The Stage

Casting company guilty over ‘misleading’ adverts

Published Tuesday 1 April 2008 at 14:10 by Matthew Hemley

A casting company exposed in a BBC programme for charging would-be models and television extras more than £150 in up-front fees has been found guilty of breaching the Advertising Standards Authority’s code.

The ASA said West 1 Casting - a management company that promotes models and extras to UK agencies - produced misleading adverts that failed to make it clear that it charged an initial up-front fee to sign up successful applicants.

In addition, the company, which was featured on the BBC’s investigative strand Inside Out last September, did not state that the agencies that candidates were referred to often charged their own fees.

Four people made complaints to the ASA about the company, claiming West 1’s adverts calling for models and extras to attend a casting call, which promised a free photo test shot and photograph, did not make it clear fees would be charged.

In response, West 1, which trades as Model Management UK, said it did not ask all successful applicants for payment and claimed it only charged £189 for those that did not have their own photos. It said the photos would be used to promote the client and applicants had the option to have photos taken elsewhere.

The company also claimed not all agencies it referred applicants to asked for money, but pointed to a clause in its own contract that warned applicants some agencies charged “an administration fee”.

However, the ASA said West 1 did not send any evidence to show what proportion of applicants did pay and that the company’s contracts did not state that the £189 covered the costs of photos.

The ASA said that West 1’s adverts should have highlighted the clause in its own terms and conditions, which stated some agencies which applicants would be referred to do charge fees, claiming this would have affected a person’s decision to attend the initial casting call.

On both counts, the company’s advert was found to be misleading and the ASA warned West 1 Casting not to use it again.