Toronto-based modelling agency Maxwell Sinclair Model & Talent Management lies to it's applicants. The owner, Frank Burtrym, is unprofessional, insensitive and cheats people out of their money.
I signed up with then Team Fashion in October 2005 hoping to get a start in modelling. Frank was keen to get me onboard and signed me up online. I had sent a photo and filled out a breif description of myself. I knew there would be an initial cost and I paid CAN$125 this was to include a workshop and competition within a few months. I was encouraged to sign up fast as there were limited places.
Things were going well at first. Frank sent me information regarding the company, the modelling agency, do's and don'ts, all via email. It wasn't until Frank postponed the workshop and competition that things were wrong.
The workshop and compeition were moved to a later date due to Frank allegedly being sick. He announced a new date however I was unable to attend. He asked me to sign up for their website which was being developed and said it would really help my appeal with possible clients. So I paid CAN$38 to appear on that. Then I lost contact with him.
Frank had encouraged me to sign up with these extracts from his emails:
"We will look for work around the region. I know it well since I had agency offices in hamilton and Kitchener. Some of my best models were from Brantford. Two had offers in New York."
"Be sure to take advantage of the early registration discount if you are interested. Also each workshop is limited as to the number of people we can accommodate."
For the record, only four people were signed up for the Toronto workshop.
In January 2006 I began searching for Frank after his emails began bouncing back. At this stage I had almost given up with modelling however still had CAN$153 outstanding. I searched the internet and found the new name of his agency which had changed to allow for the website to be developed. Team Fashion became Maxwell Sinclair Model & Talent Management and Frank's email address changed with it. I sent an email to the new agency hoping it was the right one. Here was the reply:
"There you are Steve, thank God. I moved in December and Rogers disconnected the modem meaning I lost everything including your e-mail address. I checked my e-mail on a Friday afternoon and they had already disconnected the modelm before I was aware of it. My aplogies. We have moved everything back two weeks by which time our website should also be running."
Lucky I found him, otherwise he had my money was never to be seen again. You'd think a professiona agency would keep applicants/models details in a secure database, not an email inbox!
I then decided to visit Frank in person to discuss either my money or my modelling career. The last email I had from Frank regarding the agency's address read:
"Please take note that with expansion, we are moving.
As of January 1st, we will be located at 1 Yonge st., Suite 1801, Toronto."
However when I visited this address not only did no one know of Team Fashion or Maxwell Sinclair but they had said the building would not associate with modelling agencies due to a bad experience in the past. Could this be the same agency I was having problems with? So I emailed Frank and he relpied:
"I had contacted the manager of Telsec at 1 Yonge St. with the thought of using one of their offices but when I was ready to do the paperwork, she said they had a problem in the past with a modeling agency there and would not rent to another. I am in the process of trying to find another spot. We will not have a regular office since we are primarily an online agency and I am on the road quite a bit for regional workshops and model competitions. Our booker will also work from a home office. Hopefully we will have something firmed up by the end of the week regarding our office location and a phone contact as well as the website. We will be having a workshop in Toronto on March 25th. If you give me a telephone number, I will give you a call later in the week."
I sent him my number and never got a call. Perhaps they should've "firmed up" their address before notifying all of there models.
I confronted frank in an email (the only way I could contact him) telling him of my anger following the address 'mistake' and asked for my money back. He replied:
"My business has been operating from a home office and I was not about to give out the address to everyone. The people on the 18th floor have many businesses there and gave me all the information to rent space. When i was ready to do so, they stated that since they had a problem previously with an agency that was a tenant, they were no longer interested in renting to us. I have since been looking for another spot and hopefully have found it. Give me your new address and I will happily refund your money. We have models in different cities so we have to co-ordinate everyone not just try to keep one person happy."
I thought this was the end of it and was happy to settle for a full refund. This was in March 2006. Since then I have been trying to get my refund from Frank and he has continued to come up with excuses why he cannot pay this month and that it will be sent out next month.
"Sorry about the cheque Steve. Cash flow has been slow but it will definitely go out to you at the end of the month now that we have receivables coming in." (May 2006)
"We will be doing our disbursements will be going on on Thursday, the 15th and a cheque will be sent to you at that time. We had planned to do it earlier but funds we expected did not arrive." (June 2006)
"I have been off a few days due to a small accident but the cheque will be sent out Friday. Our new business line will be installed shortly after we open our office in August." (July 2006)
I then asked for Frank's phone number so could discuss the situation. He replied:
"There is no current business number since we are an online agency as was explained to you before you registered. I am on the computer 10-16 hours a day and do not have a phone here and am not prepared to givre out my personal number."
"Sorry Steve but I will be sending out your cheque but will not be calling you since I do all my communication by e-mail."
Not an effective means of communication as it seems. But I was making progress and was happy to receive a cheque for half the amount owned to me. However the date on the cheque was post-dated. So I waited for the date to draw near, apparently waiting for funds to arrive, and two days before it would clear I got this email from frank:
"Apparently the funds at the bank will be be transferred into the account on which the cheque was written until the 3rd of August. Can you please deposit it ion Friday the 4th so we have no surprises. If you prefer, we can send you a money order to replace it. Someone created a problem by putting through a post-dated cheque which caused a clearing delay." (July 2006)
"Sorry Steve but the banking situation just got worse with another postdated cheque being deposited. We have no choice but to stop payment and send you a money order so there are no further problems. It will definitely go out tomorrow on Friday at the latest. I will e-mail you the money order number when we have it." (August 2006)
So the cheque wasn't going to clear and I had to wait for either a deposit or money order. I sent Frank bank details and requested either a deposit or a money order be sent. Here's what Frank had to say:
"I checked with our bank today and the cheques we deposited last Thursday will clear on Friday so we will send ou your money order at that time. sorry for the delay. As you can tell, business has been slow. Steve, i will go over my old e-mail from you to clarify the situation and will probably give you a larger refund although since you used part of the service, we cannot refund everything."
How could he go over ALL of the old emails when he lost my email address address in his "move? "
I had not received anything from Frank for two months and had emails saying "It will go out this week" filling my inbox. I found a phone number on the cheque Frank had sent me which I could not bank and decided to call it, trying to reach Frank to discuss the situation. The number was not connected. This was only adding to my frustration with faulty agency addresses and stalled refunds. I again emailed Frank, he said:
"Sorry for the delay Steve. Your refund will go our for sure this weekend. That was our business line on the cheque and we have not used that number since Bell's technicians strike when we had to wait 10 weeks for them to move the line from one location to another when I moved. We subsequently had a disagreement since I felt we should be compensated for 10 weeks of lost business. We have restructured and we be in a normal office after our regional workshops and competitions that are now taking place across the country." (Nov 2006)
Frank's next excuse why a refund wasn't depoited into my bank account:
"Our client sent us funds via Paypal and mistakenly sent to to .com and .ca. We resolved the situation on saturday and have transferred funds to our account but are just wanting for them to show up. It should happen either tonight or tomorrow night." (Nov 2006)
Finally in December 2006 I got this email from Frank:
"It went out this morning, Steve.
Frank"
But not to any suprise the money did not arrive. I have since moved to Australia and have not heard from Frank or seen any refund. Any mail I have received in Canada has been checked to seen if a refund was received but with no findings. It has been over a year.
I am writing to usaconsumercomplaints.com because this has gone on long enough. Frank's lies, misrepresentation of his "agency" and treatment of this issue has been unprofessional and down right scandalous. I urge any aspiring models not to contact Frank or Maxwell Sinclair Model & Talent Management.
Steve
St Williams, Ontario
Canada
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