Complaint Review: InterFACE

Our experience at InterFACE was one of the worst experiences my family has ever had. We had essentially 4 encounters with them; getting several phone calls to schedule an initial evaluation, the initial evaluation meeting, a photo shoot, and a post-photo shoot marketing meeting. Here is a detailed encounter of all of our experiences.

Phone calls & scheduling
After giving InterFACE my & my husband's contact information, we both got 3 phone calls each within the course of 2 days. When I did finally pick up (on Thursday 6/27/2013), they suggested we come in for a free evaluation. I told them that my husband was recently laid off and that we didn't have any additional income to spend if they would require any payment; I specifically said I wasn't interested in wasting my time or theirs if an initial financial investment was involved, and I was told to come in anyway since they sometimes waive or reduce fees after the evaluation determines if children will be a worthwhile investment to them. We scheduled the evaluation for Monday 7/1/2013.

We were each called 4-5 times between Thursday and Monday to make sure we would be at our appointment since they don't allow you to reschedule. We were told to bring 3 photos of our daughter and 2 forms of ID for both parents.

Evaluation
When we arrived, we were around 10 minutes late and were only 1 of 2 families waiting in the lobby. We were told to sign in, fill out some paperwork and would be met with in a few minutes. We were kept waiting for close to 45 minutes. When we met with someone for the evaluation, they didn't do any actual evaluating. They told us what the company did, took a quick look at the photos, showed us some print advertisements that their clients have been in, and then told us the cost of a photo shoot. We specifically told them that we were not in a financial position to pay for that service.

They told us they were willing to work with us, and that they accept credit cards. I told them again that we weren't in a great financial standing due to my husband's lay off and the fact that I work from home and don't have a steady income. I told them we would have to go home, think about it, and then call them back. They went on about how good looking my daughter is and that she won't have any problem getting work; they said that I shouldn't let finances ruin her chances at a great opportunity. I again told them that we couldn't afford extras right now, and that we would like to go home to think about it.

After some high pressured sales tactics, we eventually got broken down and paid $595 for a photo shoot; 3 outfits + 48 shots. Make note that we told them on multiple occassions that we couldn't afford that expense, and that we wanted to go home to think about it.

Photo Shoot
When we got there for the photo shoot, there were multiple kids being photographed as well. We arrived at 2 PM, and there were 3 other families there. By the time we left at 5 PM, we saw at least 4 other kids and 2 teenagers there for photo shoots. My daughter is naturally good looking, but they put so much unnecessary make-up on her (blush and pressed powder) and chose 3 hairstyles that didn't compliment her face. Her photos didn't turn out horribly, but they weren't worth the money we paid for them.

During the shoot, I noticed that as cute as my daughter is, she needs a lot more training in regards to posing, smiling, and other general aspects of being photographed. She takes great candid shots, and has good bone structure and a slim figure, but at this point in time, she just isn't model material. This was clear to both my husband and myself after the first few minutes of the shoot.

We were going to see this as a learning experience, and cut our losses. At the end of the photo shoot, we were told to come back at 5:30 PM to have a meeting with Marketing.

Marketing Meeting
This was when we really realized this place was a scam. We arrived at 5:30, but didn't get to meet with anyone until a little after 7 PM; we were briefed on some information between that time but it was a solid 1 and 1/2 hours before we actually discussed marketing with anyone. During the time waiting, I started looking around the building and noticed that while it looked like many of their clients had success, there were 5 photo references to the same girl, and some of the other "success stories" were just kids being extras in film.

Even though we realized that our daughter might need more training, the woman we met with kept telling us that our daughter was adorable and that she would do well in both print and TV. I told her multiple times that my child was not interested in acting, and has no desire for it. She then said we were cutting our child's opportunities in half.

I started asking about the 80% success rate that they are frequently referencing since I saw so many pictures of the same girl in advertisements; she gave us some nonsense about how she didn't want to pay for more pictures to hang up every time someone got successful. Then I asked about how many people earned their initial investments back, and she said she doesn't work with billing, so she didn't know.

She then kept saying that she knows how to do her job, and that I don't know anything about the entertainment industry. She used high pressure sales tactics, accused my husband and I of not wanting our daughter to succeed in the entertainment industry, and insisting that she was marketable. I told her we would need to go home and think about it, but she kept insisting that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Both myself and my spouse felt as though we couldn't leave, and it was a very uncomfortable situation. Eventually we paid $600 for 2 years on their website and a second photo shoot. We were told we could cancel within 3 days, and on Monday 7/9/2013 we sent a certified letter with receipt to InterFACE to cancel.

I will update this if we do not get our money back, since I heard there is a possibility of that happening.