ComplaintsforJohn Casablancas Modeling & Career Center

• Initial Complaint

  11/07/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have been in contact with company to cancel my son's classes since he is not getting any help with his questions and they have been very rude to him. I paid 2,050 to have him start classes to a model. 4 classes in we are asked to sirens more money on clothes, makeup, and hair care products with no help on picking out what they are looking for. My son did not have the right products for his one class and was told he was to just sit through the Zoom class and not partake since he did not have the right stuff. He was never told what he actually needed. Another class he was told what he could not wear to a photo shoot but never told what was allowed only assume people got their questions answered. I paid extra money for that shoot that we never attended since he was told he could not have facial hair or piercing of any kind since he was a boy. Offended on that. I called to talk to some about this and I got nothing but rudeness. Then I was given the number to the finance department to cancel his classes only to laughed at by the pain who answered and told to send an email to client services. Which was sent back as undeliverable. I need to get some answers from this rude and unprofessional company.

  Business response

  11/09/2023

  We did finally received the cancelation from Ms. *****.  Her refund was calculated and should post to her credit card on or about November 24, 2023.  We do not have control over when credits are posted once we process the refund.  We are sorry Ms. ***** was disatisfied with our company.  Our records do not indicate any complaints or issues prior to this email.  We show that she spoke to our Customer Service Department on November 7, 2023 and have discussed with the representative she dealt with how the interaction was handled.  We were assured no one "laughed" at her or did anything except attempt to assist in her in the necessary steps to withdraw from the classes.  Obviously, Ms. ***** is responsible for the classes taken and that is all she is being charged per the terms of the contract.

  We shall consider this matter closed unless we hear further from your office. 

• Initial Complaint

  10/11/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  Started doing this business with them probably mid May as they have provided their service so they call an audition that you attend to and they pick you out of everybody else because they make you sound so special when I already knew that I was special in my intention was to complete my passion from childhood professionally. If I made my research ahead of time, what a scam company they were for fooling people to join their company by paying them and making you pay even more and not receive anything in the end. I didnt get any of my pictures that I made a travel and spend more money and time on from ******* to *****. I didnt receive any information from the classes, the zoom links they were sending were not linking to the meetings. I emailed them, I sent them a text message and I called, they do not pick up or get back to you unless they feel like it. Ive been paying every week for my classes that I was supposed to take and when I asked for my pictures they told me that I owe more to them so I gave almost about $1500 until now I only provided about **** because I wasnt counting the beginning part of it but Im not even sure because I dont have any invoice or a way to see how much I have been paying towards them and how much I owe or what is my total . They talk to you in so good and make you sign a contract so you are dependent and given your information to make your payments towards the classes that you get nothing out of. Finally, I came to my senses and realized to check BBB and found out how horrible they have been not only to me, but to other poor people who are trying to achieve their dreams. Forget the money or even the time at this point, but the disappointment that you can go through, they wouldnt understand because if they did, they will not do this to a human being. An agency who was looking for an *************, will provide anything for the talent and make it possible to gain any jobs as they know that not only the talent will get paid,but theydo2

  Customer response

  11/06/2023

  Text received from consumer on Nov. 6, 2023 at 2:12 pm:2:12 PM

  Hi this is *******************,

  597163281CEBE complaint number

  I did not receive any calls/ messages from the business unfortunately. They didnt provide me any service but keep asking for money. Im not sure how to receive help at this point. Of course they do not answer their phone or return back to their customers/ calls. No surprise. What can be done at this point?

• Initial Complaint

  08/22/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  My daughter wanted to attend **** Casablancas Modeling and ************* with the desire to become an actor. She attended around 11 classes. I observed quite a few of the classes and was not impressed by the alleged teachers. One of the classes the teacher decided to tell my daughter that she needs to look for a different career and that she would not succeed in her pursuit of acting. She then decided not to pursue with the classes. The classes did not really teach anything geared towards acting or anything educational. The first payment of $71 was taken out of my bank account on March 16, 2023. The second payment was taken out of my account on March 27, 2023. The third payment was taken out of my account on April 3, 2023. The fourth payment was taken out of my account on April 10, 2023. There were four payments removed from two accounts on april 25, 2023 the amounts were $489, $424, $500 and $200 which were to pay off the balance, but on May 22, 2023 an unapproved amount was removed from my account for $71. When I contacted ******************* about the unauthroized withdrawl and she said that should not have happened and I went to the bank to dispute it and it was not removed. This was a disappointment and was not a professional school. I wrote to ******************* and had my letter returned to me almost two months later.

• Initial Complaint

  08/21/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  My daughter is a student with John Casablanca modeling and I was notified on 06/26/23 that my account was going to collections for non-payment. I contacted the office on 06/26/23 to get clarity as I was under the impression all modeling classes were complete. I was told that she had not completed two classes and had to fulfill them to gain certification of program completion. The representative said I had avoided collection and my daughter was scheduled for class completion on 07/01/23. On this day we were unable to login and when we spoke with the JC help desk they stated the account had been sent to collections; which they stated on 06/26/23 had been avoided. At that time I connected with a “supervisor” to make payment and was told they would connect with the collections team to expedite confirmation of payment to reactivate my daughter’s account. It is now 08/21/23 and I have contacted the JC help desk every week (2-3 times a week) since July 2023 to confirm this matter has been cleared. I have been told it would be “cleared in a week, it would be cleared in a day; next Monday, it’s an “IT” issue.” On 8/21/23 I spoke with ***** (who was disrespectful) and said she was a “Manger” and she reluctantly gave me the name of her “Supervisor” Andrea. She refused to provide full names and titles or a corporate entity to escalate the matter. She also gave me the same information that they would “contact the collection agency”. This company has been doing this for over a month and this should not take this long. There is no corporate entity to reach to for support and they don’t return calls. I am extremely disappointed and I have paid over $3000 for this experience and my daughter cannot apply for modeling opportunities without her certificate of completion. Please help me in holding this company accountable to expedite this issue so my daughter can complete this program and move on with her modeling aspirations; despite the unprofessional behavior of John Casablanca!!!

  Customer response

  09/12/2023

  The company contacted me for resolution.

• Initial Complaint

  07/20/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Date of transaction: July 5 2023 Amount of money I paid 2,050 I was contacted by sherry,National Talent Scout with John Casablancas Modeling and acting. It stated congratulations your audition is booked for this Friday night 6:45 pm est 06/30/2023 .Remember to have zoom down loaded fog THE AUDITION. we will text you the meeting ID CODE Tomorrow. Be prepared to read the attached commercial script. The script read :WW know you are ready for a vacation! AND the waves are calling you.Our resort offers a spa ,two restaurants and a idle beachfront location.It is time for you to enjoy something special at Sandpearl Resort. So my thinking is you are auditioning for a commercial that is how it is directed to me . I read my script after the audition they say we will be in touch with who ever passes the audition. So I get a call thinking I’m going to do a commercial the next day I get talk into paying the 2,050 for acting classes. I said what about the commercial. They changed the subject and talked me into paying 2,050 for classes I never took. I have tried to get in touch with John Casablanca acting and modeling to have my money returned but no return calls or emails…….

  Business response

  08/11/2023

  Mr. *****'s refund was made in a timely manner. We do take exception with Mr. *****'s depiction of what took place.  Mr. ***** was told during his first meeting that this was NOT an audition but we wanted to see if he had the ability to read a script.  He was also informed that if he returned for the second appointment he would be required to take training.  To say he was "talked into it" makes no sense. He had a full day to think about it, research our company and he certainly didn't have to show up on the seond day or pay anything if he chose not to move forward.  We are pleased he has received his refund and will consider this matter closed.

• Initial Complaint

  07/14/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I am not liable for this debt with John Casa Blanca . I do not have a contract with United Credit & Collections they did not provide me with the original contract requested.

  Business response

  08/11/2023

  Attached is a copy of the contract signed by Ms. *****. As can clearly be seen, Ms. ***** signed this contract and thus is responsible for it per the terms of this agreement. Ms. ***** attended two classes on 12/19/2021 and 12/26/2021.  Ms. *****'s was withdrawn from the program for lack of attendance and letter of the amount she owed, per the terms of the contract, was sent to her.  Ms. ***** chose to ignore all notices for payment and the account, per the terms of the contract, was assigned to a collection agency.  We are no longer involved in this matter and Ms. ***** needs to contact the collection agency to have her concerns addressed. 

• Initial Complaint

  06/16/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  This agency is a scam. They had my teenaged son do an "audition". His dream is to be an actor and so naturally he was excited when he got the callback and was "chosen" by the agency. Then the agent scheduled an online meeting with him. He was so excited and I sat through the meeting with him. The person who talked to him made it sound like he was so lucky to be the chosen one for some sort of role. This person said she was his "recruiter" and would be with him for his whole journey, then proceeded to tell him he needed training first. So this training cost money but was going to make him a successful actor. Once she saw how excited he was to get the part, she said if he didn't put a deposit down right then and there during the call, he would lose his opportunity. I gave him my credit card and paid $295 deposit on 9/15/2022 to hold his spot. The class was held online with a bunch of other kids from all over the country. Then every week was charged $71 just to join in on the call. The first week was everyone introducing themselves and why they were there. Yes, I paid $71 that week to hear why everyone else was there to be scammed by **********. Turns out they didn't choose my son to get a role, they accept everyone who auditions. He ended up doing about 4 or 5 online classes. Each week was a different person teaching, so it was very inconsistent. They varied from hygiene, reading sentences to each other and how to put lotion on your skin. The last online class he took was being taught by a very young girl wo was very nervous and didn't really know what she was doing. That one was about applying lotion to your skin and washing your face. After that class, my son and I both agreed this was a complete waste of time and money and he stopped joining the weekly calls. Now, 9 months later my son gets a collections letter in the mail saying he owes $355 for cancellation fee and it's been reported to the credit bureau. We never got any notification that there was going to be a cancelation fee or that it would be going to collections. So now, my son who is now 18 now has a derogatory **** on his credit because of this scam company that made false promises and never gave warning that it was going to collections. I should even ask for the money back that I wasted on those weekly calls, but I'm not. I don't need the money back that we wasted. I just want the cancellation fee of $355 waived and the derogatory **** removed from my son's credit report.

• Initial Complaint

  05/07/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Hello my names ***** **** as of today May 6th 2023. I had a zoom meeting with ****** ***** about going with **** ***********. They had me pay the 295$ sign on fee. Within a few hours after today I did some digging and found out this is a huge scam. I have the contract screen shots and download saying I’m guaranteed that sign on fee back if I cancelled within 3 days. I called their helpline and they gave me the email ******************************* she told me I simply needed to send them an email about canceling and they would help me proceed. I know it hasn’t been any time at all. However they’re dodgy and if I don’t get my money back as well as a guarantee that everything has been cancelled card file removed I will have no choice but to have my lawyer move forward with a legal Dispute. I would like to get it resolved before then if this matter can be handled within several days.

  Business response

  06/10/2023

  Please excuse our delay in responding to this complaint.  On May 10, 2023, a refund of $295 was credited to the cutomer's credit card account.

  Unless we hear further from your office, we will consider this matter closed.

  Sincerely,

  ***** ****

• Initial Complaint

  03/31/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  this company allowed us to send a cancel noticed which i did called over and over no on reached out and my son dint go to any classes in asking for a full refund PLEASE

• Initial Complaint

  03/22/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  This business offered Modeling and acting classes. The recruitment person said they would be my agent and they completely disappeared after I signed the contract. Further more we were told to listen to our coaches (the most important detail) yet every class we had different coaches with different instructions That were contradictory to the previous classes. Not only did I invest ****** in makeup and products I also was double charged twice. I complained several times to the help desk and basically was told to pick and choose what advice I wanted to take. This is a class that made no sense to me so I cancelled back in early December. I took 7 classes and they said I took 8. They are telling me I owe the ****** now in late March and that they are turning me into collections. I am so furious I had planned to get all my money back but I was ok with bygones being bygones. But this is ridiculous I feel they broke the contract by lying in the first place. Saying I had an agent which was untrue and when I couldnt contact them days later I should have realized it was a scam and never start classes.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩