- Report: #1127627
Complaint Review: Premiere Event - Richmond Virginia
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Premiere Event
Richmond, Virginia, USA
Phone:
6028203017
Web:
Www.premiereevent.com
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Business Rating:
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Premiere Event DisneyNickelodeon Using Kids to Scam Money is Sick Richmond Virginia
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Riding in the car listening to my favorite gospel radio station and I hear an advertisement calling for children ages 5-18 to audition for casting directors for Disney and Nickelodeon. I call the 800 number and schedule an appointment for my 8 year old daughter to audition since she has always talked about being like Chyna from "Ant Farm" I am a business owner who works every Saturday so my husband had to take her to the appointment. He explained how they had her run some lines on camera and interviewed her which was very exciting to her and I was excited for her. But then they tell my husband to go over the brochure they provided then email them the following day to find out the results. That seemed strange. Ironically as I'm hanging up with my husband a client of mine who overheard our conversation informed me that she took her son to something similar a few years earlier and it was a scam. They asked for money and then once they paid they found out it wasn't what they expected. I prayed that this wasn't the same thing. So I got home that evening and my daughter runs up to me excited about the audition, saying she met someone who works at Disney and she sung for him. My husband hands me the brochure and sure enough, you have to pay $1950 minimum just to attend a showcase. My heart was broken because I didn't know what I was going to tell my little girl. My poor husband didn't know what to say. He wanted us to still contact then because he wanted so badly for this to work out. So we emailed and got a call. They asked her to come back for a call back and we were so happy it wasn't headed in the wrong direction until they said we needed to commit to paying the money before we can schedule the callback appointment. I started to ask questions and the gentleman kept referring me to the website I had already seen. Finally I said I can't commit to that type of money until I get some answers and he says, "I don't even know if I want to work with your daughter so I think I'll give the appointment to someone else." How sick of them to use a child's excitement to get parents to give them money knowing we will do anything to make our babies smile. Even though I know it wasn't right I was actually going to pay the money just to show my daughter support and minimize the blow of disappointment of the outcome by planning it as a Disney Vacation for the family after the event. But when he spoke to me about my child in that manner I just hung up. I still haven't figured out how to tell her she isn't going to be on Disney.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Twilyfuture
Washington,USA
Premiere Events is not a scam
#2Consumer Comment
Thu, April 07, 2016
Hello, my daughter has always been interested in modeling/acting/singing, and when she was younger signed with John Robert Powers agency (still affiliated). She wanted to do the Premiere Events in Florida, as she is graduating from college that was her graduation present. The folks at Premiere were very upfront that while she would have a great time and meet lots of people, there was no job offer or guarantee of one. My wife and her flew to Orlando and were there for the full event. She participated in the seminars, the shows, and got hands on instruction from various professional people includng some Disney folks. In her case, she also loved meeting various producers, directors, and made a bunch of friends that she still FB's with etc.
Since the event, in part because of the contacts she made there, she's already had some bit parts in indie movies, just did a public service shoot in AZ that will be airing across the state, and this week will be working with a well known producer behind the scenes of a corporate sponored video presentation. She's just getting started but she is getting paid. She's had to turn down a number of movie and video shoots so far, as she is finishing up her degree. She comes alive whenever the lights and cameras come on and loves every minute.
I'm thinking that for a younger child, the expectations might need to be very clearly explained in advance to the child. In our dealings with Premiere, we felt that the expectations were clearly communicated to us. Our attitude was that it would be a wonderful graduation present for her, and if she got jobs out of it that would be a bonus. As she has applied for other modeling jobs before, and has done some modeling aready, she already knows about not getting jobs when the client wants something particular. So her expectations were appropriate. And again, she is not a young child, but a senior college student getting her teaching degree this June. Just thought I'd put my two cents into this discussion.
employee
Richmond,Virginia,
Employee
#3UPDATE Employee
Tue, March 04, 2014
We would like to thank you for attending our interview session this past weekend. We would be more than happy to address any questions you may have. If you would be so kind as to contact us at the email address that we provided on the front of the booklet, we would like to have the opportunity to answer the questions that you were not able to find answers to on our website.
In addition, with regards to the other company that your client met with a few years ago, we’re curious as to who they were. Our booklet that your husband received and you looked through, clearly outlines everything that you are receiving from the registration fees.
Again, please contact us at the email address that we provieed on the front of the booklet so that we may address your concerns.
