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Comments about One Model Place's 'Customer Service'
Good evening everyone. We are dealing with a legal, copyright violation, with one specific model, who is using our images without permission on One Model Place. We have complained to OMP three times (on three separate occasions, regarding three separate test shots done for her where she did not sign (or refused to sign) a model release upon completion - we have them sign before and after the shoot). We do not use her photos at all, and refuse to shoot with her because of her immature behavior. The initial test shots were for a printed portfolio; not for a website. OMP has blocked her site three times, but reopen it each time once the image is taken down. However their terms of agreement state that anyone who violates their TOAs will be terminated without a refund. They told this specific model the second time she posted one of our photos that if she did it again, she would be banned from OMP for life (she was banned the first time for 30 days, but she opened a new account). She did post another photo of ours last evening. When we again sent an email of a copyright violation to OMP, we received a nasty-gram back from their Administrator named "Bob" who is now threatening us with a suspension of our account (and hers) because we can't settle this issue at our level. Their last email from Administrator Bob was very rude and insulting. We are a platinum plus member; she is using the free service. We have turned this issue over to our attorney but are irked at OMPs less-than customer service. Has anyone else had trouble with OMP in this regard poor customer service -- (or in regards to them not delivering comp cards, portfolio binders, etc. to you or your models after payment)? Cheers, Tim, www.portlandfilmworks.com Jun 13 05 05:45 am Link Hi well, only that they refused to answer at all when I had un released pictures being posted on a photograpgers site without my permission - with the wrong name and so on. No answer at all. Also have terminated an account without any warning or reason at all and refused to answer when asked why - but that was a free one. Jun 13 05 06:25 am Link Posted by Tim Baker: did she hire you? Jun 13 05 06:34 am Link I cant comment on the copyright issue..but I had a similar problem... I shot in January with a new Photographer via OMP. It was half paid (for the shots he wanted) and half TFP for the shots I needed. The photos I needed (that he agreed to shoot) were to be submitted for publication in a book. I took a day off work to do this shoot... He didnt have a studio so we used my Condo and created several sets. He paid me, I signed the release and I NEVER got the photos from the TFP part. In fact I never got ANY photos at all. I wrote OMP and told them this guy did not fully honor our contract and I got the Administrator Bob email threatening suspension if we didnt settle it "ourselves". But the problem was I emailed this photog 6 times and never got a response. OMP emailed him and say they blocked his site, but he's updated twice since January and there's no photos of me. Of course the deadline for the book project has passed and I was unable to reshoot the theme in time to submit. I am pissed off and I have NOT renewed my membership there. OMP was great 5 years ago before it got greedy.... Jun 13 05 06:47 am Link Suggestion - To avoid any of these problems in the future...simply get the PAPERWORK DONE BEFORE YOU SHOOT. No sign, no shoot. Altho...I've never heard of a model refusing to sign a release. I'd have not even given her the photos. Jun 13 05 06:49 am Link Posted by Doug Swinskey: Posted by Tim Baker: did she hire you? 1. Yes, she 'hired' us to put together a printed portfolio, but gave us no suggesions as to what she wanted. We sent her some proofs to see if we were on track, and she then posted them. Our model release states whether are shooting 1) print portfolio; 2) on-line portfolio (or web useage; 3) both; or website development. She refuses to pay the bill we've sent her. Jun 13 05 07:02 am Link Posted by Ariane G: Yes, I understand all that. We have models sign prior to the shoot, and then once they accept or like the work they commissioned, they sign again stating the work was acceptable to them and that no inappropriate behavior occured during the shot on anyone's part. My question is with OMP. I admit we screwed up by not batching PROOF across the images we sent her. Jun 13 05 07:07 am Link Posted by Tim Baker: Posted by Doug Swinskey: Posted by Tim Baker: did she hire you? 1. Yes, she 'hired' us to put together a printed portfolio, but gave us no suggesions as to what she wanted. We sent her some proofs to see if we were on track, and she then posted them. Our model release states whether are shooting 1) print portfolio; 2) on-line portfolio (or web useage; 3) both; or website development. She refuses to pay the bill we've sent her. well that makes a bunch more sense... Jun 13 05 07:19 am Link I have had pleasant and annoying experiences with OMP. More recently I have been annoyed with them. Tim, you are better off having the model served (if you haven't done so already) by your attorney. What annoys me about OMP is that thousands of photographers and models pay to have their portfolios upgraded and hosted on OMP and they can't seem to have a stable bandwidth connection for more than a day. Also this whole no right-clicking anywhere on a portfolio page is annoying as hell. I've wrote to OMP about these issues and they either get ignored or I'm more or less told to shove off. Jun 13 05 09:25 am Link It seems to me that this is really not OMP's problem. It is a problem between you and the model. I don't see in your post any mention of you trying to resolve the situation with the model. She is the one directly violating your copyright, not OMP. Your attorney should contacting the model to get this problem resolved. Jun 13 05 10:14 am Link I've been listed on OMP since `98. I think that since they've decided to get greedy, quality has suffered. ...and you'd think with this new revenue stream they'd be able to hire the talent to get it right. I had recently contacted them about a minor issue, but all I got was "attitude". Since I've discovered Model Mayhem, I like it over here better! Jun 13 05 10:20 am Link The phrases "One Model Place" and "customer service" in the same sentence. There's an odd twist on the language that I hadn't expected. All they care about is raking in cash. Anything else is a distant second because there's plenty of money rolling in. Only when their revenue starts to drop with they start to pay attention to making members happy. Jun 13 05 10:32 am Link Has anyone thought of reporting them to the Better Business Bureau for other Non-Customer Service issues? Especially if you are paying for an account. I like MM for the community, but I just wish it had some features that OMP had (a faster webserver wouldn't hurt either). =] Jun 13 05 11:20 am Link I agree with Bill. These problems sound like legal matters between the models and photographers. They are not the responsibility of OMP. On second reading, the first situation does sound like a copyright violation and therefore a TOS violation. The second situation is not their problem. Jun 13 05 12:32 pm Link So what have we learned? #1: never shoot a model or turn over pics unless she signed a release form. #2: Never look to a website to settle disputes between two people. #3: ALWAYS tag your proofs. Jun 13 05 12:40 pm Link Posted by theda: I think however is OMP is advised of a copyright violation on their web server, since they are a partial pay site, they have a responsibility for what gets posted on their website. they can get dragged into if it ever got to court since they declined to enforce their own rules of conduct. The7y charge for a service, and before you sign up you read their rules, so if they allow people to violate them than what exactly are you paying for? Jun 13 05 12:41 pm Link Jun 13 05 12:42 pm Link Posted by Bill Sylvester: Actually, our attorney did send her a letter. And he's going to send another. OMP did send one email to her, but she ignored them. However, after the the third time she posted on of our proofs, OMP wrote us a nasty gram and suspended our account with them. That's their level of customer service. Jun 13 05 04:32 pm Link Posted by Low Tek: Yeah, it doesn't jive with tabbed browsing at all. Jun 13 05 07:03 pm Link Posted by Tim Baker: The TOS are between OMP and the model. You are never in the loop, and demanding they enforce their own rules is silly. Jun 13 05 07:06 pm Link I have nothing but disdain for OMP. They had chosen me to be in that "shut up and model" shoot, but never asked me what name to book the ticket under and bought the ticket before confirming my information. I went around and around with them, they wouldn't fix the ticket, I couldn't fly (Jilesse is my middle name I don't use my last name for modeling) needless to say I wasn't at the shoot in florida, I called everyone I could trying to resolve the situation, my phone calls went unanswered until they were pissed I wasnt at the airport. The cussed me up and down, then proceeded to cuss out my manager when he got involved, saying I was a no brain idiot, and then deleted my profile off OMP. This all after I had allowed them to use several photos for their own promotional use, did a write up for them as they had requested for promotional use, and was also a featured model. OMP is greedy, they're unprofessional, and they have absolutely no customer service. They told me if I told anyone this story they'd sue me for everything I've got. Well, bring it on. I have every right to share my side after Bret bitched my manager out about me in front of the other photographers and models. I know I'm just one of the many people that have been screwed over by OMP, it's too bad really, it used to be a pretty cool site. Jun 13 05 07:31 pm Link Over the last 2 or 3 years, I've brought to the attention of OMP that several models in my location don't have valid email addresses and haven't updated their sites for years (if at all). The canned reply I've gotten (and other photographers and models in my area) have gotten from Brett is "we review the portfolios regularily and delete the inactive ones". When shown proof that this statement is hogwash (I've given them links to the omp portfolios that are inactive or have invalid email addresses), and I get NO REPLY, and nothing is done by OMP. I know this is a less serious issue than someone using photos they've stolen or aren't entitled to use, but it does show a lack of quality control and customer service. Jun 13 05 08:21 pm Link Posted by Ched: Posted by Low Tek: Yeah, it doesn't jive with tabbed browsing at all. yeah, It makes working very hard and I do not even know who to bark at. They never answer my messages to them. Jun 13 05 10:56 pm Link OMP is a site with a world of potential if it were properly managed. Unfortunately it is not. My guess is that the founders began small, and suddenly found that OMP had grown larger than they can manage. About a week ago I wrote asking where could find information about a lost password for their e-mail service. Brett sent me two message. The firdt one said to read my other e-mail about an upgrade. That other e-mail announced that I hadn't paid my dues and was being downgraded. Well, jeepers, my dues ha been paid, and in an e-mail exchange Brett couldn't quite comprehend that I was not downgraded and, in fact, had no trouble at all! Henry Jun 13 05 11:33 pm Link Here is 7 cents for all who read this. 1. get the model release signed up front. 2. get the drivers or photo id UP front 3. if you don't know WHO your dealing with and WHERE they really lve. How can you serve then Legal paper work. for copyrite infringment. 4. omp is ok if you don't DEAL with omp. forget eamils or anything just use the system when it works. but since it run on a appache home system thats a problem at times. Omp does not have the time or manpower to resolve issues like what your talking about. Omp is about $ nothing more. If you have a problem either with a Model or Photographer. Then either one of you didn't get it in writing. 5. as far as copyrite of images. DO YOU send your images to the LOC for your copyrite protection. it's 35 dollars per cd of images. Well worth the $ if your a serious Photographer. 6. NO SIGNED MODEL RELEASE BEFORE SHOOT NO SHOOT you wasting your time. And if you don't get a release then WHY would you give out photos. GO LOOK in the Mirror and ask yourself that question. 7. REREAD above if unsure REREAD AGAIN. I am not sticking up for omp nor degrading them I have had problems with them myself. I will not be renewing my portfolio over there either and it's due now. so mine will go back to free. Not because of problems with omp but because of the lack of the mail system not allwing the messages to go throught. As MOST of the models on there have been put on there by Some one else and the model never gets the email or it's a Bogus acct. I have been on there 3 years and it's worth being on there for working with some of the TRUE models who are on there. Especially the ones without so called managers. Maybe thats was 10 cents worth so Pay up lol Jun 14 05 01:16 am Link Posted by latex-fashions: Jun 14 05 03:52 am Link . NO SIGNED MODEL RELEASE BEFORE SHOOT NO SHOOT you wasting your time. And if you don't get a release then WHY would you give out photos. GO LOOK in the Mirror and ask yourself that question. 7. REREAD above if unsure REREAD AGAIN. Please re-read my posting. They were proofs sent to see if this is what the model wanted. Not finished product. Not for publication. For approval and then we'd continue with her portfolio. My question is about OMP. We've been cut off from them because we complained. Period. I don't need another lecture on how to run my business; I just wanted to know if you all were experiencing the same 'non-customer service' as we were. We are not only filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, but also with the Florida Attorney General. It is fraud to accept someone's money and then not provide the service (or respond to emails). Jun 14 05 03:55 am Link I had a billing issue/question for OMP. I used their online communication system more than a few timesand never got an answer. After a MONTH I finally decided to track down a phone number and called to resolve the issue. But it's not like they made it easy. I know that they have no problem censoring critics or perceived critics. Posts on message boards (sometimes peoplejust frustrated with customer service or OMP service) have been pulled. To me it seems like there is an increasing number of frustrated users who are going to be morethan willing to let their membership downgrade next subscription cycle. Jun 14 05 05:00 am Link Posted by Tim Baker: Tim, I'd really like to know how everything turns out for you. Good luck. Jun 14 05 08:55 am Link Posted by KM von Seidl: Not to mention any post with more than 2 cuss words. Ever notice why some of their older posts get bumped up to the top even when no one has posted for months? Jun 14 05 09:00 am Link Posted by KM von Seidl: Just ask Israel Colon. They LOVED him--then there was a dispute between the two and they dogged him publicly (very professional and businesslike) and canceled his account. I feel stupid for recently renewing my account with them. For my purposes OMP is simply a way to network with photographers and models. Not to get work. (I doubt more than .1% of the photographers get work off the site unless it's portfolio shoots.) MM more than allows for that and it is a far more personable way to network with people. Jun 14 05 09:07 am Link I've had my roblems with OMP and their lack of concern for what goes on with the individuals withing their network. Too many times I've not received my photos from OMP photographers. Yes, I contacted OMP and was told that I needed to contact the photographer. Gee I sure wish I had thought of that before I contacted OMP. AhaAha... I had spent almost a year of my time trying to be patient with the photogrpaher because I know it can take time for editing, here I am more than 2 years later and still have yet to get anything. OMP's lack of interest is very un-professional. Sorta like how they choose the "showcase" images, but thats a different topic all together. Jun 14 05 09:15 am Link well, I for one am not renewing my OMP account. The only offers I ever get through OMP are models wanting TFP/TFCD so whats the point of paying $250 for that?? I told myself I would keep my OMP Platinum account if I got at least 4 paying jobs from it for the year, and I didn't even get that. So, I am going down to bronze. so be it. Jun 14 05 09:25 am Link Posted by Fred Mazik: ditto Jun 16 05 01:21 am Link Bruce: I agree. Signing a release before the shoot is backwards. There are no photos to give the photographer permission to publish yet. And are you so sure Israel's account was pulled because he had a disagreement with the management there? Fineartfolios.com has already been destroyed. You can't update your portfolio and I 'm not sure if you can send messages through them. I know I haven't gotten one since shortly after TV Taxi bought it. Jun 16 05 01:30 am Link HA tv taxi is OMP Jun 16 05 12:32 pm Link |
