would be very difficult. However breach of contract in small claims is pretty easy to get. The Justices in small claims don't mess around. Have your paperwork. They don't always accept emails as evidence because no one can prove who sent them.

Jennifer Haggerty wrote:
How did you pay? If via PayPal or check you can definitely get in touch with customer service and have the money pulled and the account reported.

Unfortunately he said he had problems with the debit/card machine, so I had to give him cash... this was a red light, I almost left on my way to the ATM

Rick OBanion Photo wrote:

The police would likely call it a civil matter. Proving intent to defraud would be very difficult. However breach of contract in small claims is pretty easy to get. The Justices in small claims don't mess around. Have your paperwork. They don't always accept emails as evidence because no one can prove who sent them.

BBB was not useful at all. My last hope is this... http://www.ontario.ca/consumers/filing- … -complaint

MissAntrophy wrote:
I called the police when the guy told me he was happy to take all my money, but they just directed me to the small claims court, and they told me that it would take me more money to sue him that the money I lost.
It's still a bit of money for me because I just returned to Canada and I'm not working yet, but I'm angry that crooks like that get away with ripping people off.
He still advertises every day on Craiglist. I wonder how many more people fall for this. I wish I was the only one.

Thank you for all the suggestions and replies!

"I called the police..."
First mistake... go in person

"and they told me that it would take me more money to sue him that the money I lost"
Ontario small claims court filing fee is $75
... and if you can't afford the $75 fee you can apply for a "fee waiver" - just fill out a form.

Don't phone the police or courts - go in person!!!

Go to the small claims court office nearest to you - ask them for a "fee waiver" - they will even help you fill out the form... and if the Court Clerk is there (and not busy) you just might get the "fee waiver" approved on the spot.


BTW - did you report this guy to Craigslist? No?... Do It !!

Maxximages wrote:
Have you looked into small claims court

http://www.ontariocourtforms.on.ca/english/scc

thank you!

JoJo wrote:

"I called the police..."
First mistake... go in person

"and they told me that it would take me more money to sue him that the money I lost"
Ontario small claims court filing fee is $75
... and if you can't afford the $75 fee you can apply for a "fee waiver" - just fill out a form.

Don't phone the police or courts - go in person!!!

Go to the small claims court office nearest to you - ask them for a "fee waiver" - they will even help you fill out the form... and if the Court Clerk is there (and not busy) you just might get the "fee waiver" approved on the spot.


BTW - did you report this guy to Craigslist? No?... Do It !!

thanks for the advice JoJo. I did report it on Craiglist, they deleted his ads from last week, but he's posting again maybe from a different email. I did flag his new ad.

Images by MR wrote:
don't believe the bbb would ever give out your info to anyone.

Just an FYI.  The FIRST step at the BBB is to get the businesses (the "other") side of the story, so the business would definitely be made aware of it.  The BBB is funded by member businesses, but they do work to either mediate a solution or try and stamp out the bad players.

So it's just part of the process...

LightDreams wrote:

Just an FYI.  The FIRST step at the BBB is to get the businesses (the "other") side of the story, so the business would definitely be made aware of it.  The BBB is funded by member businesses, but they do work to either mediate a solution or try and stamp out the bad players.

So it's just part of the process...

Really disappointed of the BBB, filed a consumer complaint. Hope I have better luck with them.

Images by MR wrote:

I don't believe the bbb would ever give out your info to anyone.

Perhaps the description of the complaint alone was enough for the business to identify her, especially since she tried to resolve it herself first.

Dorola wrote:
One of the things you can do is go onto the Ontario Court website and download the form "7A". Then fill it out and send it to the agency. Tell them you are going to file the form and they will be required to show up in court. If they don't show up in court, a warrant will be issued and they will have have to come anyway. They can try to explain in front of a judge why they offer a photoshoot and did not carry it through, kept your money and asked for more. Do it as a bluff to make them pay you back and actually file it if they don't want to refund you. The court office is at 47 Shepard East (Yonge and Shepard). I have filed several 7a forms in small claims court and know the process. If you want me to send you a copy of the form, just send me a PM with your e-mail and I can send and electronic copy that you can fill out and send to the talent agency.

sorry I missed this when it first was posted.  ummm....Form 7A in regular court was/is the form for the appointment of a litigation guardian.   You need to specify Form 7A for small claims court.

Matt Blais Photography wrote:
I had a car dealer pull one on me 20 years ago...Once I discovered what they did (near the last payment) I went down with a sign that simply read "Unfair Business Practice"
And walked the sidewalk out front for about 3 hours before they cut me a check.

As long as you don't name them directly (slander) I'd give that a last resort try
Of course that's if they have an office location...

A hard lesson you'll remember forever...

it's not slander/libel if you are telling the truth or at least something you have a very reasonable belief is the truth.  It could be other things so I would not recommend such a public display on the sidewalk.

Dorola wrote:
One of the things you can do is go onto the Ontario Court website and download the form "7A". Then fill it out and send it to the agency. Tell them you are going to file the form and they will be required to show up in court. If they don't show up in court, a warrant will be issued and they will have have to come anyway. They can try to explain in front of a judge why they offer a photoshoot and did not carry it through, kept your money and asked for more. Do it as a bluff to make them pay you back and actually file it if they don't want to refund you. The court office is at 47 Shepard East (Yonge and Shepard). I have filed several 7a forms in small claims court and know the process. If you want me to send you a copy of the form, just send me a PM with your e-mail and I can send and electronic copy that you can fill out and send to the talent agency.

thank you! I will