Hi Everyone,
My name's Andrea and I'm the editor for fashion blog ShinyStyle.
I've been investigating this company for a while and have managed to get some advice from Alba too here's my article on the company.
Just want to say THANKS so much for all this info, I nearly went to a shoot this saturday! If it weren't for seeing this thread I would have been cheated of alot of hard earned cash.
Feel really stupif for believing they were genuine, it would have been nice to get a pretty photoshoot but I guess I'm not a size zero after all. I was also spotted by Vanity management last year. So something is definitely fishy here...
They just emailed me about the shoot booking..I guess I won't be replying now..lol!
Hi,
I was approached by a representative from Zebra Management at the beginning of the year. He said they were looking for models for tv, film and extras and I fit the bill. He took a photo of me and I got a call from them a few days later. They seemed to be legitimate because they didnt ask for any money upfront. They said they liked my look and wanted me to get a portfolio done at the Light Rooms photo studio. I had my own profile created on their website and I had a look and thought it was all ok. I even took one of my friends along to the photoshoot. They charged me about £650 for 10 photos. That was painful but I honestly thought I would get some jobs from this. Silly me! What a scam. The Light rooms and Zebra Management are in it together. What can we do to stop them from doing this to people? Can I get any money back too? Eeeeek!
ugh they just called me to ask me to attend the photoshoot again, and sent me a letter. it makes me sick to think of all the young girls they are ripping off...Spread the word as much as possible guys.
Scottishlas2009 - if you bought them by credit card, you should be able to get your money back right? Credit cards are like that, definitley ask your bank about it, at least freeze your cards.
I'm worried that they have a picture of me, my mobile and know where I live. Yikes. Hope it isn't run by a bunch of weirdos
Hey,
I'm also worried about the same thing, I have given them all my details and they have a pic etc. I also didn't attend the so called 'free' photo shoot and said i didn't want to pay any sort of money towards pictures. I hope they don't bug me now!
Hey guys! I also got `scouted` by them too in brick lane, thought it was genuine but when they also rang my friend and told her about the copyright payments she looked it up and turns out it was a scam. Dont go on any of the review sites because they are all set up by the same man!!!!!
Honestly check this blog out. You wont go anywhere near them!
This is slightly related but not entirely worthy of its own thread...
If someone approaches you over MSN/IM claiming to be from a model agency or wanting you to attend casting for music videos...it's phoney.
Obviously no agency is amateur enough to send out people on their personal emails to try and get people into the industry. Common lines are that they're scouts from Diesel, and one name who continuously comes up in the lines from people who claim to be making music videos is Wiley.
As if Diesel and Wiley would resort to that!
Seriously though, I know some people are naive enough to fall for it...please don't.
Hate to break it to you but they're not the real deal. I've been "scouted" by a similar agency who took my photo and details on the street and gave me a contact card. I thought this was a bit dodgy considering I'm only about 5"4 lol. A few days later I got a call-not from the agency itself but a photography studio in Notting Hill.
This basically meant that I would have to pay to have photos taken which would then be passed onto the agency. I read on a forum that the agency in question simply sticks the photos up on their website and that's about as far as it goes. They don't promote you or seek work for you in any way, so if you've wasted your good money on them you're going to end up kicking yourself.
I had the same problem as most off you they catch me at Oxford Street and tok a pics, gave me a card and called after few day. I went to Light Rooms( they done brain wash on me and I agreed for a photoshoot witch cost me around £700). I paid all amount.. stupid me, have my portfolio and some postcards of myself, i opened a profile on zebramanagement and that is THE END. no jobs from zebra, no jobs even on their web site where are or those jobs for MTV, etc.??? they are the biggest scam ever... we all have a dreams and they are just using our weekness and stilling our money... Girls how we can get our money back????
You should never have to pay for anything to do with modelling agency,,, appart from some of your money from shoots etc, they take a set percentage... I remember I looked them up once and they werent on the official list of acceptable agencies, i will try and find the list for you, its somewhere online!
Hi everyone! the same thing happened to me. Stopped on Oxford street, called after a few days, booked in straight away because they "like my look soo much" and so on. I was going to use the photos from the shoot and the money from my first job with Loreal and T-mobile (apparently) to get my boyfriend a birthday gift, but I got really exited and told him about it. Stright away he thought the whole thing sounded like a scam but I was so stupid to see that. He started researching on the web and found this site. Thank good for this site and others like it. I panicked and didn't know what to do, as it was the weekend and I couldn't cancel it and so had to go to it or had to pay for it.
I call consumers direct first thing the next day and other law services. They were all soo **** and advised me to go as they said I had entered into a verbal contract on the phone with them. Looking back at it now, the consumers helpline is there for nothing and gave me the completly wrong advice and should not exist.
I emailed a girl on facebook group called zebra collections is a scam (I think the group has now been removed) and she put me through to clive Hurst who reasured me and gave me the right advice and told me not to go.
I didn't go, so didn't pay anything. But if you want your Money back then contact clive hurst who is working to get people their money back. Follow this link http://www.anactor.net/
Please make all your friend aware of this and such things. My friend was asked via facebook to come to a "free" photo shot, I told her about this and scam. Initially she was offended that I thought that she wasn't good looking enough to get asked but then one of her friends went to it and got scamed.
If it sound to good to be true, it probably is girl and boy!
I was approached near brick lane again by some women from zebra. I made sure I told her about herself and her scam company right in the middle of a busy street.
I've had pretty much the same experience as a lot of girls on this site (except I, very luckily, did my research before attending the photoshoot booked for tomorrow and have now sent them an email telling them exactly what I think of their scam).
I'm a (very much wannabe) journalist and think a story like this needs to be better spread and so plan on writing an article for it to send to different publications (maybe one of them will take some notice?). If anybody wants to get their voice or story heard in regards to Zebra Collection (or indeed any other modelling scam), please, please, please contact me! They've made me so angry and I know I've got off lightly by reading all this before, however, a lot of girls will see only their bogus websites and what they want to believe - that they're about to embark on the road to fame and fortune (I know I nearly did).
So please, any girls who want to get their story heard contact me and we can try and get a few of us in a coherant article and spread the word. It seems it's not just the tiger that never changes his stripes, the zebra is pretty struck on keeping his too - even changing his name from management to collection.
(as an extra piece of info, I've now received a call from the company, a voice message and a text message after I emailed telling them I'm not attending the photoshoot, will report them further and will do everything to get their scam heard - I guess they just don't get the hint!)
Last edited by Secretcelebrity : 11-11-2009 at 15:33.
I had arranged a photo shoot with them - don't know why, I knew it was kinda fishy - this was last year. The evening before they sent me TWO text messages with the details of the shoot and address, and i texted back saying i couldn't make it as i was ill or something. Never heard from them again, thank goodness.
Hi, i was stopped in the Oxford street by one the Zebra's managers.. i was given a business card and told that they will get back to me if i was selected.. well did call, a number of times and i was told loads of thing.. loads of promising stuff, although i have never considered myself as a model, i thought i still would be good for commercial stuff, such non important clothes mags etc. i though it would be fun. But before startingg i need professional pics, which i didn't have, I was invited for a photo shoot at Light Rooms with "free" make up and "free" hair do.. i was told told to take £150 with me. well i thought i could afford photo shoot for that money.. I went there.. waited for 2 hpurs to have make up and hair done.. then i had to wait for the photo shoot itself it was e very long day. of course the price is well above £500. but i was so excited about haveing my first ptofessiol photo shoot, so just decided to go for it.
I had to wait couple of days for my pictures, the light rooms actually promissed to call and let me know when photos are ready but never did. I had to call them myself and even when i went to collect photos they were not ready, so i had to wait till they printed it. Overall i was happy with photos and they have been uploaded to zebra website but i've heard from zebra again, oh well, could not expect anything different.
I opted to pay for the photos in part by direct debti every month. i should have finished paying about half a year ago, but just in october i got ugly surpised then i saw that my account was debited more money by the Light rooms. I still battling and trying to get my money back.
So girls, please be very careful and if some agency really wants to be part of them they gonna everything for you and mos importantly you won't need to pay a penny.
all the best
casualty of the zebra
I smile now as I know that i would never do the same mistake again.
I've been modelling for almost 5 years now. Zebra are fake heard a lot of negative things about them. people have had to pay a few hundred pounds to them and never had a paying job. They'll send you to a couple of shoots, maybe tell you they're sending you to a casting but they wont. Most people leave my this stage but for those that don't they'll start telling you that you need to pay money to be on their website because you haven't had work yet and then suggest you pay for another shoot to increase your portfolio. If you have read this those of you that have jumped on to this band wagon if you don't leave now you are a little silly. I hope you haven't given them any money!
Always check ALBA to find respectable agenecies. I have been working almost 5 years and have never once had to pay for a shoot, photos, copyright or anything I've been given money but I've never given anyone else money!
I just went on their website, never been on before. Come on people compare this zebra website to models1 website and even to this local agency website http://www.facemodelmanagement.com/ which is where a started out at. The last two look professional - now how proffesional does the zebra one look?
Oh My God!!!! I can’t thank all of you enough. I was in two minds and so checked up on zebra and thank god I found all these sites. What utter *******. How do they sleep at night? And how do they get away with it?
I had EXACTLY the same story as everyone else here, the same phone script and ‘job opportunities’. I was contacted by ‘justyna’ and after I’d read posts here I sent an email saying what a ******* scam and she didn’t even reply!!! Which basically confirms that they are a con because any real company would defend themselves.
I feel so stupid, naive and vain for believing them for a second. Don’t get sucked in by them!
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