'Scouts' prey on wannabes

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Undercover: Emine (or Alison's) model card

It all started with the words that any girl would love to hear. "Excuse me," said a woman as she approached me in Virgin Megastore on Oxford Street. "Have you ever thought about becoming a model?" By the time I had stopped laughing, then daydreaming about strutting the international catwalk, reality hit me. At 5ft 6in (too short), a size 12 (too fat) and aged 24 (too old), I can safely say I don't have what it takes to be a supermodel. That a professional scout believed otherwise set alarm bells ringing.

The scout had given me her card, so a couple of days later I called her company, Wilhelmina Scouting Network (WSN), to set up an appointment. It is an American agency with more than 70 offices worldwide which last month opened its first London office in Conduit Street, W1.

WSN claims to have a licensing agreement to use the name of a leading agency called Wilhelmina Models, based in New York. WSN has more than 100 Londoners on its books already - boys as well as girls, with several under 16 - and is planning to open a Manchester office later this year. The office was new and swanky, with pictures of models on the wall (including Armani adverts torn from magazines), and a small catwalk.

The receptionist gave me a form to fill in, which stated that I could not tape or film any part of the interview process. Apart from giving my name (I gave my middle name), age and (false) address, I was asked if I would have a problem doing shoots for tobacco/alcohol/swimwear/ lingerie/fur" companies. I ticked no to all.

Next, I sat through a film about the company. To a pumping soundtrack and pictures of beautiful people, the cheesy American voice-over said I could expect to be represented by the biggest and best talent-spotting company in the world. It claimed that top model agencies regularly check WSN's database. It had snippets of interviews with Lou Pearlman, chairman of the company and the impresario behind the Backstreet Boys and *NSync. It's not hard to see why a naive hopeful would have no hesitation in signing up there and then.

I was taken to a small, stuffy room for my interview with Sharon, a British woman in her thirties, and Diane, an American. For 45 minutes I was flattered and feted as Sharon explained how the company works. As a "talent-spotting" company, it doesn't find work for its models - instead, details and photographs are put on its website for "up to 1,000" modelling agencies to view and, hopefully, book.

She said I was too short for the catwalk but I could be a successful advertising model. "If Tommy Hilfiger is doing an advert and it wants a certain look - say, dark blonde with brown eyes [like me] - its agency can search our database for matches," said Sharon. "We could also put you on our celebrity lookalike list. You're the spitting image of Gisele Bundchen."

She showed me the website and explained the importance of professionalism. Finally came the issue of payment. For a flat fee of £675, the agency would take my picture, set up a web page and keep my details on the site for a year. Diane piped up when she saw I was wavering. "It's not much money when you think about it. Imagine when the big bucks start coming in," she said.

"You have a very classic look, your features won't go out of fashion. You could be really successful. If you have a Visa card, we can put it on that right now." I said I couldn't afford the full amount so I put down a deposit of £150 and agreed to pay £75 a month for 11 months - a total of £975.

Three days later, I was called back to have my photographs taken. Two other girls were also waiting to be seen. I assumed that a make-up artist, hairdresser and photographer would be on hand, but I couldn't have been more wrong. Eleanor, who works in the office, asked to see my make-up bag. I emptied it and then, using my blunt pencils and blobby mascara, she started to make me up. No one touched my hair.

Expecting to be led into a studio, Eleanor asked me to wait in the corridor while she got her digital camera. "You're really photogenic," she cooed as I struck cheesy poses in the corridor. "You look like Dido." I asked how many people were being signed up. "We're getting five or six a day," she said. "Now all you have to do is wait for the bookings to come in."

But would I get any modelling work from these photographs? I went to see Sarah Doukas, founder of Storm model agency, who has worked in the industry for 21 years and launched Kate Moss's career.

"You're not a model," she said, as soon as she saw my pictures. "We wouldn't take you on. I don't think you'd even get low-level advertising, let alone a campaign for a big fashion company. What this company is doing is shocking. You shouldn't make promises and you shouldn't raise expectations.

"When we sign a model up, we work hard for them but we don't promise anything and we never ask for money. Operations like this prey on vulnerable people. I would never use its website to find new models - I have my own scouts out there."

If I was serious about being a model I would now be angry, as well as out of pocket. WSN has more than 100,000 "models" on its website, most signed up after being scouted in the street.

However, several of Britain's top model agencies, including IMG, Models 1, Next and Premier, said they wouldn't use the site. The Association of Model Agents' guidelines say members can only derive income from commission on fees earned by the models that they represent.

Kelly Wells, an 18-year-old student who lives in New Jersey, is planning to cancel her contract with WSN. "A lady asked if I had considered being a model, gave me a card and told me to go for an interview. I went with
my mum and there were about 12 other girls there.

"They made us walk up and down and took us to be interviewed. I was told I would have to pay $1,000 [£600] to have my pictures on the website. That was the first time money was mentioned. I paid that, but a few days later they said I had to pay $590 [£354] extra for a photo-shoot. That's when I got suspicious. At my interview they said I should have at least 10 job offers a month but after several weeks I've had none. I have been suckered in."

The company, whose offices are mainly in the US, faces an ongoing civil investigation by Florida assistant attorney-general Jacqueline Dowd, who is looking into more than 600 complaints.

"They are selling dreams to people," says Dowd. "Most of the young girls and parents who have complained say they were led to expect things they didn't receive." Former scouts have told Dowd they had no experience, and were told to approach anyone who looked as if they had the ability to pay - the
commission was usually about $10 for every girl persuaded to show up in the office.

When I contacted the WSN head office for a comment, the company failed to answer my specific questions but emailed what appeared to be a pre-prepared document detailing its activities, which included the comment: "... our unique service may not work for everyone and we do not guarantee specific individual results ..."

Doukas's advice is simple: "The Association of Model Agents has a list of reputable agents. Check their websites out, never go to a private address and never pay money upfront." I knew that a career as a Gisele lookalike was as unlikely as Leonardo DiCaprio asking me out on a date. But others might be more impressionable.

 

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